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 — 137,218 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 554,849 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,040,770 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 913,478 ratings
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5

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3.90 avg rating — 2,016,064 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 363,087 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 — 236,971 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 — 204,582 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 505,369 ratings
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12

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4.10 avg rating — 923,416 ratings
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13

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3.91 avg rating — 236,150 ratings
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14

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3.85 avg rating — 181,126 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 301,306 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 195,028 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 47,772 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 344,147 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 98,198 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 336,394 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 29,756 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 274,597 ratings
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23

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4.39 avg rating — 381,779 ratings
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24

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3.84 avg rating — 220,835 ratings
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25

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4.45 avg rating — 314,639 ratings
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26

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4.01 avg rating — 47,837 ratings
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27

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4.03 avg rating — 332,394 ratings
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28

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3.99 avg rating — 2,058,069 ratings
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29

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4.44 avg rating — 627,345 ratings
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30

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3.38 avg rating — 178,308 ratings
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31

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4.21 avg rating — 214,519 ratings
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32

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4.11 avg rating — 538,499 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 197,911 ratings
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34

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4.20 avg rating — 5,383,626 ratings
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35

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3.56 avg rating — 612,140 ratings
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36

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4.03 avg rating — 987,309 ratings
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37

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4.10 avg rating — 1,473,466 ratings
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38

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3.98 avg rating — 124,349 ratings
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39

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3.90 avg rating — 1,855,374 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 — 128,970 ratings
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42

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3.69 avg rating — 405,830 ratings
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43

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4.08 avg rating — 323,260 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 66,423 ratings
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45

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3.76 avg rating — 98,792 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 361,417 ratings
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47

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3.19 avg rating — 19,511 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 458,986 ratings
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49

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4.28 avg rating — 414,946 ratings
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50

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4.10 avg rating — 53,414 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 — 1,853,206 ratings
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54

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4.15 avg rating — 434,563 ratings
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55

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3.87 avg rating — 253,795 ratings
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56

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3.97 avg rating — 105,325 ratings
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57

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3.87 avg rating — 937,597 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 — 338,283 ratings
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62

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3.43 avg rating — 8,255 ratings
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63

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3.73 avg rating — 22,969 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 — 64,225 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 — 2,816 ratings
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69

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4.17 avg rating — 94,254 ratings
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70

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3.77 avg rating — 12,307 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 148,958 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 35,000 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 — 3,320 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 — 31,248 ratings
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79

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3.95 avg rating — 713 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 — 24,168 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 — 33,837 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 — 1,360 ratings
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98

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3.75 avg rating — 7,181 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 5022 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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