Since I just started Cecelia Ahern's P.S. I Love You after Memorial Day, I'll pull it off my night stand to make sure it gets finished up in the next couple of weeks. But since I was already planning on reading that, I'd still like to knock another of those chunksters living on my book shelves. The question is, what next? I will likely only have time to squeeze in one more book with what I'm already planning to read in the next couple of months. I need your help to choose! Here are my choices:
1. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet
2. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
3. The Crimson Petal and The White by Michel Faber
Which would you recommend?
I really liked Pillars of the Earth when I read it years ago--I actually raced through it fairly quickly. I also liked The Crimson Petal and the White. That made for a good discussion book when my book group read it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck deciding!
I'm thinking of doing this challenge myself. Hmmm.... time to make a list!
ReplyDeleteFun challenge! Of the 3 I've read Follet and Dickens. Dickens and I aren't friends though I do feel the need to go back and read him as an adult and see if that changes my mind. I just looked up The Crimsom Petal and The White and that's my pick. I love that the title comes from a Tennyson poem and that it's historical fiction. Plus there's a perfume magnate which sounds fascinating. Look forward to seeing what you pick!
ReplyDeleteI read Pillars of the Earth when it first came out and found it ho-hum, but actually I've been thinking about rereading it because I think I might like it better the second time around.
ReplyDeleteI loved Little Dorrit--which is saying a lot, because I'm hot and cold with Dickens, but this one I really liked.
I read about a third of Crimson Petal before ditching it--I found it very depressing. I know others rave about it, and it could've just been a mood, but I couldn't read it.
Testament of Youth is on my classics/WWI list for this year. Maybe I should do this challenge too!
The Crimson Petal and the White might be my all-time favorite book...I found it absolutely riveting! Word of warning, it's very raw in parts (it's about a prostitute in Victorian London)...however, it's not gratuitous, just very realistic...the entire book makes you feel as if you've stepped into a time machine. Wonderful writing, wonderful story!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the Big Book Summer, Lisa! So glad you decided to join in the fun and that you found it just when you needed it!
ReplyDeletePillars of the Earth was my very first summer Big Book, the one that kicked off this tradition for me :) I loved it!
Enjoy reading your big books!
Sue
2014 Big Book Summer Challenge
P.S. You left a link to your blog home page on the Challenge page. if you have a moment, please switch it to this blog post so that other people can find your challenge post easily! And if you review your big books, be sure to stop by the challenge page again to leave links to your reviews. Welcome!
I am still trying to decide on a chunkster myself so I am the wrong person to offer an opinion. Plus, I haven't read the ones you listed. LOL.
ReplyDeletePillars of the Earth showed up on my potential summer to-read list as well, so that would be my pick. I will also be reading a chunkster this summer - Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
ReplyDeleteI read Pillars of the Earth and listened to World Without End. Loved both of them! Great audio production!
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