I swear I don’t understand why this is a thing, because I struggle with this... I’m afraid to read books I feel ill like for fear that it’ll disappoint me instead and put me in a reading slump
Big books are kinda scary but what’s the scariest to me is books with long chapters. I hate to stop reading in the middle of a chapter so I like small chapters so I can find easy stopping points instead of reading longer than I want to
For me it's kinda the opposite. I realized while watching this that the last couple books I read are at least 600 pages, at most 1300... I think it's because I take my time to really get into the story, but when I do I live in it. And I'm truly heartbroken when it's over. With short books I'm like "don't bother getting to invested its only 300 pages"... Maybe I should do a challenge where I only read books with under 300 pages for the next two months?
Growing up, I didn’t have access to libraries, and my parents/ friends/ family were not able to get me books often However, I read books so so soooo fast, I always loved big books because I felt they could “last” me longer P.S. this is where my love for rereading comes from too
Oh, that's why I always buy the biggest of books. I mean, I had access to a library as a kid, but it was always a treat trying to find the thickest book to take home when I was allowed to pick one out for birthdays or Christmases.
I recommend Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice. They are classics but I found that the writing style was quite easy to read. I usually struggle getting through classics but I didn't struggle at all with Jane Eyre. It really is an amazing book. Dickens on the other hand, bloody hell it's no surprise he was paid by the word. Jesus 😂
Anna 1201 yess I agree! I’m trying out classics and pride and prejudice I’m so on board with and loving, however a tale of two cities is a bit of a struggle but I know the story is so good so I’m gonna make myself persevere !!!
i have a similar fear. so this year my challenge to myself is 3 books a month: one "big book" (rn its a little life, next is city of brass) one re-read, and one graphic novel. honestly? so excited.
Tbh, this book took me almost a whole semester to read. And I started reading it twice with a 6 month break before finishing it... I'm excited to hear what she thinks...
ariel: “u may not have a chronic fear of big books, but pick up that one that scares u!!” me: *intensely stares at my copy of it by stephen king* me: haha no.
IM ALSO AFRAID OF BIG BOOKS!! I’m going to try and make a video showing all the books on my TBR that are over 500 pages to hold myself accountable and try to read at least one a month!
I'm so happy you said not to torture yourself with literature. This is the philosophy I am trying to adopt! DNF-ing, not reading books I don't like just because of the hype, just in general being good to myself with my reading. Oh, and a Big Book I read last year and loved: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon.
1Q84 is one of my favorite books ever, so I’m so glad to see it here! It really left an indelible mark on me, and I remember it all the time. I read it on ebook but ended up wanting to get a physical copy as well (I got that same edition by Chip Kidd). I’m hoping you enjoy it too! Can’t wait for your review! Also, I just recently tackled The Secret History after owning it for years! Whoo!
By the way. One possible solution to make big books feel smaller, if I dare say, would be an e-reader. I love mine because it is thin and light. Why don't you use one?
I feel the opposite about e-readers. They make books feel longer for me. I need to physically see my progress (like the thickness of the section I’ve read change next to the section I haven’t).
She actually has one, she mentioned it on a podcast. When she was at school she won a giftcard and bought an ebook with it and she only read one book on it. I think she's the type of person who just loves the physical book, the pages, the cover and ebooks don't work for her
Aly and Art I agree, I hardly feel like I make progress in ebooks, and I think it would be even worse with a 500+ page book. But I also really don’t like reading on a screen, I’d rather pick up an audiobook over an ebook 🤷🏼♀️
omg!! i was just as scared of 1Q84 and i just finished it literally two days ago! you will fly through this it’s truly an amazing book! we believe in you ariel ❤️🥰 you can do it!!
I just can't get tired of how you describe how the books look, the font, the very important floppy test and it got me think that I also judge a book by those themes. I'm a big book lover because I can spend a lot of time with the characters.
I've been enjoying a newfound pleasure in big books recently. Ducks, Newburyport was one of my favourites from last year. I've been wanting to read Dune for the first time as I've been wanting to get into some classic sci-fi so I'll watch out for when you say you're going to start it and I'll start it too. I might also might read 1Q84 as well since I have both a physical and audio copy of the book so I really ought to get around to reading it. 📚 I might be weird but I think Dostoevsky is really fun to read and clearly your boyfriend has great taste!
I feel like if I do a good job this will all be enough training to take on Ducks, Newburyport, haha! AND YAY! I need all the positivity I can get, I hope I love C&P too!
i feel more confortable with big books. love how they feel physically, how long it takes for me to finish them, i LOVE the characters construction, it's like i know everything about them, every detail- love how it feels like a live in that universe after just a few chapters, because of how deep the author describes everything. i often find myself missing those things while reading short books. three of my favorites are It, Moby Dick and Batalha do Apocalipse (a brazilian book), not because i was courage enough to read all those thousands pages, but because of how it felt when i finished it.
this is so interesting to me because I tend to lean towards large books! My average book I tend to pick up is 500-800 pages I'd say. I find that you bond greatly with the characters and when the stories are so sprawling it is just magical. I think I started to prefer large books when I read the latter half of harry potter in elementary school.
I started my classics from Crime and punishment. Didn't finish it in highschool but will definitely re read it. 1Q84 is the bomb. I had the hardcover 2 book. So heavy but managed to read it. If you like it then it has similar vibe to his After dark which is a short book of his. 👍
I'm a huge Haruki Murakami fan and I loveeeddd 1Q84, truly a piece of finest art. The plot is complexed, with parallel worlds ingenuously connected, just like all of his caracters who are brought together by fate, or an indescribable higher power. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes escaping into magical worlds, you surely won't be disappointed. :)
I bought the audiobook on Audible to get through War And Peace and now I'm working on the audio for Les Miserables. But I don't know what you would do with physical copies if you took this advice.
