Count of Monte. 1300 pages in, and I still didn’t want it to end. Count of Monte is one of those kind of books, that could be 10000 pages and the way it’s structured, it would still work.
I went to a Tad Williams reading a couple of months ago and he told a funny story about meeting G.R.R. Martin for the first time in the 90s. When Williams went over to say hi, Martin - being a big fan of Tads - only said: "Go home and write! I want to read your next book." Pretty ironic. I guess Martin heard that himself on one or two occasions since then.
Count of Monte Cristo is definitely one of my favorite chonkers. The more I got into the Malazan series, I'd keep saying, "This is my favorite. no, this one is." I'd say Deadhouse Gates' ending just grabbed me and knocked me sideways at the end, BUT for me, it really hit its stride in Midnight Tides. That's my favorite as the story really starts getting where it wants to go. I feel like it's the top of the roller coaster. So MT and most of the ones after that are on my list for favorite big books. I'm not sure I've read others that are around 1,000 pages. I'm in the middle of A Stone of Farewell but I don't think any of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn are quite that chunky. Really loving the series so far. Definitely going to be a favorite series, and I'm kicking myself for not reading them when they first came out, but I was in middle school/early high school and The Chronicles of Amber, The Dragonriders of Pern, The Dragon and the George series, and Shannara had a stranglehold on me then. LOL
Blackwater is criminally underrated. I’m so glad you brought it up. I actually met one of McDowell’s cousins recently, sounds like he was a really interesting guy.
Talk about some bangers. I don't think it's a coincidence that this list has some of my all time favorite books on it. I like big books and I cannot lie.
@@mikesbookreviews I don't know how you read them back to back the way you have been. I need my palate cleansers in there. Short Stephen King, Dragonlance, or even some literary fiction. Something to stave off the books becoming monotonous.
What an amazing list, so many of my favs on this list. Count of Monte Cristo is in my top 5 of all time, that book made me realize Revenge is my FAVORITE theme. I brought Gone With The Wind on vaca with me, I spent more time reading than "vacationing" because I was so invested.
Les Misérables is my favourite book of all time. It's big, but the payoff at the end is brilliant. The book made me cry multiple times while reading it. Also, Hugo's prose is unmatched
@@aliubed3162 I really couldn't get into War and Peace. Then again, I was listening to a free audiobook recorded by multiple volunteer narrators and several of them were honestly terrible. I should probably try it again in print or audio with a professional narrator
Here's a story for you 😜 when I was 14, I used to spend summers with my grandparents in a small town in South Georgia 😉 but they had a small library there, I was a big reader, and my grandpa helped me get a library card 😎 that was the summer that I discovered Steven King 😎so I had tons of disposable time, so I decided to check out some chonkers 😂I got The Stand and It😎 and I set my own personal reading record that I never topped 😎 over the first 3 days I got wrapped up in The Stand , sacrificed most sleep, and devoured that sucker in only 3 days 😮😎 but then I was hooked up on King, and I spent the next 4 days devouring It😮😎I read The Stand and It both, within a 7 day period 😉😎 and then I slept for like 3 days straight 🤣🤣 best week of my life ever🤣🤣
Glad to see that To Green Angel Tower got a mention. Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is my favorite fantasy series after ASOIAF, without a doubt. After I finished TGAT I immediately jumped into the Last King of Osten Ard series and, while somewhat different, it is equally fantastic and I can't wait for the finale to come out this November. (I'm surprised I've never heard you mention it, but perhaps you're waiting for it to be completed.)
This was a fantastic list, Mike! Very inspiring. I LOVE chonkers. I can't help it. Nikki loved Count of Monte Cristo; I still haven't gotten to it yet. I agree with you about Storm of Swords. Still haven't read McCammon yet, but he seems like he'd be right up my alley. :)
The Count of Monte Cristo is excellent! My intro to the story was the Jim Caviezal adaptation, which I loved, but when I read the unabridged version, I realized it is a very different story!
Have you ever read any Edward Rutherford? He writes the history of a city or country through the eyes of fictional characters, following the rise and fall of families through the generations and centuries. London and Sarum are my favourites, but if you're looking for an American angle he's done one called New York.
A recommendation for anyone looking for some good space opera is Peter F Hamilton. He writes some real thick page turner squirrel killers that are usually the 1200 page mark that just filled to the brim with great stuff. Pandora's Star & The Reality Dysfunction are great entry points.
Great list of books, LOL, I have read all of them over the years. In Sequels but not direct, Follett's A World Without End was phenomenal, well over 1,000 pages.
Hawaii by James Michener is a good piece of historical fiction, clocking in at 937 pages. My mom gave it to me to read when I was 15 so I gave her Shogun which made her a Clavell fan so Taipan, Noble House , King Rat and Gai-Jin followed.
Wow! I borrowed King Rat from a friend years ago and thought it was a fun read. I haven't explored the author beyond that m, but your post brought that memory back to me. I'll have to read more of what they had to offer. Thank you!
