Ok, “hate” might be a strong word to use. I just prefer books that are shorter because they’re way less intimidating and I’m able to move on to a new book fairly quickly. Anything that’s over 500 pages, I consider loooong. However when I do muster up the time and courage to read a very long book, I’m always left extremely satisfied, and weirdly enough, wanting more. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt has to do with the longest books we’ve read but since I honestly don’t have enough of those to share, I though I’d break down the longest books on my TBR instead. Sound good? Let’s start.
Longest Books on My TBR
1. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
No matter how much I adored Outlander, I still get intimidated when I look over and see Dragonfly in Amber on my shelf. I’ve been wanting to pick it up for a while now, but since I didn’t read it this summer when I had a lot of free time I don’t think I’ll be picking it up until winter or next summer. I’m really looking forward to reading it though because I’ll finally be able to watch Season 2 of the TV show adaption (it’s the best thing ever, go watch it!).
2. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
It is in moments like these that I question my sanity when I chose to study English Literature at university. I have to read this almost-1000-page book by Friday next week. The audiobook is around 36 hours long but if I read it on triple speed it’s only 12 hours, right??? I did buy a really pretty edition that has illustrations to help distract me from the fact it’s 1000 PAGES LONG.
3. The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
I began this book years ago but for some reason I just never finished it? I completely forgot what it is about but if I was once interested in it I’m sure it’s worth to try and read it again. This is going to be a 7 book series so I feel like I have pretty good odds of catching up before they’re all published (probably not but I can dream).
4. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
I mean doesn’t everyone need to read this at least once before they die? It’s such a big classic but even so I cannot begin to imagine what it’s about. Like does anyone really know the plot because I’ve never heard the synopsis anywhere (conspiracy theory: War and Peace is just 1300 pages of blank space).
5. The Diviners by Libba Bray
I’ve been hearing about this series again after such a long time. I don’t have the clearest idea of what it’s about but I do know it’s set in the 1920s in New York and has great representation + supernatural elements and what more could I want? The only thing that drives me crazy is that they changed the covers so many times! The UK covers were absolutely atrocious but now we’ve got slightly better ones. I’d just like a word with the person who decided to throw the beautiful cover above out the window :)))
6.Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Tolstoy makes a reappearance! This is actually the book I’m more likely to read by him. I’ve watched the trailer for the movie adaptation with Keira Knightley years ago but it made me want to read the book really badly. Can Keira Knightley just star in all classic adaptations please? But I seriously want to try and read more classic Russian authors like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky because I’ve heard they’re some of the best.
7. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
I was never interested in reading this book until one day I just was? I’ve been hearing good things about this series non-stop lately and I’m just intrigued by the unique storytelling method. I’ve read a book by Amie Kaufman before and I just recently bought Nevernight by Jay Kristoff so I have no doubt I’ll enjoy Illuminae no matter how daunting it currently seems.
8. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
I love historical fiction novels that merge politics with literature and this family epic of a South Korean family living in Japan seems like something I would immediately devour. I actually met the author today and hearing her talk about the book made me want to read it even more. I have a feeling it might become a new favourite of mine once I get to it and I am so excited.
9. The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
I don’t think I’ve ever picked up an adult fantasy series but if I ever chose to, the Mistborn series will be my first choice. I think this might be one of the more “mainstream” fantasy series that even non-fans like me would know and enjoy. My sister is currently reading this one so she’ll probably be able to tell me if this 7 book series is worth the commitment.
10. Middlemarch by George Eliot
Again, why did I do this to myself? Kids, don’t do English Lit at university. I’m excited to finally read something by George Eliot but I’ve heard this book is quite overwhelming and pretentious so I’m a bit apprehensive. However, I’ll be discussing and dissecting it in class so I think I’ll be able to get the hang of it…otherwise I don’t know how I hope to graduate lol.
What’s the longest book you’ve read? What’s the longest book on your TBR? Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Do you prefer shorter or longer books? Let’s chat in the comments ♥
As always, if you did this week’s prompt, feel free to link it and I’ll check it out!
P.S- Sorry if this post is kind of incoherent, I wrote it at 4am when I was a complete discombobulated mess. #unilife
*high five* You and I are alike. I’m WAY too intimidated by long reads. They’re just NOT my thing. I think generally speaking, the longest books I read are 400 some pages, and often times, even this feels too long. 🙂
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Hello. Great list! I’m in the middle of The Final Empire and I can tell you that it’s worth it. I also have Leo Tolstoy’s books on my tbr list. I don’t know when I’ll be able to start them. 🙂
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I feel like Illuminae doesn’t take long to read, despite it being quite a long book, because it has such a unique format.
