The Top 10 Longest Books I Own

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

The Three Musketeers

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

Gone with the Wind

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)

See the source image

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)

The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm All-New Third Edition

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

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1-5)

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

The Search For Modern China

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

See the source image

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

H.P. Lovecraft:  The Complete Fiction

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

Les Misérables

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

14 thoughts on “The Top 10 Longest Books I Own

  1. 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!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. 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.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. 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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  3. 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!

    Liked by 1 person

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