Reading times according to the kobo site, sorted by times (page numbers are bs): 11/22/63 (also enhanced ebook) 22-24 Blackwater 24-26 Swan Song 24-26 Demon in White 24-26 The Bonehunters 29-32 Lonesome Dove 29-32 Pillars of the Earth 33-36 Words of Radiance 33-36 Of War and Ruin (not there, probably like Words of Radiance) Gone With the Wind 34-37 A Storm of Swords (also illustrated edition) 35-38 Shogun 35-38 (2 ebooks) IT 36-39 The Count of Monte Cristo 37-40 The Stand 38-41 To Green Angel Tower (not Anger Tower) 43-47
I read Lonesome Dove this year and it’s my favorite book and probably the best American novel. Thanks for being a Lonesome Dove shill it got me to read it 😂
Really enjoyed the list and thouguts. bumping some of these up my list. I'm currently really enjoying Anathem (my first Neal S book) and that's a hefty 900+ pages. Slow burn read.
One the Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorites. Because of you I bought Lonesome and I just bought The Dragonbone Chair from Waterstones in London. I got to continue The Stand and I'm glad you mentioned IT. IT is one of my favorites.
I love big books! In fact, the novel I'm currently writing is over 1,350 pages in manuscript form (over 440,000 words). My favorite big ones are, of course, IT. I also really like BOY'S LIFE by Robert McCammon, THE TERROR by Dan Simmons, and NOS4A2 by Joe Hill.
Here's on off the radar screen for you, I suspect. Herman Wouk's "The Winds of War" ('only' 885 pgs) and "War and Remembrance" (1042 pgs) - they really are one novel written in two volumes. It follows an American naval family through World War II. Wouk is an excellent writer - famous for his Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Caine Mutiny" (also a WWII story) that was made into a movie with Humphrey Bogart). I double-dare you to take this one on!
The Winds of War and War and Remembrance are great books. I forgot about them til you mentioned them. Read them probably 30 years ago. The Caine Mutiny is excellent too.
Monte Cristo #1 all-time book for me. Pillars of the Earth probably #2 -- had me close to tears a few times and I listened via TTS (now that is writing). Stand and It are also close to my heart. Great ideas on the rest. Thanks!
Read the King trio and 11/22/63 was SO much fun to read. That book got me back into King for a while. Pillars was excellent. I'm about to read Howling Dark (just this second received my signed PPk copies of the Sun Eater series from Pantego Book bc of you, thx - squeeeee), and starting Words of Radiance today as well. I'm now intrigued by Count of MC. Enjoyed your vid. Keep up the great work.
I just finished reading Lonesome Dove and yeah, that was an amazing book! It was actually not so different from a fantasy. You have your crew of main characters going on a journey/quest with all the hardships, drama and cheek clenching moments. Probably book of the year for me.
I fully get where you're coming from when you were talking about best book in series versus favorite book in series A lot of people don't seem to understand that there can be a difference there That you that you can like something and not consider it to be the best thing This is how I am with my music I'll see people doing album rankings And people will be arguing over What the best song is when someone never said it was the best they said these are my Top songs
I thought the story of Of Blood and Fire was very shallow and generally underwhelming; is there a big improvement in book 2? I hear so many people rave about the sequels.
Pillars still remains the greatest book I’ve ever read. I think was about 16 when first read it and I just loved getting lost in that dark world Follett so beautifully described, and still do. I keep longing for that book that will match Pillars, and the only other one that has is Lonesome Dove. Shogun is definitely up there. Such great works and worlds to explore in words. While Im not a fantasy fan, I keep trying!
Another book that I had read and enjoyed, Gone with the Wind. What classics would pass any modern DEI or sensitivity reader lens? I am reading American Psycho now, and that sure wouldn't. I give sensitivity readers a big thumbs up 👍, because they can sit and spin. Satire!
@@mikesbookreviews Mike, just to let you know, I am toning down my socio-political rhetoric on BookTube. Thank you for taking this as the joke that it was, even though I was also making a statement. I don't want for it to be said that I am causing division in the BookTube community. But yes, my FiFi's is a bit hurt, as I have been personally attacked for my own crude and offensive yet well-meaning art.
The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett was a great story of a family across a century from First Wolrd war onwards. Each book clocking around 1000 pages. Loved it.
New subscriber here. I love and have read -almost all of these pics (although I think Sanderson's skills top out at 3.5 or 4 stars max). Over the years I've transitioned from a primarily fantasy reader to a primarily historical fiction reader. I'd put some more of James Clavell's books on your to-read list, especially Taipan and Noble House, also the entire Matthew Shardlake series by CJ Sansom, Winds of War by Herman Wouk, and of course the Brothers Karamazov. All chonkers. Great channel.
11/22/63 is my favorite King book, and I completely agree about the romance. Admittedly, romance is typically a subplot at best in books I read, but that book has the best romance plot I’ve read. That is not something you’d expect from Stephen King, but he really can write anything. 11/22/63 is also the best time travel book, and best thriller book I’ve read, and I have read a lot of those. Plus, it has a great It tie-in that is just icing on the cake.
