I need a fat, page-turner book(s)

[Palo Verde]

I'm going to be in Germany for 3 months and won't have ready access to books in English. I want to take with me a couple of real page-turners with enough heft and length to keep me satisfied.

Some lovely long books I've enjoyed, so you don't need to bother recommending:

Lonesome Dove
Shogun
All the Song of Fire and Ice books
Forever Amber
All the Harry Potter books
The Stand

So as you see, I can do Westerns, romance, sci-fi or fantasy. I don't care as long as it's GOOD.

Help me out please!

[Athena]

Pillars of the Earth (http://www.amazon.com/Pillars-Earth-Deluxe-Oprahs-Book/dp/0451225244/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241486792&sr=8-1). And if that's not fat enough, get World Without End (http://www.amazon.com/World-Without-End-Ken-Follett/dp/0525950079/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241486792&sr=8-4), the sequel as well.

[beegirl13]

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon is awesome. It's a series of 6 (so far) big fat books that run 900-1000+ pages depending on which edition you get. It's a good mixture of historical fiction, adventure, and romance. The 7th book comes out in September, so you won't have to wait so long to read the new one if you start now and read fast!

[Dangerosa]

Have you read Dune?

[Martini Enfield]

Dune

The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy: A Trilogy In Five Parts

The Complete Sherlock Holmes

They're amongst my favourites and they'll certainly keep you busy for a while! :)

[Palo Verde]

Pillars of the Earth (http://www.amazon.com/Pillars-Earth-Deluxe-Oprahs-Book/dp/0451225244/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241486792&sr=8-1). And if that's not fat enough, get World Without End (http://www.amazon.com/World-Without-End-Ken-Follett/dp/0525950079/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241486792&sr=8-4), the sequel as well.

I forgot to put these on my already read list. But I enjoyed them (especially Pillars of the Earth).

More like these!

[Jettboy]

River of Gods, by Ian McDonald; it's a huge sci-fi novel set in India in the near future.

[Palo Verde]

Have you read Dune?

I've tried to read Dune about 4 times. I just can't get into it. I wish I liked it.. but I just don't.

[stpauler]

The Illuminatus Trilogy is a fun romp.

House of Leaves isn't necessarily long, but it is a bit of a plow through to read everything.

[Palo Verde]

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon is awesome. It's a series of 6 (so far) big fat books that run 900-1000+ pages depending on which edition you get. It's a good mixture of historical fiction, adventure, and romance. The 7th book comes out in September, so you won't have to wait so long to read the new one if you start now and read fast!

Hmmm... never heard of these... off to research! Thanks for the suggestion!

[Shoeless]

May I suggest Neal Stephenson's "The Baroque Cycle"? Three books (in the hardbound version anyway, they split them up for paperback) weighing in around 900 pages each. And a hell of a read.

[Claire Beauchamp]

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon is awesome. It's a series of 6 (so far) big fat books that run 900-1000+ pages depending on which edition you get. It's a good mixture of historical fiction, adventure, and romance. The 7th book comes out in September, so you won't have to wait so long to read the new one if you start now and read fast!

This.

Bonus points to anyone who might have guessed that I would agree with this recommendation. :D

[Athena]

Just a warning on Outlander... it IS a romance. I liked "Forever Amber" and "Pillars of the Earth" (both of which have a romantic thread) but the Outlander series was a bit too much of a bodice-ripper for me to like.

That said, a lot of people love it. I just got a picture of you in Germany for 3 months with nothing but Outlander thinking to yourself "I don't like romance THAT much!"

[Left Hand of Dorkness]

The Count of Monte Cristo has been called (and I agree) the best adventure novel ever written. It's an absolute masterpiece, gripping and engaging on every level. If you've never read it, you're in for a real treat.

[Claire Beauchamp]

I have to disagree about Outlander being a "romance." Usually people who say that have never read a romance/bodice ripper. Outlander is actually an ANTI romance. Yes, there's a love story, and sex, but that's just one facet. It follows absolutely no conventions of romance novels and often does the opposite. Gabaldon has said often that she'd never even read a romance novel when she wrote Outlander. The books actually cross genres -- it also has a strong element of historical fiction as well as sci-fi/fantasy; it almost didn't get published because the publisher couldn't pigeon-hole it as a single genre.

