500 plus paged books

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

If series are ok then here are a couple more. In each case, the first book can be read as a stand-alone (except for maybe Honor Harrington), but they have good continuations and weren't necessarily meant to be read as stand-alone books. Except for Honor Harrington, again, each series is complete so you shouldn't be left hanging if something really grabs you.*

Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, average around 750 pages for the first 3. I haven't read the 4th, but it is a second series anyway.
The Bourne Identity (and at least the two following books) are very good; only the first is marginally like the movies, the other two are completely different from the movies. You can read the first as a stand alone book. I haven't read beyond the first three by Robert Ludlum but some people say the others are good too (by Eric Van Lustbader?)

If you do decide you want a long, high page count series, then there are a couple of my "standby" series: Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson), the shortest is about 700 pages and totals about 13,000; Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series, starting with, in publication order, The Hunt for Red October which is the shortest at about 450 pages; or David Weber's Honor Harrington series which which averages over 700 pages each I believe.

*Complete means the original author is no longer adding to it.

Okay Dazrin, I'll attempt the fantasy (mistborn and wheel of time) as I've barely touched the genre. I am not eager for cold war thrillers as I like modern ones better.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by Luffy

Okay Dazrin, I'll attempt the fantasy (mistborn and wheel of time) as I've barely touched the genre. I am not eager for cold war thrillers as I like modern ones better.

These are both fairly typical epic fantasy series both with a lot of world building, not particularly dark/gritty like some other popular series (Game of Thrones, etc.) The world building tends to turn a lot of people off while others really like it. If you haven't read much fantasy and don't find these to your liking there are other places to start too.

As far as cold war thrillers, the Jack Ryan series certainly is that while the Bourne series only touches on the cold war and I wouldn't classify it that way at all.

You might get more interesting results for you if you list a few books/series that you have read and like. Maybe add a list to the 2014 challenge (or a Goodreads link since it sounds like you have one), it is never to late to join that.

BTW, WELCOME! Nice to see someone new jumping in with both feet!

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

These are both fairly typical epic fantasy series both with a lot of world building, not particularly dark/gritty like some other popular series (Game of Thrones, etc.) The world building tends to turn a lot of people off while others really like it. If you haven't read much fantasy and don't find these to your liking there are other places to start too.

As far as cold war thrillers, the Jack Ryan series certainly is that while the Bourne series only touches on the cold war and I wouldn't classify it that way at all.

You might get more interesting results for you if you list a few books/series that you have read and like. Maybe add a list to the 2014 challenge (or a Goodreads link since it sounds like you have one), it is never to late to join that.

BTW, WELCOME! Nice to see someone new jumping in with both feet!

Thanks for the welcome, Dazrin. The truth is I've been reading cozy mysteries for two years. Dickens and Nelson Demille have been the authors that have provided me with chunky books. I've ditched a lot of the latter.

I'm coming to grips with the site's layout. I'm going to disagree politely with you as I think circa now it's slightly late for a list. When the feature for my signature is greenlit, I'll post my reading challenge from Goodreads.

I'll bid you farewell now as where I live it's 1.45 AM, so see you later.

[dickloraine]

"The Lies of Locke Lamora" is an excellent fantasy book. Not typical epic fantasy. It is the first part of a series but a self contained book in many ways. If you like heist stories (of the darker kind) give it a try. One of the best fantasy books ever and a hell of a debut novel.

[BenG]

A few long books that I've read.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pgs.)
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (925 pgs.)
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (637 pgs.)
Shogun by James Clavell (1152 pgs.)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (636 pgs.)
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (771 pgs.)
The Passage by Justin Cronin (784 pgs.)
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy (679 pgs.)
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (973 pgs.)
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (704 pgs.)
Hawaii by James Michener (960 pgs.)

Pages numbers are from Goodreads.

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by dickloraine

"The Lies of Locke Lamora" is an excellent fantasy book. Not typical epic fantasy. It is the first part of a series but a self contained book in many ways. If you like heist stories (of the darker kind) give it a try. One of the best fantasy books ever and a hell of a debut novel.

It looks good. The cover is amazing. This is a find.

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by BenG

A few long books that I've read.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pgs.)
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (925 pgs.)
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (637 pgs.)
Shogun by James Clavell (1152 pgs.)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (636 pgs.)
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (771 pgs.)
The Passage by Justin Cronin (784 pgs.)
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy (679 pgs.)
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (973 pgs.)
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (704 pgs.)
Hawaii by James Michener (960 pgs.)

Pages numbers are from Goodreads.

I once had Ken Follet's book on my kindle, but deleted it without reading. The Goldfinch is promising, it has received a lot of praise. The one book I'll read first on your list is The Historian. The Shogun is also not unknown, unlike the rest of the books. Thank you for this.

[HomeInMyShoes]

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth is the best long book I've read. One of the better books too.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell - 510 pages

I don't think this is a good fit for the OP. The OP is looking for good books and this is not a good book. It's downright awful.

[NickyWithNook]

Someone already suggested The Goldfinch. I'll add The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.

[JSWolf]

Before we go any further, are you looking for pBook pages or eBook pages?

For example, a very good book is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. ePub pages is 470 while pBook (hardcover) pages is 473 and the pBook (paperback) pages is 528.

So as you can see, we have all different page counts for three different versions.

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth is the best long book I've read. One of the better books too.

I just checked on Goodreads, it has over 1000 pages. Well recommended!

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by NickyWithNook

Someone already suggested The Goldfinch. I'll add The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Thanks Nicky. I've never heard of it. It's very popular.

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Before we go any further, are you looking for pBook pages or eBook pages?

For example, a very good book is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. ePub pages is 470 while pBook (hardcover) pages is 473 and the pBook (paperback) pages is 528.

So as you can see, we have all different page counts for three different versions.

If any version of it is over 500 pages, then it counts. I'm curious about your choices.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by NickyWithNook

Someone already suggested The Goldfinch. I'll add The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.

As I recall part of the popularity of the book is tied in with the painting which has also seen a rise in its popularity of late as I recall from a news item about it some time back.