prendre la tête

to take the lead, to lead; to take the lead, to assume leadership, to become head; to pester; to get worked up (over), to let (something) get to one, to tie oneself in knots (with); to get into an argument

“Car il lit vite et beaucoup. Il aime les écrivains américains. Il les lit en français, sans se prendre la tête comme certains pédants qui refusent de lire des traductions.” — Because he reads quickly and he reads a lot. He likes American authors. He reads them in French, without getting worked up over it like some pretentious people who refuse to read translations.