- Catch-22 tops the list of most confusing books to complete with 49,810 searches being made monthly to help break it down
- Animal Farm (27,790) and Lord of the Flies (24,270) follow behind in second and third place
- Disliking a character tops the list of reason people struggle to finish a book (83%), followed by lacking patience (78%) and the authors’ concept going over their head (71%)
When it comes to books, sometimes we end up taking on more than we expected. From unclear symbolism to hidden messages, which books confused us the most? Interested in finding out, OnBuy.com took to Ahrefs to see which books we Google the most each month and can reveal all.
Topping the list with a whopping 49,810 searches is war novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Before even getting into the content of the book, it seems many people had questions on what “Catch-22” means with 45,850 Google searches being made each month. The plot also seems to raise many questions for fans with 1,610 searches relating to wanting a summary and explanation on the ending.
In second place is Animal Farm by George Orwell with a total 27,790 searches relating to it. When looking at their findings, OnBuy.com found that people needed the most help with summarising the book – on average there are 17,300 related searches made each month. It seems that the hardest chapters to understand are 9 (350 monthly searches), 5 (450 monthly searches) and 7 (600 monthly searches).
Coming in third is Lord of the Flies by William Golding, with a total of 24,270 searches every month. Known for its symbolism and rich metaphors, it’s one that may require re-reading to understand. 700 searches are made each month to gain a further understanding of the meaning of Lord of the Flies and a total of 15,820 are made by people needing help with summarising the book, especially chapters 2 (1,600) and 9 (800).
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë takes fourth place as the book people seem to struggle with most (22,060). It seems like a major point of confusion for people is the plot of the story with 600 searches being made monthly for “Wuthering Heights plot”, as well as 200 for “Wuthering Heights timeline” and 600 need further help understanding “What is Wuthering Heights about”.
Joining the list of classics in fifth place is Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, raking in a total of 18,340 monthly searches. Known for its rich language and mixed character reviews there are many reasons to struggle with this book. So much so that on average each month 90 searches are made by people wanting to skip right to the end and find out “How does Jane Eyre end”, as well as 13,000 searches wanting a short and concise summary of the book.
Following behind in this study are Les Misérables (9,080) and Don Quixote (8,650) in sixth and seventh place, respectively. From the length of the books to their complexities, there are many difficulties to both.
Ulysses by James Joyce came in 8th place (6,330). Unsurprisingly due to its layered stream of consciousness, rich vocabulary and length, many find it to be a mission to complete, resulting in 40 for “How to understand Ulysses”, 300 searches are made on “How to read Ulysses”, as well as 2,740 searches wanting a summary of the book.
In ninth place is Moby Dick by Herman Melville (5,600). Said to use overly descriptive prose and complex references to the bible and mythology, it’s no wonder 4,400 searches are made each month for the book’s summary. As well as that, 500 searches are made monthly for “Moby Dick meaning” and 300 for “Moby Dick Metaphor”.
Completing the list is Life of Pi with a total of 5,080 searches a month. One element that people clearly struggled to get was the ending with 1,000 monthly searches being made for “Life of Pi ending”. 1,300 searches are made each month for the book’s explanation as well as 630 wanting a summary.
Survey reveals why we struggle with books
Interested in delving deeper and seeing what makes a book hard for readers to complete, OnBuy.com surveyed 3,205 people and received the following answers:
| Reason: | % that answered this: |
|---|---|
| Dislike characters | 83% |
| Lack the patience | 78% |
| Language used in book | 71% |
| Concept goes over their head | 66% |
| Length of the book | 64% |
At the top of the list is disliking characters (83%). When we can’t identify with them it can be hard to feel empathy and therefore means we begin to lack care for the outcome of their story.
In second was lacking the patience to finish a book (78%). Sometimes books can be slow burners and for some of us, it’s not ideal.
From using inconsistent writing styles to sloppy sentence structures there can be a lot that puts a reader off when it comes to the language used in a book as 71% of participants clearly agree with.
Completing the top five reasons for readers was the concept going over their head (66%) and the length of a book (64%).
All Inclusive
Luksusowy kwartalnik turystyczno-podróżniczy. Od 2004 roku opisujemy miejsca, do których warto lecieć dłużej niż na weekend, i ludzi, którzy je prowadzą.
