Looking for a book

[Penthesilea]

Hi y'all

My holidays are just around the corner and I'm looking for a book to read. I've already read the other book thread here (What ya reading? A book?). From that other thread, I've already decided on The Front Runner.

But I'm looking for something specific: a really, really thick book, a tome. Something similar to The Pillars of the Earth, World without End (both Ken Follett), or The Physician (Noah Gordon). Something set in historical times preferrably, but not necessarily. And easy to read, nothing intellectual, no "big literature", just entertaining. A foreign world where you can dive in and not want the book to end.

Any ideas?

[louisev]

Have you ever read "The Alienist" by Caleb Carr?  It's about crime detection, forensic investigation and psychology  in the turn of the century New York, and I found it deeply engaging.  And it's LONG.  It also had a sequel if you enjoy it, entitled "The Angel of Darkness."  I read them both.

I also read a number of very neat historical spy novels, several of which have a common thread... I'll have to get home and look on my Kindle for the name and titles.

[delalluvia]

Heh, The Alienist wasn't long for me, it was a quickie 1 day read.

Penthesilea, if you like bodice-ripper, romance novels with a touch of time-travel thrown in and a LOT of 18th century Scottish history and culture, I highly recommend the book Outlander.  It is a massive tome, but never boring.

[mariez]

Heh, The Alienist wasn't long for me, it was a quickie 1 day read.

Penthesilea, if you like bodice-ripper, romance novels with a touch of time-travel thrown in and a LOT of 18th century Scottish history and culture, I highly recommend the book Outlander.  It is a massive tome, but never boring.

Chrissi, I read your post, and the first book I thought of was Outlander also.  It's the first in a series - the seventh book in the series is due, I believe, in September.  And they're all massive.  I occasionally visit the Books and Writers Community at Compuserve where the author, Diana Gabaldon, has a thread so I happen to know that the series is very popular in Germany.  In fact, she is good friends with her German translator and is very pleased with the German translation of the books. 

[louisev]

Heh, The Alienist wasn't long for me, it was a quickie 1 day read.

Penthesilea, if you like bodice-ripper, romance novels with a touch of time-travel thrown in and a LOT of 18th century Scottish history and culture, I highly recommend the book Outlander.  It is a massive tome, but never boring.

The Alienist is 512 pages long.  I read fast but not quite that fast.

I read "The Outlander" too, and yes, it's much longer, and not a fast read - I think the first book in that series has about 42 sex scenes.

[delalluvia]

I think the first book in that series has about 42 sex scenes.

I considered this a plus. 

[Front-Ranger]

A couple of ideas: Amanda and I read Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry recently and enjoyed it very much. Also, the Harry Potter books are not only long but very interesting. I found Dan Brown's book Angels & Demons better than Da Vinci Code (although maybe part of it had to do with me reading it in Rome, where the book is set). I am also reading (and recommend) The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (a novel involving dogs), My Life in France by Julia Child, and Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert. I'm also reading a couple of Annie Proulx books, Bad Dirt and Accordion Crimes, but they ain't exactly light summer fare. I would also recommend All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. Another good one is Birth of Venus, by Sarah Dunant. And there's The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, an excellent book about a US midwestern family.

[Front-Ranger]

Another great book is The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B by Sandra Gulland. Josephine was a fascinating person. It's only 436 pages but there are two sequels by the same author.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I'll lend my voice to the chorus recommending The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness. Loved 'em both!

Do you like Sherlock Holmes stories? In the past I've had good holiday reads from Dr. Watson's memoirs, as edited by Nicholas Meyer,  The Seven Percent Solution, The West End Horror, and The Canary Trainer. They're oldish books by now, but probably still available.

One of the most gripping books I've ever read was The Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger. It was the basis for the George Clooney movie, and I knew even before I read it how it was going to end,  but, boy, howdy, what a gripping read nonetheless!

Or, have you ever read any of the Brother Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters? They're lovely little stories to read on holiday. My absolute favorite is The Virgin in the Ice. I've actually worn out two copies of that one!

[Penthesilea]

Wow, so much FB. Thank you all so much for your recs!

The Alienist sounds very good to me. Lonesome Dove - how could I forget it! I ordered it some months ago and began reading. I liked it good enough, but it didn't really grip me, and so I didn't read on. Holidays are just the right occasion to try it again.
And I've decided on The Bodega by Noah Gordon. I'll read that one in German because we already own it (and I read faster in German than in English).

So with The Front Runner, Lonesome Dove, The Bodega and a shorter thriller (maybe another Simon Beckett, or whatever I'll find in a bookstore on our holidays) I'm more than set.

Additionally I just have to reread some James Herriot, since we'll spend the first week of our vacation in Herriot Country, just a few miles from Thirsk, and we'll visit the Herriot museum there. My oldest child, my husband and I have all enjoyed his tales and are looking forward to it. Additionally, James Herriot was the first book I ever read in English.

I'll put The Alienist on my to read list though, and have a look at the other recs. Thanks again!