Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Some of the Longest Books I've Read


            
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book blog meme now hosted by Jana over at The Artsy Reader Girl!

This week's topic is: Longest Books I've Read

Long books can be intimidating because they require more of a commitment than shorter books, but it feels like quite an accomplishment when you finish them. Sometimes this pays off, sometimes it doesn't. Fortunately, I've enjoyed most (though not all) of the book on this list which makes me all the more likely to keep picking up long books. Without further ado, here are some of the longest books I've read! Let me know if you've read any of these or what long books you've read!

Jerusalem by Alan Moore
No. Pages: 1,280
This is the most recent book on this list that I've read and I really enjoyed it! I read it over two months and although there were definitely parts the dragged for me, the ending of the book really pulled everything together and made me really want to go back and re-read it slower.
About: "In the epic novel Jerusalem, Alan Moore channels both the ecstatic visions of William Blake and the theoretical physics of Albert Einstein through the hardscrabble streets and alleys of his hometown of Northampton, UK. In the half a square mile of decay and demolition that was England’s Saxon capital, eternity is loitering between the firetrap housing projects. Embedded in the grubby amber of the district’s narrative among its saints, kings, prostitutes, and derelicts, a different kind of human time is happening, a soiled simultaneity that does not differentiate between the petrol-colored puddles and the fractured dreams of those who navigate them."

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

The Counte of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
No. Pages: 1,276
I'm actually due for a re-read for this one because I read it so many years ago that I hardly remember much at all outside of the main plot points. That being said, I do recall finding it to be very enjoyable.
About: "Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration. Dumas’ epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment, was a huge popular success when it was first serialized in the 1840s."

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository


War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
No. Pages: 1,273
War and Peace is another one that I would like to read again one day with notes alongside so that I can better understand all of the war/political aspects. I was really pleasantly surprised by this book, however, and found it really accessible.
About: "War and Peace broadly focuses on Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the most well-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family behind to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman who intrigues both men."

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository


Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson (also, The Way of Kings & The Words of Radiance)
No. Pages: 1,248
I love The Stormlight Archive so much. There are three books out in this series so far and they are each over a thousand pages... and supposedly this is a planned ten or so book series, so that's going to need its own bookshelf. Sometimes I want to re-read these before the next book comes out, but... who has that time?
About: "In Oathbringer, the third volume of the New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive, humanity faces a new Desolation with the return of the Voidbringers, a foe with numbers as great as their thirst for vengeance."

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository


The Bible
No. Pages: ~1,200
Yes, I have read the entire Bible. The more shocking part is that I think I was in seventh grade or so (?) when I did it. Look, I was a weird kid. This was during a difficult time after my dad died and I thought I would find some sort of help or answer from reading this. Without getting too personal, I no longer consider myself a religious person in any way, but I still think at least parts of the Bible are worth reading, even from a secular viewpoint. There are some interesting stories and even historical/cultural things to learn, plus it's great practice for translating Ancient Greek when you're first learning!
About: I'm not sure this one really requires a description.

Buy the book: Amazon 


1Q84 by Haruki Murakami 
No. Pages: 1,157
This was the first book I ever read by Murakami! In retrospect, it's not necessarily the Murakami book I would choose for a new reader, but I'm glad I loved it enough to keep reading his work because he's not one of my favorite authors of all time.
About: "The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo. A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84—”Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.” Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled."

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository


Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
No. Pages: 1,079
This was a chore. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about so I read it over a summer a few years ago and I will not do it again. I can see where it's a really interesting work of literature and why people respect it, but I found it highly overrated and just not worth it. There are a few parts with meaningful passages, but outside of that it was gibberish for me. Sorry if you enjoyed this one!
About: "A gargantuan, mind-altering comedy about the pursuit of happiness in America. Set in an addicts' halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwed-up family to come along in recent fiction, Infinite Jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to so dominate our lives; about how our desire for entertainment affects our need to connect with other people; and about what the pleasures we choose say about who we are."

