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 — 140,439 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 569,466 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,077,533 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 934,271 ratings
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5

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3.89 avg rating — 2,248,656 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 373,667 ratings
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7

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3.53 avg rating — 240,557 ratings
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8

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3.93 avg rating — 7,061 ratings
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9

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3.68 avg rating — 13,805 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 210,680 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 524,841 ratings
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12

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3.91 avg rating — 241,703 ratings
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13

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4.11 avg rating — 954,523 ratings
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14

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3.86 avg rating — 186,302 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 306,838 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 199,528 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 48,924 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 352,960 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 100,034 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 340,134 ratings
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21

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4.06 avg rating — 30,904 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 285,101 ratings
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23

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3.84 avg rating — 226,730 ratings
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24

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4.02 avg rating — 49,533 ratings
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25

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4.04 avg rating — 344,559 ratings
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26

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4.39 avg rating — 404,518 ratings
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27

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3.98 avg rating — 2,125,348 ratings
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28

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4.45 avg rating — 683,383 ratings
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29

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3.38 avg rating — 185,137 ratings
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30

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4.21 avg rating — 226,530 ratings
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31

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4.10 avg rating — 559,123 ratings
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32

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4.45 avg rating — 325,051 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 208,577 ratings
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34

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3.57 avg rating — 628,202 ratings
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35

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4.03 avg rating — 1,014,612 ratings
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36

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4.10 avg rating — 1,510,999 ratings
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37

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3.98 avg rating — 127,623 ratings
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38

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3.92 avg rating — 1,965,151 ratings
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39

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3.96 avg rating — 22,316 ratings
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40

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3.98 avg rating — 136,949 ratings
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41

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3.69 avg rating — 410,338 ratings
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42

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4.20 avg rating — 5,653,076 ratings
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43

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4.06 avg rating — 407,458 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 67,736 ratings
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45

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3.77 avg rating — 100,116 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 373,019 ratings
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47

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3.20 avg rating — 20,016 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 465,297 ratings
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49

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4.10 avg rating — 54,191 ratings
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50

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4.17 avg rating — 29,400 ratings
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51

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,871,687 ratings
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52

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3.84 avg rating — 11,397 ratings
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53

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4.15 avg rating — 444,883 ratings
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54

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3.88 avg rating — 260,224 ratings
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55

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3.98 avg rating — 108,118 ratings
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56

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4.28 avg rating — 438,642 ratings
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57

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3.86 avg rating — 12,116 ratings
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58

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3.48 avg rating — 160 ratings
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59

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3.52 avg rating — 8,225 ratings
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60

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4.28 avg rating — 369,970 ratings
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61

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3.42 avg rating — 8,567 ratings
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62

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3.72 avg rating — 23,209 ratings
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62

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4.02 avg rating — 8,845 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 — 65,442 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 — 2,905 ratings
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68

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4.17 avg rating — 95,194 ratings
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69

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3.87 avg rating — 967,211 ratings
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70

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3.78 avg rating — 12,931 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 152,267 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 37,088 ratings
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72

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4.15 avg rating — 1,884 ratings
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72

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3.77 avg rating — 9,452 ratings
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72

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3.86 avg rating — 3,450 ratings
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76

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3.84 avg rating — 508 ratings
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76

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4.25 avg rating — 2,273 ratings
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76

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4.09 avg rating — 31,840 ratings
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76

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4.02 avg rating — 982 ratings
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80

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3.95 avg rating — 753 ratings
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80

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3.27 avg rating — 709 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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3.61 avg rating — 352 ratings
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84

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3.79 avg rating — 24,978 ratings
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84

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3.88 avg rating — 2,795 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 — 35,028 ratings
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87

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3.83 avg rating — 3,481 ratings
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89

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3.63 avg rating — 6,556 ratings
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90

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3.18 avg rating — 228 ratings
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90

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4.05 avg rating — 18,600 ratings
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90

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3.85 avg rating — 1,711 ratings
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93

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3.98 avg rating — 13,299 ratings
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94

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3.97 avg rating — 14,061 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 — 6,410 ratings
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98

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3.85 avg rating — 1,623 ratings
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99

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3.75 avg rating — 7,334 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 2384 books
192 friends
Cristen 234 books
45 friends
A.M. 1430 books
309 friends
Leslie 2901 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2370 books
4988 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 5178 books
239 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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