So yeah, if you don't like fiction from a female point of view in which there is a love story, skip it. But I will say I know plenty of men who've read the series and liked it.

[dalej42]

How about The Winds of War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Winds_of_War) or the sequel War and Remembrance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_and_Remembrance)? They're set during World War II and parts of it are set in Germany.

[Athena]

I have to disagree about Outlander being a "romance." Usually people who say that have never read a romance/bodice ripper. Outlander is actually an ANTI romance. Yes, there's a love story, and sex, but that's just one facet. It follows absolutely no conventions of romance novels and often does the opposite. Gabaldon has said often that she'd never even read a romance novel when she wrote Outlander. The books actually cross genres -- it also has a strong element of historical fiction as well as sci-fi/fantasy; it almost didn't get published because the publisher couldn't pigeon-hole it as a single genre.

So yeah, if you don't like fiction from a female point of view in which there is a love story, skip it. But I will say I know plenty of men who've read the series and liked it.

<shrug> It didn't do it for me, because it spent too much time on the love story, and not enough on the bits that interested me more. And I've loved plenty of books that are "fiction from a female point of view in which there is a love story."

But that's just me. I just wanted to mention that, since I like a lot of the books the OP lists, and for whatever reason Outlander wouldn't be the one I'd want to be stuck with for 3 months.

[PatriotGrrrl]

I'd recommend Tom Clancy's books. His earlier original novels about Jack Ryan that is, not his later ghost-written stuff.

[3:20:59 or bust]

Grab the heaviest Lee Child paperback you can find and enjoy.

[Rubystreak]

May I suggest Neal Stephenson's "The Baroque Cycle"? Three books (in the hardbound version anyway, they split them up for paperback) weighing in around 900 pages each. And a hell of a read.

I agree, this series is amazing. It will entertain you, make you think, and you'll learn a lot about a period of history they don't teach you much about in school.

Another recommendation: The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley, which is the Arthurian legend from Morgaine's point of view. One of my favorites. Also in a fantasy vein, Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay.

[Hunter Hawk]

The Malazan series? (Not sure if you'd count it as a page-turner, though)

[Rysto]

The Malazan Book of the Fallen series, by Steven Erikson. Eight books have been published so far, with two more coming(one is due to be published this year, and if Erikson keeps up his current pace the last will be published in 2010). They're all huge books -- the first is over 700 pages in trade paperback, and the rest approach 1000. It's my favourite fantasy series at the moment, just edging out Ice and Fire. I call it epic fantasy, but it's not a LotR clone -- Erikson takes great delight in deconstructing fantasy cliches.

[AuntiePam]

Kristin Lavrandsdattar by Sigrid Undsett -- I think it was originally published in three volumes. It's the story of a woman in Norway in the 1300's. You will swear that Undsett was there, watching, writing things down. One of the best things about it is that there's not a lot of exposition. Exposition ruins historical fiction.

[Rick]

If you can take the writing, Harry Turttledove has several series of books that many people find to be real page turners.
I might suggest some of WEB Griffin's books (http://www.webgriffin.com/thebooks.html). In particular you might like the Brotherhood of War (http://www.webgriffin.com/brotherhood.html) series. A good portion of the first book takes place in Germany.
While his books are not everyone's cup of tea, I find I can't put Griffin's books down.

[commasense]

You could get a Kindle (http://www.amazon.com/Kindle) and load it up before you leave with as many books as you can think of, including anything on Project Gutenberg or otherwise in the public domain, for free. You won't be able to send anything to it wirelessly while in Germany (that only works in the U.S.), but you will be able to download documents (like PD books) to it from your computer.

It's a lot easier to transport than a whole bunch of big books.

I've had mine for about a month now, and I really like it. I've only put free PD books on it so far.

[BiblioCat]

I was going to suggest Pillars Of The Earth and World Without End, but since you've already read them, I'll go with A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry.

[Pyper]

I have to agree with Auntbeast about the Outlander series. The romance was just too heavy. The first book was okay, I mainly kept reading because I wanted to find out the resolution to the time travel plot. The romantic mushy kissy-kissyness of the second book just made my skin crawl, and I couldn't read more than a few chapters. Plus, the Mary Sue elements are pretty heavy. (If the main female character has unusual eyes, you know you are edging into Mary Sue territory.)

