2022 BIG FAT BOOKS RUNNING TOTAL.

Please post every BIG FAT BOOK that you finish and please try and follow the numbers.

1. Blood and Bone by Ian C. Esslemont, 845 pages.

2. Unbirthday by Liz Braswell - 504 pages

Congrats Bryan on registering the first BFB of 2022 and also to Jayne, quickly following with No 2.

3. In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden - Text, 638 pages; with Notes and Questions for Reflection and Discussion, 653 pages.

4. De liefdesbrief by Lucinda Riley - 510 pages

5. Met het bloed van mijn hart, deel 1 by Diana Gabaldon - 549 pages

6. The House The History of the House of Representatives, by Robert V. Remini (read 9 Jan 2022) 592 pages plus index

7. The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson - 643 pages

8. Before They are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie, 570 p.

9. Met het bloed van mijn hart, deel 2 by Diana Gabaldon - 626 pages

Question, do "middle reader" books qualify? I just finished Brandon Mull's Dragonwatch: Champion of the Titan Games (535pp) and I'm currently reading Dragonwatch: Return of the Dragon Slayers (611pp). Although "middle reader" books, they are cross-over into adult fantasy readership. I'd put them perhaps on a reading level with The Hobbit.

There are a few illustrations, but these are the kinds of "middle reader" fantasy that are heavy on text, although I assume the print is a bit bigger, the pages perhaps a bit smaller, and consequently fewer words per page than the typical adult novel or non-fiction work.

I don't want to claim these and then be asked to withdraw them, thus messing up the count, if folks think "middle reader" should be excluded despite exceeding the 500-page mark. But I don't see anything one way or the other on the Group page and want to get advice before I go one way or the other.

This isn't a cheap way I'm using just to add books to my BFB list. I'll be doing some Library of America and other heavy-duty adult reading as well. At the same time, I may get around to Eragon sometime this year, and at 528pp (Amazon listing) that would also qualify on page-count.

Guidance, folks?

CurrerBell, I'm not the moderator but I say include them, we have never had strict guidelines as to which books qualify, if it has 500 pages or more it's in, in my opinion.

10. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr, 639 p.

11. Brandon Mull, Champion of the Titan Games 535pp
12. Brandon Mull, Return of the Dragon Slayers 614pp

Hi Mike, as long as the page count is 500 pages or more, they count. Hope this helps you out mate.

>16 johnsimpson: Thanks, John!

13. The September Girls by Maureen Lee - 551 pages

14. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr - 626 pages

15. Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor, 616 p.

16. Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb, 584 p.

17. The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki, 548 p.

18. Lore by Alexandra Bracken - 547 pages

19. The Toll by Neal Shusterman - 631 pages

20. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr - 626 pages

21. Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie, 671 p.

22. Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames, 512 p.

23. The Desolations of Devil’s Acre by Ransom Riggs, 506 p.

24. First Family by David Baldacci, 659 pages.

25. The Outsider by Stephen King - 560 pages

26. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak A re-read of 608 pages.

27. The Golden Fool by Robin Hobb, 632 pages.

28. The Books Of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk - 992 pages

29. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - 627 pages

30. The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin 512 pages

31. France: The Dark Years, 1940-1944 by Julian Jackson 608 pages

32. 264. I Alone Can Fix It Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year, by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker (read 18 Feb 2022) 553 pages plus index

33. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr - 623 pages

34. Amitav Ghosh, Flood of Fire 616pp

35. Assail by Ian C. Esslemont, 778 pages.

36. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset, translated from the Norwegian by Tiina Nunnally - 1124 pages.

37. Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie, 664 pages.

38. Termination Shock - Neal Stephenson - 720 pages

39. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, just squeaking in at 502 pages.

40. Vertel het de bijen, I by Diana Gabaldon 622 pages

41. The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens 810 pages

42. Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb, 805 pages.

43. The Perpetual Curate by Margaret Oliphant (1864); 540 pages.

44. Chasing the Prophecy by Brandon Mull, 506pp

45. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, audiobook read by Simon Vance, 737 pages.

46. The Outsider by Stephen King - 561 pages

47. The Land Beyond the Sea 688 pages

48. Arcadia - Ian Pears - 528 pages

49. Vertel het de bijen, 2 by Diana Gabaldon - 705 pages

50. The Happy Isles of Oceania by Paul Theroux - 528 pages

51. Dancer's Lament by Ian C. Esslemont, 524 pages.

52. L'homme inquiet by Henning Mankell - 552 pages

53. The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch - 502 pages

54. Lenin's Kisses by Yan Lianke - 500 pages on the nose!

55. Ruins of the Galaxy - JN Chaney - 582 Pages

56. Sidewinders by Robert V.S. Redick, 657 pages.

57. Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native (Norton Critical Editions) 500p, The additional length is attributable to the NCE supplementary materials. Note that I read the first edition (1969) and there's a second edition (2005) which contains more current supplementary materials. The D.H. Lawrence essays are excellent and ever timely, but much of the other first edition supplementary materials are dated.

58. Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk - 992 pages

59. The Secret History by Donna Tartt 544 pages

60. Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer 502 pages

61. The Sixth Man by David Baldacci, PB - 592 pages.

62. City of Lies by Sam Hawke, 560 pages.

63. A PLace of Hiding - Elizabeth George - 528 pages

64. Edgar and Lucy by Victor Lodato - 522 pages

65. A Study in Silks - Emma Jane Holloway - 549 pages

66. The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie, 612 pages.

67. Emma: an annotated edition by Jane Austen (1816); 576 pages.

68. Skeleton Crew: Stories by Stephen King - 648 pages

69. The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Vol. I: Charmed Life / The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones, 598pp

70. Mississippi Blood by Greg Iles - 704 pages

71. Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb, 553 pages.

72. The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Vol. II: The Magicians of Caprona / Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones, 548pp

73. Mijn zomers aan zee - Tracy Rees, 507 pages

74. White Teeth by Zadie Smith - 542 pages

75. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - 817 pages

76. Trade Wind by M.M. Kaye - 553 pages

77. To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara, 708 pages.

78. The Fool's Assassin - Robin Hobb - 688 pages

79. The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Vol. III: Conrad's Fate / The Pinhoe Egg - Diana Wynne Joes - 675pp

80. King and Maxwell by David Baldacci, 591 pages.

81. Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, 673 pages.

82. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens 893 pages

83. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir =, 559 pages

84. Redemption Ark - Alastair Reynolds - 704 pages

85. Once and Future Witches - Alix E. Harrow - 528 pages

86. J'ai dû rêver trop fort by Michel Bussi - 541 pages

87. The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse 557 pages

88. Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb, 570 pages.

89. A Deepness in the Sky - Vernor Vinge - 729 pages

90. Lady Audley's Secret - M.E. Braddon - 510 pages

What about endnotes-bibliography-index?

I've got Bruce Catton's The Coming Fury @565pp, but the text ends @page473. There's a little textual material in the endnotes, but not a whole lot, and the bibliography is unannotated.

Would this qualify?

91. Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson @909pp

92. Hollow Empire by Sam Hawke, 559 pages.

93. The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne, 636 pages.

94. Der Untertan by Heinrich Mann, 684 pages

95. Wolkenstad by Anthony Doerr, 636 pages

96. The Starless Crown - James Rollins - 560 pages

97. Always Coming Home - Ursula Le Guin - 523pp (including about a hundred pages of "appendix" material, all of which I read, and I also used as needed the fifteen or so pages of glossary. I also listened to the forty-some minute accompanying audio of poems and music.)

>96 CurrerBell: If you read them all, I would say yes.

98. The Institute by Stephen King - 561 pages

99. Black Dog by Stephen Booth, PB - 514 pages.

100. Bitter Harvest by Ann Rule 508 pages

101. Kom eens gauw by M.J. Arlidge - 522 pages

102. The Girl and the Moon by Mark Lawrence, 530 pages.

103. Der stumme Tod by Volker Kutscher, 542 pages.

104. Twilight Robbery by Frances Hardinge, 524 pages.

105. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, 771 pages

106. Modeste Mignon by Honoré de Balzac, 531 pages (in the ebook version from BEQ).

107. Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke, 523pp

108. The Books of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin, 1008 pages.

109. Richard II: A Readable Version (Readable Shakespeare Book 16) by Richard Chember 539 pages

110. Im Schatten des Turms by René Anour, 652 pages

111. U.S.A by John Dos Passos 1485 pages

112. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot 704 pages

>118 Tess_W: I read The Mill on the Floss earlier this month, too, but the text of my edition (OUP) only came in at 480 pages (although it did feel longer!) So interesting how editions can differ.

113. Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb, 535 pages.

114. Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell, 679 pages.

115. Barchester Towers, Anthony Trollope (1857) 612 pages, a re-read via audiobook, read by Simon Vance. Forgot how much I loved this one....what a pleasure: so much humor and a satisfying love story.

>121 bryanoz: I have yet to read that one--did you enjoy it? North & South is one of my favorites of all time.

116. Half a War by Joe Abercrombie, 500 pages.

>122 kac522: Hi Kathy, I did enjoy it, found Wives a more subtle story than North and South with it's social aspects. Unfortunately Elizabeth died suddenly just before completing Wives but it is still an absorbing read.
Re Barchester Towers I have Trollope's Chronicles of Barsetshire here and will be reading them next year, happy reading !

