,

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 — 139,835 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 566,936 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,072,297 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 931,070 ratings
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5

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3.89 avg rating — 2,227,030 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 371,850 ratings
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7

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3.53 avg rating — 239,946 ratings
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8

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3.93 avg rating — 7,053 ratings
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9

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3.68 avg rating — 13,749 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 209,655 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 521,395 ratings
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12

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3.91 avg rating — 240,821 ratings
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13

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4.11 avg rating — 949,186 ratings
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14

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3.86 avg rating — 185,412 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 305,837 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 198,642 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 48,666 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 351,590 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 99,679 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 339,508 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 30,727 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 283,387 ratings
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23

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3.84 avg rating — 225,769 ratings
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24

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4.02 avg rating — 49,266 ratings
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25

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4.04 avg rating — 342,705 ratings
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26

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4.39 avg rating — 400,473 ratings
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27

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3.98 avg rating — 2,114,469 ratings
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28

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4.45 avg rating — 670,206 ratings
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29

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3.38 avg rating — 183,917 ratings
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30

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4.21 avg rating — 224,503 ratings
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31

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4.10 avg rating — 555,810 ratings
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32

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4.45 avg rating — 323,455 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 206,592 ratings
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34

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3.57 avg rating — 625,225 ratings
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35

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4.03 avg rating — 1,009,709 ratings
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36

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4.10 avg rating — 1,504,477 ratings
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37

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3.98 avg rating — 127,062 ratings
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38

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3.92 avg rating — 1,950,523 ratings
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39

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3.96 avg rating — 22,193 ratings
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40

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3.98 avg rating — 135,521 ratings
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41

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3.69 avg rating — 409,640 ratings
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42

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4.20 avg rating — 5,611,185 ratings
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43

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4.07 avg rating — 390,581 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 67,457 ratings
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45

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3.77 avg rating — 99,894 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 371,138 ratings
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47

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3.19 avg rating — 19,923 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 464,255 ratings
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49

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4.10 avg rating — 54,058 ratings
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50

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4.17 avg rating — 29,177 ratings
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51

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,868,919 ratings
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52

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3.84 avg rating — 11,369 ratings
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53

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4.15 avg rating — 443,076 ratings
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54

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3.87 avg rating — 259,002 ratings
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55

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3.98 avg rating — 107,574 ratings
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56

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4.28 avg rating — 434,588 ratings
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57

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3.86 avg rating — 12,044 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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3.53 avg rating — 8,178 ratings
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60

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4.28 avg rating — 365,234 ratings
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61

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3.42 avg rating — 8,522 ratings
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62

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3.72 avg rating — 23,178 ratings
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62

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4.02 avg rating — 8,815 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 — 65,252 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 — 2,887 ratings
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68

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4.17 avg rating — 95,024 ratings
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69

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3.87 avg rating — 962,666 ratings
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70

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3.78 avg rating — 12,833 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 151,632 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 36,737 ratings
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72

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4.15 avg rating — 1,870 ratings
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72

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3.77 avg rating — 9,422 ratings
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72

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3.86 avg rating — 3,432 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 — 2,266 ratings
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76

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4.09 avg rating — 31,750 ratings
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76

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4.02 avg rating — 979 ratings
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80

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3.95 avg rating — 744 ratings
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80

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3.27 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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3.60 avg rating — 350 ratings
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84

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3.79 avg rating — 24,842 ratings
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84

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3.88 avg rating — 2,791 ratings
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84

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3.40 avg rating — 268 ratings
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87

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3.94 avg rating — 34,826 ratings
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87

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3.83 avg rating — 3,468 ratings
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89

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3.63 avg rating — 6,514 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 — 18,456 ratings
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90

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3.84 avg rating — 1,695 ratings
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93

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3.98 avg rating — 13,276 ratings
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94

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3.97 avg rating — 14,031 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 — 6,391 ratings
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98

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3.84 avg rating — 1,557 ratings
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99

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3.75 avg rating — 7,322 ratings
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100

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3.90 avg rating — 1,260 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 2340 books
192 friends
Cristen 234 books
45 friends
A.M. 1424 books
309 friends
Leslie 2892 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2370 books
4989 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 5148 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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