@@genevieveking5078 audiobooks are the best. I went through Harry Potter all over again through the audiobooks. Stephen Fry put in such a magical narration.
So excited to you to read 1Q84!! I read it last year and loved it. Murakami is so easy to read and this story is so intriguing and unique. (I’m also jealous of your beautiful edition)
I just got out of my reading slump and have found your videos to be EXTREMELY helpful. I’m taking on my fear of big books by finishing one that has been laying dormant and starting another big book. Two big books on my list are Dune and Crime and Punishment so I found it awesome that it was also in yours! Anyway, thanks so much for your videos❤
I love big books and I'm excited for your challenge! I hope you find it enjoyable I've read Moby Dick and Crime and Punishment and found them both very enjoyable. Moby Dick has that ultimate big book vibe for me where you just live with a character for some time and go with the flow even when nothing really happens. Crime and Punishment is a very bright book with strong emotions and beautiful writing style
my goal for 2019 was to start & finish IT by Stephen King , I commuted with it. I started June and finished in December that was biggest book I’ve ever read 1200 pages of amazing detail. If I were you start with IQ84 , it’ll make all the other books feel smaller trust me
I'm reading Dune right now! The version I have is just under 800 pages, but the dimensions of the book are funky so I find that it's been a relatively quick read actually, and I'm already halfway through. I think you'll love it. It's got some wonderful interplay of politics and interpreting people. Plus, I think there's a cast of characters and glossary at the back that's super helpful to refer to, so be sure to make use of that!
"You know it's bad when you've gotta split it up!" You should check out the UK editions of Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series. Those are over 1,000 pages each (3 out of the planned 10 books are published so far). In the UK they split the books up into smaller two volume sets
already excited for your wrap up, even if I have to wait a year ;) funnily enough the big boys on my TBR are actually pretty similar! I plan to tackle Moby Dick and Anna Karenina, Donna Tartt's The Little Friend, and now you've got me thinking about Dune as well... also very excited to hear what you think about The Secret History!!! It's been my favourite book for so long now and I know there's a bit of controversy around it but I love it and if it were up to me it could be even longer than it already is! Have fun reading!!! :)
I’m about to start a book that’s around 800 and I usually read two physical books at once so I’m gonna read multiple short books in a row while in the middle of the long one
I hope this will give you hope : I was exactly where you are a year ago and in January 2019 I read both It by Stephen King and The Goldfinch by Donna Tart. Then in that year I ended up also reading Dune and the whole Lord of the Ring ! If I could overcome it, you can too ! I'll tackle Moby Dick too this year and I'm currently reading Lolita !
Ariel! When I start a sci-fi or fantasy that has a lot of unfamiliar names, I take notes on my phone and check back. This also helps when it's a series and I have to remember a lot!! Love this challenge! Good luck!
1Q84 was definitely a case where I loved the length. I’m also intimidated by long ass books like it, but I was lost in the story/world and felt it was just right. I couldn’t put it down some nights. Once you get in the groove of it (and you actually like it) it’s nothing. I’d just make sure to pick up a big book and read some of it once or twice a week at least or it’s easy to drop in favor of shorter books. I also felt that getting it digitally made it less scary. I’m not looking at this physical tome and getting discouraged
I have the same dislike for long books, simply because I've tried so many and failed a couple hundreds of pages in, and that feels sad because I know there are books that are less than 200 pages that I could have finished in that time. But then I have these moments with the occasional big books that I have read that make me feel like I'm really missing out by seeking out primarily small books. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is probably the most noteworthy one for me. It's over 600 pages, and it won a Pulitzer prize, both intimidating things. But over one week during the summer four or five years ago I just sat in a chair and read it cover to cover, and I think about that reading experience very fondly, so sometimes big books really surprise me with how much I CAN like them when I really put the time in.
Oh my! I just started reading it again after leaving it on chapter 3 a few months back. Three chapters done just now, in a day, and I am watching HOW to read long books videos here. Wish me luck 😂
yesssss crime and punishment and the secret history r some of my favourite books ever!!! reading crime and punishment got me so attached to the characters and st. petersburg !! i felt so sad when it was over bc i didn’t feel like a bystander in st. petersburg watching the story play out ❤️❤️❤️
I’m so excited you’re tackling Dune!! It is intimidating, but my friend and I did a buddy read of it last year one thing made it very easy for me: a bookmark that doubles as a glossary. Dune is so worth it and I hope you enjoy! Very much looking forward to your thoughts on it, especially since it was written in the 1950s and yet feels completely contemporary as it deals with climate change issues.
something about ur vids make me feel really relaxed and peaceful. i have to do a lot of design work for school and it takes hours and it's hard for me to concentrate. but when i watch/listen to ur vids while im working, it really puts me into a kind of "creative zen" ♡
Lydia Pantley I don’t know why I kept saying fantasy in the video haha when I first introduce I’m like “SCI-FI!” and then I kept saying fantasy for some reason??? My mind escaped me!
I’m mildly dyslexic, so while I have always loved books, I have also been afraid of big books because they take me SO LONG to finish. Last year I started reading books I wanted to read regardless of size and it has been wonderful! I read a few big books last year and loved them and am so happy that I read them. I even feel like my reading speed is increasing ^_^ I freaked out a bit at the first two books you mentioned because I am currently reading Crime and Punishment (mine is also wonderfully floppy but not the same version as yours) and I recently bought Moby Dick from a used bookstore lol Hope you enjoy your big books!
I love big books, and I'm so excited for you to get to spend real time getting to know a book and its characters! I'm trying to read crime and punishment before April, I'm so excited for the journey!
Excited to see you have Crime and Punishment on your TBR. It’s one of my fav classics. The audio book is quite good and can be helpful with the Russian names etc.
