Task #16: Read a doorstopper (over 500 pages) published after 1950, written by a woman

[Carolina]

I had planned a couple of other books for this (which I will probably still read anyway), I seen great news from one of my favourite authors. Maker's Curse by Trudi Canavan is the last in her most recent series. According to GR, it'll have 560 pages. I might need to read book 3 again as it's been a while.

[Chris]

Anna Louise wrote: "The Blind Assassin"

I was also planning to read the blind assassin but my edition is actually fairly compact and light haha

[Michelle]

A Gathering of Shadows and A Conjuring of Light in VE Schwab’s Shades of Magic series both fit the bill.

[Jourdan]

It seems like a lot of people are reading fiction but I just read The Diana Chronicles (560 with a lot of notes) and really enjoyed it. I'm seeing the musical about her and I'm glad I was able to finish it before I go next month!

[Emerging]

I just spent a lovely couple of hours reading the first chapters of three books that fit this prompt:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

It was a tough choice, but I have decided to continue on with The Shell Seekers.

[Milena]

Emerging wrote: "I just spent a lovely couple of hours reading the first chapters of three books that fit this prompt:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Shell Seekers by [auth..."

You really can't go wrong with any of them.

[Emerging]

Milena wrote: "You really can't go wrong with any of them."
Thanks, Milena... good to know! It was hard to choose.

[Marie]

Honestly, I tend to avoid super chunky books because they don't really get along with my attention span. But some of the books that I recommend that would qualify:

Feed by Mira Grant
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
Parasite by Mira Grant
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman

I might re-read Feed for this challenge, it seems timely for current world events.

[Sherri]

I read The Priory of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon for this prompt. It has 804 pages.

[Stephanie]

I'm reading Fifth Season and just realized they recommended this for this challenge. It's really 465 pp. so I wouldn't have counted it but... I guess I will

[Tom]

I read Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin for this challenge. A fascinating look at how Abraham Lincoln managed the competing personalities and viewpoints that made up his cabinet during his Presidential term. It also spends a lot of time detailing the lives and careers of the primary cabinet members themselves, rather than focusing exclusively on Lincoln.

[Octavia]

I read The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova for this - first published in 2005, and the edition I read had 642 pages. It was all about Dracula, which made it a great choice for me as I love scary vampire stories.

[Emerging]

It took me a while (March was a distracting month with global events, etc.), but I just completed The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. I couldn't be happier with my choice! I thought it was a perfect novel and I loved her descriptions of landscapes and observations on human nature.

[Sandy]

For this challenge I read the sequel to The City of Brass, The Kingdom of Copper. It was great, I loved it, it's about 640 pages.

[Shannon]

I read Barkskins by Annie Proulx, which was a recommendation from someone on this thread. Really beautiful writing telling the story of several generations. I highly recommend.

[Shelley]

I readThe Glass Town Game which wasn't that good.

[Kari]

Middlegame just got nominated for a Hugo! Good time to read it. :)

[Bonnie G.]

On my 3rd that fits this category. I already read The Paying Guests (which also works for Historical Fiction not set in WWII, and Ducks, Newburyport, and I am about 25% into The Mirror & the Light (which also counts for the historical fiction prompt.)

[Eric]

A second mention for Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink. The author is a full-time writer and is a physician by training, so she gets the medical details right while telling a compelling and complex story. I finished this one right before this challenge, but I hope it works for someone else. For double-dippers, this also seems to work for #5 (book about a natural disaster).

One caveat: I had to put it down for a few days a couple of times because it became hard to read about issues of medical resource scarcity during the current global pandemic.

[Deb]

I recently finished Claire Lombardo's The Most Fun We Ever Had. This book won't be for everyone, but it's a great, complicated family story that takes place over about 50 years. Good if you like Ann Patchett and it's on the Womens Prize longlist.

[James]

The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing would fit. I read it last year, and it is challenging, consisting of at least five separate narrative strands that overlap and contain different versions of the same character with new names. I've never read anything else like it.

[Brittany]

I started Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter two days ago and I got sucked right in. I can’t stop. I would definitely suggest.

[Nicole]

Chrissy wrote: "Another possibility thats been on my list for a bit: Doomsday Book."

I got a copy of this almost 20 years ago and finally read it for this challenge.

