>>>>>>>>>>I'm not sure which books I have read most often. "The World According To Garp", "The Catcher in the Rye", and "Crime and Punishment" all have to be up there.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>Is 'Crime and Punishment' a full edition?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Full in what sense? It seems full enough to me. The most recent, and best, edition I have is the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I meant that many famous books are printed in USA in brief version, i.e. text reduced by few times. If you have a full edition, it should be a big folio, then I have another question. Did you read it in entirety?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Yes, of course I read it in its entirety. The edition I mentioned runs to 551 pages. Karamazov is even longer.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I'm not sure which U.S. editions of famous books you are referring to. There are abridged versions but the full versions are readily available as far as I know.
>>>>>
>>>>>You are the only person I ever seen (no kidding) who was able to read a Dostoyevsky's book in entirety.
>>>>
>>>>I read The Idiot too. I have to admit though, that I find most translations of Russian authors read too much like first grade primers. My dad was fluent in Russian of course, and he didn't much care for most translations either.
>>>
>>>Dostoyevsky is the least readable author among Russian classical writers. One must be extremely dedicated to reading to get it to the end.
>>
>>I liked some of his books in my youth, my favorite was "Unizhennye and oskorblennye" (don't know how to translate correctly). But I don't think I either re-read any of his books... And lots of other authors I read and re-read...
>
>Once I decided that I should read one book at least (i was a very ardent reader in my young age). Before that it worked with 'War and Peace' (full academic edition). However, I failed with 'Karamazov Brothers'. It was impossible.

Once I start to read a book, I tend to slog on to the end regardless because I hate to be defeated. The only book I can think of that did beat me though, was Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. I managed about 150 pages or so, and then I realized that if I kept going, I'd probably start asking strangers on the street to just shoot me.