UK Book Club discussion

Hi all,
My personal challenge this year is to try and read some of the doorstops that have been languishing on my to read list for far too long!

Please feel free to post on this thread whenever you are reading a weighty tome and do include those that you have already read.
Anything over 500 pages probably counts.... ;)

I have just started War and Peace, so wish me luck.

I read a few this year: St. Augustine's City of God; The Decameron; Doctor Zhivago. I enjoyed all of them.

I have 9 over 1000 pages to read next year! Quite a few over 500 pages too

Just wanted to mention: I have finished War and Peace. It took me just over 5 weeks and yes, it was worth it!

What an incredible achievement to weave together all those threads of character and story (and so many characters...)

My ony qualms? 1. He just didn't know how to finish it. Tolstoy can certainly write, but he can't write an ending. 2. The chapters of historical commentary (especially in the epilogues - yes, there's more than one epilogue!) - he gets so repetitive here - he could have done with a firm editor ;)

Otherwise: brilliant.

Rereading 'Lord of the Rings' with my son (his first time around). I'd forgotten how many chuckles there are in it...

Liz wrote: "Rereading 'Lord of the Rings' with my son (his first time around). I'd forgotten how many chuckles there are in it..."

Wow I remember reading that. It took me a whole year to read all three books!

I think it will take that for us too, especially as we're doing it as a bedtime story!

On Beulah height by Reginald Hill at about 570 pages - this was some years ago now. Most of my reads tend to fall into the 300-450 range.

Have a couplecof longer books so might go for one ofbthose next.

Read War & Peace, well done getting through that mighty marvel!

I'm planning a reread of The Gormenghast Trilogy at some point this year, as I have the 3 in 1 book version it's read as 1 book by me.
Think The Count of Monte Cristo and Les Misérables were what felt like my two biggest tomes. Although Ken Follett's Kingsbridge books have come close :O

I have been trying to read the The Gormenghast Trilogy for ages! It’s still on my nightable with a bookmark about halfway through it.

I read Anna Karenina in my youth, perhaps the longest serious book I have read, and really enjoyed it but lost the thread of the characters a bit once I was two-thirds of the way through.

In a lighter vein, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is quite the door-stopper!

I listened to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell but not it one sitting! Currently listening to Vanity Fair which so far has taken 3 days!

I loved Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - took the weighty tome on holiday with me - devoured it!

Vanity Fair really surprised me. I didn't expect it to be as amusing as it is.

Anna Karenina took me ages - I found the stuff about Levin and his agricultural dreams very dull in the middle there, while the core story of Anna & Vronski was compelling (I also liked her brother and his family).

The Gormenghast Trilogy is such a dense read. It took me ages to get into, but once I'd tuned into the style I loved the gothic atmosphere and extreme characterisations. The first two books are the best.

I just finished Death In Holy Orders by P.D. James. This edition was 652 pages...

Earlier in the year I read -

- book:Undone|5764902] by Karin Slaughter, 560 pages
- Without Fail by Lee Child, 549 pages

I was recommended House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski a few years ago. A very quirky read, even to the point of the pages being printed differently!

Swallowed it whole! Loved it!

House of Leaves has been on my to read list for years. I really should hurry up and get around to it...

Just starting Tombland by C.J. Sansom

This morning I finished the 2nd Palliser novel, Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope, 624 pages (4 stars)

Finished Tombland - I really enjoyed it and learnt a lot about a period of history I knew little about - 4 stars from me

Sacred Hunger is over 600 pages of close-set type and on day one, I'm already resenting lugging it around in my work bag. Better be good...

Liz wrote: "'Sacred Hunger' is over 600 pages of close-set type and on day one, I'm already resenting lugging it around in my work bag. Better be good..."

Have to say, one of the advantages of my kindle, I don't get put off by the length of the book!

It's really because of my Kindle that I've decided to tackle the big books this year. Unfortunately, I still have a fair few actual doorstops on my shelves...

Yes, I have a lot of 500+ page actual books.

I have finished Bloodlines by Jan Burke (3.5 stars) 637 pages

I finished Inkspell by Cornelia Funke, 655 pages, 5 stars.

I've stumbled across a copy of Gone with the Wind. Am wondering if I should give it a go. But its a monster of a book! Has anyone else read it?

I haven't but have sat in on a Goodreads discussion of it. Sounds to be a relatively quick read and very engaging.

