Follow Friday is a feature created by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. It's a fun blog hop where you meet other book bloggers and find people to follow.
Question: What is the longest book you've read? What are your favorite 600+ page reads?I don't keep up with page count very often. I read the books I want to read regardless of length. Mostly I read young adult, which is normally shorter (though there are plenty of exceptions).
Probably the longest book I've read is Gone With the Wind. Which despite not normally being a romance reader I absolutely love. There's the excellent backdrop of the civil war, Scarlett O'Hara's Irish sensibility about land (which I relate to, being Appalachian and partially Irish) but mostly there is Rhett Butler (and thankfully Clark Gable as Rhett Butler). Clark Gable is my old Hollywood crush. Gone with the Wind is a romance, but it's not a happy story or a contrived story. It's one of the few books that pulls off an unlikable main character. There are times that I hate Scarlett. But you have to admire her courage and savvy, especially considering the time period she lived it. (But you don't have to like her using men or motherhood skills)
Because one Clark Cable picture isn't enough
Another long book favorite is East of Eden. I can't pretend to remember it very well because it's been years since I've read it. But mainly I remember thinking it was brilliant and thought provoking. It delved into whether you can choose to be good or whether someone can be born evil. It also gave us, in my opinion, James Deans best performance. This is a must read and must see combo.
Unnecessary but don't pretend you aren't happy it's included.
I've read some other long books. Harry Potter, which I love, comes to mind. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell also pops into mind. It took me two tries to read that book. Even though I found the world building fascinating, the actual reading felt tedious to me. I studied journalism in college so I often find myself frustrated with unnecessary words. Sometimes it feels like a book overstays its welcome, length-wise and I find myself looking for a red pen.
20 comments:
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Amber @ Fall Into Books
Great Choices! New Follower :)
World of Books
I LOVE the classics and GWTW is awesome. A fave of mine too. Thanks for visiting my site. I'm now following you via RSS Feed-Google.
The Scarf Princess
Those are some serious classics. Wish I read them. I've certainly heard enough about them over the years :)
Thanks for stopping by. New Linky follower!
Yay! there were very few of us who chose Gone With the Wind :o)
I was actually surprised more people didn't pick Gone With the Wind. Maybe because I read it so long ago I kind of expected it to be the main answer. It's long and well-known.
Amy: I think both are classics that are worth reading. I try to make myself read classics occasionally to reminder myself there are books out of YA.
Thanks to the new followers! Very excited to have you around!
I completely agree with your explanation of Gone with the Wind and Scarlet. Also, you can never have enough Clark Gable or James Dean pictures. I've never read East of Eden, but I enjoyed the movie.
New Linky follower.
Jennifer @ Feminist Fairy Tale Reviews
Hopping through. I've never read East of Eden. The only Steinbeck I've read was Grapes of Wrath.
My Hop
Thanks for following my blog for 'Follow Friday'! I haven't read or seen Gone With the Wind and I realised as I was reading your bit about it that I actually knew nothing about it! I think I will give it a read at some point- sounds good!
I have also never read 'East of Eden'- again, I would really like to now!
I hope to speak to you again soon- I think we could potentially have pretty similar book tastes! I also gave 'Anna and the French Kiss' 3 stars...I am just gonna go read your review now! x
I never could bring myself to read Gone with the Wind. It's just so long and there're so many other books out there!
Thanks for stopping by!
Ning @ Reading by Kindle Fire
THanks for stopping by The Paperback Princesses. Both Christinabean and I have read GWRW, but my longest is actually War and Peace. It took a marathon session to finish, but i loved it.
Gone with the Wind is long but I don't remember it feeling long when I read it in high school (given I was after some mad high AR points because I liked being the top reader in the score). It's worth reading if you can ever carve out the time.
I'm kind of embarrassed to admit I've never read War and Peace. I feel like at some point I should have.
Both of these are GREAT choices. They are classics for a reason, yes?
Thanks for stopping by my blog!
Hi, thanks for visiting my blog yesterday!
I really want to read Gone with the Wind but it just intimidates me if I'm honest. It's just got such a reputation that I'd hate to start it and not like it and be hissed at!
Loved Gone with the Wind both the book and the movie.
Thanks for stopping by.
I'm a GWTW fangirl too...and Clark Gable. Great choice! :]
I'm a New Follower via Linky. I haven't read any of the books you choose. About Gone with the Wind, I love the movie so I should read the book.
You can visit me at
http://jessysbookends.blogspot.com/2012/03/feature-and-follow-friday_23.html
Followed back VIA linky! Hope you had a great weekend!
Froggy @ Froggarita's Bookcase
I see that Gone With the Wind was a common answer for this Feature & Follow :) I haven't read it though!
Maeva
Murphy's Library
Of the books mentioned, I've only read the Harry Potter books, but I really should read Gone with the Wind! Thanks for stopping by! New follower! Happy reading!
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