[Monica]

I've read This Alien Shore by C.S. Friedman this year already. Getting ready to take on Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in June. Looking forward to it!!

[Kevin]

I’m reading the new Hunger Games novel, The Ballad of So g Birds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins.

[Megan]

I read The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty for this prompt and am looking forward to reading the second and third books in the trilogy :)

[Jasmine's]

This Charming Man

fun and fluff, love the Irish chick flick type every now and then, this one was twice as long as i'd normally like for that type though!

[Leslie (updates on SG)]

I listened to The Time in Between for this prompt, and thoroughly enjoyed it. WWII espionage novel set in Spain and Morocco.

[AJ]

Not sure if this was listed and I missed it but jic.... European Travels for the Monsterous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss is well over 700 pages. It is the sequel to The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter.

[Dorothy]

Constance wrote: "The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough clocks in at a cool 632 pages and my mother in law recommended it to me a while ago... I think I’ll tackle it for this challenge!"

Thanks for suggesting The Thornbirds. It's been on my shelf since I bought it before a vacation to Australia, but never got to it. Just finished - a good summer read that allowed me to reminisce about my trip.

[Yonit]

A bit late to respond to a previous post but I read The Eighth Life and it was phenomenal. Highly recommend. It is long but goes quickly due to the riveting story.

[Virginia]

I read The Time In Between for this prompt.

[Elizabeth]

I just started reading the Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling, and although the first book Luck In the Shadows is just under 500 pages, books 2, 3, and 4 are all over 500 pages. I really recommend them if you're interested in exploring fantasy for this one.

[Allison]

Just finished Five Smooth Stones by Ann Fairbairn published in the midst of the Civil Rights Era (1966).

Recommended to me by a friend in this text:
“This book came out in 1966, the year before Detroit went up in flames when racial tensions erupted. We lived in the suburbs, my parents were in their early 30’s, I was in the 5th grade. My mom sat down for 2days and did not get up until she finished it. I begged to read it, but was not allowed. The next year came the riots, and the year after in 7th grade I received it as a birthday gift. I loved the romance, was appalled by realities I had no idea existed, and inspired by the courage and tenacity of the characters. (Re)read it every year during high school and every 5 or 6 years since. It is a classic in every way, and one of the most powerful books I have ever read. Time to pluck it off my shelf again. I think you would love reading it. It is hefty but so, so worth it. We can have a group discussion afterwards. It will never leave you. ❤️”

I found the story compelling and also sad, in that, less has changed in the world with regards to how we treat each other, than we might have hoped.

[Bonnie G.]

I have been finished for a while, but I keep adding books that fit the prompts. I figured it might help to post what I read for the various categories for people who might have a prompt or two left.

16. Read a doorstopper (over 500 pages) published after 1950, written by a woman

The Paying Guests 2-stars
Ducks, Newburyport 2-stars
The Mirror & the Light 5-stars
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents 5-stars

[Annie]

Deciding between THE LUMINARIES and CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE? Anyone want to recommend either or (even better) read both and can tip the scale for me?

[Beth]

Annie wrote: "Deciding between THE LUMINARIES and CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE? Anyone want to recommend either or (even better) read both and can tip the scale for me?"
I've read both. They are so different it's hard to compare. You'll probably get through Children of Blood and Bone faster, particularly if you like the YA fantasy/adventure genre. The characters are strong, the action well paced. I didn't like the second installation in the series as much though.

It was quite a while ago that I read The Luminaries. I recall enjoying it, but it hasn't stayed with me in the way that books I love do, so I can't give you more than an impression that it was good, well written, etc. etc.

[Westiegirl]

Would Chain of Gold count? It is over 600 pages and came out this year.

[︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ Steph ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿]

I'm reading The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women. It's four pages shy of 500, but I feel it should count XD

[Bonnie G.]

Steph wrote: "I'm reading The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women. It's four pages shy of 500, but I feel it should count XD"

I support that entirely! I say you get at least a 3-5% margin of error.

[Heather]

Finally knocked off Annie Proulx's Barkskins for this one. It's been on my TBR list for a long time. Great historical read, but gotta say it's pretty tragic as well, with intertwined themes of colonialism and deforestation. My next read is definitely lighter.

[Melissa]

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.