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 — 137,209 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 554,831 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,040,683 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 913,440 ratings
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5

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3.90 avg rating — 2,015,805 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 363,067 ratings
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7

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3.68 avg rating — 13,572 ratings
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8

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3.53 avg rating — 236,959 ratings
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9

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3.93 avg rating — 7,020 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 204,568 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 505,338 ratings
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12

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4.10 avg rating — 923,363 ratings
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13

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3.91 avg rating — 236,140 ratings
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14

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3.85 avg rating — 181,106 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 301,303 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 195,023 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 47,771 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 344,131 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 98,197 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 336,378 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 29,755 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 274,576 ratings
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23

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4.39 avg rating — 381,734 ratings
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24

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3.84 avg rating — 220,816 ratings
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25

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4.45 avg rating — 314,620 ratings
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26

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4.01 avg rating — 47,837 ratings
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27

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4.03 avg rating — 332,371 ratings
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28

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3.99 avg rating — 2,057,956 ratings
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29

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4.44 avg rating — 627,260 ratings
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30

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3.38 avg rating — 178,299 ratings
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31

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4.21 avg rating — 214,490 ratings
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32

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4.11 avg rating — 538,450 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 197,888 ratings
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34

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4.20 avg rating — 5,383,098 ratings
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35

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3.56 avg rating — 612,109 ratings
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36

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4.03 avg rating — 987,274 ratings
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37

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4.10 avg rating — 1,473,394 ratings
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38

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3.98 avg rating — 124,344 ratings
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39

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3.90 avg rating — 1,855,042 ratings
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40

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3.96 avg rating — 21,675 ratings
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41

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3.98 avg rating — 128,952 ratings
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42

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3.69 avg rating — 405,818 ratings
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43

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4.08 avg rating — 323,054 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 66,422 ratings
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45

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3.76 avg rating — 98,785 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 361,389 ratings
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47

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3.19 avg rating — 19,510 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 458,978 ratings
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49

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4.28 avg rating — 414,904 ratings
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50

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4.10 avg rating — 53,412 ratings
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51

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4.17 avg rating — 28,057 ratings
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52

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3.84 avg rating — 11,235 ratings
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53

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,853,179 ratings
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54

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4.15 avg rating — 434,547 ratings
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55

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3.87 avg rating — 253,782 ratings
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56

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3.97 avg rating — 105,314 ratings
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57

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3.87 avg rating — 937,524 ratings
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58

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3.86 avg rating — 11,720 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 — 7,922 ratings
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61

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4.28 avg rating — 338,204 ratings
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62

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3.43 avg rating — 8,254 ratings
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63

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3.73 avg rating — 22,967 ratings
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63

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4.02 avg rating — 8,658 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 — 64,225 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 — 2,816 ratings
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69

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4.17 avg rating — 94,251 ratings
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70

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3.77 avg rating — 12,307 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 148,950 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 34,998 ratings
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72

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4.14 avg rating — 1,777 ratings
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72

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3.77 avg rating — 9,275 ratings
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72

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3.85 avg rating — 3,320 ratings
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76

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3.86 avg rating — 496 ratings
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76

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4.25 avg rating — 2,246 ratings
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76

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4.09 avg rating — 31,247 ratings
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79

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3.95 avg rating — 713 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 — 341 ratings
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83

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3.79 avg rating — 24,168 ratings
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83

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3.89 avg rating — 2,742 ratings
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83

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3.38 avg rating — 260 ratings
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86

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3.94 avg rating — 33,836 ratings
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86

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3.84 avg rating — 3,388 ratings
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88

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3.62 avg rating — 6,212 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 — 17,732 ratings
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89

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3.85 avg rating — 1,630 ratings
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92

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3.98 avg rating — 13,140 ratings
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93

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3.97 avg rating — 13,857 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 — 6,336 ratings
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97

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3.84 avg rating — 1,361 ratings
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98

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3.75 avg rating — 7,179 ratings
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99

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3.90 avg rating — 1,233 ratings
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100

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3.85 avg rating — 4,284 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 2334 books
190 friends
Cristen 234 books
45 friends
A.M. 1430 books
311 friends
Leslie 2857 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2370 books
4993 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 5022 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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