I've long had a desire to read more Great Books of the Western Canon. I've tried a few and was surprised at how good they were, Plutarch's Lives is one. But some can be quite turgid or boring. Think about how old these books are. I remember thinking "this book
might be interesting if there was no internet, if there was no television, if I could not afford to go to plays or movies, if there was no radio etc... I.e. it was probably fascinating to people at the time it was written, but my modern addled attention span is having a hard time with it."

Perhaps when I retire (next year?) I'll spend more time on great books; I find patience is required.
St John's College has a curriculum based on great books.
https://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/u ... ading-listHarold Bloom's list of The Western Canon
http://sonic.net/~rteeter/grtbloom.html