I love lists, and I was gazing lovingly upon at my bookshelf the other day when I had this sudden urge to figure out which books I own that are the longest (I know, I am weird). So today I’m going to show you the top 10 longest books I own. Also, I’m going purely by page count, though some of these books are bigger and with smaller fonts (thus technically fitting more words on a page and being longer then, say, a paperback).
I will be going in ascending order, from shortest book to longest book. Also, just because I own these does not mean I’ve read them.
Now that the rules out of the way, here’s my list.
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
Page Count: 635
Original Publication: 1844
My Edition Publication: 1984
Publisher: Bantam Classics
Read Or Unread: Read
My Rating: 5 Stars
I read this book back in high school and it remains today one of my favorites. It’s such a beautiful book, but surprisingly dense to read. I own a pretty compact paperback, so a hardback might be less or more pages.
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Page count: 689
Original Publication: 1936
My Edition Publication: 1954
Publisher: Garden City Books
Read or Unread: Read
My Rating: 4 Stars
I own a really old copy of this book, and it’s slightly falling apart. My copy has a relatively low page count, because many editions of this book have over a thousand pages. Even so, while I have slightly mixed feelings of this book, it is beautifully written.
The Arabian Nights by Anonymous (translated by Sir Richard F. Burton)
Pages: 741
Original Publication: 800
My Edition Publication: 2016
Publisher: Sterling Publishing Co.
Read or Unread: Read
My Rating: 4 Stars
I read this a few years ago in another edition, but when I saw this edition, with such beautiful art inside and outside, I had to buy it. It remains my favorite book cover that I own.
The Complete Fair Tales of the Brothers Grimm (translated by Jack Zipes)
Pages: 750
Original Publication: 19th century
My Edition Publication: 1992
Publisher: Bantam Books
Read or Unread: Partially Read
My Rating: —
I haven’t finished this book yet, but I’ll once in a while read a couple fairy tales. I love the Brothers Grimm, especially since only a few of their stories are really famous. But they were so prolific, writing so many other short stories.
The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Pages: 815
Original Publication: 1979-1992
My Edition Publication: 1996
Publisher: Random House
Read or Unread: Partially read
Rating: 2 Stars for the first book.
These are the 5 complete novels in this series and one short story. I read the first book, but wasn’t a huge fan. However, I do want to eventually continue reading this series.
The Search for Modern China by Jonathan D. Spence
Pages: 876
Original Publication: 1990
My Edition Publication: 1990
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company
Read or Unread: Unread
I bought this book at the Goodwill, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet. I’ve probably been avoiding it just because it’s so massive. It is a nonfiction book which gives the history of China from the end of the Qing Dynasty (19th century) to the modern day, thus why it’s called the search for modern China.
War In Korea and the Complete History of World War II by Ann Woodward Miller
Pages: 999
Original Publication: 1945
My Edition Publication: 1955
Publisher: …I couldn’t find it.
Read or Unread: Unread
This is perhaps my heaviest book, and I haven’t read it yet. It covers the entire WWII, focusing more on Japan and the war in Asia as opposed to war in Europe. I could be wrong, though, since I haven’t read the book yet.
The Complete Fiction by H. P. Lovecraft
Pages: 1098
Original Publication: 1917-1935
My Edition Publication: 2008
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Inc.
Read or Unread: Partially Read
My Rating: Most of the stories I gave 3-4 stars.
You’re probably sick of hearing about this book, because I’ve mentioned it a few time before. I’m currently only 132 pages in, but every month I’ll read a couple short stories. Eventually, I’ll finish this massive book!
The Complete Works of Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
Pages: 1263
Original Publication: 15th & 16th century
My Edition Publication: 1938
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Read or Unread: Partially Read
My Rating: 2 to 5 Stars
I have not read all of Shakespeare’s plays, but I’ve read quite a few. This is such an old book that I got used and I love it! It is pretty heavy to read from, however. Also, it doesn’t haven’t any cover art, so I’m not showing the cover.
Les Misérables Les by Victor Hugo
Pages: 1463
Original Publication: 1862
My Edition Publication: 1987
Publisher: Signet Classic
Read or Unread: Partially Read
My Rating: —
I’m currently 219 pages into the book, but I haven’t read it for a couple months. It’s such a depressing, but beautiful book! I tell myself I’ll finish it someday…
It is also the longest book I own.
And with that, we are done with my list. It’s interesting how most of these books are classics, though I supposed modern books do tend to be shorter, besides fantasy (and I don’t own much fantasy).
What is the longest book you own? Have you read any of these books? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments, follow my blog for more musings and, as always,
Best wishes in your life full of adventure,
Madame Writer
I am loving your collection!
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Me too! Books are the best things to collect, in my opinion!
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I totally agree with you. After starting my job the one thing in rekeigiously collecting are – books. I love them!
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Gone With the Wind! A classic. Still can’t believe I read that in high school. I recently picked up the Three Musketeers but because I had to return it to the library, put it down momentarily. Excellent post!
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Yes, Gone With the Wind is a great classic, but it’s so long! So is The Three Musketeers. I had to read it in high school, but I forgot just how long it is.
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The Three Musketeers was the first thick classic I had ever read on my own. I remember it taking me about three weeks – which was quick for me back then – but it was one of the books that really got me into the classics. I then moved on to Iron Mask, Monte Cristo, 20 Years Later and the Vicomte of Bragelonne. It’s been years since I’ve read Dumas (probably more than ten) but I’ve been thinking about getting back to him. He certainly has plenty available to read. Although I’ve been disappointed with a few lackluster stories of his like Georges, Captain Pamphile and Castle Eppstein.
As for Arabian Nights, I recently put this on my books to read after watching live action Aladdin and I only remembered the latter’s release because of your review of it. I’ll probably be getting into this book later this year.
I remember loving Hitchhikers but I also read it in my teens about 20 years ago. I’ve been thinking about going back to it to see if I’d still enjoy it because my tastes have changed dramatically since then.
Les Mis is probably also my biggest book. It still stands as the best book I’ve ever read. Nothing else comes close. While I haven’t read anything else by Hugo I’ve been thinking about giving Notre-Dame a try. Les Mis is another book I’ve been thinking about going back to reread but it’s so massive and I know it’d take at least a few weeks to get through.
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Dumas is such an amazing author, though I haven’t read his books as much as you have. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Arabian Nights if you get to it. And I have a feeling if I read Hitchhikers when I was a teen, I would have enjoyed it more. It has a very youthful sense of humor. Notre-Dame is on my TBR this year too. I bought a copy a few months ago and I like that it’s so short compared to Les Mis.
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I have that edition of gwtw
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That’s so cool. It’s really massive!
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I don’t think I own a lot of terribly long books haha. I’ve read both Three Musketeers and Count of Monte Cristo (another long one), but don’t own them. I do have that same version of Hitchhiker’s Guide compendium, and also a compendium of Jane Austen novels. I might have to go check my shelves to see what else I have!
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I get a lot of long books from the library, so this was fun to see what I actually own. You should totally check out your shelves!
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I love how the entire works of Shakespeare are still beat by Kes Miserables 😂 Also, I’m dying to get to the Three Musketeers, I’ve only heard great things about it!
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Yes, Les Mis is surprisingly long. It’s crazy how one novel is longer than all of Shakespeare’s plays and sonatas. And The Three Musketeers is so good, though a bit serious.
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