Here is my embarrassing list.
=Noteworthy
1984 by George Orwell
Catch-22 Joseph Heller
Dune by Frank Herbert
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
=Less Noteworthy
Black Sea Gods by Brian Braden
Mythos by Stephen Fry
Smallworld by Dominic Green
The One by John Marrs
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
I'm pretty stubborn when it comes to finishing books generally, unless they're just generic trashy NYT bestseller stuff.
One on my list bugging me though: Three Body Problem. I got it on audiobook, but its too dense for that format. I need a physical copy.
I just finished the three body problem on audiobook a few days ago, it definitely would've been better to read a hard copy of it but I still found it to be absolutely amazing. As a huge space nerd, certain parts of that book created amazing visuals in my head that fascinate me, I've gone back and reread certain scenes multiple times just because they amaze me to think about.
Almost done the 2nd book and it's a lot more boring than the first but the end picks up quite a bit at least and I hear the 3rd book is great.
Books creating visuals and ideas that are fascinating and demand further exploration and thinking are my favorite thing about books.
I enjoyed 3BP, but you are right.