I like big books and I cannot lie.
2022 is the year of the epics for me. I've already read four books over 600+ and there are quite a few on my TBR that I want to get to this year. I read a few last year I really enjoyed too. See below for some of my favourite big books!
Crescent City Series: Right when I finished House of Earth and Blood I was like.. this is what I've been waiting for in a fantasy book!! Was it the badass protagonist? Her love interest? The fact that I had no idea a HUGE event was happening at the beginning that changed the course of the book? My favourite thing about this series (and what I struggle with a lot in other fantasy series) is that there were no unnecessarily long battles. Is this what people felt like watching Game of Thrones?? (I get SO bored during battles). I think the mystery and solving crime element of this one sealed the deal for me. It was kind of like a modern, real-world fantasy and I absolutely loved it.
Book #2 is also really great. It was a lot of world-building and setting the scene for the rest of the series, but still great nonetheless. Don't be intimidated by the size of these books - I never once felt bored reading them!
Ducks, Newburyport: It was a big DUCK YES moment when I finally finished this nearly 1,000-page book. This is truly one of the most challenging books I’ve ever read but the payoff is worth it. The main narrative is a stream of consciousness of our unnamed Ohio homemaker: a mom of four who bakes pies for a living. There are only a handful of instances in the story where a section ends with a sentence. This is a stream of consciousness folks: there are no sentences, breaks for dialogue. Truly one of the most unique books I've ever read.
I can definitely see myself re-reading this book in a few years; throughout the book, I really started to appreciate and recognize her train of thought and the intricacies of writing a book like this.
Feel like committing to this beast? Click here to buy.
Empire of Pain: This non-fiction book dives deep into the history of the Sackler family: the ones that were responsible for making + marketing Oxycotin, the blockbuster painkiller that was the catalyst to the Opiod crisis. It was equal parts fascinating + horrifying the length these people went to do what they did and took no accountability for the impact they had, and showed no remorse. I really didn’t think that a book on the intersection of pharmaceuticals and e-commerce would hook me in as much as it did, but I couldn’t put it down. It reads almost like a family drama and suspenseful thriller.
I listened to this on audio and it was fantastic. IF you want to check out a physical copy, you can buy it here.
Plain Bad Heroines: I got completely sucked into Plain Bad Heroines. I bought this book from my favourite bookstore in January (back when I had the goal of buying one new book a month HA) and wow it was so so so good. This is an epic gothic horror tale that is beautifully paced and tells the story of young love and weaves together stories of the past and present.
Buy Plain Bad Heroines!
Great Circle: I picked up Great Circle because of the cover and it was longlisted for the Women's Prize (and shortlisted for the Booker). I kind of love an Amelia Earhart-esque book. This one jumps between two times: a fictional female pilot set around WW2 and present-day to the young actress who is set to play her in the movie. It is very adventurous, epic, and had a mishmash of genres with some romance and historical fiction. I loved Shipstead's writing and storytelling and definitely want to pick up more of her work.
Buy Great Circle here.
To Paradise: I read this one recently and still haven't written a review for it yet (ha!). I felt very conflicted about the ending so I've been avoiding it. But: this is another big epic that spans three centuries following three different periods of a 'reimagined' America. It is basically three books in one, all with characters striving towards paradise. I don't want to say much more - but if this sounds up your alley, I'd recommend it!
Click here to buy To Paradise.
Cloud Cuckoo Land: What an ambitious book! It's one that I’m glad I stuck with. It took me a while to get through the first 30% of the book but after I hit that mark I was invested. I love books that feel like a love story to books and stories, and this is it. Many characters go through hardships unique to their time period, spanning several centuries, with one story that binds them together (and reader, we later find out there’s more that connects them)! I much preferred reading the modern-day and futuristic time periods (not much of an ancient times gal).
I bounced back and forth between physical and audio because my favourite narrator Marin Ireland narrates this one. Highly recommend the audio if you can commit yourself to this big read.
Check out Cloud Cuckoo Land here.
Above I provided some links if you're interested in purchasing (I am not affiliated with Indigo and do not receive any commissions for any purchases using the above links). If you're able, I always recommend using your library or buying through a local bookstore!
I've read some of these books on audio. I highly recommend Libro.fm, where you can support your favourite local, independent bookstore with your audiobook purchases. You can use my referral link to get started today: https://libro.fm/referral?rf_code=lfm153549.
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