12 Books Everyone Owns But Few Have Actually Read

Have you ever stood in front of your bookshelf and felt a twinge of guilt? Maybe you bought a literary classic, hoping to be inspired, only for it to gather dust year after year. You’re not alone. All over the world, books sit unopened, their intimidating spines staring back at us. We love the idea of reading them, but the reality? That’s an entirely different story. Here are twelve books nearly everyone owns, but only a brave few have truly conquered.

The Bible

The Bible is the best-selling book in history, and you’ll find it in homes, hotels, and libraries across the globe. Yet, most people have only dipped a toe into its pages. While stories like Adam and Eve or Noah’s Ark are familiar, the deeper you venture, the trickier it gets. Who hasn’t started a “read the Bible in a year” challenge, only to stall out in Leviticus’s endless laws? The genealogies in Chronicles can make even the most determined readers’ eyes glaze over. Ironically, some of the most quoted passages are from sections rarely read in full. For religious or cultural reasons, millions own it, but few can say they’ve truly read it from Genesis to Revelation.

Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace

This book is legendary for its size—and its ability to defeat even the most ambitious readers. At over 1,000 pages, with nearly 400 footnotes, Infinite Jest is a labyrinth of tennis, addiction, and bizarre entertainment. People buy it to look smart or because they’ve heard it’s a modern classic. But after a few chapters of Wallace’s dense, looping sentences, most readers drift away. The plot is slippery, the characters come and go, and the infamous “deadly entertainment cartridge” is more confusing than thrilling. Even those who make it halfway through often admit they’ve skipped the footnotes or lost track of the story entirely.

War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy

Owning War and Peace is a badge of honor. Actually reading it? That’s a whole different league. The novel sprawls for nearly 1,400 pages and features a dizzying array of Russian aristocrats with names that seem to multiply. Many people buy it to appear cultured or to decorate their shelves with Tolstoy’s gravitas. The historical backdrop is massive, and the philosophical digressions can derail even the most dedicated reader. It’s easy to start with enthusiasm, only to find yourself lost in battle scenes or lengthy discussions about fate and history. For most, War and Peace is a monument to good intentions, not a finished accomplishment.

Ulysses – James Joyce

Ulysses has a reputation that precedes it—dense, dazzling, and nearly unreadable. Its stream-of-consciousness style challenges even professors, who sometimes admit to only skimming parts. The novel follows Leopold Bloom for a single day in Dublin, but Joyce’s experimental language can feel like a maze. Sentences twist and turn, references pile up, and the plot dissolves into a whirlwind of thoughts and allusions. Many people buy Ulysses hoping to unlock literary genius, but most get stuck in the early chapters. Even fans confess it’s more a book to admire than to finish.

Moby-Dick – Herman Melville

“Call me Ishmael.” Almost everyone knows the iconic opening line, but few have waded through Melville’s masterpiece. The story of Captain Ahab’s quest for the white whale is buried under endless digressions about whale species, harpoons, and the nature of obsession. Some chapters read like a biology textbook, with pages devoted to the anatomy of whales and the history of whaling. Readers who start with excitement quickly find themselves bogged down by 19th-century prose and philosophical musings. Moby-Dick is a book people love to display, but rarely to discuss in detail.

Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand

Atlas Shrugged is a thick, ideological tome that has inspired fierce devotion—and fierce avoidance. Weighing in at over 1,200 pages, it’s famous for John Galt’s marathon radio speech, which alone runs to about 70 pages. Many people buy this novel hoping to understand Rand’s Objectivist philosophy but soon feel overwhelmed by the sheer density of her ideas and the length of her prose. The plot is often overshadowed by long-winded monologues and didactic dialogue. Even passionate fans admit they’ve skipped sections. It’s a book that’s easier to reference than to finish.

The Divine Comedy – Dante Alighieri

Everyone recognizes “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here,” but few have followed Dante’s footsteps through all three realms: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Divine Comedy is written in medieval Italian verse, and even in translation, its structure and references can be daunting. Most readers start with the gripping journey through Hell but lose steam in the more abstract and philosophical later parts. The poetry demands slow, careful reading, and the allegories can be puzzling. For many, it’s a book to quote, not to complete.

Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes

Don Quixote is often called the first modern novel, and nearly everyone knows the image of the windmill-tilting knight. Yet, the full story stretches across more than 900 pages of 17th-century Spanish satire. The language can feel archaic, and the plot meanders through a series of misadventures and digressions. While the humor and imagination are undeniable, sustaining momentum through hundreds of pages is a challenge. Most readers get the gist from summaries or adaptations, leaving the original novel largely untouched.

Gravity’s Rainbow – Thomas Pynchon

Gravity’s Rainbow is the kind of novel that inspires awe—and confusion. With its fragmented narrative, shifting perspectives, and offbeat humor, it’s a puzzle few have solved. The story spans World War II, rockets, paranoia, and surreal scenes that defy logic. Even fans of experimental fiction admit that Pynchon’s prose can be exhausting. Characters appear and disappear, the plot bends reality, and the sheer density of ideas can leave readers reeling. Owning Gravity’s Rainbow is like owning a Rubik’s Cube you’ve never solved.

Finnegans Wake – James Joyce

If Ulysses is famously difficult, Finnegans Wake is on another level entirely. Joyce wrote it in a dreamlike, invented language that blends puns, neologisms, and multilingual wordplay. The narrative loops and twists, making it nearly impossible to follow in a conventional sense. Most people buy it out of curiosity or literary ambition, only to stop after a few bewildering pages. Even scholars debate its meaning, and some claim it’s not meant to be read but experienced. It’s the ultimate “I tried, but nope” book.

Les Misérables – Victor Hugo

The musical has won hearts worldwide, but the novel it’s based on is a marathon. Les Misérables stretches for over 1,400 pages, weaving together the lives of dozens of characters against a backdrop of revolution and redemption. Along the way, Hugo takes frequent detours—sometimes for 50 pages or more—into topics like the history of Paris’s sewers or the workings of convents. These digressions, while fascinating to some, test the patience of most readers. Many fans of the story are content to know the main plot without slogging through every chapter.

Buddenbrooks – Thomas Mann

In Germany, Buddenbrooks is a rite of passage—a classic that everyone knows but few have truly read. Thomas Mann’s family saga follows the decline of a wealthy merchant family over generations. The pace is slow, with meticulous attention to detail and social customs. Even admirers of Mann’s later work, like The Magic Mountain, admit that Buddenbrooks is more admired than enjoyed. The novel is often read for school or to fulfill a cultural expectation, rather than for pleasure. It’s the kind of book that lingers on shelves, its spine barely cracked.