I Like Big Books & I Cannot Lie

I Like Big Books & I Cannot Lie

• May 15, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they post a new topic/Top Ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I'm so obsessed with lists!

This week's topic was originally about what ten authors we'd like to see on a reality show, but it was recently updated to be a freebie week. While I actually like the reality show topic (and hope some people still do that), I could not think of anything for that list for the life of me. So, I created my own topic this week.

I have a confession about my reading habits. I love really fat books, but I also put off reading them. I let them linger in my TBR pile for so long because I can never quite commit to the amount of time it will take me to read them. But, once I finally do, I almost always fall head over heels in love with the book and regret that I didn't get to it sooner. So, in honor of that, I present this list:

Top Ten Chunksters on My To Be Read (Or Re-Read) List

 

1. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo - I recently bought the Julie Rose translation of this book after hearing wonderful things about its readability. I'm dying to read - I just haven't yet worked up the courage to actually start it. I've seen the musical and the movie, so I know the general storyline, but I know neither will compare to the book itself. Plus, it's a favorite of Lorren at The Story Girl so I have a feeling I'll love it because she's got great taste in books! 

2. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - I read Anna Karenina and loved it. Anna is a difficult character, Tolstoy likes to take some looong tangents and it's intimidating, but I still want to read this book. Not even to brag about it. Okay, well maybe a little. But it really does sound good!

 

3. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - I accidentally bought this on my Kindle with the whole 1-click buying button, but I would have probably ended up getting so I wasn't too concerned. I have read awesome things about this one, and April at Good Books and Good Wine wrote an awesome review of it. I'll basically read anything she says she enjoyed because we have similar book soul mates.

4. East of Eden by John Steinbeck - I haven't read anything by Steinbeck, but I bought this on a whim at a used bookstore because it was so cheap. Now it just stares at me and reminds me that I still haven't picked it up. But, again, Lorren recently included a quote from it on one of her Top Tuesday posts so that convinced me it needs to get moved up on my list.

  

5. Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell - I really love this mini-series. It's just so dang good! But, my goodness, this book is big. And I always pick it up and stop after like two chapters because I can't quite convince myself to commit to it. But I will! I promise. Because I need further proof that the book is always better than the movie.

6. Middlemarch by George Eliot - I've heard this can be a challenging read but that it's also really worth the effort. After seeing several quotes from it, I'm convinced I'll love it. I just have to get in the quaint and slow country life kind of mood first.

 

7. The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons - This cover is gorgeous. I don't even need to read the description to know I want to read it. And then I kept hearing good things about it, so that further convinced me it needed to be read. It's set in Russian. And it's a love story. Sounds good to me.

8. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - I believe this is a favorite of Jess at Gone with the Words, which originally made me think I might want to read it. And then I saw that there are a bunch of bloggers doing a read-along of it this summer. I don't know what to do! I know I'd like to read it, but that's one big fat book.

 

9. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray - This is going to sound so lame, but I basically want to read this because of the Reese Witherspoon movie. Yes, I just said that. Can you blame me?

10. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - There was recently a group doing a read-along of this book, which is what made me add it to be to be read list. Is it a mystery? A ghost story? I have no idea. I just know it's long, and I want to read it.

Bonus: To Re-Read

 

11. The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly - I devoured this book like two years ago, but now I can't remember anything that happened. It's the first in a trilogy, and my best friend bought me all three for Christmas so I think I want to read all three in a row. Then, I think of all the time that will take, and I second-guess my decision. But I know I love Jennifer Donnelly's writing so these books will definitely be happening soon.

12. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - This is one of those big books that takes no time at all to read because you can't just put it down. I know because I read it in middle school, and it immediately jumped on to my favorites list. I realized recently I haven't read it since then, and I'm thinking I might need a little Scarlett in my life soon. You can't go wrong with a Southern girl, even if she's a total pain sometimes.

So, here's where you come in: which one should I read first? Any books on here you'd highly recommend? Help convince me that it's finally time to take the plunge and commit to one of these chunksters! I'm begging you... and so is my TBR pile!