I am reading Jostein Gaarder's SOPHIE'S WORLD right now. I've been reading it for almost 10 months. No, I am not a sloooow reader. It's just that after reading the first few chapters, I got bored. But I've wanted to read it for the longest time, that I think I owe it to myself and the person who gave it to me (after I asked for it), to simply finish it.
I do like Sophie Amudsen's story, but I find the Philosophy lectures boring. I loved Philosophy when I was in AdMU but I think the way Gaarder presented it was cumbersome. I thought that she subtly put it in Philosophy tidbits within the main story. But that is not the case. Somebody has mentioned that it might be the fault of the translator. But I think not. It has something to do with the format, the flow of the novel itself It was structured in such a way that I think I am reading two books, a fiction novel and a Philosophy textbook.
