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 — 137,468 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 556,402 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,044,844 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 915,735 ratings
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5

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3.90 avg rating — 2,028,272 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 364,307 ratings
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7

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3.68 avg rating — 13,597 ratings
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8

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3.53 avg rating — 237,365 ratings
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9

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3.93 avg rating — 7,025 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 205,273 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 507,082 ratings
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12

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4.10 avg rating — 926,482 ratings
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13

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3.91 avg rating — 236,726 ratings
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14

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3.86 avg rating — 181,763 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 301,845 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 195,466 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 47,868 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 345,053 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 98,380 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 336,804 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 29,857 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 275,803 ratings
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23

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4.39 avg rating — 383,515 ratings
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24

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3.84 avg rating — 221,482 ratings
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25

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4.45 avg rating — 315,837 ratings
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26

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4.01 avg rating — 48,000 ratings
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27

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4.03 avg rating — 333,596 ratings
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28

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3.99 avg rating — 2,065,187 ratings
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29

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4.44 avg rating — 631,736 ratings
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30

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3.38 avg rating — 179,182 ratings
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31

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4.21 avg rating — 215,750 ratings
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32

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4.11 avg rating — 540,775 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 198,894 ratings
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34

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4.20 avg rating — 5,411,604 ratings
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35

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3.57 avg rating — 613,718 ratings
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36

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4.03 avg rating — 989,967 ratings
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37

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4.10 avg rating — 1,477,188 ratings
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38

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3.98 avg rating — 124,704 ratings
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39

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3.90 avg rating — 1,867,532 ratings
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40

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3.96 avg rating — 21,747 ratings
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41

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3.98 avg rating — 129,755 ratings
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42

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3.69 avg rating — 406,291 ratings
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43

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4.07 avg rating — 332,189 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 66,568 ratings
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45

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3.76 avg rating — 98,927 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 362,547 ratings
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47

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3.19 avg rating — 19,560 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 459,592 ratings
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49

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4.28 avg rating — 417,172 ratings
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50

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4.10 avg rating — 53,529 ratings
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51

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4.17 avg rating — 28,189 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 — 1,854,639 ratings
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54

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4.15 avg rating — 435,620 ratings
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55

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3.87 avg rating — 254,382 ratings
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56

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3.98 avg rating — 105,565 ratings
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57

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3.87 avg rating — 940,720 ratings
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58

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3.86 avg rating — 11,766 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 — 7,961 ratings
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61

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4.28 avg rating — 341,510 ratings
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62

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3.43 avg rating — 8,291 ratings
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63

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3.73 avg rating — 23,007 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 — 64,349 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 — 94,336 ratings
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70

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3.77 avg rating — 12,348 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 149,290 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 35,215 ratings
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72

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4.14 avg rating — 1,788 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 — 31,308 ratings
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79

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3.95 avg rating — 720 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 — 24,237 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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3.38 avg rating — 262 ratings
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86

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3.94 avg rating — 33,959 ratings
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86

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3.83 avg rating — 3,397 ratings
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88

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3.62 avg rating — 6,255 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 — 17,832 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 — 13,873 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 — 7,197 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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