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 — 140,187 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 568,524 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,075,594 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 933,067 ratings
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5

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3.89 avg rating — 2,240,876 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 372,960 ratings
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7

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3.53 avg rating — 240,307 ratings
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8

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3.93 avg rating — 7,055 ratings
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9

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3.68 avg rating — 13,788 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 210,237 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 523,402 ratings
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12

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3.91 avg rating — 241,375 ratings
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13

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4.11 avg rating — 952,564 ratings
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14

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3.86 avg rating — 185,963 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 306,445 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 199,161 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 48,823 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 352,418 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 99,928 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 339,893 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 30,831 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 284,412 ratings
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23

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3.84 avg rating — 226,352 ratings
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24

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4.02 avg rating — 49,446 ratings
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25

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4.04 avg rating — 343,862 ratings
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26

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4.39 avg rating — 403,002 ratings
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27

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3.98 avg rating — 2,121,126 ratings
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28

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4.45 avg rating — 678,102 ratings
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29

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3.38 avg rating — 184,656 ratings
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30

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4.21 avg rating — 225,756 ratings
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31

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4.10 avg rating — 557,871 ratings
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32

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4.45 avg rating — 324,416 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 207,759 ratings
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34

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3.57 avg rating — 627,060 ratings
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35

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4.03 avg rating — 1,012,642 ratings
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36

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4.10 avg rating — 1,508,570 ratings
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37

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3.98 avg rating — 127,439 ratings
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38

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3.92 avg rating — 1,959,610 ratings
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39

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3.96 avg rating — 22,273 ratings
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40

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3.98 avg rating — 136,423 ratings
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41

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3.69 avg rating — 410,068 ratings
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42

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4.20 avg rating — 5,636,820 ratings
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43

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4.06 avg rating — 399,150 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 67,623 ratings
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45

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3.77 avg rating — 100,028 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 372,292 ratings
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47

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3.20 avg rating — 19,986 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 464,880 ratings
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49

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4.10 avg rating — 54,146 ratings
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50

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4.17 avg rating — 29,312 ratings
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51

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,870,618 ratings
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52

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3.84 avg rating — 11,388 ratings
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53

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4.15 avg rating — 444,174 ratings
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54

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3.88 avg rating — 259,790 ratings
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55

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3.98 avg rating — 107,919 ratings
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56

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4.28 avg rating — 437,070 ratings
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57

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3.86 avg rating — 12,092 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 — 8,206 ratings
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60

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4.28 avg rating — 368,118 ratings
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61

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3.42 avg rating — 8,552 ratings
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62

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3.72 avg rating — 23,215 ratings
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62

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4.02 avg rating — 8,832 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 — 65,374 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 — 2,896 ratings
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68

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4.17 avg rating — 95,119 ratings
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69

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3.87 avg rating — 965,602 ratings
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70

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3.78 avg rating — 12,892 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 152,020 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 36,930 ratings
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72

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4.15 avg rating — 1,876 ratings
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72

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3.77 avg rating — 9,439 ratings
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72

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3.86 avg rating — 3,439 ratings
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76

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3.84 avg rating — 507 ratings
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76

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4.25 avg rating — 2,269 ratings
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76

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4.09 avg rating — 31,811 ratings
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76

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4.02 avg rating — 981 ratings
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80

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3.95 avg rating — 748 ratings
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80

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3.26 avg rating — 707 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 — 24,926 ratings
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84

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3.88 avg rating — 2,794 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 — 34,955 ratings
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87

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3.83 avg rating — 3,477 ratings
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89

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3.63 avg rating — 6,541 ratings
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90

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3.19 avg rating — 227 ratings
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90

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4.05 avg rating — 18,551 ratings
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90

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3.84 avg rating — 1,705 ratings
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93

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3.98 avg rating — 13,286 ratings
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94

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3.97 avg rating — 14,049 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 — 6,402 ratings
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98

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3.84 avg rating — 1,598 ratings
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99

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3.75 avg rating — 7,332 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 2379 books
193 friends
Cristen 234 books
45 friends
A.M. 1425 books
309 friends
Leslie 2900 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2371 books
4988 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 5166 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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