,

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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3.77 avg rating — 139,561 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 551,528 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,032,563 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 908,830 ratings
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5

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3.90 avg rating — 1,992,148 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 360,818 ratings
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7

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3.68 avg rating — 13,520 ratings
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8

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3.52 avg rating — 236,057 ratings
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9

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3.93 avg rating — 7,014 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 203,111 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 501,801 ratings
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12

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4.10 avg rating — 917,618 ratings
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13

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3.91 avg rating — 234,728 ratings
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14

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3.85 avg rating — 179,809 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 300,071 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 194,035 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 47,524 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 341,871 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 97,662 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 335,487 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 29,481 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 271,683 ratings
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23

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4.39 avg rating — 377,565 ratings
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24

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3.84 avg rating — 219,373 ratings
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25

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4.45 avg rating — 312,595 ratings
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26

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4.01 avg rating — 47,498 ratings
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27

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4.03 avg rating — 329,752 ratings
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28

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3.99 avg rating — 2,043,900 ratings
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29

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4.43 avg rating — 618,532 ratings
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30

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3.38 avg rating — 175,641 ratings
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31

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4.21 avg rating — 212,082 ratings
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32

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4.11 avg rating — 533,816 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 195,494 ratings
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34

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4.20 avg rating — 5,328,523 ratings
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35

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3.56 avg rating — 608,561 ratings
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36

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4.02 avg rating — 981,670 ratings
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37

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4.10 avg rating — 1,465,574 ratings
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38

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3.98 avg rating — 123,590 ratings
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39

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3.89 avg rating — 1,806,928 ratings
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40

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3.96 avg rating — 21,524 ratings
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41

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3.99 avg rating — 127,279 ratings
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42

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3.69 avg rating — 404,719 ratings
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43

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4.08 avg rating — 306,867 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 66,066 ratings
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45

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3.76 avg rating — 98,502 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 358,866 ratings
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47

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3.19 avg rating — 19,370 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 457,655 ratings
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49

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4.28 avg rating — 410,068 ratings
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50

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4.10 avg rating — 53,237 ratings
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51

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4.17 avg rating — 27,770 ratings
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52

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3.84 avg rating — 11,207 ratings
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53

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,849,914 ratings
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54

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4.15 avg rating — 432,367 ratings
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55

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3.87 avg rating — 252,381 ratings
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56

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3.97 avg rating — 104,688 ratings
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57

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3.87 avg rating — 931,122 ratings
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58

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3.86 avg rating — 11,629 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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3.52 avg rating — 7,853 ratings
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61

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4.28 avg rating — 332,102 ratings
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62

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3.43 avg rating — 8,162 ratings
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63

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3.73 avg rating — 22,876 ratings
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63

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4.02 avg rating — 8,622 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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4.14 avg rating — 63,977 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 — 2,806 ratings
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69

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4.17 avg rating — 94,032 ratings
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70

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3.77 avg rating — 12,190 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 148,215 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 34,596 ratings
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72

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4.14 avg rating — 1,752 ratings
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72

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3.77 avg rating — 9,231 ratings
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72

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3.85 avg rating — 3,287 ratings
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76

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3.86 avg rating — 493 ratings
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76

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4.25 avg rating — 2,240 ratings
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76

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4.09 avg rating — 31,114 ratings
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79

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3.94 avg rating — 699 ratings
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79

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3.27 avg rating — 699 ratings
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79

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4.10 avg rating — 567 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 — 24,006 ratings
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83

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3.89 avg rating — 2,721 ratings
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83

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3.38 avg rating — 258 ratings
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86

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3.94 avg rating — 33,593 ratings
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86

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3.84 avg rating — 3,370 ratings
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88

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3.62 avg rating — 6,140 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 — 17,517 ratings
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89

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3.85 avg rating — 1,607 ratings
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92

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3.98 avg rating — 13,101 ratings
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93

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3.97 avg rating — 13,806 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 — 6,322 ratings
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97

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3.84 avg rating — 1,294 ratings
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98

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3.75 avg rating — 7,126 ratings
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99

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3.90 avg rating — 1,229 ratings
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100

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3.85 avg rating — 4,259 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 2433 books
190 friends
Cristen 234 books
45 friends
A.M. 1428 books
311 friends
Leslie 2837 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2375 books
4994 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 4965 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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