Now that I have a proper cabinet to put my most-loved books and TBR in, I noticed something. The majority of books are pretty chunky! When I got back into reading in 2014, I also started to track my reading. TheStorygraph makes some nice stats out this tracking. Including page counts!
On the left are the tracked books I’ve read and on the right the books still on my TBR. On both of these, 35% of the the books are shorter than 300 pages. About half of them are between 300 and 500 and 13 to 15% are books longer than 500 pages.
But what are the longest books I’ve read?
The Stand by Stephen King
I read this apocalyptic story of a world blasted by plague and tangled in an elemental struggle between good and evil last year, and my edition is 1153 pages long. I might actually reread it someday! The page count is still intimidating and I remember having read something in between parts to get a short break, but it was certainly a good story.
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
I still own this book to reread it. It was one of the first books I started reading in English. And not an easy one either. Cryptonomicon is about a mathematical genius and young Captain in the U.S. Navy assigned to detachment 2702 during the Second World War. And a present time (late 90’s) crypto-hacker’s grandson attempting to create a data haven in Southeast Asia. It’s heavy on technical details on data-encryption, and my edition is 918 pages long. Even though I didn’t get everything, and I still remember a long slow part traveling Africa, I gave it 4 stars!
Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower #5) by Stephen King
Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower #4) by Stephen King
The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower #7) by Stephen King
These three, part of a 7,5 books series, are all pretty chunky! As you know I am rereading this series this year, it’s still a favorite. Wolves of the Calla is 931 pages long, Wizard and Glass and the Dark Tower are both 845 pages. The rest of the series is 238 pages, 463 pages, 581 pages, 309 pages and 450 pages. But still, they are so good you race through each of them in just a couple of days. They are so hard to put down!
Trinity by Leon Uris
This long and epic story about Ireland during its long and bloody struggle for freedom is a whopping 894 pages. It was very insightful and a true classic. I am not sure if I would reread this again though. Some parts were quite slow.
The Labyrinth of Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #4)
Another favorite! I haven’t reread this one according to my stats, but the previous books in the series have been read multiple times already. I think these are up next year again, as I have been longing for them for a while now. My (Dutch) edition is 846 pages. The first in the series is 512 pages, the second 552 pages and the third “only” 318 pages.
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
I was in doubt to add this, because I really didn’t enjoy reading it. But I did finish this 832 pages long story about Walter Moody emigrating to New Zealand’s during the 1866 booming gold rush. I just don’t have much else to say about it…
The Talisman (The Talisman #1) by Peter Straub and Stephen King
This fantasy-thriller of a young boy traveling between worlds to save his mother from a poisonous disease is top of the charts for a lot of people. For me… not that much, sadly I found it “just average”. But, it earns a spot on this list as it has 784 pages. The second book in this series, Black House with 688 pages, was a favorite though. So maybe I reread them together someday and change my mind about it.
Sleeping Beauties by Owen King and Stephen King
Another Stephen King collaboration. I can’t help it, he writes so many chunky books and I’m here for them! This book was the first one I got from the library when I finally got myself a prescription again as an adult. (note: for children it’s free, but adults have to pay a yearly fee to use the library) I remember I did like this 720 pages long story, but I also wasn’t greatly impressed by it. So no reread of this in my future.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
And another favorite! I have yet to read anything by Elizabeth Kostova I didn’t like, but this 676 pages long story is top of her list! She refashioned the vampire myth into a suspenseful historical mystery, where a young woman unravels the secrets of her family’s past connected to an inconceivable evil: the dark fifteenth-century reign of Vlad the Impaler and a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive through the ages. It richly describes traveling through Eastern European cities (and libraries) are as if you are there yourself. Definitely recommend!
The Lost Order by Steve Berry
This 656 pages historical mystery thriller probably also won’t get a reread, although it isn’t bad. Just a couple of open ends that did not match enough for me. If you happen to like any Illuminati / Templars stories, this is one to get yourself though. According to the blurb “The Knights of the Golden Circle was the largest and most dangerous clandestine organization in American history” and the (fictional) involvement of the Smithsonian made it intriguing enough.
These are my ten longest reads! What about you, have you read any of these? Or do you, possibly, have read similar stories you can recommend to me?
It’s fun to keep track of this. Have you read King’s 11/22/63? Not his very longest, but substantial, and I liked it.
That one is still on the list! I hear a lot of good reviews about it, so I am sure I’ll get to it soon. I eventually want to have read all his books and by this rate I could have in a couple of years.