I read Shogun this year and loved it! Swan Song hot take (even though Stephen King is my fav author): loved it better than the Stand! Can’t wait to check out the rest - particularly Blackwater Saga!
Great video. I've got most of the books on my TBR. Chunky books sound great in my head but then when I need to pick a new book I always end up choosing a shorter one 😬 The Count of Monte Cristo is AMAZING. I don't think I'll ever read a better story than that one. Also, I had no idea you had a "media" channel too! Subscribed.
Great list! I was surprised to realize I read most of them. Would add something be Neil Stephenson. The Baroque Cycle might fit the general theme of the list best though my favorite is Anathem.
I'm about 65% in to The Stand and loving it. Not sure where it's going to end up but I trust the process. Not a huge King fan but, gosh darn it, he keeps pulling me back in.
Hey Mike. Thanks for that list. You do a great job at giving a sales pitch. I am definitely thinking about giving Blackwater a try maybe during October of this year. I found out that the year when that story started, was the year that my grandmother was born.
@@mikesbookreviews Thanks. I'll either be checking that out, or Shogun, The Way of Kings, A Boys Life, or Sabriel by Garth Nix. I have no idea where my reading mood is going to go, but those are just a few options. I also have the book version of the Nightmare Before Christmas book and the Hocus Pocus and it's sequel book too. I will keep you posted.
I have many of the same favorites. I don’t reread books but listening to these makes me want to do that. I haven’t read Lonesome Dove, need to get on that.
Given yours and other book tubers recommendations I started reading the sun eater books. The first one was a struggle to get through but I did it now I’m on book 2 then I’m begin demon in white. I also got the first of the dark elf trilogy of the legend of drizzt, and the dragon bone chair. 😁
Couldn’t agree more. Jake and Sadie are my favourite fictional couple of all time. My top are Swan Song and 11/22/63 for sure. Special mention to The Stand, IT, and Shogun.
I’ve read 2 1000 page books this year, The Lonesome Crown and Of War and Ruin. Both are in my top 10 books of the year so far. Trying to decide if I have time to fit another one in my schedule this year.
I just found your channel. Love the chunkers! My favorite chunky ones: Don Quixote; The Count of Montecristo; Bleak House; Cecilia; Les Miserables; Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (this one is non fiction, pf course). Will keep watching. Thanks.
I'm enjoying the Wandering Inn book 1. those books are huge and I'm reading other things while reading that one. I'm in no rush on the Wandering Inn. I do enjoy it, but I take my time with it.
Don’t be afraid to talk up some sequels, Mike…it might just be the encouragement and the push someone needs to pick up that next book and finish out a series strong!
I have lonesome dove, Swanson, and blackwater on the bookshelf. I gotta get to them soon but I just started the bound and the broken series. War and ruin can double as a weapon for self defense it's like a cinder block lol.
I’m going to give a shout out to Outlander chonkers in the historical fiction category, which I would put up there with LD in terms of writing and character. I was forced to listen to #1 (all 30+ hours!) 25 years ago on a cross country road trip and I was enthralled with the history, adventure and characters, plus the folklore and time travel/etc. And make no mistake she does not shy away from the brutality and violence of the times, plus all the gnarly medical s**t. Then I read the other books, #3 would probably be tops for me. #1 was categorized by critics as a bodice ripper romantic fiction novel and marketed as romance against the authors wishes, so she has included a bodice-ripping scene in every subsequent novel as a wink/nod to that early pigeonholing. Very witty and excellent writer
I was being scared that SK wasn’t gonna be on your list so I was very happy that you said the exact 2 on my mind as they’re both unbelievably good but white I’ve also read swan song thanks to you Mr Mike and it’s very good but it doesn’t come being close to not even nearly as good as the Stand and the only similarities both books have to each other is they’re both in which humanity dies also in “Different” ways. Man I’ve no idea why people compare these 2. Ok if you want to add the antichrist they’re in both books aswell but I mean which Christian or Muslim doesn’t know that that’s how it’s gonna roll out anyway but again while I really did enjoy swan song but The stand is a whole higher category of fish altogether transcending most good books I’ve read “it’s a joke comparing swan song with the stand”. I’d also been meaning to get onto pillars of the earth and lonesome dove “just one more SK…😂” but I’ve had my hands full; I’ve almost finished fairy tale and was planning on Duma key aswell as the name of the rose before moving on to those 2 and Guy Gavriel’s exceptionally unbelievable as well from other booktubers review
What a nice list! I'll put Dan Simmons's "The Terror" in historical fiction and "Under the dome" by Stephen King instead of 11/22/1963 but... yeah, very nice list :)
3:20 everyone describes pillars this way but it’s just such a wrong way to describe it. Pillars of the earth is an epic story that spans five decades, set a thousand years ago, and it contains a struggle for power and corruption, a fight for survival, war, and a builder whose family is on the brink is starvation who gets a chance to build the cathedral of his dreams. It’s basically a big soap opera with tons of conflict, drama, sex, religion.
