Of the few classic books I’ve read completely—maybe twenty or thirty—I don’t think any of them are overrated. I’ve gotten hooked on all of them; I’ve enjoyed them. I share the opinion of many that they are true works of art. However, I’ve started reading some classics that I ended up leaving halfway through simply because I didn’t understand them. Maybe it’s just not my time or my place to read them yet, and I need a few more years before I can grasp what the author is trying to communicate.

This is my list of classic books I left unfinished because they’re not for me—at least not yet:

• A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
• Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
• Beloved – Toni Morrison
• Catch-22 – Joseph Heller