Like many other readers, I have a fear of big books. I think that we all get some level of satisfaction from being able to proudly declare how many books we have read in a given year, and flying through shorter books allows for that number to get higher and higher. Last year, I made it a goal to read a few books over 500 pages, which allowed me to prioritize the larger titles on my to-read list for the first time. Since then, I realized just how many books I have been putting off because of their size. Therefore, I have decided that 2020 is the year that I intend to add big books into my regular reading life.
I wanted to share the 25 longest books I have read as of the beginning of this year in order to have an easy gauge of my progress. I’m not setting a specific goal as to how many titles over a certain page length I hope to read by the end of the year. Instead, my goal is more like an experiment: How many of the books listed below are different by the end of the year? Can I replace a large portion of this list? I’m definitely curious to see how I do!
I do have a few notes before I begin the list. First of all, I’m picking the length of these books based on what Goodreads tells me. Since I read some titles here a long time ago and don’t own copies of them, I can’t independently verify the page counts, so Goodreads is the best source I have available. Secondly, I am excluding graphic novels (though mixed-format books are fair game) and any compendiums or bind-ups of multiple titles. Now, let’s see my longest reads to date!
25. Days of Blood & Starlight – Laini Taylor – 517 pages
24. Insurgent – Veronica Roth – 525 pages
23. Allegiant – Veronica Roth – 526 pages
22. The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger – 528 pages
21. The Invention of Hugo Cabret – Brian Selznick – 533 pages
20. The Book Thief – Markus Zusak – 552 pages
19. New Moon – Stephenie Meyer – 563 pages
18. Pamela – Samuel Richardson – 592 pages
17. Last Sacrifice – Richelle Mead – 594 pages
16. Illuminae – Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – 602 pages
15. Obsidio – Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – 615 pages
14. The Toll – Neal Shusterman – 625 pages
13. Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer – 629 pages
12. Night Film – Marisha Pessl – 640 pages
11. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling – 652 pages
10. The Shining – Stephen King – 659 pages
9. Gemina – Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – 659 pages
8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling – 734 pages
7. Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer – 756 pages
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling – 759 pages
5. A Game of Thrones – George R.R. Martin – 819 pages
4. Romola – George Eliot – 831 pages
3. The Priory of the Orange Tree – Samantha Shannon – 848 pages
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling – 870 pages
1. The Stand – Stephen King – 1,153 pages
Well, that’s my list! I read a lot of these books a decade or more ago, so I would really like to refresh the selections here this year. While I didn’t include them, I can already say with confidence that I have read two titles in 2020 that will qualify for this list, so I feel good about my chances of having wildly different selections by the end of the year. As I showed in my post on my 2020 reading plans, I have quite a few lengthy titles that I want to read in the coming months.
What are your favorite long books? Let me know in the comments below!
The Hannie Corner 
Interesting list hah! I’m now very curious to mine, Harry Potter and Game of thrones will also definitely be on there!
(www.evelynreads.com)
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If I had to narrow down my goals to one overarching one, it would be to finish the current Game of Thrones books because I want to watch the show, but also finish the books before I start it.
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Oh lord, more than 1k pages ??!! 😨 that’s one hell of a long book!
Since I got sick and lost my capacity of concentrating, I totally abandonned long books 😂 I run away from them! I think the most lengthy that sits on my shelves are between 600-800pages, perhaps? As of which still looks terrifying to me now, not sure i’d reread them- even if I’d want to ahaha
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It’s taken me years to get to the point where I feel more comfortable with longer titles. Ultimately, though, I’m finding that adult fantasy is my favorite genre lately, and long books are the norm there, whether I like it or not.
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Yeah, im scared my brain won’t be able to deal with high fantasy so.. ahaha 🤣🙈
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I’m currently reading the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, and several of those are over 1,000 pages long. I’d say it’s my favorite fantasy series, even though reading it is taking a long time.
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I want to tackle Malazan eventually, but I still consider myself to be a relative newbie to fantasy, so I’m working through some series and authors that are a little less intimidating first. For example, I hope to read a lot of Brandon Sanderson this year because his books are long and epic, but still very accessible and easy to read.
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1216 pages is my longest – The Lord of the Rings. However, that’s a trilogy to be correct: 398, 322, 404 by the shortest counts. I’ve read a few on your list, including The Book Thief and The Aviator’s Wife.
Of my reads, Frank Herbert’s Dune at 688 pages might be one of the longest, beaten by Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Mists of Avalon at 884 pages. Lot of reading remains though including Anne Lovett’s The River Nymph at 563 pages.
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While Lord of the Rings is technically a trilogy, I believe that JRR Tolkien untended for the books to be read as one complete entry and they got split up by publishers. For me, I count them as 3 books because I have been reading each part of the trilogy with years in-between, but there’s a case to mark it as one long book if that’s someone’s preference.
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In fact, I first read LOTR as one book – over one long weekend in my teens. I’ve since always read them back to back too.
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The longest books I remember are Order of the Phoenix, Breaking Dawn and Gone With The Wind
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Interesting list! I really want to read Priory of the Orange Tree but its so long I keep putting off starting it.
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I have mixed feelings about Priory of the Orange Tree. The story is kind of split across two major locations in the universe, and I liked one plotline WAY more than the other. Overall, I gave it three stars, which is a bit disappointing given how long it is.
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But which of these longest books was the most meaningful for you?
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Definitely The Stand, as it’s a personal favorite book of mine.
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It’s funny you say that. I have been reading The Stand for my first time, the uncut edition. Thus far I am highly enjoying it.
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