11/22/63 is so freaking Good its like Stephen tapped into what made him great between 60's-80's. Its like Metallica somehow tapping back into the Ride the lightning/Justice/Master era
Hi, Mike, I hope you'll read this comment. I really want to ruin your pick for the book of the year 😁. Would you like to read Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa?
I've just recently finished with Stone of Farewell. And when I saw the page count of To Green Angel Tower, I was flabbergasted😅 I don't think I would read it right away.
I do not understand why everybody hates the end of Lost so much, I loved the ending, and all the people I know wo watched Lost loved the ending as well.
Not a big chonker, but speaking of JFK, have you read Don DeLillo's Libra? It's a novel about Lee Harvey Oswald and the various goings-on that were relevant to that incident. Purely fictional narrative of course. Purely fictional. Except for all the facts. A big whopper I'd try to force people to read if I could include The Dying Grass by William T. Vollmann (1300+ pages), a novel about the Nez Perce war, told both from the perspective of the US cavalry and the natives they're fighting. It's part of Vollmann's Seven Dream series, which are all about the troubled relationship between the natives of the New World and the European settlers, beginning with the vikings in the first volume, The Ice-Shirt. The Dying Grass is the biggest book in that series by a wide margin though.
Count of Monte. 1300 pages in, and I still didn’t want it to end. Count of Monte is one of those kind of books, that could be 10000 pages and the way it’s structured, it would still work.
I concur! It is amazing.
Great book!
I went to a Tad Williams reading a couple of months ago and he told a funny story about meeting G.R.R. Martin for the first time in the 90s. When Williams went over to say hi, Martin - being a big fan of Tads - only said: "Go home and write! I want to read your next book." Pretty ironic. I guess Martin heard that himself on one or two occasions since then.
My how the turns have tabled....wait.
That’s hilarious, I just started m,s, t to get an idea of where GRRM was going with asoiaf, and it’s amazing so far
11/22/63 is my favorite book of all time. The last 30-50 pages I had tears rolling down my cheeks. It was so good.
What's funny is that King would have ruined it at the end as usual if his son didn't make him change the ending lol
I am interested to se his original ending. I know his son must have been the one to turn it dark.
It was an amazing ride.
@@MFDOOOOMclassic king!!
Count of Monte Cristo is definitely one of my favorite chonkers. The more I got into the Malazan series, I'd keep saying, "This is my favorite. no, this one is." I'd say Deadhouse Gates' ending just grabbed me and knocked me sideways at the end, BUT for me, it really hit its stride in Midnight Tides. That's my favorite as the story really starts getting where it wants to go. I feel like it's the top of the roller coaster. So MT and most of the ones after that are on my list for favorite big books.
I'm not sure I've read others that are around 1,000 pages. I'm in the middle of A Stone of Farewell but I don't think any of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn are quite that chunky. Really loving the series so far. Definitely going to be a favorite series, and I'm kicking myself for not reading them when they first came out, but I was in middle school/early high school and The Chronicles of Amber, The Dragonriders of Pern, The Dragon and the George series, and Shannara had a stranglehold on me then. LOL
Midnight Tides was really good, I agree
Blackwater is criminally underrated. I’m so glad you brought it up. I actually met one of McDowell’s cousins recently, sounds like he was a really interesting guy.
Beyond underrated. It's incredible.
Talk about some bangers. I don't think it's a coincidence that this list has some of my all time favorite books on it. I like big books and I cannot lie.
I am exhausted of big books but can also acknowledge some of my favorites ever were massive.
@@mikesbookreviews I don't know how you read them back to back the way you have been. I need my palate cleansers in there. Short Stephen King, Dragonlance, or even some literary fiction. Something to stave off the books becoming monotonous.
Me too!!
Totally agree about Lonesome Dove. That book made me fall in love with westerns again. Incredible story
Fact.
What an amazing list, so many of my favs on this list. Count of Monte Cristo is in my top 5 of all time, that book made me realize Revenge is my FAVORITE theme. I brought Gone With The Wind on vaca with me, I spent more time reading than "vacationing" because I was so invested.
Ha ha GWtW can do that.
Les Misérables is my favourite book of all time. It's big, but the payoff at the end is brilliant. The book made me cry multiple times while reading it. Also, Hugo's prose is unmatched
Do you have a recommendation as far as which English translation is the best?
@@aliubed3162 I really couldn't get into War and Peace. Then again, I was listening to a free audiobook recorded by multiple volunteer narrators and several of them were honestly terrible.
I should probably try it again in print or audio with a professional narrator
@@emosongsandreadalongs Christine Donougher. Newer translation that reads smoothly without losing the tone and vibe. I loved that one.
@@KingCrusoe thank you
Les Mis has stuck with me. Love Valjean and Javert. Didn't love the Paris Sewer System and Other Essays, though, lol!
