Insomnia – the word we would’ve loved as kids and hate as adults. Sleep deprivation sometimes feels like a curse – we get it. But who said insomnia can’t be managed? It’s so simple – get bored! Yes, get involved in something boring, and you won’t even realize how soon you’ll fall asleep like a baby! What can be more dull and boring than some junky books? So, only for you, here are some boring books to beat insomnia tonight!
Jack Kerouac’s ‘On The Road’ (1957)
It’s quite hard to believe that a book authored by one of the most renowned people from the Beat Generation can be so dull! Touted as an autobiography that speaks of being wild, carefree and ‘on the road’, this book shockingly manages to lull readers to sleep with its long winding sentences and painstakingly plain moment-to-moment narration.
Skip this one if you want to stay awake for the night. But if you want to find some good sleep, buy this book and read it.
Marcel Proust’s ‘Swann’s Way’ (1913)
Reading 24 pages from this book will give you a week’s sleep! While good descriptions by the narrator can often entice a reader to keep turning page after page, Proust’s Swann’s Way is morbidly descriptive – enough to put you to sleep in the blink of an eye.
What makes this one of the most boring books to beat insomnia? One scenic narration in the book about a young boy staring at a candlelight and reminiscing about his mother goes on for full 24 pages – if you have not had a good sleep for a fortnight, pick up this book and give it a good read.
Vladimir Nabokov’s ‘Pale Fire’ (1962)
This book is proof that a great title doesn’t make an epic read! Nabokov was quite renowned for his love for words. While a love for the written word often testifies to the author’s ability to pen an intriguing read, Nabokov’s fascination with word games don’t translate well in ‘Pale Fire’.
What begins as a 999- line long poem, followed by a story that explains the poem, and a non-linear plot that makes you wish you were rather stuck in haunted house with no exit – ‘Pale Fire’ is Nabokov’s guilty pleasure inked on paper, and a layman’s worst literary nightmare come to life!
Pick up this book if you want to fall into a deep, peaceful sleep. Boredom is promised!
Thomas Pynchon’s ‘Gravity’s Rainbow’ (1973)
Tip for the insomniacs: The more fancy a title sounds, the more boring and dull the book turns out to be!
If you manage to escape sleep after reading the first 50 words from this book, then you are beyond insomnia. But trust us, Gravity’s Rainbow makes zero sense.
With a jumbled order of words jumping out at the reader, one is often left to wonder how this book even got published in the first place! Dull, boring, senseless, and painful – Pynchon’s book reads like a character is trapped inside a hell house with no way out.
Inked to be read like some mentally disturbed person’s speech about his descent into hell, Gravity’s Rainbow will help you enter the paradise of sleep, surely.
Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ (1818)
Some books are so hyped that they reach the ‘Classics’ status. And you know what happens to books that are touted as ‘Classics’, right? They gather dust on the bookshelf, unless one fine day, they are shipped away to a second-hand store!
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is one such book. While the monster has achieved a cult status among the readers and non-readers alike, beyond the character of the monster, there’s nothing interesting in the entire book!
It is indeed one of the most boring books to beat insomnia. It’s so boring and dull that the most severe form of insomnia can be dealt with by reading just a few pages from this pitiful excuse of a novel.
With words like preambulations and salubrious scattered across the pages, you will fall asleep before you finish reading the entire word!
Herman Melville’s ‘Moby Dick’ (1851)
You know that saying – all that glitters is not gold. If this saying could be applied to a book, that book would be Moby Dick.
This is a book everyone’s excited to begin reading. But once they get their hands on it, they beat themselves up over the silliness of wanting to read it in the first place. Being a sailor in the nineteenth century – you know what that feels like? No? Do you want to know what it feels like? Moby Dick can describe it in the best and most boring way to you.
So, if you can’t sleep, read the adventure you’ll embark on. You’d rather sleep, even if you are an insomniac.
Leo Tolstoy’s ‘Anna Karenina’ (1878)
Okay, this one wouldn’t be a part of the most boring books to beat insomnia. Tolstoy is a master of his craft. But, if we were to read, care about, and relate to characters from 19th century’s Russian high society, well, we’d rather hit the pillow.
It’s a tedious read, this book. Because it’s not from our age. The characterization isn’t universal. And sadly, this book isn’t like Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Hamlet, or OIthello.
Since even the latter plays can make you snooze, Anna Karenina is a bad choice for those looking to have an interesting read. Needless to say, if you struggle with insomnia, Anna Karenina is available in a lot of bookshops for your aid!
That’s about it! These are some of the most boring books to beat insomnia. Read them, or at least try to – and wake up the next morning feeling well-slept!