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Goodreads Users Read These in School - Would Have Preferred a Root Canal

This list consists of books that Goodreads users voted as the most painful to read during their school days. But I'm sure many of you would have since grown to appreciate these same books.
Only books that received 3 or more votes were included.
8,445 users · 24,190 views
 
from goodreads.com · made by Markd9528
avg. score: 51 of 210 (24%)
required scores: 1, 27, 39, 51, 74 
type to search

How many have you read?

Page 1 of 6
The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
The Scarlet Letter
1
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
Lord of the Flies
2
William Golding
Beowulf (Anonymous)
Beowulf
3
Anonymous
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
Great Expectations
4
Charles Dickens
The Pearl (John Steinbeck)
The Pearl
5
John Steinbeck
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
6
J.D. Salinger
The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
The Old Man and the Sea
7
Ernest Hemingway
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
8
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)
Heart of Darkness
9
Joseph Conrad
Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)
Of Mice and Men
10
John Steinbeck
Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare)
Romeo and Juliet
11
William Shakespeare
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Animal Farm
12
George Orwell
Moby-Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby-Dick
13
Herman Melville
Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
Grapes of Wrath
14
John Steinbeck
MacBeth (William Shakespeare)
MacBeth
15
William Shakespeare
Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë)
Wuthering Heights
16
Emily Brontë
A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
A Tale of Two Cities
17
Charles Dickens
The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)
The Canterbury Tales
18
Geoffrey Chaucer
Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)
Things Fall Apart
19
Chinua Achebe
The Odyssey (Homer)
The Odyssey
20
Homer
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird
21
Harper Lee
The Crucible (Arthur Miller)
The Crucible
22
Arthur Miller
Ethan Frome (Edith Wharton)
Ethan Frome
23
Edith Wharton
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
Frankenstein
24
Mary Shelley
The Red Badge of Courage & Other Stories (Stephen Crane)
The Red Badge of Courage & Other Stories
25
Stephen Crane
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Crime and Punishment
26
Fyodor Dostoevsky
A Separate Peace (John Knowles)
A Separate Peace
27
John Knowles
Island of the Blue Dolphins (Scott O'Dell)
Island of the Blue Dolphins
28
Scott O'Dell
Where the Red Fern Grows (Wilson Rawls)
Where the Red Fern Grows
29
Wilson Rawls
Hamlet (William Shakespeare)
Hamlet
30
William Shakespeare
1984 (George Orwell)
1984
31
George Orwell
The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka)
The Metamorphosis
32
Franz Kafka
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)
Jane Eyre
33
Charlotte Brontë
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (James Joyce)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
34
James Joyce
The Red Pony (John Steinbeck)
The Red Pony
35
John Steinbeck
Tess of the D'urbervilles (Thomas Hardy)
Tess of the D'urbervilles
36
Thomas Hardy
The Outsider (Albert Camus)
The Outsider
37
Albert Camus
Billy Budd, Sailor (Herman Melville)
Billy Budd, Sailor
38
Herman Melville
All Quiet on the Western Front (Erich Maria Remarque)
All Quiet on the Western Front
39
Erich Maria Remarque
Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert)
Madame Bovary
40
Gustave Flaubert
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