Friday Five Foolery - Five Fatties

Thanks to Les, I've been thinking about the "fat books" on my shelves and why I haven't gotten around to reading them. I'm intimidated by longer books, partly because I'm a fairly slow reader, but each book has its own unique excuse - or most do. "Fat", by my definition, is over about 400 pages.

Five Fat Books I've Been Meaning to Read:

1. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - Really, there's just no valid excuse for not reading Gone With the Wind if you live in the Deep South. I have, in fact, picked the book up and started to read it on no less than three separate occasions. The first time, I was young and busy with high school activities; it didn't grab me and I chose not to fight to get through the book. The second time, I had a toddler running around at my feet and couldn't concentrate. The third attempt was during my bookstore-employee days and frequent interruptions thwarted my efforts. I'm hoping 2007 will be the year I finish Gone With the Wind.

2. God Is An Englishman by R. F. Delderfield - This is a fairly new addition to my TBRs, so I don't feel particularly guilty about the fact that I haven't picked it up and begun to read . . . yet. In fact, I've had the second book in this series for quite some time but decided that since it's historical fiction, order is crucial. My copy of God is An Englishman happens to be located in a prominent location, quite near the bed at nearly eye level when I'm reading. And, it's been hollering at me practically since the day it walked in my door. So, if any of my fat books have a crying chance of getting read, this one is probably at the top of the list.

3. The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George - 964 pages. What was I thinking? I have no idea, but possibly the words "inexpensive remaindered book" figure into the equation. I know I bought my copy at the outlet store that (sob) just went out of business (we're down to one bookstore, full price and very small - no used bookstores at all). Very seldom does a quick flip of a big book manage to get past my "This is too challenging for me," defense mechanism, so there must have been something intriguing about The Memoirs of Cleopatra or it never would have made the trip to the cash register.

4. An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears - Recommended by my childhood friend, Diana, who has never disappointed me with any of her recommendations, I purchased this one and promptly plunked it on a shelf under my computer table. Then, I left it there for something on the order of 5 years. When I moved my computer to a different room and another surface, the book and the shelf both were shifted. I'm confident that God knows where An Instance of the Fingerpost ended up, but as to me . . . I'm completely clueless. I could have put it anywhere. There are books in every room of our house except for the bathrooms, literally.


5. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Seriously, I haven't read Great Expectations. Hard to believe, isn't it? My copy is also nowhere near as attractive as the one shown at left, as I purchased a hardback that was missing its jacket, thinking (naturally) that looks didn't matter given the lovely employee discount coupled with the remaindered price. So, yeah, I bought it at the outlet store where I was once employed. That particular store closed about five years ago. We seem to have a bit of difficulty hanging onto our bookstores in this town. I'm also hoping to get to this one, soon. Possibly, 2007 will be a "fat book" challenge year.

Many thanks to Les for the idea of listing some chunksters I desire to read!