Big Book Summer Wrap-Up > Likes and Comments

How was your Big Book Summer?
What Big Book(s) did you read?
What was/were your favorite(s)?

I'm pleased to have read three Big Books -- and even happier that two of them were from my own shelves! Overall, a successful challenge.

Books read:
The Great Wherever by Shannon Sanders -- my favorite of all three, 5 stars!
She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity by Carl Zimmer
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

I read 4 big books.
The Firekeeper’s Daughter
Strangers in Time
Count the Ways
City of Widows
Think that City of Widows comes out on top. I had planned to read No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin but ran out of time.
Like Melissa, I am happy that three of my four came from my own shelf. Great summer reading. Thank you, Suzan.

I finished 2 this year
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

I finished (well almost--see below!) 8 Big Books this Summer, which is one more than last Summer, so I'm satisfied with my reading.

I read:
1. South Riding, Winifred Holtby
*2. Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. The American Senator, Anthony Trollope
4. They Were Sisters, Dorothy Whipple
*5. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
*6. Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
7. Mr. Scarborough's Family, Anthony Trollope
*8. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens (Of the 34 hours on audio, I only have 2 hours left. Not sure if I'll be able to get the last 2 hours listening in by the deadline, but I figure I've listened to about 900 pages so far, so I'm counting it!)

*These 4 books were all re-reads on audiobook and were highly comforting & satisfying.

Of the 4 new-to-me Big Books I read this summer, I think I enjoyed They Were Sisters the most, but South Riding was the most rewarding read and I want to re-read it at some point.

I read 4 books! More that I thought I would.
1.Regime Change by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan
2. John Of John by Douglas Stuart
3. The Kingdom by Jo Nesbo
4. Shogun Part One by James Clavell
My favorite was between Regime Change and John of John. But all four were excellent!

I unfortunately ended up with "quantity over quality" in my summer reading; and I'm not quite sure why. I had lots of time, and lots of books I was looking forward to...but ended up with mostly three star reads. I enjoyed most of what I read, and got better at DNFing those that weren't holding my attention (an ongoing goal of mine).

It's always fun to see what books folks choose for this challenge; and although I am more of a lurker than a commenter I've added several books to my TBR based on other's enthusiasm (haven't we all done this?!) so thanks to everyone for sharing so many books! And a huge thanks to Sue for organizing, sharing her own reads, and responding to every post with interesting and positive comments!

- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg (416)
- The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez (401)
- A Catalogue of Catastrophe (The Chronicles of St Mary's #13) by Jodi Taylor (498)
- The Good, the Bad, and the History (The Chronicles of St Mary's #14) by Jodi Taylor (478)
- The Ballad of Smallhope and Pennyroyal by Jodi Taylor (468)
- Doing Time (The Time Police #1) by Jodi Taylor (480)
- Skin and Bones by Renee Watson (416)
- Hard Time (The Time Police #2) by Jodi Taylor (544)
- Funny Story by Emily Henry (416)
- Saving Time (The Time Police #3) by Jodi Taylor (497)
- The Gales of November by John U Bacon (430)
- About Time (The Time Police #4) by Jodi Taylor (416)
- Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady (414)
- Killing Time (The Time Police #5) by Jodi Taylor (461)
- Out of Time (The Time Police #6) by Jodi Taylor (524)
- The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain (448)
- The Queen's Cook by Tessa Afshar (400)
- A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in WW2 by Elizabeth Wein (400)
- Ground State (Expeditionary Force #19) by Craig Alanson (only on Audible, 19hr 20min so it's definitely over 400 pages:-)
- These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean (400)
- All the Skills by Honour Rae (513)
- All the Skills #2 by Honour Rae (583)
- All the Skills #3 by Honour Rae (566)
- All the Skills #4 by Honour Rae (561)
- The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce (400)
- All the Skills #5 by Honour Rae (424)
- All the Skills #6 by Honour Rae (470)
- The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis (443)
- The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (656)
- The House Witch #1 by Delemhach (474)
- On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam CJ Walker by A'Lelia Bundles (416)
- Exile's Honor (Alberich's Tale #1) by Mercedes Lackey (431)
- Exile's Valor (Alberich's Tale #2) by Mercedes Lackey (438)
- The Princess of Potential (The House Witch #4) by Delemhach (413 ) I read #2 and #3 in the series but they were less than 400 pages
- The Burning Witch #1 by Delemhach (400)
- The Burning Witch #2 by Delemhach (523)
- Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao (416)
- The Burning Witch #3 by Delemhach (475)
- The Someday Garden by Ashley Poston (400)

I read 2 books and have another one which I will finish in September.
Christine - Stephen King
The Prince of Tides - Pat Conroy
Will be joining again next year but will do better at starting on the opening day. Enjoyed both books.
Thank you Suzan and Melinda for hosting.

I read 7-3/4 big books. I figure I will finish the last quarter of that one in early November.
1. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community
2. Starry and Restless: Three Women Who Changed Work, Writing, and the World
3. Anxietyland
4. Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump
5. 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in History – and How It Shattered a Nation
6. The Calamity Club
7. We the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America

the 3/4 book is A Suitable Boy.

Surprisingly I'll pick 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in History – and How It Shattered a Nation as my favorite because what could have been a tedious, long book was actually very readable and exciting.

I had another successful reading summer, thanks to this challenge. The best part is, these were all TBR's of mine. I didn't buy anything, though I did borrow "The Shell Seekers". :)

Yes. I read 1,062 pages of “War and Peace” and *still* have 535 pages to finish. But I made some really good progress.

Dungeon Crawler Carl, 450 pages
The Shell Seekers, 654 pages
The Wedding Veil, 406 pages
Devotions, 480 pages
War and Peace, 1,062 pages read (400 pages read last year, 535 pages to finish)

Total pages: 3,052

It''s hard to pick a favorite because they were all so different. I'm glad I finally read "The Shell Seekers" and would probably most recommend that and "Devotions" by Mary Oliver.

As always, I love this challenge and appreciate both hosts this year for pulling it together!

This is my second summer participating in #BigBookSummer!

This year I read eight big books:

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me 522 pages
Her Last Flight: 416 pages
Faking It: 448 pages
Bet Me 432 pages
Insincerely Yours 522 pages
Love Overboard 444 pages
The Stardust Thief 468 pages
Alchemised 1030 pages

Total pages read: 4,282

This such a fun summer challenge and I look forward to next year!

Thanks again Suzan for running Big Book Summer! It's one of the best challenges around--3 months, no pressure, just read & love those big books! I look forward to next year's challenge and have a great Fall of Reading.

My Big Book Summer Reads

Tom's Crossing by Mark Z. Danielewski 1232 pages

Crucible by John Sayles 496 pages

John of John by Douglas Stuart 416 pages

A Founding Mother: A Novel of Abigail Adams
by Stephanie Dray 452 pages

Total pages 2596
Great summer reading!