it doesn’t have to be your favorite book or anything. It can be any book that you find yourself thinking of with a sense of pride for having read it.
Personally, I am really proud of myself for not DNFing A Little Life and pushing forward. I read a very good chunk of that book with tears running down my face–mind you, I was reading it on my phone during lectures for the entirety of my first semester last year–and I was always on the verge of putting it down just because of the horrible content. Also, it was pretty long; too long, actually. So when I was done, I was simultaneously Heartbroken, broken (just like in general), and relieved. It was truly a feat.
An honorable mention is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, because I swear to God I did not understand a single thing about it even 10 chapters in. Charles Dickens is too much.
You have to read each chapter with the study guide. It’s an effort but as you know, really worth it.
Is the study guide something you bought or did it come with one?
I bought one. The one I used was “The New Bloomsday Book” by Harry Blamires.
I had a copy that a girl had annotated while studying the book in college in the 1960s. This was fine and helpful. I still kind of started skimming after the brothel scene. WTF