It's that time of year again--time to break out the big books for reading during the hot days of summer. I am not a beach or pool gal, but I do love to read on our covered back deck when it's too hot to garden.
Once again, Sue from Book by Book is hosting the Big Book Summer Challenge--her 12th year! All you have to do is read at least one book over 400 pages between Memorial Day and Labor, and you've completed the challenge.
I am definitely planning on reading Drood, a 775-page whopper by Dan Simmons, after I finish Dickens' The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which I am reading with the Victorians on GoodReads.
I would also like to read some more of Jeff and Michael Shaara's Civil War novels, all of them are 400+ pages. I read A Blaze of Glory, about Shiloh, in May and am eager to read more of the Western Theatre novels as well as all the others.
My brother Mark told me about a series of books by Alice Roberts, non-fiction on British history. The first, Ancestors: A History of Britain in Seven Burials, clocks in at 400 pages, so it is also a definite possibility for this challenge.
Happy Summer Reading! What's on your shelf?
This is such a good challenge. I definitely will be reading an over 400 page book this summer and it works well with the Medieval Historical novel challenge I'll be taking. I might go with Cloud Cuckoo Land which you recommended last year and part of the novel set in Middle ages.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it reaches 400 pages but Jeff Shara's Rise to Rebellion about the American Revolution is excellent.
I definitely plan to read Shaara's Revolutionary War and WWII novels as well as the Civil War ones. Thanks for the recommendation.
DeleteGood luck with this challenge! I think most of my summer reading is going to be well under 400 pages. I like fast and fun in the summer. :D
ReplyDeleteI like fast and furious as well, which means I may only get one big book done this summer!
DeleteIt looks like you have some big doorstoppers on your schedule. Dan Simmons is supposed to be good. I liked Michael Shaara's Killer Angels long ago but I haven't read his son's books yet -- I think I would like his. Good luck with your Civil War rabbit hole reading. I still need to get to Erik Larson's latest. ... this summer! Happy reading.
ReplyDeleteI love Killer Angels and have read 2-3 times, and plan to reread it again. One of my all-time favorite books.
ReplyDeleteYay. I was taken away by Killer Angels too. Maybe I need to reread it. I read it when I lived not far from Gettysburg and Antietam and visited both. Perhaps you should do a battlefield trip after all your Civil War readings ...
DeleteA battlefield trip (or 2) is definitely in the cards. I am looking at the Stephen Ambrose tours, but not sure I want to go that route or just free form. I have wanted to visit Gettysburg for so long! I did visit Fredericksburg 30+ years ago during a trip to Wash D.C.
DeleteWelcome back to Big Book Summer, Jane! So glad you're joining in again. I love Dickens, but I've never heard of Edwin Drood! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Enjoy your Big Books!
ReplyDeleteSue
2024 Big Book Summer Challenge
I do like long books, unless I feel they were just poorly edited. I just finished Becoming Madam Secretary about Frances Perkins, which was 500+ but I really just wished the author had included some of Perkins' college experience. Perhaps that got edited out!
ReplyDeleteI would also like to visit Gettysburg and I met someone at a conference today who said it's a bit over 3 hours to get from Gettysburg to Falling Water, another place I've always meant to see! He had just been to Wisconsin to visit several Frank Lloyd Wright sites.
A JASNA friend of mine is visiting Falling Water after the AGM in Cleveland this fall--when I was still considering going to it, I fantasized about including both Gettysburg and Falling Water in a post-AGM trip!
DeleteDrood has been on my shelf for years. I look forward to seeing what you think!
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