For reasons unknown (but probably are deeply embedded in my psyche :-)), I have been intimidated by large books: large in page numbers not the actual page size itself. Books with huge numbers of pages seem rather overwhelming to me, although I still add them to my TBR pile in the idle hope that perhaps I might still pick one up every now and then. However, to be honest, I haven’t been picking them up and as I collected some of them from the shelves, it seems that I have quite a pile.
I thought I might tackle some (or one) of them this year, and so went gathering them up from where they lay in the book cases. I have quite a few, it seems, and thus the plan is born: I will read one (or more) of these really large books this year. Pretty do-able goal, I think.
Each of the books featured have spines that measure 1.5 inches or more (which was my criteria for inclusion). Page numbers are unknown, but believed to be scary-high for most.
Titles include (as included in the photo top to bottom, left pile first):
- The Emperor of Maladies – Siddartha Meukherjee (NF) – UPDATE: READ THIS ONE.
- Bound to Please – Michael Dirda (NF)
Working– Studs Terkel (NF)(gave this one away)- Taste: The Story of Britain Through its Cooking – Kate Colquhoun (NF and expected response from non—UK readers – lots of blank pages)
Steve Jobsbio – Walter Isaacson (NF)(gave this one away)- Austerity Britain: 1945-1951 – David Kynaston (NF – looks a bit *serious* to me but good reviews)
Right hand pile, top to bottom:
London Belongs to Me – Normal Collins (F)Completed.- The Victorians – A. N. Wilson (NF)
- Bloody Foreigners: The Story of Immigration to Britain – Robert Winder (NF)
And Ladies of the Club – Helen Hooven Santmyer (F)– DNF
And they’re off from the starting post. First up: And Ladies of the Club… Progress updated as warranted.
Edited to add (April 2014): Remarkably little progress so far. And Ladies… was crushingly boring and a DNF. (Sorry – I know that a lot people really love this one.) And London Belongs to Me was ok, but took up almost a whole month and didn’t feel worth it. The project continues, but dawdles more than anything.
ETA (February 2019): Still not a great deal of progress, except that I’ve given away the Steve Jobs bio and the Studs Terkel title. Did just read two SBBs not on that list though: Roots (Alex Haley – 912 pp) and Victoria: A Life by A.N. Wilson (642 pp), so it’s all baby steps. 🙂
ETA (Sept. 2019): Actually read (and totally enjoyed) The Emperor of Maladies. Woohoo! Progress of sorts.
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I read those like, last year. Gawwwww.
Thanks, Napoléon.
Wow! Some impressively big books there! I’ve had a problem committing to long books oddly enough since I started blogging since there would be a big gap between reviews – must try to conquer this phobia (or read more…)
Kaggsy – That is one of my hang-ups as well – long gaps between blogging. However, I usually read more than one book at a time, so am thinking that if I read a long book, then I can put shorter books in between and perhaps address that in that way, We’ll see. Some of these books I’ve had a long time so we’ll see if I can get past this phobia. Thanks for popping by.
Oddly enough, I thought I might try that tactic and started Don Quixote and some short novels. But I got so sidetracked by Russians that I haven’t picked up the Don for weeks. Ah well…..
Big books can be scary especially for a super slow reader like me, but strangely I seem to have knack for acquiring them too. Michael Dirda’s Bound to Please is a real delight. But be warned though, your TBR list is sure to get longer than ever, as DIrda convinces you to read all those other books he recommends in there!
I don’t read a lot of big books, but there are quite a few on my “yet to read” shelf. I think it has more to do with not wanting to carry around heavy books around with me since I always have to have my book with me. Good luck on your quest.
It’s been 20 years since I read And Ladies of the Club, but I remember loving it! I picked up a copy at a used books sale a couple of years ago in hopes of rereading but, of course, haven’t gotten around to it. Enjoy!
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