Hello!
I've been lurking on this sub for a while and I've been steadily growing my list of TBR books. Some of the books I want to read are East of Eden, The Count of Monte Cristo, and A Picture of Dorian Gray, which are I think all considered classics or not-modern(?). The issue I'm having is that I feel like these books always go way above my head.
I've read a lot of YA novels but I feel like there's still a gap in literary comprehension that's preventing me from understanding what's going on. I tried reading A Picture of Dorian Gray and The Count of Monte Cristo but had to put them down after a few chapters/pages and I can assume that it'll be the same if I try picking up East of Eden. It makes me sad that my own lack of understanding is preventing me from enjoying all the different types of books out there.
I read a comment on here recently where someone said you have to train your brain to be able to read these kinds of things. I have no issues with length, the longer the better! It's just the material itself that I seem to be unable to grasp.
I don't know if this makes sense but would anyone have a recommendation for books in between YA novel level and classic level? My hope is that I can increase my level of understanding if I increase the difficulty level of the books I'm reading. I've only really stuck with YA novels so I'm not sure what would be the next level after to lead me to books like The Count of Monte Cristo.
Thanks for your time!
by thefalconator9000