Every year I try to read one intimidating (or lengthy or dense or “difficult”) book to not only try to better improve my reading skills, but because there are also just a lot of books I’ve been wanting to read and have been a lil too scared to jump in.

I’ve been thinking about next year and what book I might choose, and I’ve been wanting to get into reading more Greek lit, especially the epics, for a long time. I own both The Iliad and The Odyssey, but not sure which one is best to start with. What would you guys recommend? Anything I should know before diving in? Any tips?

Also, I’m not the most…advanced or “intellectual” reader (hence the whole trying to read more challenging books thing) and a part of me is a bit intimidated and worried I’ll have a hard time understanding what’s going on. So any tips or thoughts on that would be much appreciated too! . . . Some background if it’s helpful: I read Edith Hamilton’s Mythology and a couple of excerpts from The Odyssey 10ish years ago for high school. I have a pretty good general understanding of the events that occur in The Odyssey (thanks to a “dumbed” down middle grade book version I read not too long ago and EPIC: The Musical [I know quite a few liberties were taken with the latter]). I know next to nothing about the Iliad.