5 Big Fat Books by M. K. Stelmack

Half-a-lifetime ago, I worked at an independent bookstore and with September came the slow ramp-up to the Christmas season when publishers unleashed the new releases of their top authors onto the masses. Every day was like Christmas as the staff unpacked the long-awaited titles, hustling them up to the tables and front shelves for all to see.

The most exquisite pleasure was A Big Fat Book. Its weight, its density, the hollow echoing when drummed on the cover, the fanning of pages, the captured words in lines and lines, awaiting my inspection, and the glue-y, paper chemical-y, ink-y smell of a new book. You know what I'm talking about? And you know it's going to be good. Real good. So good, you have to make serious plans. You have to get meals planned, laundry done, projects deadlines sorted, because if you make the tragic mistake of opening the book before the real world is in place, all will fall apart.




To celebrate the dawn of another season, I'm going to share five of my favorite big, fat books in no particular order.

#1 OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon(and the entire books-to-stop-bullets series)


I started this series when the printers had somehow managed to stuff Voyager between the covers of a mass market paperback. I was a bored mom of two young children, one of whom I was breastfeeding. I began to crave those spaces during the day when I could be swept away to a land where Jamie roamed free. My son was one well-fed baby.

(This was the cover for the paperback I read.)





#2 QUINCUNX by Charles Palliser

I hand-sold this book like crazy the year it came out. A thick, Dickensian read with an elaborate mystery. I honestly can't remember the plot. Then again, I can't remember anything of what I read or watch unless I go through it for a second time. And we all know the saying: too many books, too little time.















#3 THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin


(Here's an excerpt from my 2013 Goodreads review of this 700+ page post-apocalyptic thriller: The Passage has a slow build-up, with person upon person being introduced and I was never sure who I should give my allegiance to because just when I was ready to commit, the narrative would switch to another person and so I became worried for everyone, even what turned out to be the 'bad' guys. Intentional, no doubt. The more compassionate I became for them all, the more I became like the star of the trilogy: Amy. A little girl who will become the salvation of the entire world. At least, that's what I think will happen. I also have to think about Peter, Alicia, Sara, Greer, Hollis, Michael, Theo, Mausami, baby Caleb....)











#4 The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

And here's my Goodreads review for this one!

I found the cure for the common cold. Last weekend, I crawled into bed and declared myself sick. You have to do that if you're a wife and mother or there's no rest, especially if, like me, you're wicked, too. I overdosed on the big, fat juiciness of The Winter Rose. As my legion of followers know (you know who you are because I surely don't), Jennifer Donnelly's The Tea Rose was everything I love in a historical and this, her sequel, is equally superior. 'Equally superior' is not contradictory. It means that at any moment, due to their excellence, one may surpass the other in my estimation of them. India Selwyn Jones is a fine woman with her plans to change the world, and is completed by Sid Malone who is a fine example of how you don't need to be good to do good. And we have the reappearance of Fiona and Joe, who have a story as meaty as you'd find in any ordinary historical. Oh, and, of course, the villian. Freddy was the best kind: cold, irredeemable and so utterly devastated by who he'd become. Really, the only difference between Sid and Freddy was good parenting. Which is why, after completing the book's clubhouse thickness in two days, I flipped back the covers and got back to being a wife and mother. I can't have anyone in my family go around ripping out their hearts. You'll understand the reference once you read the book. And you will. Because all of us, once in a while, need The Cure. 

#5 The Bible

Whether it is a testament of faith or a book of literature for you, this one book has it all. Yes, it was released a little before my time but it stands as The Big Fat Book of western culture. I didn't know which edition to use for my image and then I saw this gif--and wow.



I'm sure everyone has her favorite fat book. Hands-up for Gone with the Wind? I didn't include it because--gasp!--I haven't read it. Any others?

I can be found at GoodReads, my Website or FaceBook

Happy reading and if you want something shorter but stuffed with goodness, remember Heartwarming's September releases!

Comments

  1. This post took me back, M.K. to some of the first big fat books I read, like Gome with the Wind! Later on there were books by James Michener, where he always begins at the beginning of time it seemed for each new locale. I loved The Passage, too. Nowadays I find merely holding a big book while reading in bed a challenge much less staying awake long enough to finish it! :)

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    1. Of course, the James Michener novels! They were epic. The Edward Rutherford sagaa of Russia, London and Ireland also have that 'since the dawn of time' feel to them, too!

