,

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 — 139,500 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 565,545 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,069,107 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 929,279 ratings
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5

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3.90 avg rating — 2,213,422 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 370,777 ratings
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7

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3.53 avg rating — 239,583 ratings
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8

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3.93 avg rating — 7,052 ratings
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9

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3.68 avg rating — 13,724 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 209,131 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 519,638 ratings
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12

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3.91 avg rating — 240,239 ratings
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13

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4.11 avg rating — 946,374 ratings
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14

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3.86 avg rating — 184,824 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 305,309 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 198,181 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 48,540 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 350,768 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 99,503 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 339,153 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 30,634 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 282,460 ratings
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23

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3.84 avg rating — 225,208 ratings
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24

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4.02 avg rating — 49,129 ratings
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25

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4.04 avg rating — 341,655 ratings
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26

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4.39 avg rating — 398,159 ratings
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27

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3.98 avg rating — 2,108,637 ratings
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28

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4.44 avg rating — 664,120 ratings
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29

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3.38 avg rating — 183,356 ratings
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30

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4.21 avg rating — 223,304 ratings
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31

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4.10 avg rating — 553,910 ratings
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32

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4.45 avg rating — 322,654 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 205,573 ratings
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34

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3.57 avg rating — 623,527 ratings
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35

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4.03 avg rating — 1,007,048 ratings
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36

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4.10 avg rating — 1,500,782 ratings
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37

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3.98 avg rating — 126,717 ratings
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38

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3.91 avg rating — 1,942,043 ratings
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39

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3.96 avg rating — 22,125 ratings
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40

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3.98 avg rating — 134,699 ratings
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41

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3.69 avg rating — 409,236 ratings
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42

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4.20 avg rating — 5,587,856 ratings
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43

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4.07 avg rating — 383,603 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 67,310 ratings
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45

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3.77 avg rating — 99,741 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 369,987 ratings
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47

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3.19 avg rating — 19,865 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 463,665 ratings
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49

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4.10 avg rating — 53,976 ratings
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50

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4.17 avg rating — 29,054 ratings
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51

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,867,391 ratings
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52

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3.84 avg rating — 11,355 ratings
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53

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4.15 avg rating — 442,016 ratings
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54

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3.87 avg rating — 258,271 ratings
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55

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3.98 avg rating — 107,215 ratings
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56

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4.28 avg rating — 432,324 ratings
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57

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3.86 avg rating — 12,004 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 — 8,142 ratings
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60

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4.28 avg rating — 362,547 ratings
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61

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3.42 avg rating — 8,491 ratings
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62

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3.72 avg rating — 23,128 ratings
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62

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4.02 avg rating — 8,786 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 — 65,150 ratings
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64

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4.83 avg rating — 113 ratings
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64

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3.47 avg rating — 2,875 ratings
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68

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4.17 avg rating — 94,945 ratings
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69

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3.87 avg rating — 959,872 ratings
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70

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3.78 avg rating — 12,771 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 151,296 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 36,498 ratings
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72

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4.15 avg rating — 1,864 ratings
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72

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3.77 avg rating — 9,404 ratings
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72

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3.86 avg rating — 3,421 ratings
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76

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3.84 avg rating — 506 ratings
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76

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4.25 avg rating — 2,267 ratings
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76

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4.09 avg rating — 31,690 ratings
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76

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4.03 avg rating — 976 ratings
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80

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3.95 avg rating — 742 ratings
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80

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3.27 avg rating — 706 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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3.59 avg rating — 348 ratings
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84

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3.79 avg rating — 24,724 ratings
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84

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3.88 avg rating — 2,786 ratings
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84

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3.39 avg rating — 266 ratings
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87

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3.94 avg rating — 34,720 ratings
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87

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3.83 avg rating — 3,453 ratings
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89

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3.63 avg rating — 6,487 ratings
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90

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3.18 avg rating — 226 ratings
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90

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4.05 avg rating — 18,353 ratings
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90

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3.85 avg rating — 1,687 ratings
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93

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3.98 avg rating — 13,259 ratings
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94

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3.97 avg rating — 14,014 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 — 6,381 ratings
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98

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3.84 avg rating — 1,521 ratings
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99

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3.75 avg rating — 7,298 ratings
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100

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3.90 avg rating — 1,255 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 2334 books
192 friends
Cristen 234 books
45 friends
A.M. 1423 books
309 friends
Leslie 2890 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2370 books
4989 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 5134 books
241 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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