Here's a story for you 😜 when I was 14, I used to spend summers with my grandparents in a small town in South Georgia 😉 but they had a small library there, I was a big reader, and my grandpa helped me get a library card 😎 that was the summer that I discovered Steven King 😎so I had tons of disposable time, so I decided to check out some chonkers 😂I got The Stand and It😎 and I set my own personal reading record that I never topped 😎 over the first 3 days I got wrapped up in The Stand , sacrificed most sleep, and devoured that sucker in only 3 days 😮😎 but then I was hooked up on King, and I spent the next 4 days devouring It😮😎I read The Stand and It both, within a 7 day period 😉😎 and then I slept for like 3 days straight 🤣🤣 best week of my life ever🤣🤣
Fun stuff! I took the entire summer of 1993 to read IT because I could only read it at night when my mom didn't know haha
I just finished Of War and Ruin. It was Awesome, I'm really excited for Of Empires and Dust. Thanks Mike!
Yeah I can't wait
Just finished my Words of Radiance reread. So good.
Lonesome Dove and IT seem to be on my TBR for too long... moving closer to the front. Ha!
Lonesome Dove is the best book I've ever read and I'm a 24-year-old fantasy nut. Just read it now honestly, so good.
DEWIT.
Glad to see that To Green Angel Tower got a mention. Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is my favorite fantasy series after ASOIAF, without a doubt. After I finished TGAT I immediately jumped into the Last King of Osten Ard series and, while somewhat different, it is equally fantastic and I can't wait for the finale to come out this November. (I'm surprised I've never heard you mention it, but perhaps you're waiting for it to be completed.)
It is criminally underrated.
Thank you for all the recs😊This year is my read books slower year and reading big books is my comfy and happy place right now☺️
Absolutely! Nothing wrong with taking your time.
This was a fantastic list, Mike! Very inspiring. I LOVE chonkers. I can't help it. Nikki loved Count of Monte Cristo; I still haven't gotten to it yet. I agree with you about Storm of Swords. Still haven't read McCammon yet, but he seems like he'd be right up my alley. :)
Perhaps Swan Song can give you what The Stand missed on.
The Count of Monte Cristo is excellent! My intro to the story was the Jim Caviezal adaptation, which I loved, but when I read the unabridged version, I realized it is a very different story!
That movie has come about the closest to capturing Dumas, IMO. But it cut out so much!
A chunky horror/fantasy novel I LOVED is Imajica by Clive Barker. I think it is SO GOOD and just a joy to read.
Have you ever read any Edward Rutherford? He writes the history of a city or country through the eyes of fictional characters, following the rise and fall of families through the generations and centuries. London and Sarum are my favourites, but if you're looking for an American angle he's done one called New York.
Thanks for the recommendation, I’ve never heard of him but now I’m interested!
I haven't. Will look him up!
A recommendation for anyone looking for some good space opera is Peter F Hamilton. He writes some real thick page turner squirrel killers that are usually the 1200 page mark that just filled to the brim with great stuff. Pandora's Star & The Reality Dysfunction are great entry points.
That opener😂😂
The cold opens are definitely done best by you
If anyone else did it I would be rolling my eyes but it was perfect
@@clydebillingsworth8574 perfect-exactly lol
I try.
Awesome list Mike!
Great list of books, LOL, I have read all of them over the years. In Sequels but not direct, Follett's A World Without End was phenomenal, well over 1,000 pages.
Doing that one this fall!
Hawaii by James Michener is a good piece of historical fiction, clocking in at 937 pages. My mom gave it to me to read when I was 15 so I gave her Shogun which made her a Clavell fan so Taipan, Noble House , King Rat and Gai-Jin followed.
James Michener really deserve more exposure on booktube!
Wow! I borrowed King Rat from a friend years ago and thought it was a fun read. I haven't explored the author beyond that m, but your post brought that memory back to me. I'll have to read more of what they had to offer. Thank you!
I need to do more Clavell, too
@@mikesbookreviews my ranking is 1.shogun 2.tai pan 3.noble house 4. king rat 5.gai jin 6.whirlwind
Glad to see you keep recommending Swan Song. I read that based on your recommendation and it is one of my favorites.
Always!
I also have had The Handsmaid’s Tale on my TBR for a long time! I might have to move it up to my next read!
Reading times according to the kobo site, sorted by times (page numbers are bs):
11/22/63 (also enhanced ebook) 22-24
Blackwater 24-26
Swan Song 24-26
Demon in White 24-26
The Bonehunters 29-32
Lonesome Dove 29-32
Pillars of the Earth 33-36
Words of Radiance 33-36
Of War and Ruin (not there, probably like Words of Radiance)
Gone With the Wind 34-37
A Storm of Swords (also illustrated edition) 35-38
Shogun 35-38 (2 ebooks)
IT 36-39
The Count of Monte Cristo 37-40
The Stand 38-41
To Green Angel Tower (not Anger Tower) 43-47
Well, some editions use different fonts and spacing.
I read Lonesome Dove this year and it’s my favorite book and probably the best American novel. Thanks for being a Lonesome Dove shill it got me to read it 😂
When I finished LD I was actually annoyed I took so long to finally read it.