My recommendation for a big damn book is Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. It's set in an early 18th century England where magic exists. It's like the wry humor of Jane Austen blended with Grimm's fairy tales. Lots of people have reported they can't get into it, but I could not put it down, the first or second time I read it.

[Freudian Slit]

Michael Crichton--it's not exactly good, but it's fun and goes very fast. I remember reading the Lost World and Jurassic Park and they didn't take long but were really fun to read. Still are.

[Caveat lector]

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is nice and of goodly size. It was gripping enough that one my my exam grades suffered for my having bought it.

[wunderkammer]

May I suggest Neal Stephenson's "The Baroque Cycle"? Three books (in the hardbound version anyway, they split them up for paperback) weighing in around 900 pages each. And a hell of a read.

About half of this series is swashbuckling or sweet birth-of-science geekery, but the rest is some really convoluted political machinations that will have you wanting to keep a notepad with all of the characters, their aliases and titles, and connections between them.

It's great once you put some effort into it, but also kind of a big commitment. The first time I read it, I took the books on a family camping trip with no alternate reading material, and it was basically a waste of time. I read it, but since the overarching plotline was so convoluted and I was reading with a "lazy beach book" mentality, I kept getting lost--cool things happened, but their significance was totally unclear. Next time around, I took it in slowly and had some fluff reading on the side, and the experience was infinitely more satisfying.

For a fun Stephenson novel (super-sized) I'd recommend starting with Cryptonomicon. The historical stuff is much less remote, so you will spend a lot less time lost and confused (unless you are a 17th century history geek, which I am definitely not). Yes, it's espionage, not pirates and politics, but it's very fun in its own way.



My recommendation for a big damn book is Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.

Yes. Absolutely.

[cormac262]

I'd recommend Tom Clancy's books. His earlier original novels about Jack Ryan that is, not his later ghost-written stuff.

I would also recommend Clancy, but more of his more "stand alone" books:
- "The Hunt for Red October"
- "Without Remorse"
- "Rainbow Six"

But not:
- "Debt of Honor" -> "Executive Decisions"
And not "The Sum of all Fears"

I also think that reading Ludlum in europe is one of the best reading experiences:
- "The Bourne Identity" (which I read in 3 days while I was working in Germany)
- "The Parsifal Mosiac"
- "The Materese Circle"

[panache45]

You could get a Kindle (http://www.amazon.com/Kindle) and load it up before you leave with as many books as you can think of, including anything on Project Gutenberg or otherwise in the public domain, for free. You won't be able to send anything to it wirelessly while in Germany (that only works in the U.S.), but you will be able to download documents (like PD books) to it from your computer.

It's a lot easier to transport than a whole bunch of big books.

I've had mine for about a month now, and I really like it. I've only put free PD books on it so far.

This. You can take an entire library with you. And what I've found, when traveling, is that once I get there I don't necessarily feel like reading what I thought I'd like. Get a Kindle, and stock it with a lot of variety.

[Damfino]

If you liked Shogun, then I'd suggest you try Clavell's Noble House and Tai Pan as well. Big books, large cast of characters, intricate plots. Both are great reads.

[WormTheRed]

George RR Martin's series Song of Ice and Fire (http://georgerrmartin.com/bibliography.html).

It's awesome! But the series isn't done, so you'll be left wanting more.

Or my personal "best book ever", The Long Ships (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Ships), by Frans G Bengtsson.

[chromaticity]

Apart from the Baroque cycle suggested above, I would recommend the "Nights dawn" trilogy and/or the "Common wealth saga" (2 books) by Peter F Hamilton. Its good sci-fi with lots of interesting sub-plots to keep you thinking. All books are about 1200 pages.

[Khadaji]

I loved The Name Of The Wind (http://www.amazon.com/Name-Wind-Kingkiller-Chronicles-Day/dp/0756405890/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241520995&sr=1-1). However, we've waited more than two years for book two and they have pushed it back (without telling when it will be released.)

[FriarTed]

Taylor Caldwell's Captains and the Kings

Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged

The Bible

[I Am The Lorax]

I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe
Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
^All 'bricks' ,as I call huge books, that I really enjoyed. You might also pick up the Chronicles of Narnia. I have all seven in one paperback volume, it took me a good part of the summer to finish and it brought me back to childhood. I second the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy.

[Sparky812]

There is always Robert Jordan's "endless" Wheel of Tiime series.

