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 — 139,843 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 566,976 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,072,370 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 931,109 ratings
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5

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3.89 avg rating — 2,227,343 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 371,878 ratings
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7

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3.53 avg rating — 239,949 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 — 13,748 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 209,665 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 521,418 ratings
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12

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3.91 avg rating — 240,827 ratings
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13

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4.11 avg rating — 949,236 ratings
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14

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3.86 avg rating — 185,424 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 305,854 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 198,650 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 48,670 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 351,608 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 99,683 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 339,513 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 30,732 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 283,402 ratings
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23

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3.84 avg rating — 225,778 ratings
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24

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4.02 avg rating — 49,272 ratings
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25

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4.04 avg rating — 342,726 ratings
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26

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4.39 avg rating — 400,520 ratings
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27

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3.98 avg rating — 2,114,611 ratings
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28

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4.45 avg rating — 670,368 ratings
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29

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3.38 avg rating — 183,935 ratings
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30

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4.21 avg rating — 224,537 ratings
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31

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4.10 avg rating — 555,870 ratings
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32

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4.45 avg rating — 323,472 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 206,618 ratings
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34

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3.57 avg rating — 625,271 ratings
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35

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4.03 avg rating — 1,009,771 ratings
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36

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4.10 avg rating — 1,504,570 ratings
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37

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3.98 avg rating — 127,071 ratings
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38

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3.92 avg rating — 1,950,716 ratings
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39

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3.96 avg rating — 22,196 ratings
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40

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3.98 avg rating — 135,539 ratings
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41

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3.69 avg rating — 409,645 ratings
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42

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4.20 avg rating — 5,611,754 ratings
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43

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4.07 avg rating — 390,739 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 67,462 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 — 371,161 ratings
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47

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3.19 avg rating — 19,924 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 464,267 ratings
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49

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4.10 avg rating — 54,062 ratings
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50

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4.17 avg rating — 29,174 ratings
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51

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,868,962 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 — 443,087 ratings
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54

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3.87 avg rating — 259,027 ratings
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55

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3.98 avg rating — 107,578 ratings
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56

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4.28 avg rating — 434,641 ratings
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57

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3.86 avg rating — 12,043 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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3.52 avg rating — 8,177 ratings
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60

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4.28 avg rating — 365,304 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 — 8,816 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 — 65,255 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 — 2,886 ratings
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68

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4.17 avg rating — 95,027 ratings
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69

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3.87 avg rating — 962,730 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 — 151,637 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 36,739 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 — 3,431 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 — 31,748 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 — 708 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 — 24,843 ratings
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84

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3.88 avg rating — 2,792 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 — 34,830 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 — 6,513 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 — 18,458 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 — 1,559 ratings
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99

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3.75 avg rating — 7,321 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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