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Ooh Gabaldon’s books are chunksters, for sure! And I guess I never realized Vanity Fair was so long.
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Illuminae is so intimidating to me but SAME I really want to pick that one up because the hype is real. Also I just looked up alternate covers for The Diviners and really what are they even doing?? Why are there so many and why are so many of them ugly lolll😂 I really want to read that one too though! Haha great list Mara💞
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I highly recommend Outlander! Jamie was a hard pill for swallow for me to start with but I really enjoyed the book.
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the bone season is amazing! and i am currently reading The Final Empire and it’s a lot of fun!
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When I went to do my list for today, I noticed that most of them were books I’ve read long ago, or that if I have re-read them recently I did so by listening to the audiobook. I don’t know if modern technology has made sitting and physically reading really long books too daunting for me, but nowadays anything over 500 is almost always guaranteed to be an audio read for me. If you like audiobooks at all, then The Diviners series is FANTASTICALLY narrated! (I also listen to audiobooks at a faster pace, like 1.5 or 2x, which gets me through long books even faster)
My Top Ten Tuesday
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ahhhhhh! OKAY ILLUMINAE IS GOING TO FLY BY WHEN YOU READ IT, its composed of a lot of graphics and text messages and its hilarious, honestly a book you could easily binge in a day (not just saying this bc its my favourite series :p)
good luck with vanity fair omg thats TOO MANY HOURS for an audiobook but you caN DO IT!
the outlander series is super intimidating but i refuse to spoil myself by watching the show until i read the books lol great post and good luck on getting through these big books! ❤
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I actually want to read Middlemarch, too! Great spin on the topic. I though about including some I hadn’t read yet, but I decided not, too. Just wanted to say, I really like the aesthetics of your blog.
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Great list! I’m totally like you – I can sometimes be intimidated with longer books. I think that’s why I haven’t continued with the Outlander series yet, because they’re so big!! Happy reading!
My TTT: Longest Books I’ve Read!
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Nice take on this week’s topic! I’d like to read Middlemarch as well. Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
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Yeah, the Outlander books are a really big commitment. They are ALL super-long and there’s so many of them! I’ve read War & Peace but couldn’t tell you what it’s about! I did enjoy Anna Karenina.
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I’m suuuuuper intimidated by long books. I try to read them on my Kobo instead of having a physical copy, both to save my back from lugging it around all day but also so I can pretend they aren’t that long. Also, I haven’t read Illuminae but I heard it’s actually not that long of a read because of the various formats it’s in? Any books over 1000 pages just seem unnecessarily scary and excessive so I usually just pretend they don’t exist.
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Not gonna lie, it took me three months to read the Mistborn trilogy. The books were so big and intimidating but awesome. The characters are very complex and the world building is so good.I didn’t realise that Illuminae was so long because I flew threw that book.
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Illuminae is such a quick read even though it’s so long. I haven’t read any of the other books on this list. But a lot of them are on my TBR.
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This is a great list! I hate long books too but some books are totally worth it. I absolutely loved Illuminae and The Final Empire. I haven’t read Outlander series either but it’s on my TBR list.
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I’m right along with you on Kristoff books. I need to read them even if the size freaks me out.
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I’m intimidated by long books, too. You should read Illuminae. It has a lot of pages, but because of its format, it’s really quick to get through. There are barely any words on the pages.
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I studied English too, and I’m embarrassed to say in my 3 years at university I never once finished (or even started) the George Eliot novels that were set texts 😂 Still ashamed of myself, one day I’ll make it up and read one x
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As I get older I tend to prefer ‘zines and anthologies food this reason.
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Food = for >_<
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The Diviners series is so awesome – I’ve listened to all of them on audiobook because the narrator is incredibly talented. 🙂
Check out The Nightmare Before Christmas Book Tag
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Yup, I also get super intimidated by long books, the longest book I’ve read is the fifth Harry Potter book-which is nowhere near as long as some of the tomes you have on here! Longest book on my TBR is Kingdom of Ash which is almost 1000 pages-safe to say I’m pretty scared.
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I’ve really been meaning to read Mistborn, too, and hubby says it’s really good and keeps trying to get me to. xD I will eventually, too, but it just feels so daunting right now with everything else I want to read lol. You’ve got several classics on your list, and classics are so long and hard to get through, in my opinion, that I usually only read maybe one or two a year, because I need to space that nonsense out lol.
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I like books period – whether they are long or short. Now though, since I’ve been a book blogger, I do tend to shy away from books over 500 pages. It is a time management issue. I don’t read really fast and as of today I have 187 review commitments.
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