Reading the Chunksters discussion

For our next Chunkster we are going to be nominating a Super Chunkster. A Super Chunkster is a book that is 900 pages or more, please nominate a chunkster that fits this theme, also be sure that it fits with the group guidelines.
_________________________________________________
Please be sure to remember if you are not planning on reading a book, please do not nominate one...If you nominate a book and it wins you are expected to read it with the group.
_________________________________________________

Typical Reminders:

1) Only one nomination per member

2) Link to both the book and the author in your nomination

3) This thread will be open for 1 week, so get your nominations in before Tuesday morning (U.S. Eastern Time), November 18.

And, since we always have questions...For the definition of a Classic in this group, please refer to:

General Guidelines for Group Membership

Nominations:

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
The Gormenghast Novels by Mervyn Peake
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
A History of the English Speaking Peoples, 4 Vols by Winston S. Churchill
Shōgun by James Clavell
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough
Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon

Kristin Lavransdatter,Sigrid Undset I'm new here so not sure if I'm allowed to nominate - I seem to have joined when you are right in the middle of two big books - I've wanted to reas this book for a longtime but have a rubbish, tiny print, second hand copy so if this was a group read I'd have a great reason to buy a new copy.

I have known about Kristin Lavransdatter via Goodreads and even have the book. If it won, I'd be delighted.

I'm putting forward The Gormenghast Novels by Mervyn Peake. A little fantasy can go a long way, especially given the voting history of this group.

Oh boy. I told myself I was going to sit out whichever book won this round as I'm pretty well booked up. But both of these nominations look very enticing had already been added to my TBR list. Please, people, nominate some books I'm not interested in reading!! :)

Linda wrote: "Oh boy. I told myself I was going to sit out whichever book won this round as I'm pretty well booked up. "

My traditional reading time is booked, but my audiobook time (i.e., my long commute) is still free! :)

Therefore I would like to nominate Anathem by Neal Stephenson.

John wrote: "My traditional reading time is booked, but my audiobook time (i.e., my long commute) is still free! :)"

Maybe it's finally time for me to figure out an audiobook solution....

I will be happy with any previously mentioned here, but I will still have to put in my two cents because I still cherish a hope that my nomination one day will win :-) It is a big one, guys, even for a super chunkster, but even professional reviews are good, and the setting is exciting. A Suitable Boy

BTW, don't easily discard the books you want to nominate, but you think you cannot. We will accept any book that is 900 plus pages long AT LEAST IN ONE OF ITS EDITIONS. Check other editions for potential suspects :-)

Zulfiya wrote: "A Suitable Boy"

I'll be shocked if this choice of yours is not the runaway winner in the poll. That's another book that I already have and meant to read, and never got around to it. Unlike previous times, I'm familiar with all of the choices until now. A university professor who posts on IMDB once recommended this book to me. I value his opinion. Also it would be great to read a 1400 paged book whose story is allegedly so sugary sweet.

:-)

Luffy wrote: "I have known about Kristin Lavransdatter via Goodreads and even have the book. If it won, I'd be delighted.

I'm putting forward The Gormenghast Novels by Mervyn Peake...."

Ooh, I second Gormenghast. The prose is wonderful and the story is so...unusual.

I'll nominate a super-super-super Chunkster, one which I've been wanting to read for a long time.

A History of the English Speaking Peoples, 4 Vols by Winston S. Churchill.

A few quotes from the reviews:

Oh my word, if I could give this series 6 stars I would. It's as good as they come.

Brilliant, as always. A master word-smith, Churchill brings character and insight to stretches of the book, mostly concerning the comings and goings within the British Parliament, which might otherwise have been dull. The more exciting historical passages are simply enthralling. The entire narrative comes with a perspective that you cannot really get anywhere else.

To me it is fascinating that a man so immersed in world-changing events and as occupied as he was, devoted that much time to study, to understand intimately over a thousand years of detailed history. As other great historians, of whom most, unlike Churchill, have made it their full-time profession, his retelling sounds like he was there personally.

Everyman wrote: "I'll nominate a super-super-super Chunkster, one which I've been wanting to read for a long time.

A History of the English Speaking Peoples, 4 Vols by [author:Winston S. Churchill|1..."

Wow, that's almost two super chunksters, 1760 pages! But very intriguing. I tried to find a translation, but there seems to be none :(

Delmy =^.^= wrote: "I nominate --> a dance with dragons by George r r Martin"

Delmy, do you want to nominate book 5? We read book 1 three years ago, but we never returned to the same project again without any objective reason. Have you read 5? Can it be read like a stand-alone novel?

Zulfiya wrote: "Delmy =^.^= wrote: "I nominate --> a dance with dragons by George r r Martin"

Delmy, do you want to nominate book 5? We read book 1 three years ago, but we never returned to the ..."

I have read 1-4 and i am going to assume everyone else already has. So i nominate book 5. I think most people who are into "ASOFAI" series have read them up to or even book 5 already. It is not a stand alone but i nominate it anyways.

I'm going to nominate Shōgun by James Clavell.

I am loving the nominations so far.

Delmy =^.^= wrote: "I have read 1-4 and i am going to assume everyone else already has."

Uh, no.

Sorry, but I haven't read any of them.

I don't even have any idea what they're about.

I nominate War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.

Everyman wrote: "Uh, no. Sorry, but I haven't read any of them."

LOL, yeah that seems like a pretty big assumption, doesn't it? :)

I would like to read all of them, and I bought all five, but I am also looking forward to the other two being released. I hope we will never have to deal with the situation Jordan faced when his widow asked Sanderson to finish his Magnum Opus - The Wheel of Time. So, long live George Martin, and may his creative juices flow fast

I think we will still accept the nomination (there is nothing in the rules that says that we should not), and if it garners interest and group members want to read it (like any other book), then we will read it.

