600+ page books Archives

I Know This Much Is True

by Wally Lamb

You all kept telling me amazing things, and I finally finished my first Wally Lamb novel. At nearly 900 pages, I feel like I earned it (which makes this a perfect candidate for an ereader). Lamb wrote one of the best endings I've read in a long time. This is the story of two brothers born into a big, messy, complicated family. One is trying to keep his own life together as he attempts to watch over his schizophrenic twin. It's an emotional and challenging read, on many levels, but I thought it was so well done.

Here Be Dragons (Welsh Princes Trilogy Book 1)

by Sharon Kay Penman

From the publisher: "Thirteenth-century Wales is a divided country, ever at the mercy of England's ruthless, power-hungry King John. Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, secures an uneasy truce by marrying the English king's beloved illegitimate daughter, Joanna, who slowly grows to love her charismatic and courageous husband. But as John's attentions turn again and again to subduing Wales---and Llewelyn---Joanna must decide where her love and loyalties truly lie. The turbulent clashes of two disparate worlds and the destinies of the individuals caught between them spring to life in this magnificent novel of power and passion, loyalty and lies. The book that began the trilogy that includes Falls the Shadow and The Reckoning, Here Be Dragons brings thirteenth-century England, France, and Wales to tangled, tempestuous life."

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration

by Isabel Wilkerson

This is one of the few nonfiction works on this list, from the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for journalism. An essential read about a slice of forgotten American history detailing the decades-long migration of almost six million black citizens from the South to the North and West between 1915 and 1970, hoping for a better life, and how their resettlement changed the face of America. Wilkerson focuses on the stories of three individuals, giving us both an intimate portrayal and Big Picture view of what they experienced and how this changed the country.

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Alexander Hamilton

by Ron Chernow

This is THE definitive biography of founding father Alexander Hamilton, from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow, author of Washington: A Life. Many readers know it as the inspiration for the hit Broadway musical Hamilton. This well-written biography reads like a novel, and makes the fascinating life story of a fascinating man spring off the page.

Atlas Shrugged

by Ayn Rand

From the publisher: "Tremendous in scope and breathtaking in its suspense, Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand's magnum opus, an electrifying moral defense of capitalism and free enterprise which launched an ideological movement and gained millions of loyal fans around the world. Atlas Shrugged is the ''second most influential book for Americans today'' after the Bible, according to a joint survey conducted by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club."

The Winds of War

by Herman Wouk

A masterpiece of historical fiction, this is the Great Novel of America's "Greatest Generation". Herman Wouk's sweeping epic of World War II, which begins with The Winds of War and continues in War and Remembrance, stands as the crowning achievement of one of America's most celebrated storytellers. Like no other books about the war, Wouk's spellbinding narrative captures the tide of global events - and all the drama, romance, heroism, and tragedy of World War II - as it immerses us in the lives of a single American family drawn into the very center of the war's maelstrom.

In This House of Brede

by Rumer Godden

On my TBR because I've heard this is wonderful. From the publisher: "For most of her adult life, Philippa Talbot has been a successful British professional. Now in her forties, the World War II–widow has made a startling decision: She’s giving up her civil service career and elite social standing to join a convent as a postulant Roman Catholic nun."

Anna Karenina

by Leo Tolstoy

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way," begins this classic Russian novel. Anna leaves her husband and son for Count Vronksky but their love is ultimately doomed. Tolstoy’s much-beloved tome is praised for its depiction of Russian life and nuanced portrait of humanity. Numerous translations exist; if I had to choose one, I'd go with Constance Garnett's, if only because the audiobook is narrated by Maggie Gyllenhaal, who calls this her favorite novel and said performing it was one of the greatest accomplishments of her work life.

The Pillars of the Earth

by Ken Follett

I adored this sweeping historical novel when I first read it (in high school!) This epic tale set in Medieval England revolves around a monk’s quest to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known and the mason who becomes his architect. I had no idea how fascinating religious architecture and masonry could be. Content warnings apply.

Centennial

by James A. Michener

Michener is best known for his sweeping historical sagas: he wrote this epic novel to commemorate America’s bicentennial in 1976. This is the story of the American West, and especially Colorado. It spans 136 million years, covering the prehistoric era, Native Americans, trappers, traders, homesteaders, gold diggers, and cowboys, right on up to 1970s America. Meticulously researched, and so accurate it’s required reading for some history classes. Gripping enough to keep you turning all 1056 pages, more than once.

