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 — 137,454 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 556,351 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,044,651 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 915,646 ratings
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5

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3.90 avg rating — 2,027,772 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 364,259 ratings
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7

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3.68 avg rating — 13,596 ratings
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8

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3.53 avg rating — 237,351 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 — 205,250 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 507,017 ratings
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12

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4.10 avg rating — 926,365 ratings
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13

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3.91 avg rating — 236,705 ratings
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14

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3.85 avg rating — 181,746 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 301,825 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 195,455 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 47,862 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 345,023 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 98,377 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 336,793 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 29,850 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 275,766 ratings
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23

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4.39 avg rating — 383,420 ratings
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24

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3.84 avg rating — 221,461 ratings
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25

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4.45 avg rating — 315,784 ratings
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26

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4.01 avg rating — 47,996 ratings
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27

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4.03 avg rating — 333,553 ratings
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28

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3.99 avg rating — 2,064,902 ratings
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29

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4.44 avg rating — 631,579 ratings
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30

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3.38 avg rating — 179,144 ratings
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31

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4.21 avg rating — 215,706 ratings
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32

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4.11 avg rating — 540,695 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 198,865 ratings
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34

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4.20 avg rating — 5,410,352 ratings
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35

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3.57 avg rating — 613,656 ratings
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36

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4.03 avg rating — 989,859 ratings
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37

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4.10 avg rating — 1,477,038 ratings
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38

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3.98 avg rating — 124,693 ratings
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39

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3.90 avg rating — 1,866,979 ratings
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40

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3.96 avg rating — 21,745 ratings
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41

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3.98 avg rating — 129,729 ratings
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42

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3.69 avg rating — 406,278 ratings
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43

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4.07 avg rating — 331,865 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 66,557 ratings
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45

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3.76 avg rating — 98,921 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 362,493 ratings
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47

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3.19 avg rating — 19,556 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 459,569 ratings
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49

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4.28 avg rating — 417,093 ratings
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50

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4.10 avg rating — 53,527 ratings
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51

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4.17 avg rating — 28,185 ratings
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52

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3.85 avg rating — 11,257 ratings
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53

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,854,597 ratings
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54

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4.15 avg rating — 435,594 ratings
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55

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3.87 avg rating — 254,358 ratings
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56

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3.98 avg rating — 105,560 ratings
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57

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3.87 avg rating — 940,602 ratings
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58

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3.86 avg rating — 11,765 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 — 7,960 ratings
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61

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4.28 avg rating — 341,382 ratings
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62

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3.43 avg rating — 8,289 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 — 64,343 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 — 2,822 ratings
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69

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4.17 avg rating — 94,333 ratings
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70

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3.77 avg rating — 12,347 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 149,274 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 35,208 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 — 3,338 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 — 2,252 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 — 719 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 — 24,232 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 — 33,956 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 — 1,640 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 2864 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2372 books
4993 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 5037 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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