I am into S.M Stirling right now, these two trilogies were pageturners:"Dies the Fire" and Island in the Sea of Time"

If you've read LoTR you, try the Silmarion and the adventures of Tom Bombadil or if you're really into "classic" books, Homer's Iliad or The Odyssey.

[Fear Itself]

If you like historical novels, you can't beat James Michener for heft and length. My favorites include Chesapeake, Caribbean, and Centennial.

[MarcusF]

I'd echo the support for Clavell's Tai Pan and Noble House (in that order) as you've enjoyed Shogun. Noble House in particular is enormous!

If you enjoy intelligent historical fiction you could try Dorothy Dunnett's two long series. The six Lymond books (set across 16th century Europe) and the eight Niccolo books (set in the 15th century). Each individual book is pretty long and complex - you won't read each one in an afternoon so they should keep you busy!

[Unauthorized Cinnamon]

I had to find out what happened next in The Historian. On reflection, it's a bit silly, but it definitely qualified as a page-turner for me.

In a similar vein of dredging up family history through books and research, there's The Ghost Writer by Harwood, which is most notable for some fantastic nested short stories, and The Thirteenth Tale - very gothic and made for bibliophiles.

The Gone Away World is really interesting and fun. It meanders a lot, but that's good if you're trying to stretch out your reading. Plus I know lots of people finish it and start reading it again immediately.

Personally, it's taking me forever to get through Vanity Fair. It's good, but I just can't whip through it.

[Stormcrow]

About half of this series is swashbuckling or sweet birth-of-science geekery, but the rest is some really convoluted political machinations that will have you wanting to keep a notepad with all of the characters, their aliases and titles, and connections between them.

It's great once you put some effort into it, but also kind of a big commitment. The first time I read it, I took the books on a family camping trip with no alternate reading material, and it was basically a waste of time. I read it, but since the overarching plotline was so convoluted and I was reading with a "lazy beach book" mentality, I kept getting lost--cool things happened, but their significance was totally unclear. Next time around, I took it in slowly and had some fluff reading on the side, and the experience was infinitely more satisfying.


I love the Baroque Cycle, but I do agree its a convoluted read. On the plus side, however, a good portion takes place in Germany (Leipzig, Hanover, a few other places) so you could visit the places that you're reading about...

[sandra_nz]

I loved The Name Of The Wind (http://www.amazon.com/Name-Wind-Kingkiller-Chronicles-Day/dp/0756405890/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241520995&sr=1-1). However, we've waited more than two years for book two and they have pushed it back (without telling when it will be released.)

Another vote for this! Fantastic read.

[aruvqan]

<shrug> It didn't do it for me, because it spent too much time on the love story, and not enough on the bits that interested me more. And I've loved plenty of books that are "fiction from a female point of view in which there is a love story."

But that's just me. I just wanted to mention that, since I like a lot of the books the OP lists, and for whatever reason Outlander wouldn't be the one I'd want to be stuck with for 3 months.

anything by Lois McMaster Bujold. she has fantasy, sf, a sf comedy of manners, sf romance...she has 2 series, one set in a universe like our historical universe, with 5 gods who are rather capricious, the second series is set in what is a post apocalyptic society except instead of modern america it was post apocalyptic a mage society with great golden cities. She has a sf universe that is set about a thousand years or so in the future based around a planet settled by russians, french and greeks that was isolated by a shift in the wormhole jumps but is now back to being accessable. That story arc involves one main family - and has stories ranging from military adventure through murder mystery through a comedy of manners in the style of 1800 britain. They also all come as ebooks and audiobooks. If you want a brief taste try Mountains of Mourning (http://www.webscription.net/p-622-the-mountains-of-mourning.aspx) it is a short story introducing Miles VorKosigan, the protagonist of the majority of the sf series.

If you have no problem reading ebooks, webscriptions.net is Baen Books ebook online function, they have a free library you can read online or download in a bunch of NON DRM formats. They have over 100 books in the free library so you can see if you like that particular authors style.

Actually, I can highly recommend getting a PDA or ebook reader and going electronic. There are literally thousands of legally available books [and hundreds of thousands of illegally available usenet book files] in every subject matter you can think of. I recommend mobipocket, i have it on my PC and read and sort books on my PC, and load them into my moto 9m, mrAru's treo and our kindle. I can fit several hundred books on the chip in my phone=)

[Le Ministre de l'au-delà]

You might be pleasantly surprised at how many German bookstores sell books in English. I was in Dresden in 1995, and while maybe 1 in 10 people on the street spoke some English, lots of people were studying and every bookstore I went into had an English section.