Moby Dick is actually as accessible read. And funnier than I expected. I really want to read Crime and Punishment also. (FYI Dostoyevsky has a super tiny book, like less than 100 pages, called Notes from The Underground and it's really amazing).
yay! I am so excited for this! I also lack the motivation to pick up big books, there is just something about the commitment! I have already started 1Q84 (its amazing) and I also want to finally get my way through DUNE and Moby Dick.
I have the Frida kahlo book and I tried so hard to find the edition that u because it’s absolutely gorgeous but I did manage to find an edition with her face on it rather then the actress You are also the reason I started my love of Frida kahlo
I'm planning on reading a couple of those as well this year so this is pretty cool to see. When you mentioned your boyfriend liking the big books and how you like smaller books it reminded me of a commercial about a couple. She liked yellow, he liked red and it was just them finding a balance. ^-^ I'll be following and updating my progress when I get started as well!
Weirdly enough I have the exact opposite problem I'm scared of reading short books because I feel like I'm wasting money (like I could get a 1000 page book for the price of one that is 300 pages)
You're not alone, Ariel. I read The Name of the Wind in 2018 and have put off reading The Wise Men's Fear ever since. That book is well over the 900 page mark. And the font doesn't help much either 😭 Oh, and I'd love to hear your thoughts about Dune . It's part of the list of books I want to get to this year! Happy reading!
You should try reading Dune aloud with your boyfriend! You've mentioned before somewhere that you two have read to each other aloud, and when my mom was attempting to read Lord of the Rings for the first time my dad and I, who are big fans ourselves, read aloud to her because the plethora of names can be confusing and it's nice to have a little human encyclopedia to double-check things with as you go LOL
Yes!!!! 1Q84 is a fav of mine. Tackled it at the beginning of the year and loved it. Also that copy is gorgeous! I also read Dune last year and was not surprised that I loved it. I like Sci-fi anyways, but it felt less sci-if and more like an epic.
I read 1Q84 over Christmas. It was fascinating/thought provoking/horrible and wonderful and ugly and beautiful all at the same time - and needed to be a big book. I do always love big books though! I’ve borrowed Wind-Up Bird Chronicle from my local library to delve more into Murakami’s writing.
Meghan Jackson I'm just finishing the Wind Up Bird Chronicles. Loved it. Then got mad at it. Reconciled myself with it. Now humming along. All I can say is Do not expect anything to mean anything. Picked up 1Q84 during my infatuation stage... and after your comment, I'm really interested in reading it.
little.kitten Your feelings about Wind-Up Bird are similar to mine about 1Q84. Parts were lyrical and lovely and parts were repulsive and ultraviolent. All of it made you think and look at things differently and question everything - and that’s why I’m curious to read more!
I’m surprised you didn’t have little women on here 😂. I actually plan on reading shorter books this year just because I always read 300-400 pages books and I want to read books that are 200 ish pages. I also might participate still and read Little Women cause it’s 800 ish pages
Depends on your edition of course, but I don't think Little Women is usually quite that long! Mine is 460ish pages (it's both Little Women and Good Wives in one). I definitely encourage you to read it! It is on the longer side, but the writing style is really easy to read and I found that it didn't take me all that long when I reread it a few months ago, especially compared to books of similar length :)
Laura people have mentioned the writing styles being easy and I’ve seen the movie so I will have a baseline understanding of the Story anyways. My version is the puffin in bloom one so idk if that’s just little women or the combo of both that and good wives
I'm the exact opposite!! I like to have a big book that I carry around and really become close to for a while. I really wanna start reading more small books, I don't read enough of them
Good luck on reading these. Lots of different genres displayed here, so I would think if you can't get through one, another will appeal to you! Several of these are on my radar. Thanks for the postscript about the new Suzanne Collins book. I want to read this!
Now I want to read War and Peace (it's a big book, right?) and end my fear of big books. (I love your videos! English is not my first language and your videos are helping me to improve my listening skills)
Yes Ariel!! Smash that fear! 😁 as a fantasy lover I read plenty of big books...but there are plenty outside the genre that I've had on my tbr for YEARS (War and Peace I'm looking at you!!) so I'm excited to tackle those for this challenge!
Ironic that I have a tote bag that says "I like BIG BOOKS and I cannot lie" haha, but reading The Shining right now for a class, bigger book than normal for me.
im so happy you are going to read 1Q84! i read about 600 pages of it before unfortunately dnfing it like 5 years ago but i've always thought ariel would love it and wanted to try reading it again, maybe this year will be the year for me! i was really enjoying it i remember, hopefully we make it through 😤
oh my god DUNE! I read it last year even tho im a bit scared of big books too but it was AMAZING! I looked forward to every page and I never dreaded picking it up again after a break.
The big book I want to tackle this year is The Count of Monte Cristo! It’s 1065 pages or 50 hours on audio. 😮😮😮 I love big books but this one has been on my TBR for a few years now. I finally want to get around to finishing it this year.
I love the way you made this, Ariel! You always put things so eloquently :) I too have a fear of big books, I rarely start and finish them! I really want to read 1Q84, I'm probably going to be that extra white girl and time it when you read it too lol :') P.s.I love your headband!
Long books are great! I think a nice sense of accomplishment comes along with finishing a really long book! Something I’ve recently noticed about myself is that I tend to start long books when my free time is going to be lower (before moving, or before school starts) which would be an opportune time to read shorter books yet I don’t for whatever reason.