>124 bryanoz: Good to hear. I would like to read Ruth and Sylvia's Lovers first, but I may not be able to wait.

I hope you enjoy the Barsetshire books. I recently picked up the most recent OUP edition of The Warden, which has excellent additional material about the organization of the church in the 19th century, and Trollope's views.

117. The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass 576 pages

118. The Unfinished Presidency Jimmy Carter's Journey Beyond the White House, by Douglas Brinkley. 568 pages plus index

119. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton - 505 pages

120. Lord Peter Takes the Case by Dorothy Sayers - 1224 pages

121. A Crowded Marriage by Catherine Alliott, PB - 530 pages.

122. Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb, 630 pages.

123. The Nano Flower - Peter F. Hamilton - 604 pages

124. De vermisten van Maneschijn - Christelle Dabos - 577 pages

125. The Arabian Nights, Tales of 1001 Nights: Volume 1 Nights 1 to 294 translated by Malcolm C. Lyons 940 pages

126. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling - 636 pages

127. Het geheugen van Babel - Christelle Dabos - 501 pages

128. Doctor Thorne, Anthony Trollope (1858), 720 pages; re-read via audiobook, read by Simon Vance.

129. Fool's Quest - Robin Hobb - 768 pages

130. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, 805 pages.

131. We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen, translated from the Danish by Charlotte Barslund with Emma Ryder, 675 pages.

132 Kushiëls werktuig by Jacqueline Carey, 736 pages

133. A Time of Courage by John Gwynne, 648 pages.

134. Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames - 544 pages

135. Fairy Tale by Stephen King - 598pp

136. Where the Light Enters by Sara Donati 672 pages

137. Lady Anna, Anthony Trollope (1874); 513 pages (re-read from 2015)

138. Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan - 523 pages

139. Iron Kingdom by Christopher Clark, 777 pages

140. Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen, 580 pages.

141. The Danzig Trilogy by Gunter Grass 1030 pages

142. The Obsidian Chamber - Preston/Child - 560 pages

143. Fool’s Quest by Robin Hobb, 739 pages.

144 Lelieblank, scharlaken rood - Michel Faber, 955 pages

145. The Kill Call - Stephen Booth - 549 pages

146. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, 532pp

147. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville, 710 pages.

148. A Small Circus by Hans Fallada 578 pages

149. Assassin's Fate - Robin Hobb - 952 pages

150. Miss Marjoribanks, Margaret Oliphant (1866), 519 pages

151. Nicholas Nickleby, Charles Dickens (1839), 777 pages, re-read on audiobook, narrated by Simon Vance

152. Lindbergh: The Crime by Noel Behn 630 pages 4*

153. Hocus Pocus by A.W. Jantha - 521 pages

154. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville, 710 pages.

155. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 960 pages

156. With No One As Witness - Elizabeth George - 640 pages

157. The Vicar of Bullhampton, Anthony Trollope (1870); 526 pages.

158. Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb, 853 pages.

159. Fairy Tale by Stephen King 598 pages

160. Insomnia by Stephen King - 663 pages

161. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon - 633

162. Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann, 736 pages.

163. Fairy Tale by Stephen King, 599 pages.

164. The Grace of Kings - Ken Liu - 640 pages

165. Baudolino by Umberto Eco, 522 pages.

166. Doris Kearns Goodwin, The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism, 910pp (but with extensive bibliographic endnoting and index, the actual text runs to about 750pp)

167. The Arabian Nights, Tales of 1001 Nights: Volume 2 Nights 295 to 719 translated by Malcolm C. Lyons 783 pages

168. The Scar by China Mieville, 604 pages.

169. Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth - 617 pages

170. No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished - Rachel Aaron - 516 pages

171. Goldstein by Volker Kutscher – 574 pages

172. Daughter of York by Anne Easter Smith 574 pages 4.5*

173. Shea Ernshaw, The Shea Ernshaw Bindup (two-in-one volume of The Wicked Deep and Winterwood) 640pp

174. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, 548p.

175. Wanderers - Chuck Wendig - 800 pages

176. Iron Council by China Mieville, 614 p.

177. Middlemarch, by George Eliot, 848 pages; a re-read for me via audiobook, read by Juliet Stevenson

178. The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, 650 pages.

179. What Came Before He Shot Her - Elizabeth George - 832 pages

Completely forgot to sign up here this year! From my count, I read 15 books that count. Probably too late to list them, but I have signed up for 2023 and will join in. Happy new year and happy reading everyone!