Warning: Robust Posting About Books Ahead; Seriously Guys a Lot of Bookish Stuff Written Here

Here’s the thing – sometimes I like to read a really big fat book.  A deep dive into the characters and story that you just lose yourself in and get to enjoy for a long time.  This doesn’t bode well for a full time employee that also maintains a book blog.  That’s the place I am in now.  So, to buy myself some time I am making an Unofficial List of Big Thick Books That I Like.  Among my favorites are:

·         The Winds of War by Herman Wouk – this book is freaking awesome, as is the equally big fat sequel War & Remembrance.  It tells the story of World War II through the life of an American family who ends up involved in the most historic parts of the war (sort of the way Forrest Gump did, but without the humor).  I wish I knew more adjectives that meant “awesome” because this is one of the best books ever.  It was written in the 70s, and it was actually given to me by a director of a commercial I was working on.  He heard I liked reading and in particular WW2 memoirs, and figured I would like this fictitious series.  That guy was dead right. 

·         Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.  I read this book in the fifth grade, and want to read it again one day since it is so good.  The longer, more in-depth story that the book tells is better than the movie, which I know is an annoying observation.  Scarlett, the Sequel to Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind by Alexandra Ripley was also long, but not memorable.

·         Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and the sequel World Without End – what’s with all of these super long books having sequels?  Each of these are a thousand pages, which clearly is not enough for these fantastically verbose authors.  But I digress.  I love this book and almost everything written by Follett.  This book in particular is such a carefully crafted story with wonderful characters that you want to either hug or punch.  It was written in the 80s but re-popularized by Oprah when it made her Book Club right before the sequel was released.  (Notable aside:  Kitty Kelley’s book Oprah almost fits into the Big Thick Book Category and is a great read as well.  That chick was naughty!)  

·         The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged – both by Ayn Rand.  Rand is an extremist, though I like her point of view on the most basic level: Do your best at what you are good at;  Let others do the same without restriction.  Politics aside, the woman is a killer storyteller.  Sure, some of the speeches go on a bit long, but well worth the read.  I have read all of her books and wish she had written more, but these two are certainly the most famous and wonderful.  They are two separate stories, not sequential like my first three bullets.

·         Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – just kidding.  This book was long and depressing as hell, but I feel like I deserve some credit for reading it to completion and not throwing myself in front of a train.

Ironically my reviews of Big Thick Books have gone on far too long.  Therefore I am assured a thumbs down review from Reluctant Readers Husband and Brother, who most likely won’t make it through this post.  Joke’s on them – I am recommending Anna Karenina to those guys for their annual reads.