I read Stephen kings ‘the stand’ last year and I realised I LOVE big books. I love that I was completely enthralled in this story for a long time (it took me 2 months...I also have a 1 year old). You get to know the characters so much better and I love that the world building is given so much time and care
Ohh I am reading that next month at my dads behest too. Whenever reading or Stephen king comes up I get “have you read the stand yet?” And he sounds so eager I feel bad saying no 😅
We must be on the same wave length because at the library today I picked up a big book that looked interesting to me (It's the biography of Ava Gardner) and it's over 500 pages.. but I was like "screw it, I might as well try it!". Reading has always been a struggle for me because of my learning disability but I love love LOVE getting lost in a story so I've been doing my best to just enjoy books and not be so hard on myself. You've inspired me even more to tackle my fear of big books too! I'm also very excited for the new Hunger Games book!! So I'll read that along with you :)
I like Donna Tart, but she can be incredibly verbose to the point of being superfluous. I remember reading The Little Friend and there were times that the plot was stagnant for 10 or 15 pages, sometimes 20 and felt like, for all her obvious skill, she was talking about nothing at all outside of endless repetition. In such a large book (The Little Friend is 624 pages) there's room to bloat your manuscript and hide it in that way, but not in shorter works. I wish Tart would try writing in a shorter format or perhaps that her editors wasn't so afraid to slash things down as needed. I shudder to think about what her unedited manuscripts must be like and how much work it needs to be for clarity. ETA: I haven't read The Secret History in full, but there are much smaller instances of the bloat in her later work. That said, it's clear-headed and much more vibrant than anything that came after. Good luck, I'm sure you'll like it
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The Secret History and Crime and Punishment are trully great books ^^ i hope you'll love all those big books! My strategy for tackling big books is reading something else in the same time, like I'd only read Crime and Punishment during the weekends while having breakfast lol so it took me a while but I was finishing other books so I didn't feel frustrated, and it fely like a book date.
I read 1Q84 and The Secret History and loved both of them, TSH is even one of my all time favourites ! Also, I'm currently reading Dune for similar reasons even though I don't read Sci Fi, it's a bit tough at first because you enter a universe that you're not familiar with yet but after a while you start to understand how everything works and the story is quite exciting! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on all of these 😊
My heart dropped a little when you pulled out Dune, I recently started it and had to stop because i wasn't giving it my full attention. Good luck I've heard great things about this book. Thank you for informing me about the Movie, I didn't know it was coming out this year!!! Now I have to read it sooner than later.
next video: ariel getting over her fear of reading books she thinks she’ll like
virginia ...... I have a lot to work through
I swear I don’t understand why this is a thing, because I struggle with this... I’m afraid to read books I feel ill like for fear that it’ll disappoint me instead and put me in a reading slump
Aww before there was the term ‘mashed potato book’ 🥺
this LOOK... ok professor trelawney werk
Jurate P 🧙🏼♀️🧙🏼♀️🧙🏼♀️🧙🏼♀️
YES
I think she laughs like professor trelawney
Big books are kinda scary but what’s the scariest to me is books with long chapters. I hate to stop reading in the middle of a chapter so I like small chapters so I can find easy stopping points instead of reading longer than I want to
relatable!!!!!!!!
this
Then you’ll love Tolstoy!
Same, and then I just forget what the whole chapter was implying about.
book: is over 300 pages
me: *sweats nervously*
Regian same
For me it's kinda the opposite.
I realized while watching this that the last couple books I read are at least 600 pages, at most 1300...
I think it's because I take my time to really get into the story, but when I do I live in it. And I'm truly heartbroken when it's over.
With short books I'm like "don't bother getting to invested its only 300 pages"...
Maybe I should do a challenge where I only read books with under 300 pages for the next two months?
Steini Stein i have the same! the more pages the better
It's 400 for me. I've been stuck with a 415-page book for over a week. Pray for me.
*me reading a 487 page book*
me: *smiles*
Growing up, I didn’t have access to libraries, and my parents/ friends/ family were not able to get me books often
However, I read books so so soooo fast, I always loved big books because I felt they could “last” me longer
P.S. this is where my love for rereading comes from too
Kaliopi Reisis same
Oh, that's why I always buy the biggest of books. I mean, I had access to a library as a kid, but it was always a treat trying to find the thickest book to take home when I was allowed to pick one out for birthdays or Christmases.
"I respect his structural integrity" lol I just love you
My fear is wordy books, example: classics. So maybe I'll try to get over that fear lol
ah, same
I recommend Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice. They are classics but I found that the writing style was quite easy to read. I usually struggle getting through classics but I didn't struggle at all with Jane Eyre. It really is an amazing book. Dickens on the other hand, bloody hell it's no surprise he was paid by the word. Jesus 😂
Same! English isn't my first language so it's a struggle 😂
Im reading lord of the rings rn and my god Im struggling
Anna 1201 yess I agree! I’m trying out classics and pride and prejudice I’m so on board with and loving, however a tale of two cities is a bit of a struggle but I know the story is so good so I’m gonna make myself persevere !!!
Ariel: *sees a small font*
Ariel (angrily): hmmmm
Ariel: *sees that it’s a serif*
Ariel (less angrily): hmm... fancy
I was scrolling through the comments and I came across yours exactly when she was doing this on the video!
I can see by your head band thing that you’ve embraced the goodreads 2020 reading goals color 😂
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i have a similar fear. so this year my challenge to myself is 3 books a month: one "big book" (rn its a little life, next is city of brass) one re-read, and one graphic novel. honestly? so excited.
i like me some structure lol
I love that idea! Good luck!
Oh Jesus Christ, a little life? **sends some spare happiness**
Oh dear God...A Little Life? I haven't been the same after reading that one.
City of brass is great! It's also a pretty good audiobook.
OH MAN that copy of Dune is pretty - do you mind sharing the ISBN 😏 I’m excited to hear your thought on this and Secret History! GOOD LUCK
yes!! it's 9780593099322 AND THANKS! www.bookdepository.com/Dune-Deluxe-Edition-Frank-Herbert/9780593099322/?a_aid=ArielBissett
Q "kyu" translates to 9 in Japanese, so 1Q84 means a lot more!
