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 — 140,181 ratings
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2

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3.43 avg rating — 568,493 ratings
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3

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4.03 avg rating — 1,075,489 ratings
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4

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3.44 avg rating — 933,016 ratings
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5

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3.89 avg rating — 2,240,559 ratings
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6

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4.17 avg rating — 372,928 ratings
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7

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3.53 avg rating — 240,303 ratings
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8

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3.93 avg rating — 7,055 ratings
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9

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3.68 avg rating — 13,788 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 210,230 ratings
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11

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3.93 avg rating — 523,344 ratings
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12

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3.91 avg rating — 241,357 ratings
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13

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4.11 avg rating — 952,494 ratings
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14

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3.86 avg rating — 185,948 ratings
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15

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3.84 avg rating — 306,434 ratings
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16

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3.86 avg rating — 199,143 ratings
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17

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3.99 avg rating — 48,822 ratings
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18

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3.50 avg rating — 352,398 ratings
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19

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3.46 avg rating — 99,921 ratings
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20

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3.89 avg rating — 339,876 ratings
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21

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4.05 avg rating — 30,829 ratings
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22

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3.96 avg rating — 284,401 ratings
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23

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3.84 avg rating — 226,345 ratings
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24

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4.02 avg rating — 49,446 ratings
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25

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4.04 avg rating — 343,823 ratings
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26

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4.39 avg rating — 402,953 ratings
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27

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3.98 avg rating — 2,120,989 ratings
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28

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4.45 avg rating — 677,885 ratings
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29

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3.38 avg rating — 184,636 ratings
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30

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4.21 avg rating — 225,728 ratings
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31

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4.10 avg rating — 557,811 ratings
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32

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4.45 avg rating — 324,399 ratings
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33

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4.09 avg rating — 207,726 ratings
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34

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3.57 avg rating — 627,022 ratings
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35

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4.03 avg rating — 1,012,557 ratings
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36

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4.10 avg rating — 1,508,469 ratings
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37

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3.98 avg rating — 127,432 ratings
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38

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3.92 avg rating — 1,959,376 ratings
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39

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3.96 avg rating — 22,271 ratings
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40

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3.98 avg rating — 136,405 ratings
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41

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3.69 avg rating — 410,057 ratings
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42

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4.20 avg rating — 5,636,181 ratings
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43

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4.06 avg rating — 398,371 ratings
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44

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3.94 avg rating — 67,616 ratings
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45

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3.77 avg rating — 100,021 ratings
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46

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3.89 avg rating — 372,275 ratings
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47

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3.20 avg rating — 19,984 ratings
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48

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4.14 avg rating — 464,864 ratings
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49

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4.10 avg rating — 54,142 ratings
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50

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4.17 avg rating — 29,305 ratings
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51

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,870,565 ratings
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52

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3.84 avg rating — 11,384 ratings
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53

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4.15 avg rating — 444,140 ratings
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54

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3.88 avg rating — 259,779 ratings
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55

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3.98 avg rating — 107,911 ratings
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56

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4.28 avg rating — 437,003 ratings
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57

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3.86 avg rating — 12,092 ratings
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58

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3.48 avg rating — 160 ratings
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59

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3.52 avg rating — 8,205 ratings
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60

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4.28 avg rating — 368,035 ratings
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61

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3.42 avg rating — 8,551 ratings
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62

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3.72 avg rating — 23,215 ratings
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62

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4.02 avg rating — 8,832 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 — 65,372 ratings
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64

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4.83 avg rating — 114 ratings
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64

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3.47 avg rating — 2,896 ratings
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68

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4.17 avg rating — 95,115 ratings
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69

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3.87 avg rating — 965,525 ratings
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70

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3.78 avg rating — 12,887 ratings
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71

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3.77 avg rating — 152,011 ratings
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72

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3.84 avg rating — 36,926 ratings
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72

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4.15 avg rating — 1,876 ratings
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72

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3.77 avg rating — 9,438 ratings
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72

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3.86 avg rating — 3,439 ratings
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76

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3.84 avg rating — 507 ratings
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76

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4.25 avg rating — 2,269 ratings
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76

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4.09 avg rating — 31,811 ratings
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76

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4.02 avg rating — 981 ratings
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80

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3.95 avg rating — 748 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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3.61 avg rating — 352 ratings
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84

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3.79 avg rating — 24,924 ratings
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84

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3.88 avg rating — 2,794 ratings
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84

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3.41 avg rating — 269 ratings
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87

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3.94 avg rating — 34,948 ratings
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87

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3.83 avg rating — 3,477 ratings
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89

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3.63 avg rating — 6,538 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 — 18,550 ratings
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90

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3.84 avg rating — 1,705 ratings
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93

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3.98 avg rating — 13,286 ratings
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94

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3.97 avg rating — 14,049 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 — 6,402 ratings
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98

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3.84 avg rating — 1,595 ratings
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99

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3.75 avg rating — 7,332 ratings
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100

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3.90 avg rating — 1,265 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 2379 books
193 friends
Cristen 234 books
45 friends
A.M. 1425 books
309 friends
Leslie 2900 books
181 friends
Charlie 154 books
3 friends
Bradley 2371 books
4988 friends
Tamar 760 books
23 friends
Elise 5166 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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