Really enjoyed the list and thouguts. bumping some of these up my list.
I'm currently really enjoying Anathem (my first Neal S book) and that's a hefty 900+ pages. Slow burn read.
One day I will finally read Snow Crash.
Great recs, Mike! I do love me a chonky book.
Most fantasy fans do!
11/22/63 ending had me bawling too haha. To be fair though quite a few King stories have made me cry. The Green Mile especially.
No doubt. He's a wizard.
Some absolute bangers on here!! Glad to hear that Malazan settles down on book six as I’m reading book five currently 😅
Bonehunters felt like the best reward
One the Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorites. Because of you I bought Lonesome and I just bought The Dragonbone Chair from Waterstones in London. I got to continue The Stand and I'm glad you mentioned IT. IT is one of my favorites.
Enjoy!
Thank you.
I love big books! In fact, the novel I'm currently writing is over 1,350 pages in manuscript form (over 440,000 words). My favorite big ones are, of course, IT. I also really like BOY'S LIFE by Robert McCammon, THE TERROR by Dan Simmons, and NOS4A2 by Joe Hill.
Here's on off the radar screen for you, I suspect. Herman Wouk's "The Winds of War" ('only' 885 pgs) and "War and Remembrance" (1042 pgs) - they really are one novel written in two volumes. It follows an American naval family through World War II. Wouk is an excellent writer - famous for his Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Caine Mutiny" (also a WWII story) that was made into a movie with Humphrey Bogart). I double-dare you to take this one on!
The Winds of War and War and Remembrance are great books. I forgot about them til you mentioned them. Read them probably 30 years ago. The Caine Mutiny is excellent too.
I'll look it up!
Monte Cristo #1 all-time book for me. Pillars of the Earth probably #2 -- had me close to tears a few times and I listened via TTS (now that is writing). Stand and It are also close to my heart. Great ideas on the rest. Thanks!
Glad to see so many picking up Pillars for the first time lately.
Read the King trio and 11/22/63 was SO much fun to read. That book got me back into King for a while. Pillars was excellent. I'm about to read Howling Dark (just this second received my signed PPk copies of the Sun Eater series from Pantego Book bc of you, thx - squeeeee), and starting Words of Radiance today as well. I'm now intrigued by Count of MC. Enjoyed your vid. Keep up the great work.
Glad you were able to get the signed copy!
I just finished reading Lonesome Dove and yeah, that was an amazing book! It was actually not so different from a fantasy. You have your crew of main characters going on a journey/quest with all the hardships, drama and cheek clenching moments. Probably book of the year for me.
Yep! Brian Lee Durfee pointed that out to me and I couldn't help but agree.
I fully get where you're coming from when you were talking about best book in series versus favorite book in series A lot of people don't seem to understand that there can be a difference there That you that you can like something and not consider it to be the best thing This is how I am with my music I'll see people doing album rankings And people will be arguing over What the best song is when someone never said it was the best they said these are my Top songs
Glad I'm not alone!
I read Blackwater because of you. Loved it.
Excellent!
I’m currently reading “Shogun” for the third time. Great book.
Incredible journey.
11/22/63 is my favorite Stephen King book! I also cried at the ending, you'd have to be heartless not to!
Dude. Of war and ruin is a FRICKING MASTERPIECE. Dayne. FRICKING DAYNE. Ella. Rist. So GOOD. The knights of achyron. Just...wow.
I’m glad 😌 you find some 5 stars ✨ amazing books!! 📕
Will be starting Lonesome Dove in a couple of days! Really looking forward to it.
I’ve read all of the books that you mentioned and loved them all.
War and ruin was the fastest I've read a book that big since of words of radiance..... absolutely brilliant.... guy has got it 👍
I thought the story of Of Blood and Fire was very shallow and generally underwhelming; is there a big improvement in book 2? I hear so many people rave about the sequels.
@@rhahnabunaid Yes.
@rhahnabunaid ABSOLUTELY 💯.... It gets better an better as it goes ...
Agreed
Pillars still remains the greatest book I’ve ever read. I think was about 16 when first read it and I just loved getting lost in that dark world Follett so beautifully described, and still do. I keep longing for that book that will match Pillars, and the only other one that has is Lonesome Dove. Shogun is definitely up there. Such great works and worlds to explore in words. While Im not a fantasy fan, I keep trying!
I'd agree. Pillars is amazing.
Another book that I had read and enjoyed, Gone with the Wind. What classics would pass any modern DEI or sensitivity reader lens? I am reading American Psycho now, and that sure wouldn't.
I give sensitivity readers a big thumbs up 👍, because they can sit and spin.
Satire!
LOL
@@mikesbookreviews Mike, just to let you know, I am toning down my socio-political rhetoric on BookTube. Thank you for taking this as the joke that it was, even though I was also making a statement. I don't want for it to be said that I am causing division in the BookTube community. But yes, my FiFi's is a bit hurt, as I have been personally attacked for my own crude and offensive yet well-meaning art.