Doesn't it just represent 1984 like the other book
"Kyu" means "why" I'm hindi 😂
“YOU KNOW IT’S BAD WHEN THEY HAVE TO SPLIT IT UP.” I cackled 😂😂 will definitely join you for the secret history!!
Tbh, this book took me almost a whole semester to read. And I started reading it twice with a 6 month break before finishing it...
I'm excited to hear what she thinks...
ariel: “u may not have a chronic fear of big books, but pick up that one that scares u!!”
me: *intensely stares at my copy of it by stephen king*
me: haha no.
frankie patikowski you should, it‘s amazing!
This is meeee
Try it, it shifts between perspectives so feels shorter as it is like two books in one. I loved it!
It's big, but it's fun! For me, it didn't feel like work to read it. Give it a shot.
Literally my favorite book! You should give it a try!
IM ALSO AFRAID OF BIG BOOKS!! I’m going to try and make a video showing all the books on my TBR that are over 500 pages to hold myself accountable and try to read at least one a month!
Stories For Coffee omg!!! I so badly want you to make that video! Join me on this adventure!!!
Ariel: my boyfriend likes Crime and Punishment
Me: [sweats intensively] Joe Goldberg flashbacks...
She has to read War and Peace .😄💜 but Crime and punishment is an amazing novel 💜💜 we all have to read it ...
soft covered big books will forever scary me, for some reason my brain says 'hardcover big bigs only weigh alot because its hard'
I'm so happy you said not to torture yourself with literature. This is the philosophy I am trying to adopt! DNF-ing, not reading books I don't like just because of the hype, just in general being good to myself with my reading.
Oh, and a Big Book I read last year and loved: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon.
1Q84 is one of my favorite books ever, so I’m so glad to see it here! It really left an indelible mark on me, and I remember it all the time. I read it on ebook but ended up wanting to get a physical copy as well (I got that same edition by Chip Kidd). I’m hoping you enjoy it too! Can’t wait for your review! Also, I just recently tackled The Secret History after owning it for years! Whoo!
By the way. One possible solution to make big books feel smaller, if I dare say, would be an e-reader. I love mine because it is thin and light. Why don't you use one?
ttjnaaa I agree! I also feel like I read much faster when reading from my kobo! I don’t know why!
I feel the opposite about e-readers. They make books feel longer for me. I need to physically see my progress (like the thickness of the section I’ve read change next to the section I haven’t).
She actually has one, she mentioned it on a podcast. When she was at school she won a giftcard and bought an ebook with it and she only read one book on it. I think she's the type of person who just loves the physical book, the pages, the cover and ebooks don't work for her
Aly and Art I agree, I hardly feel like I make progress in ebooks, and I think it would be even worse with a 500+ page book. But I also really don’t like reading on a screen, I’d rather pick up an audiobook over an ebook 🤷🏼♀️
That's a great way to get over the heft of the books for sure. I tend to focus on reading 25-50 pages a night minimum.
omg!! i was just as scared of 1Q84 and i just finished it literally two days ago! you will fly through this it’s truly an amazing book! we believe in you ariel ❤️🥰 you can do it!!
I just can't get tired of how you describe how the books look, the font, the very important floppy test and it got me think that I also judge a book by those themes. I'm a big book lover because I can spend a lot of time with the characters.
I've been enjoying a newfound pleasure in big books recently. Ducks, Newburyport was one of my favourites from last year. I've been wanting to read Dune for the first time as I've been wanting to get into some classic sci-fi so I'll watch out for when you say you're going to start it and I'll start it too. I might also might read 1Q84 as well since I have both a physical and audio copy of the book so I really ought to get around to reading it. 📚
I might be weird but I think Dostoevsky is really fun to read and clearly your boyfriend has great taste!
I feel like if I do a good job this will all be enough training to take on Ducks, Newburyport, haha! AND YAY! I need all the positivity I can get, I hope I love C&P too!
loving the trelawney vibes and you’ve inspired me to pick up a couple of my big books 😊
i feel more confortable with big books.
love how they feel physically,
how long it takes for me to finish them,
i LOVE the characters construction, it's like i know everything about them, every detail-
love how it feels like a live in that universe after just a few chapters, because of how deep the author describes everything. i often find myself missing those things while reading short books.
three of my favorites are It, Moby Dick and Batalha do Apocalipse (a brazilian book), not because i was courage enough to read all those thousands pages, but because of how it felt when i finished it.
this is so interesting to me because I tend to lean towards large books! My average book I tend to pick up is 500-800 pages I'd say. I find that you bond greatly with the characters and when the stories are so sprawling it is just magical. I think I started to prefer large books when I read the latter half of harry potter in elementary school.
I read Crime and Punishment in four days... I was completely captivated, I couldn't put it down. Extraordinary book, I hope you'll love it.
I started my classics from Crime and punishment. Didn't finish it in highschool but will definitely re read it. 1Q84 is the bomb. I had the hardcover 2 book. So heavy but managed to read it. If you like it then it has similar vibe to his After dark which is a short book of his. 👍
A big book recommendation is ‘A Little Life’. That book broke my little squishy heart.
I’m on my last 100 pages of that book and 😭😭
Oh man, the first 100 pages were a struggle but I was so glad I kept on reading! Amazing book!
I finished it yesterday. I don't think my heart will ever be the same again. I feel like I'm recovering from something huge
Little life is amazing!
Best book I’ve ever read, I’ve never felt so much from a fiction piece. Truly amazing
I'm a huge Haruki Murakami fan and I loveeeddd 1Q84, truly a piece of finest art. The plot is complexed, with parallel worlds ingenuously connected, just like all of his caracters who are brought together by fate, or an indescribable higher power. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes escaping into magical worlds, you surely won't be disappointed. :)
i have a fear of classics. i don't know why since i own a lot of them. so this year i decided to read all of the classics i own. i have read 2 so far.
my untouched copy of war and peace staring at me 😭
My copy of les miserables!!
