Does anyone else get burnt out on long books?

[Mari]

:-)

[Joseph]

Moby Dick is an interesting book to me, in that it really is two books in one. Half of it is chapters that tell the fictional sea story of the hunt of the great white whale and the other half is a nonfiction manual on whale hunting. You don't have to read the nonfiction chapters to enjoy the fiction ones, and vice versa. I was able to read it once, but Moby Dick is one of the heavy books I just have not been able to reread.

[Justina]

I get burnt out on the Ken Follett novels. They're interesting but I get impatient to move on to something else because they're soooooo looooong.

[Donna]

Justina wrote: "I get burnt out on the Ken Follett novels. They're interesting but I get impatient to move on to something else because they're soooooo looooong."

Oh really - I was just going to start my first one!

[Paulfozz]

Joseph wrote: "Moby Dick is an interesting book to me, in that it really is two books in one. Half of it is chapters that tell the fictional sea story of the hunt of the great white whale and the other half is a..."

I couldn't figure out quite why it's supposed to be good, it just seemed an interminable mess. I've read some Dickens and other long classics but only 'just' made it all the way through this and I lost count of the number of times I nearly chucked it in the bin in disgust. It became something of a challenge, 'I will not be beaten by this awful book, I will make it to the end'. If it really is 'the great American novel' then I really need to steer clear of American novels! ;-)

[Justina]

Donna wrote:
Oh really - I was just going to ..."

Don't let me influence you! :-) They're interesting in the sense that I believe Mr. Follett must do a great deal of historical research for his novels (which I always appreciate). I just feel like his stories never end. Sometimes the level of detail is excruciating. I’m always itchy to move onto the next novel when I’m about half way through the current one. :-) Which one are you intending to read?

[Donna]

Justina wrote: "Donna wrote:
Oh really - I was just going to ..."

Don't let me influence you! :-) They're interesting in the sense that I believe Mr. Follett must do a great deal of historical research for his ..."

I was going to start the Century trilogy.

[Joseph]

Paulfozz wrote: "It became something of a challenge, 'I will not be beaten by this awful book, I will make it to the end'. If it really is 'the great American novel' then I really need to steer clear of American novels! ;-) ..."

I kind of know where you are coming from in that regard. I've tried and tried and tried to read works of Tolstoy and Dostoyevksy, but I just cannot get into Russian classics. I gave up long ago.

[Justina]

Donna wrote: "I was going to start the Century trilogy"

You'll have to let us know how that goes.

[Nicole D.]

I get burnt out on genres sometimes and have to read other for a while.More genres then the length of books.

[Lin]

Stephanie (LitLoversLane.com) wrote: "Joseph wrote: "Paulfozz wrote: "It became something of a challenge, 'I will not be beaten by this awful book, I will make it to the end'. If it really is 'the great American novel' then I really n..."

Lol, certainly not a classic by any stretch but years ago I read a book with over 1200 pages written by Tom Clancy about the Russians and the Chinese. The most difficult part for me was that I could not pronounce any of the characters names, lol. Made it hard to keep them all straight in my head. Ended up giving most of them nicknames

[Karen M]

Stephanie (LitLoversLane.com) wrote: "Middlemarch is sitting on my shelf gathering dust, because I am afraid to start it. Too much of a time commitment for me right now."

I have George Eliot: Middlemarch - Silas Marner - Amos Barton, sigh 860 something pages. Maybe one day but right now I'm trying to keep below 400/500 pages.

[John]

Oh my , do not put Silas Marner in with those long books. It is just a booklet and soooooooo go. It was one of the books that hooked me on reading when I was 12 years old and I have read it many times over the years. it should be a must read for ALL.

[Sally]

Middlemarch is worth the effort and if you are only going to read one Russian novel you should read Anna Karenina. Don't let the recent movie version influence you. The book is wonderful. On the other hand I thought the Harry Potter novels were in need of some judicious editing.

[Mari]

Sally wrote: "Middlemarch is worth the effort and if you are only going to read one Russian novel you should read Anna Karenina. Don't let the recent movie version influence you. The..."

I second the vote on Anna Karenina. It's one of my all-time favorites!! I am reluctant to watch the movie, due to my love of the book.

[Emily]

I usually read about 10-20 pages in between other books when the book is huge. I am reading an unabridged mark twain that way right now. I will end up doing it with les miserables as well

[Joseph]

Emily wrote: "I usually read about 10-20 pages in between other books when the book is huge. I am reading an unabridged mark twain that way right now. I will end up doing it with les miserables as well"

Good luck with "Les Miserables." I mean that sincerely. That's another long, non-British or non-American work that I just could not get into. French and Russian works are tough for me. The only long one I can think of that I did like was Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

Mari wrote: "Sally wrote: "Middlemarch is worth the effort and if you are only going to read one Russian novel you should read Anna Karenina. Don't let the recent movie version infl..."

I haven't read that one, but you reminded me of Gone with the wind, a long classic completely worth reading IMO. I read it this year and loved it.

[Karen M]

John wrote: "Oh my , do not put Silas Marner in with those long books. It is just a booklet and soooooooo go. It was one of the books that hooked me on reading when I was 12 years old and I have read it many t..."

I didn't put Silas Marner in with the other two, the publisher did. They're all in one volume and no way can I read only part of a book. I wanted Middlemarch so it seemed like a good idea to buy this edition with all three but now I question my thinking.

[J.J.]

I discovered that reading a long book in multi-format greatly helps to alleviate such tiredness..

Take for example Wizard's First Rule. I got the Kindle edition in a daily deal for $1.99 and then the Audible edition for $2.99.

So, aside from using my commuting times to advance on the book, having the audio (it was a very good narration) helped me a lot when I was tired of 'scanning' the text. I just kept listening and then dozed off

[Scott]

Justina wrote: "I get burnt out on the Ken Follett novels. They're interesting but I get impatient to move on to something else because they're soooooo looooong."

Which ones in particular? I read The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End and absolutely loved them. I didn't feel the length at all, the stories were so engaging and well paced.

[Justina]

Scott wrote: "Justina wrote: "I get burnt out on the Ken Follett novels. They're interesting but I get impatient to move on to something else because they're soooooo looooong."

Which ones in particular? I read..."

I got burnt out on The Pillars of the Earth. I did find it engaging but I grew impatient waiting for it to end. Maybe I just have reading ADD.

[AndrewP]

Joaquin wrote: "I discovered that reading a long book in multi-format greatly helps to alleviate such tiredness..

Take for example Wizard's First Rule. I got the Kindle edition in a daily deal for $1.99 and then ..."

I agree. A lot of longer books are easier to deal with in audible, or multi format. I just finished Words of Radiance in hardback (1080 pages)and I found my reading time somewhat limited by only having it in the massive hardback format. To read that book I had to make dedicated reading time, no holding the book in one hand while eating or anything like that.

[Lin]

One of the many reasons I enjoy reading on my iPad and Nook. Regardless of the length if the story, it is always easy to Carry with me or to hold with one hand