Still, you're wise to be prepared in any case. May I recommend some Guy Gavriel Kay (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/k/guy-gavriel-kay/)? There's the original 'Fionavar Tapestry', though I like all of his books.

Herodotus has been a constant companion of mine for many years. It isn't everyone's idea of a page turner, but I love it and have worn out my first copy.

[Petrobey Mavromihalis]

Where are you in Germany? Most German book stores have an English book section, although the prices are a little bit more than what you might be used too. Amazon.de also has English books, but you might need a friend to navigate the website for you.

[Dung Beetle]

I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb
Thanks for not making me be the one who brings this book up! I feel like people are getting tired of hearing me push it...
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

This one I wasn’t as crazy about, but his new one, The Hour I First Believed, definitely belongs in this thread.
autz, if you haven’t read Gone With the Wind, that’s a great one too!

*off to inspect IATL’s other recommendations*

[Clothahump]

L. E. Modesitt, Jr. and the Saga of Recluce books. They're nice and thick and he tells a good story.

[Elendil's Heir]

Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, of course. Deservedly a classic.

Gary Jennings's Aztec is a great big historical novel about the fall of the Aztec Empire, as seen by a peasant who rises to become a translator in the court of Montezuma, seeing all levels of Aztec society along the way. Lots of adventure, sex, intrigue, combat, diplomacy, politics, exploration, etc. I re-read it every four or five years with great pleasure.

Another vote for George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Damned big and damned good. My two other favorite Martin books are Tuf Voyaging, a wonderful sf quasi-satire about power, ecology and overpopulation, and Fevre Dream, a thriller about vampires along the Missippippi before and just after the Civil War.

Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy is big and very, very good, but stumbles badly at the very end, IMHO. Still worth a read.

I've really gotten into John Scalzi lately. He writes great military sf - clever, funny and page-turning. Start with Old Man's War and, if it hooks you like it hooked me, go from there to Ghost Brigades, The Last Colony and Zoe's Tale.

[well he's back]

Well, dangnabit, my recs have already been mentioned: The Lord of the Rings,Kristin Lavransdatter,Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
Two other long series I really really enjoyed, but are a little "heavy", so I always hesitate to recommend: The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell, and The Raj Quartet by Paul Scott.

Enjoy!

[stargazer]

I don't see it recommended yet, so I'll chime in with A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. It is the longest single book I own (as opposed to my omnibus edition of the Hitchhiker's Guide). It follows a few families in India in the 1950s, through romances and marriages and politics and all sorts of things. I really liked it, and it will definitely keep you occupied for a while.

[TruCelt]

It's more contemporary history, but "Conspiracy of Fools" is very much worth reading, and quite interesting. After 100 pages I was in awe thinking "How does this mess possibly get 600 pages worse?"

ETA: Another vote in favor of Outlander, I loved it, and have zero tolerance for soft porn.

[Dolores Reborn]

Swan Song, by Robert McCammon.

Post apocolypse survival similar to The Stand.

[emmaliminal]

Another vote for The Name of the Wind (http://www.amazon.com/Name-Wind-Kingkiller-Chronicles-Day/dp/0756405890/) (672 pp), and ditto being very impatient about the sequel not coming out yet!

The Lies of Locke Lamora (http://www.amazon.com/Lies-Locke-Lamora-Scott-Lynch/dp/055358894X/) (752 pp) and its sequel Red Seas Under Red Skies (http://www.amazon.com/Red-Seas-Under-Skies/dp/0553588958/) (784 pp) go very fast. Another case of series-interruptus, though.

You can get several Lois McMaster Bujold titles as omnibuses. Cordelia's Honor (http://www.amazon.com/Cordelias-Honor-Lois-McMaster-Bujold/dp/0671578286/) (608 pp) is a good one to start with. Bujold is one of my very favorites, especially in hero/military sci fi mode (e.g., Miles Vorkosigan stuff, which Cordelia's Honor begins). Her two more recent fantasy (http://www.amazon.com/Curse-Chalion-Lois-McMaster-Bujold/dp/0380818604/) series (http://www.amazon.com/Beguilement-Sharing-Knife-Book-1/dp/0061139076/) are also good.