My copy of Ulysses 😓😓
I bought the audiobook on Audible to get through War And Peace and now I'm working on the audio for Les Miserables. But I don't know what you would do with physical copies if you took this advice.
@@genevieveking5078 audiobooks are the best. I went through Harry Potter all over again through the audiobooks. Stephen Fry put in such a magical narration.
My copy of The Brothers Karamazov
I love that your headband matches the goodreads challenge colour 😂
So excited to you to read 1Q84!! I read it last year and loved it. Murakami is so easy to read and this story is so intriguing and unique. (I’m also jealous of your beautiful edition)
I’m completely the opposite of you! When I see a big book I HAVE to know what it’s about🥰 and that’s the only type of books i own actually...
I just got out of my reading slump and have found your videos to be EXTREMELY helpful. I’m taking on my fear of big books by finishing one that has been laying dormant and starting another big book. Two big books on my list are Dune and Crime and Punishment so I found it awesome that it was also in yours! Anyway, thanks so much for your videos❤
I love how much Ariel’s been posting lately💜
I love big books and I'm excited for your challenge! I hope you find it enjoyable
I've read Moby Dick and Crime and Punishment and found them both very enjoyable. Moby Dick has that ultimate big book vibe for me where you just live with a character for some time and go with the flow even when nothing really happens. Crime and Punishment is a very bright book with strong emotions and beautiful writing style
my goal for 2019 was to start & finish IT by Stephen King , I commuted with it. I started June and finished in December that was biggest book I’ve ever read 1200 pages of amazing detail. If I were you start with IQ84 , it’ll make all the other books feel smaller trust me
I'm reading Dune right now! The version I have is just under 800 pages, but the dimensions of the book are funky so I find that it's been a relatively quick read actually, and I'm already halfway through. I think you'll love it. It's got some wonderful interplay of politics and interpreting people. Plus, I think there's a cast of characters and glossary at the back that's super helpful to refer to, so be sure to make use of that!
"You know it's bad when you've gotta split it up!"
You should check out the UK editions of Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series. Those are over 1,000 pages each (3 out of the planned 10 books are published so far). In the UK they split the books up into smaller two volume sets
already excited for your wrap up, even if I have to wait a year ;)
funnily enough the big boys on my TBR are actually pretty similar!
I plan to tackle Moby Dick and Anna Karenina, Donna Tartt's The Little Friend, and now you've got me thinking about Dune as well...
also very excited to hear what you think about The Secret History!!! It's been my favourite book for so long now and I know there's a bit of controversy around it but I love it and if it were up to me it could be even longer than it already is! Have fun reading!!! :)
I love Crime and Punishment so much.
I’m about to start a book that’s around 800 and I usually read two physical books at once so I’m gonna read multiple short books in a row while in the middle of the long one
I hope this will give you hope : I was exactly where you are a year ago and in January 2019 I read both It by Stephen King and The Goldfinch by Donna Tart. Then in that year I ended up also reading Dune and the whole Lord of the Ring ! If I could overcome it, you can too !
I'll tackle Moby Dick too this year and I'm currently reading Lolita !
Booknerd with lipstick Nabakov is genius⚡️
Ariel! When I start a sci-fi or fantasy that has a lot of unfamiliar names, I take notes on my phone and check back. This also helps when it's a series and I have to remember a lot!!
Love this challenge! Good luck!
1Q84 was definitely a case where I loved the length. I’m also intimidated by long ass books like it, but I was lost in the story/world and felt it was just right. I couldn’t put it down some nights. Once you get in the groove of it (and you actually like it) it’s nothing. I’d just make sure to pick up a big book and read some of it once or twice a week at least or it’s easy to drop in favor of shorter books. I also felt that getting it digitally made it less scary. I’m not looking at this physical tome and getting discouraged
I have a friend that is currently reading Crime and Punishment and she really likes it! I hope you enjoy your picks!
I laughed out loud when you said "I respect his structural integrity". You're a joy.
I have the same dislike for long books, simply because I've tried so many and failed a couple hundreds of pages in, and that feels sad because I know there are books that are less than 200 pages that I could have finished in that time. But then I have these moments with the occasional big books that I have read that make me feel like I'm really missing out by seeking out primarily small books. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is probably the most noteworthy one for me. It's over 600 pages, and it won a Pulitzer prize, both intimidating things. But over one week during the summer four or five years ago I just sat in a chair and read it cover to cover, and I think about that reading experience very fondly, so sometimes big books really surprise me with how much I CAN like them when I really put the time in.
I've had The Goldfinch on my shelf for 4 years now!!! Time to eat those mashed potato big books! 🙏
Oh my! I just started reading it again after leaving it on chapter 3 a few months back. Three chapters done just now, in a day, and I am watching HOW to read long books videos here. Wish me luck 😂
It's one of my fav book😍😍....i read it some 3 yrs ago but still feels like i read it yesterday..do read it ..hope u read it too
yesssss crime and punishment and the secret history r some of my favourite books ever!!! reading crime and punishment got me so attached to the characters and st. petersburg !! i felt so sad when it was over bc i didn’t feel like a bystander in st. petersburg watching the story play out ❤️❤️❤️
I’m so excited you’re tackling Dune!! It is intimidating, but my friend and I did a buddy read of it last year one thing made it very easy for me: a bookmark that doubles as a glossary. Dune is so worth it and I hope you enjoy! Very much looking forward to your thoughts on it, especially since it was written in the 1950s and yet feels completely contemporary as it deals with climate change issues.
something about ur vids make me feel really relaxed and peaceful. i have to do a lot of design work for school and it takes hours and it's hard for me to concentrate. but when i watch/listen to ur vids while im working, it really puts me into a kind of "creative zen" ♡
The Dune audiobook is amazing (also dune is a scifi)
Lydia Pantley I don’t know why I kept saying fantasy in the video haha when I first introduce I’m like “SCI-FI!” and then I kept saying fantasy for some reason??? My mind escaped me!
