Heresy! The non-Stephenson lover shall be destroyed!!!
I was going to suggest him but then noticed who the OP was and remembered that we discussed this topic in person when you were at the LonDope last year. So instead I would recommend:
Iain M Banks’ Culture books - if you only want to try one go with Player of Games, and it’s probably the best place to start with too.
Alternatively Iain Banks (same person, different genre) is also good, I recently finished The steep approach to Garbadale which I enjoyed a lot.
The Secret History by Donna Tart
Pillars of the Earth is great, if you’ve got it then read it.
The Jasper Fforde books are good but possibly a bit too easily digested for what you’re looking for, but check out the Eyre Affair on Amazon and if it piques your interest then go for it.
Good Omens by Gaimen and Terry Pratchett, if you like American Gods you’ll like it too.
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
I’ve traveled successfully with I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb. Also check out the novels of Robertson Davies, who has written three different trilogies. I especially recommend the Deptford trilogy.
A thread on thick, enjoyable novels, and I’m the first to mention Dickens?
I’ve personally “only” read Bleak House, all 1000 or so pages of it. Unlike a lot of thick books, it’s got a good excuse for being so thick: it’s actually two novels whose plots barely overlap. Dickens got paid by the word, and it shows, but it shows less than you’d expect.
If you’re at all partial to war stories, especially tragic ones, I recommend August 1914 by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. You’ll have to gut out the slow start on the home front (spent introducing a rather boring family who will feature prominently in what is planned to be a trilogy); once the story joins the Russian army in East Prussia, things really roll along, through and past the pivotal battle of Tannenberg. The eastern front in WWI hasn’t generated a lot of fiction to my knowledge; this one is really a gem.
By the way, there is a part 2 of the trilogy, November 1916, which is 800 pages of damn little. A couple of interesting pen portraits of historical figures (Tsarina Alexandra, Lenin) are not good enough to justify reading the whole thing.
AuntiePam: I’ve always been hesitant about Cloud Atlas because it seems like it might be a little too experimental for me. But I liked Mitchell’s other stuff enough that I should probably give it a try. The rest of your recommendations are great as well; I haven’t read any of them. And I trust your taste, since you’re a fellow New Grub Street fan.
Sage Rat: Ellison’s book is a favorite. I wikied Stendahl and The Red and the Black sounds interesting, although I’m not always in the mood for 19th century literature.
Opal: I hate to disappoint you, but I absolutely could not get into A Game of Thrones. It just didn’t grab me…too epic, too many characters, maybe. And I’ve never been a huge fan of that vein of fantasy, the warring kingdoms and the court intrigue and all.
HazelNutCoffee:The Secret History is one of my favorite books ever.
Bosda: Vowell’s book sounds neat, but I think I’m more in the mood for fiction right now.
Illuminatiprimus: How’s it going? I thought Player of Games was great, and then I read some of his other Culture books and found them slightly less interesting to me. Is there one in particular you’d recommend? I’ll also check out his non-genre stuff. I’ve read Good Omens and the Fforde books (which would actually be perfect for me), and never read The Poisonwood Bible.
davidw: Thanks! I’ve read the Murakami, but I’ll check the rest out.
twickster: For some reason I’ve never gravitated towards Lamb before. I’ve tried Davies in the past and have felt very shamed that he didn’t grab me; I should try him again.
ryobserver: I dunno if I’ll be in a Dickens or Solzhenitsyn mood, but I’ll definitely keep them in mind! I’ve started Bleak House before but never finished.
gadarene, don’t be afraid of Cloud Atlas. My brain ain’t all that big and I might not have “gotten” everything he was going for, but I loved it.
How about some time travel? Replay by Ken Grimwood, Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, or A Shortcut in Time by Charles Dickinson. They’re not very fat though – you’d have to get all three.
I was skeptical about it as well – but read it at the insistence of a friend, and got completely drawn in. Excellent airport/airplane/hotel room reading.
My old paperback edition was 1,088 pages. I remember this because when I was 13 years old, I read the whole book in one (long) day. Granted, it was my second reading.
How about Lois McMaster Bujold? You can get the Vorkosigan Saga packaged as several omnibusses, each containing 2 or 3 novels. I recommend starting with *Cordelia’s Honor * and reading them in internal chronology order, but there is debate on that subject.
I just re-read them all, and loved them once again. Robert Silverberg rocks, man! I recently read some of his short stories too, and they rocked even more.
I’m currently reading the Ender series by Orson Scott Card. I recommend them, too. Orson Scott Card also rocks.
I was going to recommend English Passengers by Matthew Kneale, although it may not be long enough to meet your criteria. Entertaining, clever, funny, and sad all at once - with 20 different narrators.
You may enjoy Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gentley novels if you haven’t read them. Either Dirk Gentley’s Holistic Detective Agency or The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul. Both are humorous, witty and thoughtful (not to mention take place in England). They’re also more story-driven in my opinion than the Hitchhiker’s Guide books and I actually like them more as complete books because of that although the HHGTTG series has many notable “moments”.
Add me to the chorus singing the praises of Cloud Atlas. While it is a little experimental, it’s far more conventional than it would seem at first and a wonderfully enjoyable read.
You may also want to look into some Tom Robbins if you haven’t tried him out yet - Jitterbug Perfume sounds like it might fit the bill, as it’s quite witty and excellently written, and IMO a good intro to his body of work.
I would nominate almost any of Edward Rutherford’s books: Sarum, London, Princes of Ireland, Rebels of Ireland, and Forest.
They’re big books, but essentially a collection of short stories with recurring historical families and characters, so there’s continuity, but each chapter is a stand-alone - perfect for long airplane trips and waits in terminals.
(The only one I didn’t like was Russka, but that was because I find Russian history just too depressing for words.)
I reread Kiln People by David Brin frequently. Technology has developed a way to duplicate a person, right down to the memories and thoughts at the time of duplication. However, the duplicates only live for about 24 hours. Still, the duplicates (or dittos) can be used to do things like study or research a term paper, household chores, or have sex with either another ditto or a real person. The dittos’ experiences can be uploaded into the original, should s/he so choose. Brin explores the possible changes on society as a result of this new technology. It’s not just SF, it’s a mystery too.
Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett is excellent. I enjoy all of Pterry’s books, but this is the one I give to people.
I love Barbara Hambly’s works. She writes fantasy and mystery, mostly, but she does have a few other books out too.
If you like chick-lit and I do see “The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger” on your list, try Midwives by Chris Bohjalian. I read it on a plane once. It was light enough to qualify as plane reading but kept me engrossed.
