We all have them on our shelf, and in some cases, we avoid these books because of their size. We don’t want to carry them around (Let’s face it, my shoulder would be in much better shape if I didn’t lug 1,000 page books with me everywhere.), we don’t want to spend weeks reading them when there are so many other books out there waiting to be read, or whatever your reasons are.

For the past 10 days +, I’ve been reading The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. I finished it last night and now feel bereft but I’m going to leave that for the review. In terms of size, it’s 1,000 pages, exactly. It’s a very large book, a very heavy book, but an incredible book. I sometimes wonder how editors let books like this one through the editorial process, but after having read all 1,000 pages of this one, I know why. Rothfuss is a talented writer and the way he tells this story cannot be told any other way. Well, I imagine it could but the impact wouldn’t be the same. Epic. Yes, it is. Meandering. Yes, that too. Engrossing. Most definitely yes.

I bought this book months ago after finishing the first book, The Name of the Wind. I had plans to start it but the size put me off for a bit. I needed time to read this one and it never seemed to be the right time to start it. I decided that the New Year was the time. Clean slate and all that.

It’s not the only humongous book waiting for me either —- A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin has been on hold for over a year now. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami is another.

One thing I know, I will be picking up a much smaller book after I finish this one. I love being so engrossed in a story that it seems no other book can exist beyond the world of this one, but when that last page passes, it will be time for something that I can walk away from in a day and feel lighter for it. My shoulder will thank me.

What say you, thoughts on long books? What appeals? Keeps you away?