[Cadaverous Pallor]

Hawking's History of Time does not belong on that list. It is completely accessible, IMHO. If you're even partially interested, go for it.

I read Satanic Verses in high school. I was a library TA and someone donated the book to the library. The librarian didn't add it to the collection, mostly because we had very little room to add anything. My interest was peaked due to the controversy, so I borrowed it and sped through it without understanding one lick of it.

Christmas Carol was ok. Tried multiple times to read Quixote, couldn't get far. Read about half of Moby Dick but eventually realized I had no interest at all in continuing. The rest I never even felt like trying.