The Year of the Chunkster??

January is gone, gone, gone.... where does time go?

I took a look at my first month of reading.. I'm certainly no speed reader lol.. but I did finish six books, at close to 2,500 pages total and I'm close to half way through the Dickens novel of The Old Curiosity Shop that is 555 pages!!  Heck, those numbers shock me!  (not others who read a whole lot more than I do, but had you told me years ago I would read 101 books last year  and I've read 6 and 1/2 books in one month is year I'd call you crazy.)  I will admit though, and memory not being what one would call "sharp", that I did begin the first read of January sometime in December.. that was Edgar Sawtelle and the book was a big one at 562 pages, add to that it was a very slow read.  In The Woods was 429 pgs, In Spite of Myself 656 pgs and the book I am reading now is 555 pgs.

I've slowed down this month because, it seems, that a lot of the books I have here to read are over 400 pages each!  While that would not deter a fast reader, it sure puts a dent in my reading quickly! 

So, what comes in my mail on Saturday?.. these...

The Shadow of the Wind: the smallest book at 486 pages.

Jonathan Strouds new book Heroes of the Valley: 481 pages

and last, but most impressive, Drood:  this one comes in at 775 pages! (can we say yikes!)

And that's not all!  Take a real good look at my TBR pile!

(take note that there are very few book so thin that you can't read the titles!)

On the top shelf, besides the three news ones, the Tracy Hickman trilogy is all fairly big.  Mystic Quest 452 pgs, Mystic Warrior 417 pgs and Mystic Empire 390.

On the middle shelf we have Name of the Wind at 661 pages, then the two that are deceiving in looks by Catherynne M Valente that weigh in at 482 and 516 pgs.  Labyrinth is 509 and Kept 451 pages. (*sigh*)

More in the middle are: The Hound of Rowan at 414 and The Second Siege at 476.  East by Edith Patton is a mere 503 pgs.  Grimpow sneaks in with 481 pages followed by The Mysterious Benedict Society with 485.  The Black Jewels takes the prize since it is three books in one and has 1204 pages.

Lawheads books start off the bottom shelf at 480 for Hood and 449 for Scarlet.  Some of the Biographies and Autobiographies (though not at big as Christopher Plummers) are over 400 pgs tool  Me (Katharine Hepburn) is 418 while Jack is 438.  The Time Travelers Wife slides in there with 546 pages, and David Copperfield is a whopping 861, while Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White, is 635.

The last of the tbr pile is no better than the beginning...

The Magicians and Mrs Quent comes in at 498.   The Star Machine is 553, while The Parade's Gone By is 577.   Jonathan Strange which I began but never finished is 782 pages of which I did get to page 247.  Then the last too biggies.... Searching for John Ford is 848 heavy pages and the Complete Sherlock Holmes is the largest of all my books waiting to be read at 1123 pages!

So.. this is the year of the chunksters for me!... Reading will go quite a bit slower and I certainly don't see me reading more books than I did last year..... however,  other than my fingers getting sore from holding opening fat books... I have some awfully good reading sitting here just waiting for me!

Oh, and before I go I don't want to forget to give "credit" to Susan who's review of Drood pushed me over the edge to send for it.  It's her fault!