The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett was a great story of a family across a century from First Wolrd war onwards. Each book clocking around 1000 pages. Loved it.
Just bought it!
@@mikesbookreviews All the best hopefully you will like them as well
New subscriber here. I love and have read -almost all of these pics (although I think Sanderson's skills top out at 3.5 or 4 stars max). Over the years I've transitioned from a primarily fantasy reader to a primarily historical fiction reader. I'd put some more of James Clavell's books on your to-read list, especially Taipan and Noble House, also the entire Matthew Shardlake series by CJ Sansom, Winds of War by Herman Wouk, and of course the Brothers Karamazov. All chonkers. Great channel.
Thanks! I did buy the entire Asian Saga after how much I loved Shogun.
11/22/63 is my favorite King book, and I completely agree about the romance. Admittedly, romance is typically a subplot at best in books I read, but that book has the best romance plot I’ve read. That is not something you’d expect from Stephen King, but he really can write anything. 11/22/63 is also the best time travel book, and best thriller book I’ve read, and I have read a lot of those. Plus, it has a great It tie-in that is just icing on the cake.
I read Shogun this year and loved it! Swan Song hot take (even though Stephen King is my fav author): loved it better than the Stand! Can’t wait to check out the rest - particularly Blackwater Saga!
Solid list. One day I’ll have them all read
Great video. I've got most of the books on my TBR. Chunky books sound great in my head but then when I need to pick a new book I always end up choosing a shorter one 😬
The Count of Monte Cristo is AMAZING. I don't think I'll ever read a better story than that one.
Also, I had no idea you had a "media" channel too! Subscribed.
Short books can be nice. But there is comfort there in a big book just knowing you're about to go on that journey.
It just took me 2 months to read Howling Dark. It's definitely a slow burn chew your food series.
Oh definitely. Always stunned when people go through one of his books in 2 days.
Great list! I was surprised to realize I read most of them. Would add something be Neil Stephenson. The Baroque Cycle might fit the general theme of the list best though my favorite is Anathem.
I'm about 65% in to The Stand and loving it. Not sure where it's going to end up but I trust the process. Not a huge King fan but, gosh darn it, he keeps pulling me back in.
It has an amazing payoff.
Hey Mike. Thanks for that list. You do a great job at giving a sales pitch. I am definitely thinking about giving Blackwater a try maybe during October of this year. I found out that the year when that story started, was the year that my grandmother was born.
Highest of recommends
@@mikesbookreviews Thanks. I'll either be checking that out, or Shogun, The Way of Kings, A Boys Life, or Sabriel by Garth Nix. I have no idea where my reading mood is going to go, but those are just a few options. I also have the book version of the Nightmare Before Christmas book and the Hocus Pocus and it's sequel book too. I will keep you posted.
I have many of the same favorites. I don’t reread books but listening to these makes me want to do that. I haven’t read Lonesome Dove, need to get on that.
Immediately!
If you enjoyed Shogun you give Musashi from Eiji Yoshikawa a try.
I've gotten that rec a few times
@@mikesbookreviews You should definitely check it out in the future.
Just finished To Green Angel Tower last night. Two weeks. Yea I was putting some time into it everyday. Great book also!
Took me two months!
Given yours and other book tubers recommendations I started reading the sun eater books. The first one was a struggle to get through but I did it now I’m on book 2 then I’m begin demon in white. I also got the first of the dark elf trilogy of the legend of drizzt, and the dragon bone chair. 😁
Couldn’t agree more. Jake and Sadie are my favourite fictional couple of all time. My top are Swan Song and 11/22/63 for sure. Special mention to The Stand, IT, and Shogun.
Relationship Goals.
I’ve read 2 1000 page books this year, The Lonesome Crown and Of War and Ruin. Both are in my top 10 books of the year so far. Trying to decide if I have time to fit another one in my schedule this year.
Ken Follett says hello!
I just found your channel. Love the chunkers! My favorite chunky ones: Don Quixote; The Count of Montecristo; Bleak House; Cecilia; Les Miserables; Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (this one is non fiction, pf course). Will keep watching. Thanks.
One day I’ll finally try Quixote
I'm always here for the intro jokes, lol!
This one was a layup ha ha
I’m so happy Tad Williams made your list!
MS&T is amazing.
I'm enjoying the Wandering Inn book 1. those books are huge and I'm reading other things while reading that one. I'm in no rush on the Wandering Inn. I do enjoy it, but I take my time with it.
I still haven’t read Lonesome Dove. I gotta get on that!
Yes, you do!
I got to the last 400 pages of To Green Angel Tower and couldn't put it down, I stayed up to 5:00 in the morning reading it. It was fantastic x
Just a banger of a final act
@@mikesbookreviews yeah, it was unreal.
Hard agree for the books I’ve read and I DEFINITELY will get to Monte Cristo and Lonesome Dove asap.
Man, you'll love LD.
chef's kiss on the opening joke :D
I try.
