[stoolpigeon]

I've tried 3 times. Haven't made it through yet.

Tolstoy on the other hand, Anna Karenina I binged and had done in like a week (on vacation, reading a good portion of my time)

[bombcar]

Get a good audio book version; I find that someone properly pronouncing the names helps with things like War and Peace or the Silmarillion.

[vehementi]

Audiobooks are also great for slogs. You just keep walking, and the boring part of the book just keeps happening at you. No getting distracted and putting the book down etc.