,

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 — 139,422 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 565,243 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,068,349 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 928,860 ratings
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5

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3.90 avg rating — 2,211,387 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 370,544 ratings
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7

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3.53 avg rating — 239,519 ratings
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8

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3.93 avg rating — 7,052 ratings
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9

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3.68 avg rating — 13,721 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 209,006 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 519,278 ratings
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12

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3.91 avg rating — 240,106 ratings
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13

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4.11 avg rating — 945,760 ratings
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14

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3.86 avg rating — 184,732 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 305,174 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 198,076 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 48,512 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 350,612 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 99,461 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 339,067 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 30,599 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 282,255 ratings
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23

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3.84 avg rating — 225,066 ratings
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24

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4.02 avg rating — 49,084 ratings
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25

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4.04 avg rating — 341,389 ratings
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26

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4.39 avg rating — 397,629 ratings
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27

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3.98 avg rating — 2,107,297 ratings
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28

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4.44 avg rating — 662,892 ratings
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29

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3.38 avg rating — 183,216 ratings
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30

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4.21 avg rating — 223,039 ratings
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31

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4.10 avg rating — 553,485 ratings
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32

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4.45 avg rating — 322,459 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 205,326 ratings
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34

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3.57 avg rating — 623,114 ratings
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35

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4.03 avg rating — 1,006,453 ratings
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36

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4.10 avg rating — 1,500,004 ratings
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37

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3.98 avg rating — 126,649 ratings
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38

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3.91 avg rating — 1,940,247 ratings
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39

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3.96 avg rating — 22,110 ratings
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40

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3.98 avg rating — 134,523 ratings
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41

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3.69 avg rating — 409,120 ratings
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42

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4.20 avg rating — 5,582,845 ratings
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43

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4.07 avg rating — 382,119 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 67,290 ratings
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45

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3.77 avg rating — 99,713 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 369,761 ratings
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47

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3.19 avg rating — 19,855 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 463,536 ratings
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49

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4.10 avg rating — 53,960 ratings
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50

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4.17 avg rating — 29,022 ratings
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51

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,867,071 ratings
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52

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3.84 avg rating — 11,353 ratings
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53

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4.15 avg rating — 441,786 ratings
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54

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3.87 avg rating — 258,093 ratings
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55

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3.98 avg rating — 107,140 ratings
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56

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4.28 avg rating — 431,814 ratings
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57

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3.86 avg rating — 11,998 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 — 8,135 ratings
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60

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4.28 avg rating — 361,985 ratings
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61

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3.42 avg rating — 8,481 ratings
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62

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3.72 avg rating — 23,116 ratings
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62

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4.02 avg rating — 8,785 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 — 65,124 ratings
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64

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4.83 avg rating — 112 ratings
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64

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3.47 avg rating — 2,872 ratings
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68

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4.17 avg rating — 94,916 ratings
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69

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3.87 avg rating — 959,239 ratings
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70

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3.78 avg rating — 12,762 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 151,228 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 36,441 ratings
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72

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4.15 avg rating — 1,862 ratings
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72

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3.77 avg rating — 9,396 ratings
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72

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3.86 avg rating — 3,418 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 — 2,267 ratings
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76

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4.09 avg rating — 31,680 ratings
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76

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4.02 avg rating — 975 ratings
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80

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3.95 avg rating — 742 ratings
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80

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3.27 avg rating — 706 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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3.59 avg rating — 347 ratings
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84

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3.79 avg rating — 24,697 ratings
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84

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3.88 avg rating — 2,786 ratings
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84

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3.39 avg rating — 266 ratings
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87

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3.94 avg rating — 34,696 ratings
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87

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3.83 avg rating — 3,449 ratings
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89

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3.63 avg rating — 6,485 ratings
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90

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3.18 avg rating — 226 ratings
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90

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4.05 avg rating — 18,338 ratings
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90

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3.85 avg rating — 1,685 ratings
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93

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3.98 avg rating — 13,251 ratings
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94

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3.97 avg rating — 14,007 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 — 6,379 ratings
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98

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3.84 avg rating — 1,518 ratings
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99

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3.75 avg rating — 7,295 ratings
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100

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3.90 avg rating — 1,253 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 2367 books
192 friends
Cristen 234 books
45 friends
A.M. 1423 books
309 friends
Leslie 2890 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2370 books
4989 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 5128 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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