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 — 140,147 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 568,296 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,075,188 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 932,818 ratings
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5

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3.89 avg rating — 2,239,008 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 372,809 ratings
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7

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3.53 avg rating — 240,265 ratings
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8

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3.93 avg rating — 7,055 ratings
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9

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3.68 avg rating — 13,786 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 210,159 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 523,116 ratings
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12

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3.91 avg rating — 241,314 ratings
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13

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4.11 avg rating — 952,147 ratings
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14

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3.86 avg rating — 185,876 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 306,349 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 199,094 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 48,800 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 352,326 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 99,850 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 339,838 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 30,809 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 284,287 ratings
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23

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3.84 avg rating — 226,288 ratings
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24

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4.02 avg rating — 49,431 ratings
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25

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4.04 avg rating — 343,681 ratings
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26

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4.39 avg rating — 402,642 ratings
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27

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3.98 avg rating — 2,120,251 ratings
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28

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4.45 avg rating — 676,904 ratings
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29

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3.38 avg rating — 184,553 ratings
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30

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4.21 avg rating — 225,568 ratings
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31

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4.10 avg rating — 557,567 ratings
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32

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4.45 avg rating — 324,288 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 207,602 ratings
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34

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3.57 avg rating — 626,817 ratings
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35

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4.03 avg rating — 1,012,224 ratings
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36

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4.10 avg rating — 1,508,009 ratings
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37

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3.98 avg rating — 127,399 ratings
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38

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3.92 avg rating — 1,958,378 ratings
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39

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3.96 avg rating — 22,264 ratings
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40

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3.98 avg rating — 136,304 ratings
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41

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3.69 avg rating — 410,000 ratings
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42

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4.20 avg rating — 5,633,135 ratings
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43

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4.06 avg rating — 397,365 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 67,604 ratings
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45

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3.77 avg rating — 100,000 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 372,154 ratings
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47

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3.20 avg rating — 19,980 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 464,790 ratings
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49

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4.10 avg rating — 54,136 ratings
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50

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4.17 avg rating — 29,286 ratings
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51

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,870,347 ratings
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52

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3.84 avg rating — 11,381 ratings
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53

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4.15 avg rating — 444,032 ratings
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54

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3.88 avg rating — 259,702 ratings
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55

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3.98 avg rating — 107,868 ratings
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56

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4.28 avg rating — 436,696 ratings
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57

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3.86 avg rating — 12,092 ratings
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58

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3.47 avg rating — 159 ratings
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59

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3.52 avg rating — 8,197 ratings
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60

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4.28 avg rating — 367,716 ratings
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61

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3.42 avg rating — 8,547 ratings
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62

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3.72 avg rating — 23,210 ratings
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62

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4.02 avg rating — 8,831 ratings
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64

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4.80 avg rating — 5 ratings
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64

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4.13 avg rating — 65,356 ratings
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64

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4.83 avg rating — 114 ratings
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64

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3.47 avg rating — 2,894 ratings
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68

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4.17 avg rating — 95,104 ratings
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69

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3.87 avg rating — 965,188 ratings
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70

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3.78 avg rating — 12,878 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 151,964 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 36,910 ratings
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72

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4.15 avg rating — 1,877 ratings
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72

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3.77 avg rating — 9,437 ratings
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72

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3.86 avg rating — 3,437 ratings
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76

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3.84 avg rating — 507 ratings
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76

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4.25 avg rating — 2,268 ratings
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76

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4.09 avg rating — 31,802 ratings
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76

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4.02 avg rating — 981 ratings
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80

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3.95 avg rating — 747 ratings
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80

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3.27 avg rating — 708 ratings
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80

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4.11 avg rating — 576 ratings
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80

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3.60 avg rating — 351 ratings
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84

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3.79 avg rating — 24,919 ratings
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84

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3.88 avg rating — 2,793 ratings
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84

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3.41 avg rating — 269 ratings
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87

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3.94 avg rating — 34,929 ratings
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87

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3.83 avg rating — 3,477 ratings
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89

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3.63 avg rating — 6,533 ratings
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90

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3.19 avg rating — 227 ratings
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90

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4.05 avg rating — 18,534 ratings
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90

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3.84 avg rating — 1,706 ratings
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93

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3.98 avg rating — 13,287 ratings
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94

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3.97 avg rating — 14,050 ratings
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95

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3.60 avg rating — 30 ratings
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96

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liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
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97

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4.02 avg rating — 6,400 ratings
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98

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3.84 avg rating — 1,590 ratings
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99

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3.75 avg rating — 7,331 ratings
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100

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3.90 avg rating — 1,265 ratings
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106 books · 100 voters · list created June 18th, 2009 by Tara Lynn (votes) .
36 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Tara 2379 books
193 friends
Cristen 234 books
45 friends
A.M. 1424 books
309 friends
Leslie 2899 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2371 books
4988 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 5157 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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