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.
I am most proud of finishing the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
While I LOVE Tolkien’s worldbuilding I just don’t vibe with his writing style. Halfway theough book 2 my ex said “No issue if you want to quit now, so many women stop the series there. No shame.” The sheer spite after that sentence made me finish the trilogy (and I did like book 3 more than 2).
You go girl! I started reading because of The Hobbit. My mom was reading it to me and my sister. She would stop as soon as my sister fell asleep. I started reading myself because i wanted to know what happened some time before i was able to have my own children. It’s only like 88 pages! And a new reader was born! You want your children to read?? Read a book they want to hear and stop 15 pages in.