I’m mildly dyslexic, so while I have always loved books, I have also been afraid of big books because they take me SO LONG to finish. Last year I started reading books I wanted to read regardless of size and it has been wonderful! I read a few big books last year and loved them and am so happy that I read them. I even feel like my reading speed is increasing ^_^ I freaked out a bit at the first two books you mentioned because I am currently reading Crime and Punishment (mine is also wonderfully floppy but not the same version as yours) and I recently bought Moby Dick from a used bookstore lol
Hope you enjoy your big books!
“She’s a mammoth, of course...” nicki minaj
💀
cant wait to hear how these go!! I love reading challenges & seeing people purposefully push out of their comfort zones
I keep coming back to this video, not because I also have a fear of big books, I actually prefer big books, but it’s just so soothing to me.
Same. Also I feel that the author has just taken more liberties to make the book good and great than do an easy to read and shabby job
I love big books, and I'm so excited for you to get to spend real time getting to know a book and its characters! I'm trying to read crime and punishment before April, I'm so excited for the journey!
Looking at the bright side, you can also big books as weights for exercise and gain muscles.
Excited to see you have Crime and Punishment on your TBR. It’s one of my fav classics. The audio book is quite good and can be helpful with the Russian names etc.
Moby Dick is actually as accessible read. And funnier than I expected. I really want to read Crime and Punishment also. (FYI Dostoyevsky has a super tiny book, like less than 100 pages, called Notes from The Underground and it's really amazing).
yay! I am so excited for this! I also lack the motivation to pick up big books, there is just something about the commitment! I have already started 1Q84 (its amazing) and I also want to finally get my way through DUNE and Moby Dick.
I have the Frida kahlo book and I tried so hard to find the edition that u because it’s absolutely gorgeous but I did manage to find an edition with her face on it rather then the actress
You are also the reason I started my love of Frida kahlo
I'm planning on reading a couple of those as well this year so this is pretty cool to see.
When you mentioned your boyfriend liking the big books and how you like smaller books it reminded me of a commercial about a couple. She liked yellow, he liked red and it was just them finding a balance.
^-^ I'll be following and updating my progress when I get started as well!
Weirdly enough I have the exact opposite problem I'm scared of reading short books because I feel like I'm wasting money (like I could get a 1000 page book for the price of one that is 300 pages)
You're not alone, Ariel. I read The Name of the Wind in 2018 and have put off reading The Wise Men's Fear ever since. That book is well over the 900 page mark. And the font doesn't help much either 😭 Oh, and I'd love to hear your thoughts about Dune . It's part of the list of books I want to get to this year! Happy reading!
Crime and Punishment is one the finest books that I've ever read
I've been wanting to read Crime and Punishment for a while now, I'll definitely start when you do so I can read along with you!
You should try reading Dune aloud with your boyfriend! You've mentioned before somewhere that you two have read to each other aloud, and when my mom was attempting to read Lord of the Rings for the first time my dad and I, who are big fans ourselves, read aloud to her because the plethora of names can be confusing and it's nice to have a little human encyclopedia to double-check things with as you go LOL
Yes!!!! 1Q84 is a fav of mine. Tackled it at the beginning of the year and loved it. Also that copy is gorgeous! I also read Dune last year and was not surprised that I loved it. I like Sci-fi anyways, but it felt less sci-if and more like an epic.
Crime & punishment is one of my favorite books of all time💖
I read 1Q84 over Christmas. It was fascinating/thought provoking/horrible and wonderful and ugly and beautiful all at the same time - and needed to be a big book. I do always love big books though! I’ve borrowed Wind-Up Bird Chronicle from my local library to delve more into Murakami’s writing.
Meghan Jackson I'm just finishing the Wind Up Bird Chronicles. Loved it. Then got mad at it. Reconciled myself with it. Now humming along. All I can say is Do not expect anything to mean anything. Picked up 1Q84 during my infatuation stage... and after your comment, I'm really interested in reading it.
little.kitten Your feelings about Wind-Up Bird are similar to mine about 1Q84. Parts were lyrical and lovely and parts were repulsive and ultraviolent. All of it made you think and look at things differently and question everything - and that’s why I’m curious to read more!
I’m surprised you didn’t have little women on here 😂. I actually plan on reading shorter books this year just because I always read 300-400 pages books and I want to read books that are 200 ish pages. I also might participate still and read Little Women cause it’s 800 ish pages
I have Little Women in two seperate books (Good Wives and Little Women), it makes Little Women so much easier to read.
Depends on your edition of course, but I don't think Little Women is usually quite that long! Mine is 460ish pages (it's both Little Women and Good Wives in one). I definitely encourage you to read it! It is on the longer side, but the writing style is really easy to read and I found that it didn't take me all that long when I reread it a few months ago, especially compared to books of similar length :)
SF Diamond Gamer Wait omg I thought good wives was the sequel? If not then hell yeah imma try that
Laura people have mentioned the writing styles being easy and I’ve seen the movie so I will have a baseline understanding of the Story anyways. My version is the puffin in bloom one so idk if that’s just little women or the combo of both that and good wives
@@withlovemeg2754 Yeah, the Puffin In Bloom Edition is Good Wives and Little Women in one.
I'm the exact opposite!! I like to have a big book that I carry around and really become close to for a while. I really wanna start reading more small books, I don't read enough of them
Imagine reading Lord of the Rings as one book and not split into 3.
