,

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 — 137,221 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 554,865 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,040,828 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 913,505 ratings
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5

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3.90 avg rating — 2,016,277 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 363,099 ratings
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7

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3.68 avg rating — 13,572 ratings
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8

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3.53 avg rating — 236,975 ratings
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9

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3.93 avg rating — 7,020 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 204,588 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 505,387 ratings
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12

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4.10 avg rating — 923,450 ratings
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13

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3.91 avg rating — 236,157 ratings
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14

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3.85 avg rating — 181,134 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 301,310 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 195,033 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 47,773 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 344,153 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 98,201 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 336,402 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 29,758 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 274,619 ratings
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23

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4.39 avg rating — 381,389 ratings
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24

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3.84 avg rating — 220,847 ratings
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25

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4.45 avg rating — 314,646 ratings
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26

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4.01 avg rating — 47,838 ratings
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27

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4.03 avg rating — 332,410 ratings
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28

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3.99 avg rating — 2,058,179 ratings
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29

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4.44 avg rating — 627,412 ratings
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30

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3.38 avg rating — 178,317 ratings
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31

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4.21 avg rating — 214,537 ratings
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32

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4.11 avg rating — 538,531 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 197,923 ratings
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34

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4.20 avg rating — 5,384,067 ratings
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35

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3.56 avg rating — 612,168 ratings
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36

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4.03 avg rating — 987,354 ratings
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37

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4.10 avg rating — 1,473,526 ratings
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38

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3.98 avg rating — 124,358 ratings
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39

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3.90 avg rating — 1,855,648 ratings
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40

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3.96 avg rating — 21,677 ratings
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41

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3.98 avg rating — 128,975 ratings
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42

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3.69 avg rating — 405,836 ratings
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43

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4.08 avg rating — 323,377 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 66,427 ratings
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45

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3.76 avg rating — 98,793 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 361,435 ratings
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47

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3.19 avg rating — 19,512 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 458,997 ratings
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49

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4.28 avg rating — 414,983 ratings
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50

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4.10 avg rating — 53,417 ratings
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51

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4.17 avg rating — 28,061 ratings
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52

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3.84 avg rating — 11,235 ratings
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53

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,853,232 ratings
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54

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4.15 avg rating — 434,583 ratings
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55

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3.87 avg rating — 253,810 ratings
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56

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3.97 avg rating — 105,332 ratings
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57

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3.87 avg rating — 937,651 ratings
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58

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3.86 avg rating — 11,720 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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3.53 avg rating — 7,922 ratings
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61

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4.28 avg rating — 338,337 ratings
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62

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3.43 avg rating — 8,257 ratings
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63

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3.73 avg rating — 22,970 ratings
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63

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4.02 avg rating — 8,658 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 — 64,229 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 — 2,815 ratings
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69

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4.17 avg rating — 94,256 ratings
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70

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3.77 avg rating — 12,309 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 148,962 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 35,006 ratings
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72

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4.14 avg rating — 1,777 ratings
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72

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3.77 avg rating — 9,275 ratings
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72

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3.85 avg rating — 3,321 ratings
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76

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3.86 avg rating — 496 ratings
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76

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4.25 avg rating — 2,246 ratings
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76

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4.09 avg rating — 31,251 ratings
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79

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3.95 avg rating — 714 ratings
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79

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3.27 avg rating — 701 ratings
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79

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4.11 avg rating — 569 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 — 24,169 ratings
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83

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3.89 avg rating — 2,742 ratings
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83

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3.38 avg rating — 260 ratings
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86

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3.94 avg rating — 33,839 ratings
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86

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3.84 avg rating — 3,388 ratings
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88

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3.62 avg rating — 6,214 ratings
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89

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3.18 avg rating — 225 ratings
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89

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4.05 avg rating — 17,735 ratings
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89

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3.85 avg rating — 1,630 ratings
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92

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3.98 avg rating — 13,139 ratings
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93

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3.97 avg rating — 13,857 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 — 6,336 ratings
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97

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3.84 avg rating — 1,362 ratings
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98

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3.75 avg rating — 7,180 ratings
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99

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3.90 avg rating — 1,233 ratings
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100

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3.85 avg rating — 4,284 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 2334 books
190 friends
Cristen 234 books
45 friends
A.M. 1430 books
311 friends
Leslie 2857 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2370 books
4993 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 5028 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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