Top Ten Tuesday: The 10 longest books i've ever read

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by the fabulous Jana at The Artsy Reader Girl. You can join in with future topics here!

Some people find long books off putting, other people adore them - I love them but I have to be in the right mood. If I try a long book when I'm not feeling it then it takes me an age to get through it. However if I'm itching for a long book to sink into and enjoy then I fly through them. Here are ten of the longest books I've ever curled up with!

A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin
Page count: 807 pages

Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

I adore the show and I love the books. They're epic and incredible and unlike anything I've ever read, and their length only adds to them. Sure they take me a crazy long time to get through them, and I definitely draw them out and savour them over a very long time, but they are totally worth it.

A Clash of Kings by George R R Martin

Page count: 1,010 pages

A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who hold sway over an age of enforced peace are dead, victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. 

It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

Case in point on the whole 'it takes me a crazy long time to get through them' thing. I've only read the first two, but I loved them, and I'm enjoying savouring this epic saga and all the extra details the books provide that the show glosses over.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Page count: 850 pages

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives. 

Words cannot express how much I love this series and the tv show they've made of it. If you haven't read this yet, do so. If you've been put off by the size, never fear! Once you get stuck into the story you won't put the book down and you'll fly through the 850 pages.

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Page count: 743 pages

For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland's majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones, about a love that transcends the boundaries of time, and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his...

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire's spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart, in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising, and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves...

The first two books in this series hold particularly special places in my heart. And that is in part due to being in Edinburgh whilst reading this second book. It added a whole new dimension to the experience to be able to go and walk the streets and buildings that Claire and Jamie visit in the second part of their adventure.

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
Page count: 870 pages

Their passionate encounter happened long ago by whatever measurement Claire Randall took. Two decades before, she had traveled back in time and into the arms of a gallant eighteenth-century Scot named Jamie Fraser. Then she returned to her own century to bear his child, believing him dead in the tragic battle of Culloden. Yet his memory has never lessened its hold on her... and her body still cries out for him in her dreams.Then Claire discovers that Jamie survived. Torn between returning to him and staying with their daughter in her own era, Claire must choose her destiny. And as time and space come full circle, she must find the courage to face the passion and pain awaiting her, the deadly intrigues raging in a divided Scotland, and the daring voyage into the dark unknown that can reunite or forever doom her timeless love.

The reason that only the first three books appear on this list (because really I could have done most of a list based entirely on this series) is because I like to read the corresponding book just before the series comes out. That way I still experience book before show, but I don't have so long to wait and it draws the whole enjoyment of the series out that much more.

The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien
Page count: 1,137 pages

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
From Sauron's fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, his power spread far and wide. Sauron gathered all the Great Rings to him, but always he searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion.
When Bilbo reached his eleventy-first birthday he disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.

The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the Dwarf; Legolas the Elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.

Who hasn't read this epic father of all fantasy books!? No? Ok well given Tom Bombadill and the Council of Elrond I don't blame you. However once you're through those two points the story gets going at a much better pace and is a really good adventure. This book and the films got me through a lot of my teenage years, and will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix

Page count: 766 pages

Harry Potter is due to start his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His best friends Ron and Hermione have been very secretive all summer and he is desperate to get back to school and find out what has been going on. However, what Harry discovers is far more devastating than he could ever have expected...

The longest of the Potter's, and up there as one of my favourites (because hormones and angst Harry is always super fun, plus JK starts taking the heart break to WHOLE NEW LEVELS) I adore this Potter behemoth.

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

Page count: 819 pages

It has been a year of change since Gemma Doyle arrived at the foreboding Spence Academy. Her mother murdered, her father a laudanum addict, Gemma has relied on an unsuspected strength and has discovered an ability to travel to an enchanted world called the realms, where dark magic runs wild. Despite certain peril, Gemma has bound the magic to herself and forged unlikely new alliances. 

Now, as Gemma approaches her London debut, the time has come to test these bonds. The Order - the mysterious group her mother was once part of - is grappling for control of the realms, as is the Rakshana. Spence's burned East Wing is being rebuilt, but why now? Gemma and her friends see Pippa, but she is not the same. And their friendship faces its gravest trial as Gemma must decide once and for all what role she is meant for.

Confession: it has been a ridiculously long time since I've read this series. And to be honest, I don't remember a huge amount about it. I just remember loving it, and it's one that I really want to revisit soon, because that feeling of magic and being swept away in an incredible dark and twisty story was amazing, and I really want to see if I experience that again on the re-read.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Page count: 635 pages

Days before his release from prison, Shadow's wife, Laura, dies in a mysterious car crash. Numbly, he makes his way back home. On the plane, he encounters the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America.
Together they embark on a profoundly strange journey across the heart of the USA, whilst all around them a storm of preternatural and epic proportions threatens to break.

A bit of a marmite book, it took me a while to really get into it, but I ended up really engrossed in this fascinating and curious story. It was unlike anything else, and absolutely incredible. I know the size may put off a few people, and the slightly off kilter feel to the story, but it is well worth pushing through any reservations, because the end pay off is glorious.

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas
Page count: 992 pages

Aelin has risked everything to save her people―but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…
With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation―and a better world.
And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen―before she is lost to him forever.
As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.

Yes I know, this one *technically* shouldn't count because it's not out yet and I haven't read it. BUT, it's a behemoth of awesome that is only a couple of weeks away, and I'm totally going to dive straight in as soon as it hits the shelves. And the Throne of Glass series has been such an incredible journey, it seemed wrong to not include this final (NEARLY A THOUSAND PAGES) instalment.

So those are ten of my favourite long books, do you agree with the love for these? Tell me some of yours in the comments!