Robin Hobb is a notorious brick-maker. The covers of her paperbacks are much more garish and mass-markety than I think they should be; I think she's a pretty nuanced, subtle, unexpected writer. I've deeply enjoyed the Farseer trilogy (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Farseer+Hobb&x=0&y=0) (464/675/757 pp), the Tawny Man trilogy (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Tawny+Man+Hobb&x=0&y=0) (688/736/928 pp), the Liveship Traders trilogy (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Liveship+Hobb&x=0&y=0) (832/864/816 pp), and the Soldier Son trilogy (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Soldier+Hobb&x=0&y=0) (624/752/704 pp) (though I understand many of her fans didn't like that last one so well).

Connie Willis' Passage (http://www.amazon.com/Passage-Connie-Willis/dp/0553580515/) has 780 pp in paperback. The rest of her stuff is not so long, but deliriously good, especially The Doomsday Book (http://www.amazon.com/Doomsday-Book-Connie-Willis/dp/0553562738/) (592 pp) and To Say Nothing of the Dog (512 pp). Great history mixed with science fiction.

Another vote for Guy Gavriel Kay: the omnibus of the Fionavar Tapestry (http://www.amazon.com/Fionavar-Tapestry-Summer-Wandering-Darkest/dp/0006479502/) is 792 pp. Tigana (http://www.amazon.com/Tigana-Guy-Gavriel-Kay/dp/0451457765/) is 688 pp. Note that this author frequently writes fantasy with very thinly disguised but well-researched European history in it; most of it takes place in some other world with two moons, but there are nonetheless recognizable medieval French (http://www.amazon.com/Song-Arbonne-Guy-Gavriel-Kay/dp/B001OMHSB2/), Moorish Spaniards (http://www.amazon.com/Lions-al-Rassan-Guy-Gavriel-Kay/dp/0060733497/), Vikings (http://www.amazon.com/Last-Light-Sun-Northland/dp/0451459857/), etc. in various volumes. The Fionavar Tapestry starts on Real Actual Earth before moving to an alternate reality, but his others are all in-universe. He notes in several acknowledgments that he's writing historical fiction in a fantasy wrapper, though.

Acacia (http://www.amazon.com/Acacia-War-Mein-Book/dp/0385722524/) (753 pp) by David Anthony Durham, who usually writes straight-up historical fiction, is a great fantasy work. Its sequel (http://www.amazon.com/Other-Lands-Acacia-Book/dp/0385523327/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241535075&sr=1-2) is due in September!

I adored Anathem (will be 1008 pp in paperback (http://www.amazon.com/Anathem-Neal-Stephenson/dp/006147410X/), but only available as hardback (http://www.amazon.com/Anathem-Neal-Stephenson/dp/0061474096/) for now) by Neil Stephenson, but like his Baroque Cycle, it takes some work. A less glossary-intensive one of his, originally under a pen name (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Bury) with his uncle, is Interface (http://www.amazon.com/Interface-Neal-Stephenson/dp/0099427753/) (641 pp). That's politics and intrigue with just a dash of near-future sci fi.

You can get C.J. Cherryth's Faded Sun trilogy (http://www.amazon.com/Faded-Sun-Trilogy-Kesrith-Shonjir/dp/0886778697/) as an omnibus (784 pp). She's got other (http://www.amazon.com/Morgaine-Saga-Daw-Book-Collectors/dp/0886778778/) omnibuses (http://www.amazon.com/Chanur-Saga-C-J-Cherryh/dp/0886779308/) too, though I haven't read them yet. I liked the Faded Sun. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.J._Cherryh#Genres) describes it as "military science fiction" but I think I'd call it more political/cultural or world-building than military.

Ditto the posters above on finding too much formulaic-ness in Diana Gabaldon. I really wanted to like her books, but didn't.

[CCYMan]

I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe
Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
^All 'bricks' ,as I call huge books, that I really enjoyed. You might also pick up the Chronicles of Narnia. I have all seven in one paperback volume, it took me a good part of the summer to finish and it brought me back to childhood. I second the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy.

