These are the books that we've all either HAD to read, or chose to read to see if we could. Some of these selections are re-reads; a new perspective gained with each page. These books run the gamut from confusing to difficult. Feel free to add your personal "nightmare" reading material!
1

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3.76 avg rating — 137,491 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 556,505 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,045,097 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 915,929 ratings
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5

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3.90 avg rating — 2,029,120 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 364,386 ratings
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7

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3.68 avg rating — 13,598 ratings
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8

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3.53 avg rating — 237,392 ratings
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9

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3.93 avg rating — 7,024 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 205,322 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 507,209 ratings
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12

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4.10 avg rating — 926,734 ratings
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13

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3.91 avg rating — 236,761 ratings
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14

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3.86 avg rating — 181,809 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 301,889 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 195,491 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 47,870 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 345,112 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 98,393 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 336,830 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 29,866 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 275,869 ratings
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23

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4.39 avg rating — 383,643 ratings
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24

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3.84 avg rating — 221,527 ratings
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25

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4.45 avg rating — 315,976 ratings
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26

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4.01 avg rating — 48,008 ratings
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27

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4.03 avg rating — 333,689 ratings
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28

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3.99 avg rating — 2,065,653 ratings
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29

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4.44 avg rating — 632,004 ratings
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30

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3.38 avg rating — 179,242 ratings
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31

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4.21 avg rating — 215,822 ratings
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32

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4.11 avg rating — 540,923 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 198,966 ratings
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34

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4.20 avg rating — 5,413,686 ratings
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35

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3.57 avg rating — 613,819 ratings
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36

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4.03 avg rating — 990,150 ratings
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37

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4.10 avg rating — 1,477,436 ratings
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38

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3.98 avg rating — 124,722 ratings
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39

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3.90 avg rating — 1,868,435 ratings
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40

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3.96 avg rating — 21,748 ratings
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41

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3.98 avg rating — 129,796 ratings
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42

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3.69 avg rating — 406,318 ratings
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43

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4.07 avg rating — 332,754 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 66,583 ratings
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45

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3.76 avg rating — 98,931 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 362,609 ratings
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47

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3.19 avg rating — 19,561 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 459,642 ratings
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49

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4.28 avg rating — 417,310 ratings
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50

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4.10 avg rating — 53,537 ratings
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51

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4.17 avg rating — 28,195 ratings
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52

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3.85 avg rating — 11,259 ratings
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53

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,854,783 ratings
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54

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4.15 avg rating — 435,700 ratings
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55

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3.87 avg rating — 254,412 ratings
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56

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3.98 avg rating — 105,577 ratings
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57

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3.87 avg rating — 940,915 ratings
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58

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3.86 avg rating — 11,770 ratings
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59

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3.48 avg rating — 157 ratings
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60

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3.53 avg rating — 7,962 ratings
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61

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4.28 avg rating — 341,764 ratings
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62

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3.43 avg rating — 8,292 ratings
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63

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3.73 avg rating — 23,009 ratings
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63

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4.02 avg rating — 8,672 ratings
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65

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4.80 avg rating — 5 ratings
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65

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4.13 avg rating — 64,356 ratings
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65

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4.83 avg rating — 112 ratings
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65

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3.46 avg rating — 2,824 ratings
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69

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4.17 avg rating — 94,338 ratings
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70

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3.77 avg rating — 12,353 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 149,305 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 35,227 ratings
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72

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4.14 avg rating — 1,789 ratings
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72

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3.77 avg rating — 9,293 ratings
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72

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3.85 avg rating — 3,340 ratings
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76

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3.86 avg rating — 498 ratings
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76

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4.25 avg rating — 2,253 ratings
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76

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4.09 avg rating — 31,309 ratings
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79

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3.95 avg rating — 721 ratings
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79

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3.27 avg rating — 701 ratings
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79

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4.11 avg rating — 570 ratings
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79

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3.58 avg rating — 342 ratings
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83

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3.79 avg rating — 24,239 ratings
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83

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3.89 avg rating — 2,752 ratings
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83

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3.39 avg rating — 263 ratings
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86

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3.94 avg rating — 33,966 ratings
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86

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3.83 avg rating — 3,398 ratings
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88

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3.62 avg rating — 6,257 ratings
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89

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3.18 avg rating — 225 ratings
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89

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4.05 avg rating — 17,836 ratings
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89

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3.85 avg rating — 1,638 ratings
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92

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3.98 avg rating — 13,147 ratings
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93

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3.97 avg rating — 13,875 ratings
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94

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3.60 avg rating — 30 ratings
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95

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liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
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96

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4.02 avg rating — 6,341 ratings
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97

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3.84 avg rating — 1,383 ratings
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98

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3.75 avg rating — 7,199 ratings
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99

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3.90 avg rating — 1,236 ratings
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100

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3.85 avg rating — 4,291 ratings
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102 books · 102 voters · list created June 18th, 2009 by Tara Lynn (votes) .
36 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Tara 2340 books
189 friends
Cristen 234 books
45 friends
A.M. 1430 books
311 friends
Leslie 2866 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2372 books
4993 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 5039 books
240 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-6 of 6 (6 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by A.M. (new)

A.M. Great list; I always feel so guilty when I don't finish a book, but sometimes it is just impossible!


message 2: by Whitney FI (new)

Whitney FI I finished all the books for which I voted, but all took ample research, contemplation and discussion. It's those books that challenge, which are more rewarding, at least for me, in the end.


message 3: by Andrew (last edited Apr 22, 2014 11:40PM) (new)

Andrew Obrigewitsch Who is voting on this list? The Phantom of the Opera is only hard to read if you think Twilight is high literature.

Same goes for Brave New World, 1984, anything by John Steinbeck, The Shadow of the Torturer (not hard but it is weird), Fahrenheit 451 (this book is super easy to read actually) and I'm sure at least half the books I haven't read on this list are not that hard.

I would say that, "Heart of Darkness and the Congo Diary" is medium difficulty, above those listed above, but I didn't find it difficult either. The only book on hear I didn't finish was The Silmarillion, because it was just boring and felt like reading a really dry history book taken from the Bible.


message 4: by Milo (new)

Milo I agree with The Silmarillion, Andrews, but am surprised anyone found Fahrenheit 451 hard to read. Perhaps the list also includes books people were forced to read in class, when they weren't in the mood.


message 5: by A.M. (new)

A.M. Andrew wrote: "Who is voting on this list? The Phantom of the Opera is only hard to read if you think Twilight is high literature."

I think the list has changed since I last looked at it - just reviewed it all now and there's quite a few titles on there that I've read and not found difficult. But I suppose each person has their own standards of what they find difficult...


message 6: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Jun 30, 2019 05:50AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Andrew wrote: "Who is voting on this list? The Phantom of the Opera is only hard to read if you think Twilight is high literature.

Same goes for Brave New World, 1984, anything by John Steinbeck, The Shadow of t..."


I'm sorry to disagree but Nineteen Eighty-Four (#48) was not exactly an 'easy' read for me either. I read books which others found difficult and vice versa. I agree with A.M. on this, what's easy for some isn't easy for another.

Beowulf (#20), for instance, is a great read, but to say it is easy? Not in my opinion....

Besides, the description clearly says These books run the gamut from confusing to difficult.


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