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository


The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
No. Pages: 994
The Kingkiller Chronicles is one of the books that pulled me back into mad reading during a difficult period in my life, so I blew through this book and did not realize it was this long! That being said, I can't wait to continue it one day and will definitely be re-reading the first book and this one in preparation for the third!
About: "“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.” 

My name is Kvothe. I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me."

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository


The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber 
No. Pages: 838
This is the book that made me fall in love with Michel Faber! This is such a beautifully written story that flows so effortlessly that every page is enjoyable. If you like historical fiction and memorable characters, you'll love this book.
About: "Faber leads us back to 1870s London, where Sugar, a nineteen-year-old whore in the brothel of the terrifying Mrs. Castaway, yearns for escape to a better life. Her ascent through the strata of Victorian society offers us intimacy with a host of lovable, maddening, unforgettable characters."

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository


A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
No. Pages: 848
I enjoyed this book and continued on with the second, but I never made it through the third. I don't have any plans to continue on with this series, but I did enjoy A Game of Thrones quite a bit and think it's a great epic fantasy.
About: "Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. To the south, the king’s powers are failing—his most trusted adviser dead under mysterious circumstances and his enemies emerging from the shadows of the throne. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the frozen land they were born to."

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
No. Pages: 838
I don't know about you, but I always assumed Tolstoy would be insanely difficult to read because Russian classic literature just seemed really intimidating. After I finished War and Peace, however, I figured that maybe I should give Anna Karenina a try, and once again I was shocked at how much I enjoyed this one. I guess that teaches me not to judge classics.
About: "Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless marriage and thereby exposes herself to the hypocrisies of society. Set against a vast and richly textured canvas of nineteenth-century Russia, the novel's seven major characters create a dynamic imbalance, playing out the contrasts of city and country life and all the variations on love and family happiness."

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

Have you read any of these books? What are some of the longest books you've ever read?


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13 comments:

  1. I've read War and Peace and Game of Thrones from your list, and a couple of the others you mentioned are on my TBR (Anna Karenina and Count of Monte Cristo). Hope you have a great week. - Katie

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    1. I hope you enjoy them if you have a chance to read them! Have a great one as well. :)

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  2. I really want to read Patrick Rothfuss and Brandon Sanderson books, but I haven't yet. And I really don't read nearly enough classics. I felt the way you do about Anna Karenina when I read The Great Gatsby (which is a LOT shorter, of course, but in terms of how easy it was to read.). Here's my TTT.

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    1. Ooh I agree about The Great Gatsby, also! I even want to try some of Fitzgerald's other books, but I'm intimidated by those still for some reason, haha. Rothfuss and Sanderson are brilliant!

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  3. The count of Monte Cristo IS humongous, and I keep telling myself I'll read it haha but I still need to! And that's impressive you've read the whole Bible. I keep thinking that should be a life goal or something, just to have done it- I don't know. Martin's books too are quite the chunksters.

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    1. It really is! I'm always surprised whenever I see it because I can't remember how it's so long, hah. Yeah, it's definitely interesting to have read, though there are some parts that are just lists, so not super interesting. :P

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  4. Wow, you have read some giant books! Game of Thrones made my list, too. I read parts of The Bible for my ancient lit class in college, but I don’t remember how many pages I read.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. Ooh, and ancient lit class sounds really neat, though! All of those GoT books are so long and they really feel like it, too.

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  5. I read War & Peace years ago, and can't remember a single thing about it! I did enjoy Anna Karenina, though. I haven't read The Crimson Petal and the White for years!

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    1. Yeah, my recollection of it seems to get fuzzier every year... And same, I think I need to re-read The Crimson Petal and the White sometime.

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  6. I have not read any of the novels on your TTT post! They look like really good reads. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to get around to reading a few of them!

    Here’s a link to my TTT post this week: http://captivatedreader.blogspot.com/2018/10/top-ten-tuesday-longest-books-ive-ever.html

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    1. If you do, I hope you enjoy them! I'll be sure to go check out what's on your list as well, I'm always curious! :)

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  7. The Crimson Petal and the White is one that my sister keeps telling me I should read. I'm glad to hear you loved it!

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