# Recommend a lengthy, enjoyable paperback novel **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 29, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076 "2008-05-29T22:01:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/1 "2008-05-29T22:01:00Z")
I’m going to be taking several crosscountry flights in the next couple of weeks, and I’m on the lookout for three or four hefty yet portable (and eminently readable) novels or books of short stories to occupy my time. I definitely gravitate away from the generic bestsellers – not least because I read extremely quickly, and most of the authors typically found in airport bookstores always seem more skimmable than truly absorbing. I’m not above genre novels as long as the writing is interesting enough to be enjoyable; for example, I had a good time with Jeff Long’s _The Descent_ a couple of years ago, and that’s nobody’s idea of great literature, but I hated _The Da Vinci Code_ enough to put it down after the first chapter (not that it’s dense enough for my purposes in this thread). I like wit and humor but not too much silliness, pathos but not sentimentality, thoughtfulness but not interminable philosophical byplay, and oddness and absurdity, but not simply for their own sake. I’m a bit of an Anglophile, but I don’t overdo it. I also tend to like stories of ordinary people in out-of-the-ordinary situations or vice-versa. Here are some of the books I own and love that would fit my needs exactly, if I hadn’t already read them multiple times. (And in the absence of any compelling alternatives, I might take one or more of them along with me this time.) _American Gods_ by Neil Gaiman _Catch-22_ by Joseph Heller _The Brothers K_ by David James Duncan _Watership Down_ by Richard Adams _Perdido Street Station_ by China Mieville _Passage_ by Connie Willis _New Grub Street_ by George Gissing _Fancies and Goodnights_ by John Collier _The Portable Dorothy Parker_ _The Most of P.G. Wodehouse_ _The Night Manager_ by John Le Carre _A Prayer For Owen Meany_ by John Irving _The Time Traveller’s Wife_ by Audrey Niffenegger _On Beauty_ by Zadie Smith _Galveston_ by Sean Stewart _Last Call_ by Tim Powers _Thus Was Adonis Murdered_ by Sarah Caudwell You can assume that I’m familiar with all other works by the authors listed above, but that I might not be familiar with similar authors. So, we’re a literate bunch…who can help me out? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/2 "2008-05-29T22:04:40Z")
Also, books/authors that I’ve tried before and not liked (nothing personal to those who do; I just want to present an accurate picture of my preferences and forestall them as suggestions): J.R.R. Tolkien Tom Wolfe The Gormenghast trilogy Cormac McCarthy Ian McEwan Philip Roth More as I think of them. (Oh, and I love Kazuo Ishiguro and Jonathan Coe.) ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/3 "2008-05-29T22:11:54Z")
How about something by Larry McMurtry? He and Irving are two of my favorites… And, even though they have somehow gotten a skeevy reputation, both Stephen King’s _The Stand_ and G_one With the Wind_ are fabulous stories. The are thick and meaty in terms of dropping through the page into the story. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/4 "2008-05-29T22:15:29Z")
I’ve never read McMurtry. Would you recommend _Lonesome Dove_? And I’ve read _The Stand_ and most of Stephen King’s other stuff. Not _Gone With the Wind_, though. Might have to flip through that at the bookstore to see if it holds my attention. (One more: hate Don DeLillo; not crazy about Dave Eggers.) ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/5 "2008-05-29T22:18:15Z")
It is my honor to submit _A Confederacy of Dunces_ by John Kennedy Toole for your approval. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/6 "2008-05-29T22:18:33Z")
If you’re okay with SF, all the books by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle are large and thoughtful. Footfall if you want a single book; Mote in God’s Eye and The Gripping Hand if you want two connected stories. If you didn’t like Tolkein, this might not work, but the Tad Williams series starting with The Dragonbone Chair is large and really good. If you want SF instead of fantasy, the same author’s Otherland series is certainly long and dense. I didn’t find the latter as good as the former, but many did. I know–too much genre. Ah, well, I am what I am. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/7 "2008-05-29T22:20:14Z")
> [@](#): > > It is my honor to submit A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole for your approval. Read it and loved it. It’s been a while, though; I may have to read it again. (Continuing the mapping of my preferences: I really like the David Mitchell that I’ve read – Black Swan Green and Number9Dream – and have never, however much I try, been able to get into Haruki Murakami.) ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/8 "2008-05-29T22:20:44Z")
If you like historical novels and haven’t read Ken Follett’s _The Pillars Of The Earth_, I’d give it a recommend. There’s quite a bit of soap opera and politics in there, but it’s a good historical novel, and very readable. It’s old enough now (the sequel’s out!) to be available in paper back. If you’ve avoided Follett (as I had) because he writes “spy stories” this isn’t one of them! ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/9 "2008-05-29T22:24:30Z")
I highly recommend Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and System of the World, with Cryptonomicon taking place many centuries later in the modern world). It’s an amazingly in-depth look at the sprawling lives of two characters, the outlaw Jack Shaftoe and his erstwhile friend/paramour Eliza, which takes place during the baroque era in Europe and America. It’s a series that requires an attentive reader and will not blow away from you in no time. If you need a book series that will take many hours and engross you, while also teaching you a lot about a period of history that most Americans don’t know a lot about, this is definitely a good choice. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/10 "2008-05-29T22:26:39Z")