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  2. Seems like true book lovers always mention how much they love the feel and smell of new books. I had the privilege of working in a bookstore for a time way back, and in a library, too. All of us loved the days when we got to sit at the big library work table and put the plastic covers on the new books--and read the blurbs and make our own to-be-read lists. And speaking of fat books, does anyone else remember the glorious Susan Howatch epics "Cashelmara" and "Penmarric?" And one of my favorite big books was and is Marge Piercy's "Gone to Soldiers." I read half on a train going to NC and the other half coming home, and glad for an eight hour layover in VA. It gave me more hours to read. Thanks for the post.

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  3. I read a article under the same title some time ago, but this articles quality is much, much better. How you do this.. Fönster

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  4. I've read some of the Outlander books, most of Michener's, tried reading the Bible from the beginning but didn't get past the "begats". Thanks for the suggestions! Do you munch on saskatoons while you're reading? :)

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    1. LOL. I couldn't possibly, T. R. Imagine the unsightly, purple stains on the new, clean pages! Yes, the 'begats' must be skipped. I'd recommend the Book of Judges.

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  5. GWTW is still a favorite. My bff and I read the whole book aloud to each other, taking turns by chapter while sitting on the porch one summer. Also, Anya Seton’s book, Katherine, is still on my shelf, dog-eared and musty but oh so good - and a true story. I too worked in a library where part of my job was repairing/replacing covers. Loved that library paste! Great post.

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  6. Oh, I love that snippet about you and your bff. I can see it ending up in a Heartwarming story...just saying. :) Katherine is now on my list.

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  7. I have so enjoyed most of the fat books everyone has mentioned. Plus I'd add Dan Brown's first book. I loved Michener and so many friends just didn't get what I saw in them. The books I've loved seem too numerous to count. Now I have the pleasure of reading so many of my fellow writers books. And I can recommend them to everyone.

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  8. great post. yup my bible is my #1 big fat book

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  9. My TBR pile is growing, growing, growing. I remember in high school getting Gone with the Wind and procrastinating because it was so BIG. Then I started and read every available minute until I finished. Your memories remind me that I need to step into a real bookstore instead of online once in a while, just to smell the books.

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  10. Great post! I'm chiming in on the Michener books. I read GWTW when I was 12 or 13. I wanted it to go on forever. I read it every year for a decade. War and Peace was the other Tome I think of. Like Beth, my TBR pile is plural and from the floor to over the bedpost. I LOVE IT!!!!!

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    1. You read War and Peace!! Good on you. This summer I made steady progress on Brothers Karamazov, but I will dig into it during the deep, dark winter!

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  11. I recommend The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton (all her books are fat books)

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    1. Excellent recommendation! I was about to start it, jcp, and then that panic attack about needing to get ready to read it hit me and I never went back to it. Thump! It's on my TBR pile!

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    2. Oh, I love Kate Mortan, but my favorite by her is The House at Riverton. I stopped writing romance for a whole month after I read it and started writing an epic. My agent, when I sent him the first three chapters, said, "Pam, um, no."

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  12. I'm still laughing about your son being so well fed! I don't blame you. I loved Outlander. Still working on the rest of the series. Honestly, I haven't read the other books on your list, although I did read GWTW when I was in high school. Lately, the Heartwarming books are the thickest books I read. :)

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  13. Heartwarming books are a go-to comfort, and at four a month, it's like reading one or two big fat books every month!

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  14. Outlander is one of my top ten favorite books. I haven't read the others, but you've given me some ideas.

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  15. Fun post! I love to hear about what other people like to read. Two of my favorites are The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet and Shogun by James Clavell. Your review snippet of The Passage convinced me! Adding that one to my TBR.

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    1. I forgot all about Pillars of the Earth. I loved, loved, loved it! I also read the sequel World Without End. Both great stories. And Shogun, too. I read that in high school along with Tai-Pan by Clavell.

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  16. I also rec The Shell seekers and Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher

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    1. I never read Shell Seekers but when I worked at the bookstore, it sold steadily. All of Pilcher's books did, for that matter.

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