I'll be reading Gone with the Wind sometime this year, whenever we do love/romance for the genre challenge... Likewise I have felt daunted by its girth!

Good thinking Liz, according to Goodreads it also won the Pulitzer Prize so it could do when we get to prize winners month too. Whichever comes first I guess!

Oooh, I remember reading GWTW in my teens. The sort of book that had me mesmerised from page one and did not let up for an instant until I had dried my tears after the last page.
At the time I had only a vague knowledge of the American civil war - growing up in South Africa - so I was a sponge just soaking up all the history. Go for it, you won't be sorry.
The 1945 movie was wonderful too.

Time for another big one. I've started They Were Counted: the first part of the 'Transylvania Trilogy' (it's new to me, but apparently it's a Hungarian classic). The book starts in the early years of the 20thC and is about the decline and fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as seen through the eyes of one aristocratic family. There's a lot of characters with complicated (if you're me) names, but it's got me interested all ready and I will finally get Hungary for the round the world challenge...

... Oh and after 'War and Peace', 624 pages should be a walk in the park ;)

Les Misérables must be the longest book I have read. I loved it but it did have some long and dull descriptive bits which I skimmed through. My challenge for the summer is to read The Priory of the Orange Tree. Good luck with your door-stop novels everyone!

Kate wrote: "I've stumbled across a copy of Gone with the Wind. Am wondering if I should give it a go. But its a monster of a book! Has anyone else read it?"

I read Gone with the Wind a few years ago and enjoyed it. As the story spans a number of years the pacing is good and keeps your interest. If you do decide to give it a go I hope you like it!

Les Misérables has been on my to read list for years, Mrs Fizzy. I was so daunted by its weight, I kept putting it off, again and again. Glad to hear it's worth the effort ;)

It doesn't fit into my plan for this year (unusually for me, I have all the big books I'm going to read already decided) but I might just tackle that one next year....

I hadn't heard of The Priory of the Orange Tree, so I looked it up. Sounds fun, but over 800 pages - you could give your arm muscles a excellent workout with that one!

Victor Hugo does have a tendency to give every character a detailed and lengthy backstory which deviates away from the main plotline a number of times. I know a lot of people find this frustrating but I am very character-driven as a reader so did not mind this. I hope you enjoy it when you eventually get to read it.
I agree about the arm workout with Priory of the Orange Tree. Not one to pop into my bag for trips out either! It has a rather long character list at the front of the book which scares me a bit I must admit!

Fizzy wrote: "Victor Hugo does have a tendency to give every character a detailed and lengthy backstory which deviates away from the main plotline a number of times. I know a lot of people find this frustrating ..."

BTW, great nickname. When I was at university my housemates used to call me 'Liz the Fizz' or 'Fizzy' too ;)

Thank you, I like it as a nickname too :-) 'Liz the Fizz' is brilliant!

I just finished Natchez Burning by Greg Iles, an engrossing thriller. I rated it 4.5 stars.. 791 pages

Just finished Hour Game - at 752 pages, wish I'd had it on kindle! Had a sore elbow a lot of the time while reading it.

Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "Just finished Hour Game - at 752 pages, wish I'd had it on kindle! Had a sore elbow a lot of the time while reading it."

lol... Good point. I recall it was an action-packed thriller..

I just finished The Master of Rain: A Suspense Thriller by Tom Bradby, 509 pages. Excellent historical mystery set in Shanghai... (4 stars)

I've just finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I enjoyed it but can't help feeling a little confused. I think its a book on a second read you pick up more nuances. Lots of interest but I did feel that there were a few too many interludes which detracted from the main plot and I'd forgotten what had happened previously - so much going on. 3.5-4 star. I think it might grow on me on a re- read.
I particularly like the additional novella on the kindle edition set afterwards in Scotland.

I enjoyed American Gods too and yes, it does seem to switch story lines about halfway through!

I just finished The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell which weighs in at over 600 pages. I had heard mixed reviews, but I felt its strengths outweighed its weaknesses and I gave it 4 stars. The final section felt uncomfortably possible in our current political climate.

Another biggie finished: East of Eden by John Steinbeck was a really good epic read. Now I'm starting Eleanor Catton's Booker winner, The Luminaries. This one's over 800 pages! No wonder it's been sitting unread on my Kindle since it won the prize in 2013...

Has anyone read the wheel of time? it's 14 volumes and they are all hefty! Worth it though....

The Poisonwood Bible and The Change: Women, Ageing, and the Menopause