Top Ten Tuesday (9): Books Over 1000 Pages

Format: select

 Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish with a different theme every week.

This week we got to choose our own theme.  Really long books have been on my mind (and how I want to read them all). I love long books.  So since today was a freebie topic and I wanted to make a list of really long books anyway, I thought I’d combine them!  I’ve read only about half of these books.

Read

1. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien – This was originally meant to be one book, but the publishers wouldn’t have been able to make money printing such a huge book not to mention paper was scarce after the war (source). I consider it one of the best books that I’ve read. Twice. (1285 pgs)

2. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – Another book I’ve read already (told you I love long books :)). The drama! The sass! The dying of a culture! War! Romance! I read this one in high school and I loved it. (1024 pgs)

3. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo – This is the longest book I’ve ever read. Unabridged it comes in at a hefty 1463 pages.  This book literally tells the entire backstory for every single character.  Victor Hugo even crams in a few political rants cuz why not.  Still, I loved reading the unabridged version and I highly recommend it. (1463 pgs)

4. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy – I thought this book would be a long, boring historical account of a war of some sort.  That is not true. It has rich characters and lots of drama. Loved it. (1273 pgs)

5. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke – If Charles Dickens had written about magic it would have come out something like this.  It also has an “open” ending, so it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But I sure enjoyed it. (1006 pgs)

Haven’t Read Yet

6. Don Quixote by Cervantes – I have not read this one, but it’s a classic.  It looks to be full of satire and humor. It’s been on my TBR list for a while now. (982 pgs)

7. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas – Technically, I’ve read bits and pieces of this book.  I was required to read an abridged version in high school but lost heart when I learned it was abridged.  I was seriously miffed that I was missing out on something.  I mean it’s totally reasonable to make us read the 1200 page version, right?? (1276 pgs)

8. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand – I actually own this one.  I bought it a long time ago because Rory Gilmore talked about Ayn Rand with Jess.  Turns out the book she was talking about was actually the Fountainhead.  And this book has now been collecting dust on my shelf for years.  It’s part of my Dusty Bookshelf challenge to read it. (1069 pgs)

9. Bleak House by Charles Dickens – I love Dickens and this is said to be one of his best books. (1017 pgs)

10. The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer – I stumbled on this one today browsing long books on Goodreads.  It caught my eye because Norman Mailer is mentioned on Gilmore Girls. And then! The main characters is named Gary Gilmore (!) and it’s set in Utah (hey I live there!!!). O.o It won a fancy pulitzer prize, too.  I’m pretty sure I’m meant to read this book.  But not any time soon because it’s like really long. (1056)

Honorable Mentions (Haven’t Read These Either)

• Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens (985 pgs)
• Le Morte D’Arthur by Thomas Malory (938 pgs)
• Arabian Nights (1049 pgs)

What books were on your top ten list this week? Leave a link and I’ll come look!