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 — 137,543 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 556,811 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,045,960 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 916,522 ratings
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5

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3.90 avg rating — 2,031,818 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 364,710 ratings
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7

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3.68 avg rating — 13,604 ratings
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8

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3.53 avg rating — 237,465 ratings
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9

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3.93 avg rating — 7,026 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 205,454 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 507,569 ratings
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12

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4.10 avg rating — 927,426 ratings
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13

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3.91 avg rating — 236,860 ratings
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14

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3.86 avg rating — 181,907 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 301,989 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 195,563 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 47,882 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 345,321 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 98,419 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 336,903 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 29,894 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 276,101 ratings
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23

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4.39 avg rating — 384,054 ratings
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24

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3.84 avg rating — 221,639 ratings
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25

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4.45 avg rating — 316,585 ratings
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26

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4.01 avg rating — 48,042 ratings
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27

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4.03 avg rating — 334,002 ratings
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28

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3.99 avg rating — 2,067,220 ratings
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29

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4.44 avg rating — 632,844 ratings
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30

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3.38 avg rating — 179,363 ratings
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31

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4.21 avg rating — 216,021 ratings
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32

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4.11 avg rating — 541,330 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 199,157 ratings
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34

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4.20 avg rating — 5,420,426 ratings
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35

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3.57 avg rating — 614,127 ratings
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36

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4.03 avg rating — 990,778 ratings
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37

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4.10 avg rating — 1,478,218 ratings
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38

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3.98 avg rating — 124,775 ratings
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39

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3.91 avg rating — 1,871,412 ratings
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40

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3.96 avg rating — 21,768 ratings
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41

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3.98 avg rating — 129,908 ratings
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42

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3.69 avg rating — 406,401 ratings
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43

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4.07 avg rating — 334,417 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 66,613 ratings
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45

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3.76 avg rating — 98,959 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 362,843 ratings
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47

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3.19 avg rating — 19,575 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 459,808 ratings
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49

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4.28 avg rating — 417,677 ratings
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50

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4.10 avg rating — 53,557 ratings
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51

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4.17 avg rating — 28,205 ratings
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52

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3.84 avg rating — 11,263 ratings
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53

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,855,225 ratings
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54

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4.15 avg rating — 435,868 ratings
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55

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3.87 avg rating — 254,529 ratings
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56

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3.98 avg rating — 105,612 ratings
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57

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3.87 avg rating — 941,525 ratings
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58

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3.86 avg rating — 11,772 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 — 7,964 ratings
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61

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4.28 avg rating — 342,465 ratings
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62

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3.43 avg rating — 8,294 ratings
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63

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3.73 avg rating — 23,010 ratings
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63

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4.02 avg rating — 8,673 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 — 64,384 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 — 2,825 ratings
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69

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4.17 avg rating — 94,363 ratings
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70

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3.77 avg rating — 12,356 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 149,354 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 35,261 ratings
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72

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4.14 avg rating — 1,790 ratings
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72

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3.77 avg rating — 9,299 ratings
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72

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3.85 avg rating — 3,341 ratings
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76

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3.85 avg rating — 499 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 — 31,319 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 — 569 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 — 24,248 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 — 33,983 ratings
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86

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3.83 avg rating — 3,399 ratings
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88

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3.62 avg rating — 6,261 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 — 17,856 ratings
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89

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3.85 avg rating — 1,637 ratings
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92

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3.98 avg rating — 13,146 ratings
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93

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3.97 avg rating — 13,877 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 — 6,344 ratings
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97

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3.84 avg rating — 1,387 ratings
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98

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3.75 avg rating — 7,200 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 — 4,292 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. 1431 books
311 friends
Leslie 2867 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2373 books
4993 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 5042 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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