It's likely that Martin will leave the story unfinished, but that wouldn't be a shame. The wait for book 6 and the hype are incredible.

I'm in the process of reading books 1-5 back to back. It's fun, but mentally taxing as well.

I'm planning on reading them in about 5-10 years, after the hype for the TV show is gone. Which means I will probably get to Book 5 in about 10-15 years :D

The Silmarillion JRR Tolkien

John wrote: "I'm planning on reading them in about 5-10 years, after the hype for the TV show is gone. Which means I will probably get to Book 5 in about 10-15 years :D"

Now that's some serious planning ahead!

Lisa wrote: "The Silmarillion JRR Tolkien"

Lisa, would please reconsider your nomination. The themed read is a super chunkster - that is a book that has more than 900 pages in it in at least one of its edition. You can nominate any book of any genre; the only requirement is its size.

I also want Kristin Lavransdatter! If it wins, get the Tina Nunnally translation. The ebook price is not too high, either!

When will we start reading the next super chunkster - after Infinite Jest?

After Fall of Giants. next week is the final week for this novel.

Cool, then I'll withdraw my nomination, thought it was a bigger book.

Do you have any other big books as back up options?

Would Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time Count?

Sure, 4211 pages :-) In Search of Lost Time

Cool:-)

Zulfiya wrote: "Sure, 4211 pages :-) In Search of Lost Time"

So far, I think you have the prize for longest nomination! At 50 pages a week, it would take us all of 2015 and well into 2016. (At 100 pages a week, which would be heavy going for that work, we would be done by the start of school next fall.) But it would be time very well spent!

I nominate The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough

Zulfiya wrote: "I think we will still accept the nomination (there is nothing in the rules that says that we should not), and if it garners interest and group members want to read it (like any other book), then we will read it."

I'm not seeing the original nomination in the thread, was it deleted by Delmy??

Everyman wrote: "Zulfiya wrote: "Sure, 4211 pages :-) In Search of Lost Time"

So far, I think you have the prize for longest nomination! At 50 pages a week, it would take us all of 2015 and well into..."

I was in a group last year that only existed to read ISoLT! It really was worth it.

I read it with that group too, Iselin! I loved it :-)

Kristi wrote: "Zulfiya wrote: "I think we will still accept the nomination (there is nothing in the rules that says that we should not), and if it garners interest and group members want to read it (like any othe..."

Delmy, did you delete your nomination? Or was it a technical fluke? Are you still nominating it?

This going to be difficult! My personal dithering: Gormenghast...there's nothing quite like it. The Churchhill volumes, those would be so interesting with lots to discuss. The Proust, well, I love ISOLT...deeply.

Paula wrote: "This going to be difficult! My personal dithering: Gormenghast...there's nothing quite like it."

If Gormenghast wins I'm going to have a hard time saying no.

Linda wrote: "Paula wrote: "This going to be difficult! My personal dithering: Gormenghast...there's nothing quite like it."

If Gormenghast wins I'm going to have a hard time saying no."

I know...if you love the prose of Dickens, you will be spellbound by this trilogy.

I would like Gormenghast to win because it's the quintessential book to be read slowly. Kristin Lavransdatter is my second preference because it has been on my radar for quite some time. I think A Suitable Boy will win the poll. It's also my third most preferred book.

I'm not a fan of non fiction chunksters, especially books dealing in history. Well I do have Churchill : A Life by Martin Gilbert, but it's not so thick as A History of the English...

I don't like french literature, the language(which I can read, but I never do) and the culture, so I'd rather not read In Search of Lost Time, ever.

Luffy wrote: "I would like Gormenghast to win because it's the quintessential book to be read slowly. Kristin Lavransdatter is my second preference because it has been on my radar for quite some time. I think A..."

You and I are on the same page about Gormenghast. Kristen did not age well with me - the second time read like an erudite teenage read to me - and neither did A Suitable Boy, which got too cloying. I enjoyed both the first time around, but Kristen suffered from my reread and I've never wanted to pick up A Suitable Boy again.

Paula wrote: "You and I are on the same page about Gormenghast. Kristen did not age well with me - the second time read like an erudite teenage read to me - and neither did A Suitable Boy, which got too cloying. I enjoyed both the first time around, but Kristen suffered from my reread and I've never wanted to pick up A Suitable Boy again. "

It's awesome how many of these books you've already read and want to re read again. I don't have that type of willpower.

Shogun and War & Peace are legit entries? They've been chosen before. I hope more "less highbrow" books get nominated.

I read Gormenghast about 13 years ago, and it's one of those books that seems to define the period of my life that I read it in. I spent several months living alone in an historic small town, hours away from any of my friends or family...there were times when I felt I might lose the distinction between my life and the book. I would love to read it again.

The Gormenghast looks really interesting. It's 7.99 for kindle right now. Is there any reason an ebook wouldn't work for this?

I'm 2/3 through Kristen Lavransdatter right now. I started out loving it but now I'm finding parts of it frustrating.

A Suitable Boy looks good too. Should be a good poll.

I would like to nominate Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon. It's about 1085 pages long. I've really been wanting to read it, but I know I won't be able to finish this one by myself unless I'm reading it with a group.

Paula wrote: "I know...if you love the prose of Dickens, you will be spellbound by this trilogy."

Good to know, Paula! This trilogy just entered my radar a few months ago, and I've started working my way through Dickens this year, which I'm totally loving.

Luffy wrote: "I would like Gormenghast to win because it's the quintessential book to be read slowly. "

I confess ignorance -- I've never even heard of Gormenghast.

Looking it up, I see that there are three books in the series, one of which is named Gormenghast, but do I assume correctly that the nomination is to read all three?