Books #36

[SaintLeo]

I think book goals have ruined chunky books for me when I see one I think ‘ah perfect to get stuck in to’ then end up picking up a 400 page book instead.
Maybe it’s also a bit of ‘so many books to read, I can get through more of them if I park the long ones’. Having said that - I sped through Covenant of Water earlier in the year.

Top of my chunk TBR are Goldfinch, 11.22.63, Love Songs of WEB Du Bois and Bronze Horseman.

Totally get that! The game changer for me was setting a “pages read” goal on StoryGraph alongside the books read one. That still goes up even if the total number of books doesn’t. I do still wait until I’m a few books ahead of my goal though before starting a big book, just to create a bit of a cushion!

I’ve been aiming to read one chunky book of my TBR per year because I do have a few I’ve been avoiding because of the size. The Love Songs of WEB DuBois is also on my TBR but I can definitely recommend both The Goldfinch and 11.22.63 as ones that won’t seem as big as they actually are once you start them.

 

[CommentBelow]

the goldfinch is legit one of my favourite books of all time so if you hate it, NEVER tell me at least it’s a beautiful cover to have on top of your trolley though!!

I’m routing for it!
And not just because I want to justify getting the nice edition to go with Secret History.

 

[CommentBelow]

Totally get that! The game changer for me was setting a “pages read” goal on StoryGraph alongside the books read one. That still goes up even if the total number of books doesn’t. I do still wait until I’m a few books ahead of my goal though before starting a big book, just to create a bit of a cushion!

I’ve been aiming to read one chunky book of my TBR per year because I do have a few I’ve been avoiding because of the size. The Love Songs of WEB DuBois is also on my TBR but I can definitely recommend both The Goldfinch and 11.22.63 as ones that won’t seem as big as they actually are once you start them.

I do love that feature.. altho I am behind pages wise atm but 8 books ahead (because I set the pages target with the ambition of reading some of my chunky books and haven’t been on a proper holiday yet this year lol)… when I’m 10 ahead I’m picking up a chunk!

 

[LaBlonde]

Ergh, I have this.. further down the never ending pile now lol

I think my chunky books appetite has been ruined by books that just didn’t need to be that long aka priory of the never ending orange tree, Babel’s 600 pages felt like 1,000.

babel felt so long that there was a point where i couldn’t remember my life before i was reading it

that’s definitely true though, especially with a lot of romances right now, which seem to always stretch a 200 page story into about 600. i liked it but binding 13 had no business being as long as it was. shannon didn’t need to fall in all those puddles!!!

 

[SaintLeo]

I think my chunky books appetite has been ruined by books that just didn’t need to be that long

I know there’s a difference between actual long books and those that just feel too long, but one of the best tips I got before tackling War and Peace (my first really big classic read) was you don’t need to read every single word of every book. Skim over the overly long tedious bits if necessary. It feels like cheating as first but definitely needed especially for some of the really long classics.

 

[CommentBelow]

I can’t believe how many times I’ve typed chunk in the last 15 min

 

[CommentBelow]

babel felt so long that there was a point where i couldn’t remember my life before i was reading it

that’s definitely true though, especially with a lot of romances right now, which seem to always stretch a 200 page story into about 600. i liked it but binding 13 had no business being as long as it was. shannon didn’t need to fall in all those puddles!!!

The one thing that could have been done with binding 13 and priory of the orange tree to reduce the page count would be to remove the blah after characters name ‘like the river’ (and mentions of how small Shannon is, 10 page saving ) and with priory ‘of kingdom blah blah land’.

 

[anniemouse]

also i’m reading the courting of bristol keats right now (speaking of long books) and it is simply Not Very Good. another thing about long books, if they’re not great you have to decide whether to continue the journey or not i’m going to do what the editor seemingly did and do a speed run.

Oh I have that one from the few months I got Fairyloot.

 

[Blueblue123]

babel felt so long that there was a point where i couldn’t remember my life before i was reading it

that’s definitely true though, especially with a lot of romances right now, which seem to always stretch a 200 page story into about 600. i liked it but binding 13 had no business being as long as it was. shannon didn’t need to fall in all those puddles!!!

I'm still scared to read Babel. 400 pages seems to be my maximum.

 

[CommentBelow]

I'm still scared to read Babel. 400 pages seems to be my maximum.

As a hater of Babel please continue to be scared lol
If you want to read a fantasy there are so many better books (imo Babel is barely a fantasy)
If you want to read something that covers colonisation there are again.. so many better books.

 

[LaBlonde]

I'm still scared to read Babel. 400 pages seems to be my maximum.

don’t do it! way too long and dull, and with the fun addition of condescending footnotes it’s not worth it!

 

[anniemouse]

The Courting of Bristol Keats
Babel

I’m feeling like I can now effortlessly reduce my TBR and physical book pile by two books today.

Currently reading this for a book club. It’s a quick read and I am enjoying it. TW of domestic abuse/controlling relationship though.

 

[veronica71]

I’ve just finished Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey - apparently one of the best crime books ever written. Not in my mind it isn’t!!


I tend to get large books on my kindle as it seems easier to read them that way - easier to hold too.

 

[emmer_moans]

I’ve just finished Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey - apparently one of the best crime books ever written. Not in my mind it isn’t!!


I tend to get large books on my kindle as it seems easier to read them that way - easier to hold too.

I am currently reading a hardback of Marble Hall Murders, I love the writing but my wrists are aching due to the book. I need to start buying more ebooks rather than hardbacks because I am getting aches holding this book up.

I hope this isn't a derail, but does anyone here sell/buy books on Vinted? I'm thinking of selling a few books to clear some space, e.g. books I bought, read, but don't want the 'book trophy ' and know I won't read again. I donate quite often but I have some hardbacks in great condition that maybe I could get a few quid for I'm just wondering if it is worth the effort.

 

[OwlHen]

I don’t routinely sell books, but I’ve sold a few of my past book club reads on there. I think they’ve gone best when they aren’t super cheap elsewhere so a couple of quid plus postage is a bargain still (looking at you there Ministry of Time).

 

[tp1986]

I am currently reading a hardback of Marble Hall Murders, I love the writing but my wrists are aching due to the book. I need to start buying more ebooks rather than hardbacks because I am getting aches holding this book up.

I hope this isn't a derail, but does anyone here sell/buy books on Vinted? I'm thinking of selling a few books to clear some space, e.g. books I bought, read, but don't want the 'book trophy ' and know I won't read again. I donate quite often but I have some hardbacks in great condition that maybe I could get a few quid for I'm just wondering if it is worth the effort.

I sell quite a few of my books on Vinted. I agree they sell best when they're not supermarket/the works type books where they are available cheaply.

 

[ordinaryjelly]

What are our weekend reads?

I am reading Conviction by Denise Mina.

There are about 46 characters and it is all a bit disjointed. I usually like her books so am going to persevere for a little bit longer.

 

[Hannahebee]

What are our weekend reads?

Only a quick reads book called Rules for Dating a Romantic Hero @ordinaryjelly.

 

[AllieBee]

What are our weekend reads?

I am reading Conviction by Denise Mina.

There are about 46 characters and it is all a bit disjointed. I usually like her books so am going to persevere for a little bit longer.

Time of the Child by Niall Williams. Not sure whether I like it or not, its very descriptive, beautiful prose, and good character development but is taking a long time to get to the point of the story!

 

[veronica71]

Dangerous Lady by Amy License - first of a tudor saga. On kindle unlimited - trying to get as many KU books as I can in the 3 months I got for 99p!