,

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 — 137,942 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 558,942 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,051,942 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 920,487 ratings
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5

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3.90 avg rating — 2,057,928 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 366,138 ratings
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7

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3.53 avg rating — 238,047 ratings
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8

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3.93 avg rating — 7,027 ratings
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9

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3.68 avg rating — 13,645 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 206,390 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 510,155 ratings
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12

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4.10 avg rating — 932,555 ratings
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13

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3.91 avg rating — 237,595 ratings
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14

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3.86 avg rating — 182,781 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 302,818 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 196,165 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 48,009 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 346,926 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 98,675 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 337,487 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 30,008 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 277,744 ratings
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23

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4.39 avg rating — 387,080 ratings
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24

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3.84 avg rating — 222,462 ratings
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25

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4.45 avg rating — 318,612 ratings
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26

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4.01 avg rating — 48,283 ratings
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27

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4.04 avg rating — 336,125 ratings
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28

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3.99 avg rating — 2,079,256 ratings
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29

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4.44 avg rating — 639,927 ratings
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30

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3.38 avg rating — 180,357 ratings
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31

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4.21 avg rating — 217,795 ratings
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32

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4.11 avg rating — 544,605 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 200,772 ratings
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34

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4.20 avg rating — 5,470,029 ratings
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35

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3.57 avg rating — 616,291 ratings
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36

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4.03 avg rating — 995,166 ratings
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37

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4.10 avg rating — 1,484,421 ratings
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38

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3.98 avg rating — 125,241 ratings
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39

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3.91 avg rating — 1,892,388 ratings
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40

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3.96 avg rating — 21,846 ratings
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41

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3.98 avg rating — 130,966 ratings
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42

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3.69 avg rating — 407,138 ratings
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43

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4.07 avg rating — 346,843 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 66,762 ratings
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45

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3.76 avg rating — 99,180 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 364,664 ratings
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47

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3.19 avg rating — 19,648 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 460,951 ratings
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49

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4.28 avg rating — 421,172 ratings
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50

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4.10 avg rating — 53,663 ratings
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51

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4.17 avg rating — 28,424 ratings
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52

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3.84 avg rating — 11,288 ratings
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53

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,858,359 ratings
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54

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4.15 avg rating — 437,321 ratings
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55

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3.87 avg rating — 255,316 ratings
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56

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3.98 avg rating — 105,976 ratings
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57

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3.87 avg rating — 946,494 ratings
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58

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3.86 avg rating — 11,823 ratings
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59

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3.47 avg rating — 158 ratings
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60

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3.53 avg rating — 8,009 ratings
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61

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4.28 avg rating — 349,679 ratings
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62

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3.43 avg rating — 8,340 ratings
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63

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3.73 avg rating — 23,023 ratings
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63

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4.02 avg rating — 8,693 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 — 64,564 ratings
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65

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4.83 avg rating — 111 ratings
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65

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3.46 avg rating — 2,835 ratings
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69

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4.17 avg rating — 94,514 ratings
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70

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3.77 avg rating — 12,424 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 149,794 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 35,533 ratings
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72

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4.15 avg rating — 1,804 ratings
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72

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3.77 avg rating — 9,313 ratings
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72

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3.85 avg rating — 3,360 ratings
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76

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3.85 avg rating — 502 ratings
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76

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4.25 avg rating — 2,258 ratings
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76

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4.09 avg rating — 31,409 ratings
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79

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3.95 avg rating — 728 ratings
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79

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3.27 avg rating — 704 ratings
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79

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4.11 avg rating — 571 ratings
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79

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3.59 avg rating — 343 ratings
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83

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3.79 avg rating — 24,341 ratings
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83

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3.88 avg rating — 2,764 ratings
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83

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3.39 avg rating — 264 ratings
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86

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3.94 avg rating — 34,150 ratings
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86

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3.83 avg rating — 3,410 ratings
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88

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3.62 avg rating — 6,298 ratings
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89

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3.18 avg rating — 224 ratings
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89

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4.05 avg rating — 17,961 ratings
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89

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3.85 avg rating — 1,646 ratings
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92

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3.98 avg rating — 13,167 ratings
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93

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3.97 avg rating — 13,910 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 — 6,348 ratings
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97

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3.84 avg rating — 1,419 ratings
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98

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3.75 avg rating — 7,218 ratings
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99

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3.90 avg rating — 1,239 ratings
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100

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3.85 avg rating — 4,299 ratings
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102 books · 101 voters · list created June 18th, 2009 by Tara Lynn (votes) .
36 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Tara 2342 books
192 friends
Cristen 234 books
45 friends
A.M. 1431 books
310 friends
Leslie 2871 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2374 books
4992 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 5059 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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