Some amazing suggestions.
Don’t be afraid to talk up some sequels, Mike…it might just be the encouragement and the push someone needs to pick up that next book and finish out a series strong!
In the case of most series, book 1 is rarely the best.
Great video and intro!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but To Green Angel Tower is in like, the top 10 longest books of all time list.
I have lonesome dove, Swanson, and blackwater on the bookshelf. I gotta get to them soon but I just started the bound and the broken series. War and ruin can double as a weapon for self defense it's like a cinder block lol.
The Bonehunters blew my socks off. One of my top 10 books.
It was so rewarding
I’m going to give a shout out to Outlander chonkers in the historical fiction category, which I would put up there with LD in terms of writing and character. I was forced to listen to #1 (all 30+ hours!) 25 years ago on a cross country road trip and I was enthralled with the history, adventure and characters, plus the folklore and time travel/etc. And make no mistake she does not shy away from the brutality and violence of the times, plus all the gnarly medical s**t. Then I read the other books, #3 would probably be tops for me. #1 was categorized by critics as a bodice ripper romantic fiction novel and marketed as romance against the authors wishes, so she has included a bodice-ripping scene in every subsequent novel as a wink/nod to that early pigeonholing. Very witty and excellent writer
Watched the first season of the show and enjoyed it
Almost finished with my 3? month Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn saga! Well worth the price of admission.
Love the big ones you recommend, still so many of them that I haven't read
Plenty of time!
I was being scared that SK wasn’t gonna be on your list so I was very happy that you said the exact 2 on my mind as they’re both unbelievably good but white I’ve also read swan song thanks to you Mr Mike and it’s very good but it doesn’t come being close to not even nearly as good as the Stand and the only similarities both books have to each other is they’re both in which humanity dies also in “Different” ways. Man I’ve no idea why people compare these 2. Ok if you want to add the antichrist they’re in both books aswell but I mean which Christian or Muslim doesn’t know that that’s how it’s gonna roll out anyway but again while I really did enjoy swan song but The stand is a whole higher category of fish altogether transcending most good books I’ve read “it’s a joke comparing swan song with the stand”. I’d also been meaning to get onto pillars of the earth and lonesome dove “just one more SK…😂” but I’ve had my hands full; I’ve almost finished fairy tale and was planning on Duma key aswell as the name of the rose before moving on to those 2 and Guy Gavriel’s exceptionally unbelievable as well from other booktubers review
Awesome man! Thanks!
I love love LOVE the Count of Monte Cristo
I am reading the stand right now and I have to say that this or it are my favorite stephen king out of the dark tower series so far.
What a nice list! I'll put Dan Simmons's "The Terror" in historical fiction and "Under the dome" by Stephen King instead of 11/22/1963 but... yeah, very nice list :)
3:20 everyone describes pillars this way but it’s just such a wrong way to describe it. Pillars of the earth is an epic story that spans five decades, set a thousand years ago, and it contains a struggle for power and corruption, a fight for survival, war, and a builder whose family is on the brink is starvation who gets a chance to build the cathedral of his dreams. It’s basically a big soap opera with tons of conflict, drama, sex, religion.
Swan song was awsome .... massive robert Mccammon fan!
11/22/63 is so freaking Good its like Stephen tapped into what made him great between 60's-80's. Its like Metallica somehow tapping back into the Ride the lightning/Justice/Master era
Are you still on Toll the Hounds or did I miss that you finished it?
Hi, Mike, I hope you'll read this comment. I really want to ruin your pick for the book of the year 😁. Would you like to read Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa?
I know damn well Lonesome Dove is gonna be on here
You know it
If you remove the Loser's Club from IT you still have a pretty good novel. So much cool backstory
I've just recently finished with Stone of Farewell. And when I saw the page count of To Green Angel Tower, I was flabbergasted😅
I don't think I would read it right away.
Thanks for the great video! I am kind of shocked I have read everything on here , except for The Stand ... I am getting old...
No time like the present!
I do not understand why everybody hates the end of Lost so much, I loved the ending, and all the people I know wo watched Lost loved the ending as well.
He loves big books and he doesn't lie
Correct
Not a big chonker, but speaking of JFK, have you read Don DeLillo's Libra? It's a novel about Lee Harvey Oswald and the various goings-on that were relevant to that incident. Purely fictional narrative of course. Purely fictional. Except for all the facts. A big whopper I'd try to force people to read if I could include The Dying Grass by William T. Vollmann (1300+ pages), a novel about the Nez Perce war, told both from the perspective of the US cavalry and the natives they're fighting. It's part of Vollmann's Seven Dream series, which are all about the troubled relationship between the natives of the New World and the European settlers, beginning with the vikings in the first volume, The Ice-Shirt. The Dying Grass is the biggest book in that series by a wide margin though.
Can you imagine the amount of research Clavell had to do to bring Japan to life in his books? Good gravy, man!!
No doubt
only chonker book i read so far is The Stand and i loved it. im hoping to get to Lonesome Dove and 11/22/63 very soon