This is funny, because I'm reading "A Man In Full" right now, and thought of it when I saw the title thread. And I got it precisely so it would last until our next trip to the library, since last time I ran out of reading material too soon. I also read both of these Wally Lamb books that Lorax recommends. I really liked "I Know This Much Is True," but the other one not so much.

My wife is reading "World Without End" that many of you have suggested, and we call it "Book Without End."

[I Am The Lorax]

Hey, Dung Beetle, I didn't know there was a new one, thanks! WRT She's Come Undone, it has a lot to live up to. If it were by an unknown, it would be lauded. I considered putting I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe on my list, but it pales in comparison to some of his other works. It was a page turner, though.

[I Am The Lorax]

[QUOTE=CCYMan;11107808]This is funny, because I'm reading "A Man In Full" right now, and thought of it when I saw the title thread. And I got it precisely so it would last until our next trip to the library, since last time I ran out of reading material too soon. QUOTE]

You go to the library every three days?! That's how fast I went through that one. In fact, I'm going to start it again when I finish Stephen King's Dark Tower series. I can't recommend that yet, as I just started the second book, but there's lot's of Dopers who love it.

[Elendil's Heir]

I go to the library every Saturday when I'm in town. I hardly ever have any overdue charges because I know my books are due on some later Saturday, and can renew or renew 'em that day, as necessary.

[Enterprise]

I'm going to be in Germany for 3 months and won't have ready access to books in English. I want to take with me a couple of real page-turners with enough heft and length to keep me satisfied.


Where in Germany are you going to be? Virtually any large city has either English-language book stores or book sellers who also carry English books, especially if it is a university city; and Amazon delivers easily within Germany, if you have a fixed address. Not that I would deny you the right to stock up on hefty tomes beforehand, but you're not headed to Mongolia's deserts here...

[DMark]

I'm going to be in Germany for 3 months and won't have ready access to books in English.

Ahem...actually, you can find books in English pretty much anywhere in Germany...most bookstores have an entire section of books in English, every train station and airport has a wide selection...just in case.

[emmaliminal]

Ahem...actually, you can find books in English pretty much anywhere in Germany...most bookstores have an entire section of books in English, every train station and airport has a wide selection...just in case.I have to say that my experience in Frankfurt last fall does not support this. Bookstores had an English section, sure, but in only one of the maybe six we visited was there anything in that section that I wanted to read. It was mostly non-fiction glossy picture books, actually, with some Shakespeare and other public-domain material. In the airport, it was business titles and Harry Potter.

[Enterprise]

I have to say that my experience in Frankfurt last fall does not support this. Bookstores had an English section, sure, but in only one of the maybe six we visited was there anything in that section that I wanted to read. It was mostly non-fiction glossy picture books, actually, with some Shakespeare and other public-domain material. In the airport, it was business titles and Harry Potter.

You ought to have called me up to show you around. We have the British Bookstore (near the Boerse), and another English bookstore right next to the English movie theater. Plus, frankly, if you did not find anything you wanted to read at our largest German bookstore, whose English section must carry about five thousand different titles, you either have already read a lot or are a fairly picky reader...

[Elysium]

I have to third (fourth?) Guy Gavriel Kay. Tigana, Lions of Al-Rassan, and the Sarantium duo Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors are ones I tend to recommend.

Also for a giant set of books with a complex world and some great characters, you could check out Michelle West's Sun Sword set, starting with The Broken Crown. (http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Crown-Sun-Sword-Book/dp/0886777402/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241544255&sr=8-1) I believe there are 8 total with some prequels coming out now. I liked her world a great deal and each book is nice and fat, so there's a big bonus!

Also pick up anything by Dan Simmons. Try Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion and move right on to Illium.

[KneadToKnow]

It's more contemporary history, but "Conspiracy of Fools" is very much worth reading, and quite interesting. After 100 pages I was in awe thinking "How does this mess possibly get 600 pages worse?"

Seconded, Conspiracy of Fools is excellent. But I prefer the Kurt Eichenwald's earlier book The Informant for sheer holy-sh!t-how-can-this-be-a-true-story-ness.

[emmaliminal]

You ought to have called me up to show you around. We have the British Bookstore (near the Boerse), and another English bookstore right next to the English movie theater.Oh, I believe you. We were only there three days, and only went to bookstores that we saw on our way to somewhere else. My husband speaks German and found plenty he wanted in these smallish, mostly used or specialty book stores. I just wanted to point out that it's not quite as easy as "every bookstore in Germany has lots of great English page-turners." You'd have to go to the right stores.

