,

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 — 138,749 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 562,479 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,061,439 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 925,316 ratings
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5

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3.90 avg rating — 2,166,733 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 368,560 ratings
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7

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3.53 avg rating — 238,895 ratings
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8

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3.93 avg rating — 7,045 ratings
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9

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3.68 avg rating — 13,680 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 207,885 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 514,530 ratings
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12

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3.91 avg rating — 238,970 ratings
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13

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4.10 avg rating — 940,136 ratings
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14

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3.86 avg rating — 183,863 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 304,157 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 197,243 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 48,276 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 349,971 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 99,128 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 338,390 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 30,283 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 280,358 ratings
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23

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3.84 avg rating — 223,924 ratings
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24

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4.02 avg rating — 48,714 ratings
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25

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4.04 avg rating — 339,139 ratings
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26

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4.39 avg rating — 392,706 ratings
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27

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3.98 avg rating — 2,095,018 ratings
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28

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4.44 avg rating — 652,382 ratings
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29

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3.38 avg rating — 182,016 ratings
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30

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4.21 avg rating — 220,729 ratings
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31

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4.10 avg rating — 549,649 ratings
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32

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4.45 avg rating — 320,892 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 203,299 ratings
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34

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3.57 avg rating — 619,989 ratings
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35

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4.03 avg rating — 1,001,453 ratings
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36

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4.10 avg rating — 1,493,104 ratings
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37

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3.98 avg rating — 126,049 ratings
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38

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3.91 avg rating — 1,920,873 ratings
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39

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3.96 avg rating — 21,995 ratings
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40

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3.98 avg rating — 132,870 ratings
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41

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3.69 avg rating — 408,226 ratings
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42

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4.20 avg rating — 5,535,326 ratings
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43

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4.07 avg rating — 367,786 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 67,045 ratings
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45

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3.77 avg rating — 99,478 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 367,460 ratings
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47

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3.19 avg rating — 19,762 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 462,476 ratings
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49

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4.10 avg rating — 53,847 ratings
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50

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4.17 avg rating — 28,760 ratings
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51

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,863,482 ratings
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52

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3.84 avg rating — 11,327 ratings
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53

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4.15 avg rating — 439,863 ratings
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54

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3.87 avg rating — 256,791 ratings
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55

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3.98 avg rating — 106,630 ratings
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56

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4.28 avg rating — 427,197 ratings
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57

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3.86 avg rating — 11,916 ratings
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58

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3.47 avg rating — 158 ratings
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59

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3.52 avg rating — 8,081 ratings
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60

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4.28 avg rating — 356,628 ratings
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61

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3.42 avg rating — 8,401 ratings
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62

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3.73 avg rating — 23,018 ratings
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62

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4.02 avg rating — 8,733 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 — 64,869 ratings
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64

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4.83 avg rating — 111 ratings
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64

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3.46 avg rating — 2,857 ratings
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68

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4.17 avg rating — 94,746 ratings
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69

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3.87 avg rating — 953,695 ratings
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70

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3.77 avg rating — 12,576 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 150,563 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 36,034 ratings
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72

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4.15 avg rating — 1,838 ratings
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72

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3.77 avg rating — 9,352 ratings
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72

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3.85 avg rating — 3,391 ratings
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76

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3.84 avg rating — 505 ratings
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76

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4.25 avg rating — 2,260 ratings
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76

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4.09 avg rating — 31,575 ratings
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76

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4.02 avg rating — 968 ratings
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80

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3.95 avg rating — 737 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 — 574 ratings
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80

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3.58 avg rating — 344 ratings
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84

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3.79 avg rating — 24,540 ratings
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84

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3.88 avg rating — 2,778 ratings
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84

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3.39 avg rating — 264 ratings
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87

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3.94 avg rating — 34,459 ratings
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87

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3.83 avg rating — 3,431 ratings
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89

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3.63 avg rating — 6,401 ratings
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90

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3.18 avg rating — 225 ratings
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90

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4.05 avg rating — 18,185 ratings
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90

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3.85 avg rating — 1,659 ratings
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93

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3.98 avg rating — 13,211 ratings
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94

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3.97 avg rating — 13,960 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 — 6,367 ratings
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98

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3.84 avg rating — 1,473 ratings
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99

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3.75 avg rating — 7,267 ratings
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100

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3.90 avg rating — 1,246 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 2365 books
192 friends
Cristen 234 books
45 friends
A.M. 1422 books
309 friends
Leslie 2886 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2371 books
4989 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 5097 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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