[QUOTE=Saltire] If you’re okay with SF, all the books by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle are large and thoughtful. Footfall if you want a single book; Mote in God’s Eye and The Gripping Hand if you want two connected stories. If you didn’t like Tolkein, this might not work, but the Tad Williams series starting with The Dragonbone Chair is large and really good. If you want SF instead of fantasy, the same author’s Otherland series is certainly long and dense. I didn’t find the latter as good as the former, but many did. [/QUOTE] I came in to recommend The Dragonbone Chair. Hammer’s Fall by Larry Niven is also quite good. Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove is excellent alternative history. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/11 "2008-05-29T22:27:53Z")
[QUOTE=Gadarene] I’ve never read McMurtry. Would you recommend _Lonesome Dove_? [/QUOTE] Yes, that would be a good choice. A couple of years ago, **Birdmonster** started a [similar thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=349426), and my recommendation of Michael Malone’s _Handling Sin_ seems to have gone over well. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/12 "2008-05-29T22:30:14Z")
[QUOTE=Silver Tyger Girl] Hammer’s Fall by Larry Niven is also quite good. [/QUOTE] You mean **Lucifer’s Hammer** , by Niven and Pournelle? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/13 "2008-05-29T22:32:09Z")
If you get an unabridged version of **The Count of Monte Cristo** , that’s a few thousand pages of kick ass. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/14 "2008-05-29T22:32:31Z")
Just lost a long post. In brief: I recently finished Patrick Rothfuss’s _The Name of the Wind_, which I really enjoyed and which I’ve heard compared to Tad Williams’s stuff, but nothing by Williams has ever really grabbed me in the little I’ve seen of it. I’ll check out Niven and Pournelle; I read _Lucifer’s Hammer_ a long time ago. I like Ken Follett, and have a copy of _Pillars of the Earth_ that I keep meaning to read. Unfortunately, I’ve found The Baroque Cycle altogether too dense and diffuse (simultaneously!) for me, although I appreciate what it tries to do and it seems like I should like it. _Cryptonomicon_ as well. I love _Guns of the South_. I’ll check out _Handling Sin_; I’ve read something else by Malone before, but I can’t remember what it is. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions so far! ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/15 "2008-05-29T22:35:14Z")
I’ve read and enjoyed _Count of Monte Cristo_. Also, although I certainly appreciate them, I think some of the longer books that have been recommended might be a little ambitious in terms of portability. 🙂 400 or 500 pages is good; 1,500 pages may be stretching it. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/16 "2008-05-29T22:38:44Z")
[QUOTE=Gadarene] (Continuing the mapping of my preferences: I really like the David Mitchell that I’ve read – Black Swan Green and Number9Dream – and have never, however much I try, been able to get into Haruki Murakami.) [/QUOTE] _Cloud Atlas_ then – it’s long enough to hold you for awhile, and the structure of the story will keep you from getting bored. Not that Mitchell could ever be boring, but the story never flags. When someone says “page-turner” I think of _Aztec_ by Gary Jennings and _Shogun_ by James Clavell. You’ll forget you’re on a plane. I see _New Grub Street_ on your list. I read it just before reading _The Forsyte Saga_ and the books complemented each other nicely. I kept wanting one of the Forsytes to take that poor writer under his wealthy wing and feed him. “Hey! Over there! People are starving!” Have you read any Emile Zola? Assuming he’s in print and widely available, you might like _The Dram Shop_, _Germinal_, and _The Earth_. Or if you need more soap, _Manon of the Springs & Jean deFlorette_ by Marcel Pagnol – compelling stuff. Ooh! How about some Leon Uris? _Mila 18_, _Trinity_, _War and Remembrance_, _Winds of War_? Are they still in print? Big thick books with lots of story. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/17 "2008-05-29T22:42:50Z")
[QUOTE=Gadarene] 400 or 500 pages is good; 1,500 pages may be stretching it. [/QUOTE] Righto. How about **The Red and the Black** (Stendhal) and **Invisible Man** (Ellison), then. Both in the 400-500 range, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/18 "2008-05-29T22:48:22Z")
George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series. Start with _A Game of Thrones_ and then get hooked like the rest of us and read the rest of them as if they’re crack, then join us waiting impatiently for him to publish the next one 🙂 I’m sure there are people out there who don’t like them, but I’ve never personally met anyone who read them and didn’t think they were engrossing and get addicted. (These books are amazing for their characterization. There are no clear cut good or bad characters, and even the real villains have sympathetic qualities, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/19 "2008-05-29T22:49:29Z")
_The Secret History_ by Donna Tartt is my definition of good airplane reading. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076/20 "2008-05-29T22:53:09Z")
_Assassination Vacation_ by Sarah Vowel, non-fiction. If you favor “elegant trash” as Carl Sagan put it, many of the Doc Savage novellas are back in print. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-lengthy-enjoyable-paperback-novel/451076.md?page=2)