[Palo Verde]

Where are you in Germany? Most German book stores have an English book section, although the prices are a little bit more than what you might be used too. Amazon.de also has English books, but you might need a friend to navigate the website for you.

I'll be in a small town called Kleve. It's not a tourist or university town, so I doubt they'll have much selection of books in English

[Claptree]

I'll have to third Steven Erikson's Malazan series. It is initially unforgiving, but the characters, plot and prose are excellent. I got books 3 and 4 at the same time, and had finished them both in 5 days. I didn't get a lot of sleep, but I had a good time.

[salinqmind]

Gone With The Wind!

The collected short stories of William Somerset Maughm.

Carla Emory's Old Fashioned Recipe Book. ( If you can find it. This is a telephone-book sized guide to living off the land, printed on cheap pulp paper. Everything from buying a piece of land, how and what to plant, how to buy, nurture, breed, and slaughter your own livestock, how to grind flour, bake bread, grow herbs, make cheese, pickles, ....you name it. It's gotten me through many a long dark night of the soul.)

[corvidae]

How about the Otherland series by Tad Williams?

[Le Ministre de l'au-delà]

Triggered by Corvidae's user name - what about 'The Crow Road' by Iain Banks?

[Damfino]

And by Iain M Banks: Against a Dark Background and Consider Phlebas, both large books with a space opera theme, and fun to read.

[YoudNeverGuess]

Most of my recommendations have been mentioned already. But here's a couple of others:

Haruki Murakami: Wind-up Bird Chronicle (http://www.amazon.com/Wind-Up-Bird-Chronicle-Novel/dp/0679775439/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241789722&sr=8-1)
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Cancer Ward (http://www.amazon.com/Cancer-Ward-Aleksandr-Solzhenitsyn/dp/0374511993/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241789928&sr=1-1) - I know, I know. It sounds like it would be heavy and too depressing but actually it's an easy read, VERY thought-provoking and really moving. And brilliantly written.

[Enderw24]

George RR Martin's series Song of Ice and Fire (http://georgerrmartin.com/bibliography.html).

It's awesome! But the series isn't done, so you'll be left wanting more.

That's a great recommendation. I second it. Also, if you haven't yet read:

Lonesome Dove
Shogun
Forever Amber
All the Harry Potter books
The Stand

I'd put those on your list as well.

[phreesh]

I haven't read any of his stuff, but people go wild for Patrick O'Brian. The movie Master and Commander was based on one (two?) of his books. I can't vouch for their thickness, however.

[Guinastasia]

You said you enjoyed "The Stand"; now I haven't read that one, but my personal favorite Stephen King book, one I've re-read countless times, would be It. Or Bag of Bones -- that's another good one.

(But It is truly the best one.)

[Barking Dog]

I might suggest much of Tad Williams' work. His Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory,_Sorrow,_and_Thorn) series, and Otherland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otherland) as well.

Also the Wars of Light and Shadow series by Janny Wurts. It's a long one, 8 books so far and two more on the way, but I've enjoyed most of them (the last one kind of sucked.) In my opinion the first three Curse_of_the_Mistwraith (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_Mistwraith), Ships of Merior (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ships_of_Merior), Warhost of Vastmark (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warhost_of_Vastmark) are the best.

As a few others up there have suggested purchasing a Kindle as a means to take along a lot of books, I might suggest as an alternative, to load up a bunch of audio books on to your mp3 player if you have one. It's no substitute for an actual book, but if you're like me and just can't look at a screen for that long without your eyes startting to smart than it might be something to consider.

[Saltire]

I might suggest much of Tad Williams' work. His Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory,_Sorrow,_and_Thorn) series, and Otherland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otherland) as well.I was going to suggest these. The first set is fantasy, the adventures of a boy who works in the palace kitchen, but ends up deeply involved in a civil war and the plot by non-humans to destroy the entire human civilization. The second is science fiction, but most of it takes place in a virtual-reality system where almost any setting Williams can think of gets used.

I would also recommend any book collaborated on by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Each one is excellent, and they're all long. Footfall is my favorite, I think, but Lucifer's Hammer is great as well. And The Mote in God's Eye (and it's shorter sequel, The Gripping Hand) features some truly alien aliens.