,

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 — 138,029 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 559,304 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,053,004 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 921,043 ratings
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5

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3.90 avg rating — 2,065,142 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 366,448 ratings
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7

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3.53 avg rating — 238,124 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 — 13,648 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 206,565 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 510,631 ratings
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12

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4.10 avg rating — 933,434 ratings
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13

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3.91 avg rating — 237,725 ratings
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14

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3.86 avg rating — 182,906 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 302,968 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 196,296 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 48,048 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 347,218 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 98,723 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 337,572 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 30,035 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 278,069 ratings
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23

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4.39 avg rating — 387,664 ratings
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24

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3.84 avg rating — 222,611 ratings
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25

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4.45 avg rating — 318,899 ratings
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26

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4.01 avg rating — 48,332 ratings
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27

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4.04 avg rating — 336,491 ratings
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28

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3.99 avg rating — 2,081,183 ratings
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29

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4.44 avg rating — 641,316 ratings
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30

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3.38 avg rating — 180,542 ratings
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31

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4.21 avg rating — 218,099 ratings
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32

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4.11 avg rating — 545,193 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 201,011 ratings
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34

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4.20 avg rating — 5,478,034 ratings
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35

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3.57 avg rating — 616,700 ratings
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36

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4.03 avg rating — 995,885 ratings
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37

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4.10 avg rating — 1,485,494 ratings
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38

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3.98 avg rating — 125,325 ratings
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39

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3.91 avg rating — 1,895,843 ratings
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40

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3.96 avg rating — 21,868 ratings
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41

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3.98 avg rating — 131,185 ratings
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42

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3.69 avg rating — 407,281 ratings
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43

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4.07 avg rating — 349,309 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 66,785 ratings
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45

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3.76 avg rating — 99,210 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 364,978 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 — 461,126 ratings
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49

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4.28 avg rating — 421,857 ratings
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50

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4.10 avg rating — 53,683 ratings
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51

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4.17 avg rating — 28,464 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 — 1,858,816 ratings
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54

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4.15 avg rating — 437,613 ratings
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55

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3.87 avg rating — 255,498 ratings
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56

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3.98 avg rating — 106,062 ratings
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57

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3.87 avg rating — 947,318 ratings
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58

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3.86 avg rating — 11,830 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 — 8,014 ratings
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61

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4.28 avg rating — 350,438 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 — 23,031 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 — 64,599 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 — 94,540 ratings
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70

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3.77 avg rating — 12,438 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 149,900 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 35,576 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 — 9,319 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 — 31,425 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 — 24,356 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 — 34,186 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 — 6,318 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 — 17,991 ratings
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89

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3.85 avg rating — 1,647 ratings
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92

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3.98 avg rating — 13,176 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 2353 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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