I have a copy of the Lord of the Rings as one book. I tried to read it and failed miserably. Gave up after 60 pages.
@@kasimotinka123 what why??
Lord of the rings was originally meant to be 1 big book.
@@Leandro-ik2lx it's really heavy and you either read it sitting at a table or resting in your lap. It's literally uncomfortable to read.
Good luck on reading these. Lots of different genres displayed here, so I would think if you can't get through one, another will appeal to you! Several of these are on my radar. Thanks for the postscript about the new Suzanne Collins book. I want to read this!
Now I want to read War and Peace (it's a big book, right?) and end my fear of big books. (I love your videos! English is not my first language and your videos are helping me to improve my listening skills)
War and Peace is a MASSIVE book and you will get so much out of it and hopefully love it as much as I do!
Yes Ariel!! Smash that fear! 😁 as a fantasy lover I read plenty of big books...but there are plenty outside the genre that I've had on my tbr for YEARS (War and Peace I'm looking at you!!) so I'm excited to tackle those for this challenge!
Ironic that I have a tote bag that says "I like BIG BOOKS and I cannot lie" haha, but reading The Shining right now for a class, bigger book than normal for me.
im so happy you are going to read 1Q84! i read about 600 pages of it before unfortunately dnfing it like 5 years ago but i've always thought ariel would love it and wanted to try reading it again, maybe this year will be the year for me! i was really enjoying it i remember, hopefully we make it through 😤
The secret history was my first book this year. It is great and my copy was 630 pages.
oh my god DUNE! I read it last year even tho im a bit scared of big books too but it was AMAZING! I looked forward to every page and I never dreaded picking it up again after a break.
I’m curious how many of these you’ve read a year later 👀👀👀
The big book I want to tackle this year is The Count of Monte Cristo! It’s 1065 pages or 50 hours on audio. 😮😮😮 I love big books but this one has been on my TBR for a few years now. I finally want to get around to finishing it this year.
EveStowe my mom has been reading that book for literally 6 years. Hahaha
You should read "The Pillars of the Earth" - Ken Follet!
Coming up on my tbr list! I'm excited
God I wish I knew you personally!! Totally in for your ending-big-book-fear challenge! I’m starting with the Brothers Karamazov
I love the way you made this, Ariel! You always put things so eloquently :) I too have a fear of big books, I rarely start and finish them! I really want to read 1Q84, I'm probably going to be that extra white girl and time it when you read it too lol :')
P.s.I love your headband!
Long books are great! I think a nice sense of accomplishment comes along with finishing a really long book! Something I’ve recently noticed about myself is that I tend to start long books when my free time is going to be lower (before moving, or before school starts) which would be an opportune time to read shorter books yet I don’t for whatever reason.
I know you don’t normally do TBR videos, but would you ever do a ‘my partner picks my TBR’ video?
I read Stephen kings ‘the stand’ last year and I realised I LOVE big books. I love that I was completely enthralled in this story for a long time (it took me 2 months...I also have a 1 year old). You get to know the characters so much better and I love that the world building is given so much time and care
My dad has been begging me to read The Stand by Stephen King for years now. Maybe the time has come....
THIS IS IT!
The Stand is my favorite Stephen King!!!! I do a re-read just about every year.
lalemon7 Wow that’s pretty impressive haha. I’m actually really excited to read it’s just that it’s huge and intimidating!
Ohh I am reading that next month at my dads behest too. Whenever reading or Stephen king comes up I get “have you read the stand yet?” And he sounds so eager I feel bad saying no 😅
Melissa-Lea Meyer Oh my goodness, that’s like reading my life.
We must be on the same wave length because at the library today I picked up a big book that looked interesting to me (It's the biography of Ava Gardner) and it's over 500 pages.. but I was like "screw it, I might as well try it!". Reading has always been a struggle for me because of my learning disability but I love love LOVE getting lost in a story so I've been doing my best to just enjoy books and not be so hard on myself. You've inspired me even more to tackle my fear of big books too! I'm also very excited for the new Hunger Games book!! So I'll read that along with you :)
I like Donna Tart, but she can be incredibly verbose to the point of being superfluous. I remember reading The Little Friend and there were times that the plot was stagnant for 10 or 15 pages, sometimes 20 and felt like, for all her obvious skill, she was talking about nothing at all outside of endless repetition. In such a large book (The Little Friend is 624 pages) there's room to bloat your manuscript and hide it in that way, but not in shorter works. I wish Tart would try writing in a shorter format or perhaps that her editors wasn't so afraid to slash things down as needed. I shudder to think about what her unedited manuscripts must be like and how much work it needs to be for clarity.
ETA: I haven't read The Secret History in full, but there are much smaller instances of the bloat in her later work. That said, it's clear-headed and much more vibrant than anything that came after. Good luck, I'm sure you'll like it
The Secret History and Crime and Punishment are trully great books ^^ i hope you'll love all those big books! My strategy for tackling big books is reading something else in the same time, like I'd only read Crime and Punishment during the weekends while having breakfast lol so it took me a while but I was finishing other books so I didn't feel frustrated, and it fely like a book date.
"IT" i'm not scared of the story i'm scared of the book😅😂
I read 1Q84 and The Secret History and loved both of them, TSH is even one of my all time favourites ! Also, I'm currently reading Dune for similar reasons even though I don't read Sci Fi, it's a bit tough at first because you enter a universe that you're not familiar with yet but after a while you start to understand how everything works and the story is quite exciting! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on all of these 😊
And the font really matters to my decision of reading books 😂
My heart dropped a little when you pulled out Dune, I recently started it and had to stop because i wasn't giving it my full attention. Good luck I've heard great things about this book. Thank you for informing me about the Movie, I didn't know it was coming out this year!!! Now I have to read it sooner than later.