Do you embrace or avoid books with high page counts? Four hundred pages is hefty, but for me, a high page count book is five hundred +. All the books on my list today are 600+. What do you consider a high page count book?
My only thought about high page count books is “THEY BETTER BE GOOD!” if I’m going to invest the time and effort.
10 Books I Love with High Page Counts
(Amazon paperback page counts)
I’m linking up today with That Artsy Reader Girl for Top Ten Tuesday: Books With High Page Counts. (600+)
***Titles are Amazon Affiliate links or links to my reviews if available.
In order of (Amazon Paperback) page counts
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1072p)
A classic that began my obsession with historical fiction (page counts vary with the edition).
Hawaii by James Michener (937p)
This saga totally engaged me!
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (818p)
You’ve seen the musical (either live or streaming), now read the book!
The Covenant of Water by Abrham Verghese (768p)
I almost bailed on this one because he lost me with the Digby character (who is he? why should I care about him?). I stayed with it and the author stuck the ending and brought it all together, but it was a lot.
And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle (720p)
Fascinating, must-read nonfiction.
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough (692p)
This might have been my first romance read.
My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie (672p)
The engaging story of Eliza Hamilton and her relationship with John Hamilton.
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (656p)
A histfic/thriller/mystery mashup.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (608p)
I was enthralled all the way through and never realized it was a high page count.
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (608p)
An ambitious and compelling read (3 timelines, 3 locations, plus a story within a story).
QOTD:
Do you embrace or avoid high page count books?
What are your favorite high page count books?
ICYMI:
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Some great books there! I’d forgotten quite how long Gone With the Wind is! I used to read Michener books avidly, Chesapeake being a particular favourite.
That’s why I keep putting off a reread of Gone with the Wind! It’s quite a time commitment! I haven’t read Chesapeake.
Big books intimidate me, Carol, unless it’s by an author I trust, although that doesn’t always work! 😂
I’m usually clueless because I read on kindle! It always surprises to me that some books are so big! 😂
Oh The Rose Code, haven’t read it yet, thank you. I have Thorn Birds and Gone With the Wind on my list too 🙂 I was considering Covenant and Hawaii, but decided on women writers only 😉
I like your list.
Rose Code is tbr worthy! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
I’ve read more than half of these, and loved them!
Yay! 🙌📚
One day I might tackle Gone With The Wind.
I’ve said that for at least a decade now! 😂😂😂
I should have said I’ve been meaning to REread it! I read it for the first time in high school.
I like a long book (more than 600 pages) as you can really get into the story. As you say though, they need to be good if I’m investing so much time into reading it. I still haven’t got around to reading The Covenant of Water but I will soon.
C of W almost lost me, but I’m glad I persisted!
I have read a lot of the books that are mentioned today, probably because I love large books. Four from your list.
Here is mine:
https://momobookblog.blogspot.com/2025/08/top-ten-tuesday-high-page-count.html
They should count for more than one book on goodreads though! 😂
Still having difficulty signing In on your site to comment…I should try on my laptop to see if that makes a difference. You have a lot of really big books!
They count for more once I do my yearly statistics because I add up the pages and divide them by the number of books.
I’m sorry for the problem with logging in but I had to block all anonymous bloggers because I got some very nasty and very upsetting comments from some people. Whenever I have that problem myself, I go from Firefox to Chrome or vice-versa. That usually helps.
I’m very intimidated by chunky books, I’m always worried I will lose focus or interest. Looking at your list, Carol, I have read some of these. Of course I read Gone With the Wind, years ago and I even read Scarlett. I loved The Rose Code, but I listened to it. I also read The Book Thief, again, quite awhile ago. I will have to look at what I have read, there might be more than I thought. Nice list.
You probably have read more than you realize….especially when reading on a kindle.
You’re right. If I say 400 pages and over, I was surprised at how many I had read, Carol.
Gone With the Wind has been a popular pick this week.
Yes! And I still need to reread!
James Michener! I remember going through a phase where I read so many of his books!
Yes! The Michener phase! Love it!
It’s really funny to see how page count varies by edition, because when I pulled my list together from a Goodreads export, Gone With the Wind, Hawaii, Alexander Hamilton, and The Thorn Birds didn’t show up among my highest counts, and they probably should have! That said, I did love all of them, and I agree… it takes quite a lot to commit to such big books, so the payoff had better be good!
I’m making a list today of several big books that I have yet to read. Maybe if each one counted as 2 or 3 books on goodreads I’d be more motivated to read them! 😂
I really like that cover of Alexander Hamilton. My copy just has a basic portrait of him.
It’s the first time I’ve seen that cover.
i really do need to read The Rose Code! My TTT
Tbr worthy! 📚🙌
Great list, Carol. I’ve read several of them, but wouldn’t have thought of them for this prompt. I have a very old hardcover copy of Gone With the Wind. It has survived the physical book purge…so far.
I wish I still had my physical copies of a few of these!
I generally embrace a high page count. It helps me feel more immersed in the story.
So true! 🙌📚
High page counts can definitely be intimidating, but if I’m really in the mood for a certain book, the page count doesn’t matter as much.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
Same! High page counts don’t usually deter me if I’m in the mood! Hopping over to read your post….
I enjoyed reading The Rose Code. I don’t think the length bothered me so much, because it was an audiobook. I think if I was reading the physical copy, I may have been deterred due to the length.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/ten-biggest-books-on-my-tbr/
Ebooks and audio books take away the intimidation factor! 🙌📚
Great list!! I forgot so many. Too much happening here including a big water leak LOL
Oh no! It’s annoying when life gets so lifey! Hope your leak is resolved!
I have read many on your list and I agree: They better be good! Although I hesitate to start a long book, I will admit that the Outlander books posed no problem, I just dived right in (until about book 6…). My favorites include: Gone with the Wind, Centennial by James Michener 909, all the multi page Outlander books ranging from 640 pages to over 1000, The Count of Monte Cristo 1266, 11/22/63 by Stephen King 1121 pages, Shogun at 688, The Grapes of Wrath, 619, Far Pavilions 960, Lonesome Dove 864, Emma 592, and Les Miserables 1488.
Wow! You’ve listed some fabulous titles!🙌📚
These days, I consider anything over 400 pages a chunkster! I’m getting impatient in my old age, I guess. I do love THE BOOK THIEF and GONE WITH THE WIND.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
A benefit to reading on a kindle is that I’m often oblivious to the page counts! 😂
I have actually read more of these titles than not, Carol. Dad and I used to avidly read James Michener – I would buy them for him and then ‘borrow’ them back 😂🤣
They were so popular! 🙌
I was given a copy of Rose Code by a fellow walking group member. Not sure it’s my cup of tea as it were and because it’s so long I haven’t felt motivated to open it yet. But if you loved it then maybe I will too.
Quinn is a fav author and within a few pages you know you’re in an expert’s hands. There’s a side of mystery/thriller as well.
I actually picked up Cloud Cuckoo land from a book exchange on a whim. I’m looking forward to reading it at some point! I do love a good doorstopper.
It’s a challenging and intriguing read! Enjoy!