Top 5 Saturday : Books Over 500 Pages

This Top 5 Saturday prompt is from Devouring Books, original post here.

This weeks topic is books over 500 pages. What’s funny is that I could probably pick 20 for this because most of the books I really deeply love are over 500 pages. There is something about a long epic that makes me feel attached to the characters and more deeply immersed into a story. There are many books on my TBR that are over 500 pages too. I wish I could stop time to read them all! But since we can’t do that it’s probably best if books were in the 350 page mark or so. Too many great books and not enough time or sustainable attention to entertain them all! Note : This post has amazon affiliate links, if you purchase from them I might get a small commission.

1.) Serpentine by Thomas Thompson (576 pages)

You’re probably looking at this title and thinking “What is that?” 13 year-old me also looked at this book with a lot of apprehension and thought there is no way it would be of interest. At the time I was reading tween books, what on earth would I do with a seeming adult male-oriented crime thriller? Well, I gave it a try anyway and I still remember this being my first ever experience with an INTENSE page turner. Even when I didn’t fully understand what was going on, this book was impossible to put down. It was always on, magnificently paced, and transportive in a way that is unforgettable. Everyone I’d lended it to or told about it who gave it a try (at that time) had the same experience. Went from zero interest in true crime to riveted.

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2.) Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (529 Pages)

If the prompt for this week was most highlightable book instead of books over 500 pages, this one would reign supreme in that category. I actually can’t think of a book with more passages that I wanted to highlight, it’s the most memorable in that area. I sung the praises of another title by this author here, Middlesex has a wildly different setting, characters, and mood. But the writing style is similarly enthralling and lyrically beautiful. Middlesex manages to elongate those qualities to 500+ pages.

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3. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (720 pages)

I have a review for this title here. The more I think about it the more I can see the flaws of this title. But at the end of the day, this one had me pulling all nighters and crying over the characters. I am still in awe at having completed its 720 pages so easily, even though the story conjures so many harsh emotions. Loved the characters. Need to try more work by this author, there is something about her writing style that really snuck up on me and wouldn’t let go.

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4. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (835 pages)

I feel like I keep bringing up this series/this volume in every single book list on this entire blog. It’s just really great. Vibrantly realized characters and an attention to detail that really brought the world to life. Also, a sense of urgency and doom that has weight and never felt cheap. I went into this book expecting to hate it as I’m actually quite uninterested in its aesthetic, so it was a huge surprise to be so won over.

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5.) Rebel Angels by Libba Bray (Book 2 in the Gemma Doyle Trilogy) (548 pages)

I really want to put the first book in this series here (A Great And Terrible Beauty) but unfortunately it is 100 pages shy of that 500 page marker. And Rebel Angels deserves some credit for being a good and consistent sequel without middle book syndrome. Really need to re-read this series. I recall being floored by the quality of writing, finding it far beyond nearly all other YA series or stand-alones I’d been trying at the time. The heroine(s) are intelligent and inquisitive, with a sense of adventure that was so refreshing in a sea of whiny or angsty types of romance-centric YA. In many ways this series was ahead of its time.

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Have you read any of these titles or want to? I am always happy to read your thoughts, and appreciate all comments and replies. This was a fun theme this week. I hope everyone is having a relaxing and fun weekend!