The Count of Monte Cristo

by Alexandre Dumas

From the publisher: "Best-selling author Alexandre Dumas—who also wrote The Three Musketeers—tells this heartbreaking yet heroic tale of Edmond Dantes who takes revenge on the men responsible for his unjust fourteen-year imprisonment, keeping him from the woman he loved and the life he was supposed to live. The Count of Monte Cristo is a must-have for any home library or literary aficionado." Over the years I've been floored by the superlatives readers use to describe this behemoth of a novel: epic, thrilling, the best book they've ever read. WSIRN guest Ahtoosa Dale advised me to read the audiobook narrated by John Lee. Forty-seven hours later, I finally understood why readers love this tale of a man thrown into prison for a crime he didn't commit and his long quest for retribution. This was wonderful on audio, but I did turn to SparkNotes on a half-dozen occasions for clarity on plot details.

Outlander

by Diana Gabaldon

Talk about big fat books: This time-travel romance series has 9 books to date, totaling 9,381 pages, 300+ hours on Audible, and incorporating time travel, the Scottish highlands, romance, drama, and history. As she tells it, Gabaldon intended to write a realistic historical novel, but a modern woman kept inserting herself into the story! She decided to leave her on the page for the time being—it's hard enough to write a novel, she'd edit her out later—but would YOU edit out Claire? I didn't think so. You could happily lose yourself in this series (but heads up for racy content and graphic torture scenes).

A Suitable Boy

by Vikram Seth

From the publisher: "Vikram Seth's novel is, at its core, a love story: the tale of Lata's--and her mother, Mrs. Rupa Mehra's--attempts to find a suitable boy for Lata, through love or through exacting maternal appraisal. Set in the early 1950s in an India newly independent and struggling through a time of crisis, A Suitable Boy takes us into the richly imagined world of four large extended families and spins a compulsively readable tale of their lives and loves. A sweeping panoramic portrait of a complex, multiethnic society in flux, A Suitable Boy remains the story of ordinary people caught up in a web of love and ambition, humor and sadness, prejudice and reconciliation, the most delicate social etiquette and the most appalling violence."

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

by Doris Kearns Goodwin

I promised myself that I would read something, anything by Goodwin this year, and I did: Wait Till Next Year, which made the summer reading guide in the Nerdy Nonfiction category. I liked it so much I’m diving into the deep end with this straight-up history of the Lincoln era. My dad will be proud.

The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle Book 1)

by Patrick Rothfuss

“I just love the world of Patrick Rothfuss." —Lin-Manuel Miranda From the publisher: "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. So begins a tale unequaled in fantasy literature—the story of a hero told in his own voice. It is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man's search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend."

Wives and Daughters

by Elizabeth Gaskell

From the publisher: "When her father remarries, the honest, innocent Molly Gibson suddenly finds herself with a new stepsister, Cynthia, who is beautiful, worldly and impetuous. This would be more than enough to deal with, but the new wife is the deeply snobbish (and darkly secretive) Hyacinth. Thwarted love, scheming ambition and small-town gossip underlie the warmth, irony and brilliant social observation which link the relationships and the inevitable conflicts as profound change comes to rural England. The most mature and rewarding of her novels, Wives and Daughters places Elizabeth Gaskell in the first rank of English authors."

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Kristin Lavransdatter

by Sigrid Undset

Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset tells the epic story of her heroine in 14th century Norway with great love and attention to detail. Kristin is devoted to her father until she meets Erlend at convent school and marries him against her parents’ wishes. Their passionate but tumultuous marriage leads to seven sons and ultimately estrangement. This is a much-beloved story, all the more impressive given its 1000+ pages. Translated from the Norwegian by Tiina Nunnally.

The Stand

by Stephen King

If you're not a horror reader but want to give Stephen King a try, this massive novel is on your short list of options. As in Station Eleven, the apocalypse comes in the form of a super-flu that wipes out 99% of the population, and leaves the others quickly choosing sides in a battle of good vs. evil. This is decidedly creepy not not scary like It or The Shining. I added this to my TBR list after I LOVED 11/22/63.

1Q84

by Haruki Murakami

Setting: Tokyo, 1984. A young woman begins to notice troubling discrepancies in the world around her, which makes her think she's living in a parallel reality, which she names 1Q84, the "Q" standing for "question." The two storylines converge over the course of the year, exploring fantasy, self-discovery, religion, love, and loneliness. The translation itself has been highly praised. On my TBR because a friend who loves it calls it "the longest book you'll never, not once, lose interest in."

The Historian

by Elizabeth Kostova

From Amazon.com: "If your pulse flutters at the thought of castle ruins and descents into crypts by moonlight, you will savor every creepy page of Elizabeth Kostova's long but beautifully structured thriller."

600+ page books

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