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 — 138,023 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 559,251 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,052,900 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 921,006 ratings
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5

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3.90 avg rating — 2,064,507 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 366,413 ratings
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7

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3.53 avg rating — 238,120 ratings
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8

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3.93 avg rating — 7,028 ratings
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9

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3.67 avg rating — 13,649 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 206,553 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 510,593 ratings
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12

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4.10 avg rating — 933,351 ratings
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13

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3.91 avg rating — 237,708 ratings
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14

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3.86 avg rating — 182,898 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 302,953 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 196,286 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 48,045 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 347,189 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 98,717 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 337,559 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 30,034 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 278,034 ratings
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23

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4.39 avg rating — 387,599 ratings
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24

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3.84 avg rating — 222,588 ratings
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25

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4.45 avg rating — 318,878 ratings
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26

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4.01 avg rating — 48,325 ratings
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27

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4.04 avg rating — 336,453 ratings
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28

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3.99 avg rating — 2,080,995 ratings
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29

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4.44 avg rating — 641,203 ratings
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30

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3.38 avg rating — 180,526 ratings
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31

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4.21 avg rating — 218,063 ratings
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32

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4.11 avg rating — 545,139 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 200,999 ratings
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34

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4.20 avg rating — 5,477,238 ratings
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35

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3.57 avg rating — 616,661 ratings
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36

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4.03 avg rating — 995,836 ratings
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37

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4.10 avg rating — 1,485,418 ratings
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38

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3.98 avg rating — 125,312 ratings
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39

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3.91 avg rating — 1,895,535 ratings
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40

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3.96 avg rating — 21,867 ratings
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41

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3.98 avg rating — 131,158 ratings
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42

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3.69 avg rating — 407,269 ratings
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43

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4.07 avg rating — 349,040 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 66,783 ratings
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45

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3.76 avg rating — 99,206 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 364,958 ratings
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47

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3.19 avg rating — 19,665 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 461,105 ratings
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49

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4.28 avg rating — 421,793 ratings
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50

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4.10 avg rating — 53,682 ratings
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51

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4.17 avg rating — 28,460 ratings
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52

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3.84 avg rating — 11,295 ratings
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53

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,858,772 ratings
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54

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4.15 avg rating — 437,595 ratings
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55

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3.87 avg rating — 255,478 ratings
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56

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3.98 avg rating — 106,057 ratings
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57

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3.87 avg rating — 947,233 ratings
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58

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3.86 avg rating — 11,828 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 — 8,013 ratings
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61

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4.28 avg rating — 350,363 ratings
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62

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3.43 avg rating — 8,341 ratings
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63

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3.73 avg rating — 23,029 ratings
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63

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4.02 avg rating — 8,697 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 — 64,594 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 — 2,836 ratings
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69

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4.17 avg rating — 94,535 ratings
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70

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3.77 avg rating — 12,436 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 149,891 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 35,571 ratings
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72

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4.15 avg rating — 1,807 ratings
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72

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3.77 avg rating — 9,318 ratings
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72

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3.85 avg rating — 3,365 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 — 2,257 ratings
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76

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4.09 avg rating — 31,423 ratings
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79

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3.95 avg rating — 729 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 — 572 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 — 24,355 ratings
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83

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3.88 avg rating — 2,765 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 — 34,184 ratings
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86

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3.83 avg rating — 3,408 ratings
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88

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3.62 avg rating — 6,317 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 — 17,990 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 — 13,175 ratings
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93

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3.97 avg rating — 13,916 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 — 6,347 ratings
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97

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3.84 avg rating — 1,430 ratings
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98

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3.75 avg rating — 7,221 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 2345 books
192 friends
Cristen 234 books
45 friends
A.M. 1431 books
310 friends
Leslie 2872 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2374 books
4992 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 5062 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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