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 — 137,452 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 556,325 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,044,579 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 915,620 ratings
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5

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3.90 avg rating — 2,027,536 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 364,244 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 — 237,350 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 — 205,234 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 506,991 ratings
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12

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4.10 avg rating — 926,327 ratings
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13

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3.91 avg rating — 236,694 ratings
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14

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3.85 avg rating — 181,736 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 301,820 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 195,448 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 47,861 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 345,009 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 98,375 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 336,783 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 29,848 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 275,750 ratings
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23

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4.39 avg rating — 383,376 ratings
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24

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3.84 avg rating — 221,446 ratings
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25

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4.45 avg rating — 315,762 ratings
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26

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4.01 avg rating — 47,994 ratings
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27

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4.03 avg rating — 333,528 ratings
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28

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3.99 avg rating — 2,064,788 ratings
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29

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4.44 avg rating — 631,537 ratings
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30

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3.38 avg rating — 179,126 ratings
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31

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4.21 avg rating — 215,680 ratings
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32

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4.11 avg rating — 540,644 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 198,860 ratings
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34

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4.20 avg rating — 5,409,867 ratings
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35

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3.57 avg rating — 613,635 ratings
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36

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4.03 avg rating — 989,817 ratings
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37

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4.10 avg rating — 1,476,994 ratings
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38

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3.98 avg rating — 124,689 ratings
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39

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3.90 avg rating — 1,866,747 ratings
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40

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3.96 avg rating — 21,744 ratings
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41

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3.98 avg rating — 129,713 ratings
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42

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3.69 avg rating — 406,271 ratings
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43

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4.07 avg rating — 331,682 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 66,554 ratings
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45

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3.76 avg rating — 98,918 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 362,483 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 — 459,560 ratings
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49

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4.28 avg rating — 417,056 ratings
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50

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4.10 avg rating — 53,521 ratings
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51

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4.17 avg rating — 28,182 ratings
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52

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3.84 avg rating — 11,256 ratings
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53

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,854,579 ratings
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54

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4.15 avg rating — 435,584 ratings
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55

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3.87 avg rating — 254,354 ratings
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56

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3.98 avg rating — 105,556 ratings
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57

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3.87 avg rating — 940,554 ratings
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58

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3.86 avg rating — 11,763 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 — 7,958 ratings
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61

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4.28 avg rating — 341,327 ratings
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62

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3.43 avg rating — 8,288 ratings
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63

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3.73 avg rating — 23,008 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 — 94,331 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 — 149,268 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 35,205 ratings
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72

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4.14 avg rating — 1,787 ratings
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72

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3.76 avg rating — 9,292 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 — 24,229 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 — 33,955 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 — 6,254 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 — 17,833 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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