+2014 Chunkster Reading Challenge+ Or, how Jorie <3s novels of hearty depth!

Posted Monday, 17 February, 2014 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

2014 Chunkster Challenge hosted by Vasilly

I, must admit, I am always quite curious about the books I gravitate towards reading time after time. Do I pick a specific genre to explore!? Is there a particular heart of depth to the stories I am selecting?! Is there any specifics that would stand out!? Setting?! Time preference!? Locale!? Or, could it be that I, Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story have a natural curiosity and eye bent towards falling in love with novels of hearty depth! What the rest of the world considers a ‘chunkser’ I consider “Now! That’s what I call a wicked sweet tome of a novel!”

Although I have seen posts attributed to this particular reading challenge over the past few years, I was always curious about the length requirements of the reader’s choices!? Apparently, any novel over the mark of 450 pages is considered a ‘chunkster’ by the broader readership! I consider anything under 750 pages to be a full-fledged novel of wickedly delightful sagas! Then, again, I happen to have a penchant for reading multi-generational sagas, of which cannot be fully contained in one singular volume! I oft find the sagas are separated into multiples; either in a running serial of the same family &/or spilt into trilogy installments. The odd quartet is thrown in for good measure as well!

I am a reader who envelops her mind, her heart, and her soul around the characters she meets inside the stories her mind illuminates for her as she reads. The main characters as well as the supporting characters all have equal footing in her heart because each of the characters mentioned may hold a piece of the evolving story. Or at the very least, provide a backdrop flow of continuity for the time, setting, and place of the novel! I love seeing the smaller details, the finer points of everyday hours which elapse at different intervals whilst your engrossed into a hearty historical inasmuch as you might be jettisoning into a time slip or time travel narrative! I like seeing the finite details because they in of themselves give a winking nod towards our own histories. How life was for those who came before us in the not-so-far-off past can be ruminated in a historical story.

This wicked sweet challenge is hosted by Vasilly of Chunkster Challenge!

{Proposed Goal of Reading *25* Chunksters}

Given the rate of probability of increasing my page counts as the months progress forward, I have decided to aim even higher than I originally felt I could achieve over the next 10 months, as I am beginning to count this challenge in the second month rather than the first! And, at the latter half of February, I might add! I originally felt only five novels of considerable length might be possible! Who knew!? I suppose this would fall under the ‘hidden talent’ category for performance artists!?

{Reading List} | Combination of Blog Tour Reviews & Personal Selections

IF a book is in italics I have bumped it into 2015 rather than reading it in 2014.

  1. Crown of Vengeance {Book 1: Fires of Eden series} by Stephen Zimmer (612 pages)
  2. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1,215 pages)
  3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (643 pages)
  4. Somerset by Leila Meacham {Prequel to Roses} (610 pages)
  5. Roses by Leila Meacham (609 pages)
  6. Tumbleweeds by Leila Meacham (470 pages)
  7. The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte by Ruth Hill Chatlien (484 pages)
  8. Labyrinth by Kate Mosse (528 pages)* officially on hold for another year
  9. Sepulchre by Kate Mosse (592 pages)* officially on hold for another year
  10. Citadel by Kate Mosse (680 pages)
  11. The Reincarnationist (Book 1: Reincarnationist series) by M.J. Rose* (464 pages)
  12. The Memorist (Book 2: Reincarnationist series) by M.J. Rose* (464 pages)
  13. A Beauty So Rare by Tamera Alexander* (480 pages)
  14. [7,851 pages thus far!]
  15. Intangible by C.A. Gray (482 pages)
  16. Awesome Jones by AshleyRose Sullivan (456 pages)

{In consideration} | A considerable number are on my tCC List!

[projected pages to read: 8,498!]

  1. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey (582 pages)
  2. Jaran {Book 1: Sword of Heaven series} by Kate Elliott (494 pages)
  3. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (834 pages)
  4. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (552 pages)
  5. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah (479 pages)
  6. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (552 pages)
  7. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton (473 pages)
  8. The Distant Hours by Kate Morton (562 pages)
  9. The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James (656 pages)
  10. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough (704 pages)
  11. The Crimson Petal & the White by Michael Faber (on TBR Challenge List) (833)
  12. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1,024 pages)
  13. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (753)

{Previously Read}

[Pages thus far consumed: 1,548 & counting!]

  1. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (486 pages)
  2. King’s Dragon {Book 1: Crown of Stars saga} by Kate Elliott (532)
  3. The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher (530)
  4. and continuing,.. as I sort out which books were of considerable length!

{*} reading in conjunction with scheduled book review of next in sequence

Already at the start of keeping track of the length of each novel I read, I am amazed at how the list begins with *13!* Curiously, I am fascinated to seeing which ‘length’ of book attracts me the most!? If spilt into 100 page increments, will it be the 400 mark? 500? I’ll have to continue this part of the discussion come New Year’s Eve, 2015!

*UPDATE (18FEB’14): As I read Christine’s note about how many actual pages I’d consume, I was curious, how many would that be!? I added the figures!

{SOURCE: Jorie Loves A Story Badge created by Ravven with edits by Jorie in PicMonkey.

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

read more >> | Visit my Story Vault of Book Reviews | Policies & Review Requests | Contact Jorie

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Posted Monday, 17 February, 2014 by jorielov in Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Discussions, Chunkster Reading Challenge, Classical Literature, Debut Novel, Fantasy Fiction, Gothic Literature, Historical Fiction, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Library Find, Literary Fiction, Reading Challenges, Romance Fiction, Science Fiction




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5 responses to “+2014 Chunkster Reading Challenge+ Or, how Jorie <3s novels of hearty depth!

  1. The idea of reading that many chunksters makes me want to go sit in a corner and cry. Just look at those page counts! And then when you add them up…. Yeah, no, I could not do it. Maybe 1-3 in a year, but not 25!

    • Hallo Christine!

      I never realised how many big novels I read throughout a calendar year! Wow. It really opened my eyes because I thought I must read only a handful, as you see, I originally felt oh, the max I’d read is probably around ‘5’! I didn’t even realise that most of the books I am attracted too are past the 450 mark but just shy of 500. There are the rare exceptions that go higher than 600 and then, of course, the 1,000 beauts which make my little heart get all giddy! :)

      I only set it to *25!* because the list starts at *13!* which will be read *before!* July! That leaves quite a bit of space in the year for reading more!! Don’t you think!?

      Its an experiment really, I find it all rather exciting! A bit like if you can read 100 Books in a Year!? I love these sorts of challenges because its based on what you naturally would read during the hours you can give to reading! :)

      Chin up!

      Which 3 would you pick!?

      • You know, I should check Goodreads’ stats for last year and see how many I actually did read that were over 450 pages. I know for sure at least 2 because I was shocked that Rick Riordan’s The House of Hades was longer than Marcus Zusak’s The Book Thief.

        *checks*

        *come back*

        JEEZ! I read 17 books that were over 450 pages and I didn’t even realize it! Though only three were Adult reads, the rest were Middle Grade/YA*. Only four of them were over 500, and none even hit 600, but The House of Hades was pretty darn close – just 3 pages away from 600!

        I guess maybe I just didn’t expect so many of my Middle Grade books to have had that many pages? I don’t know!

        My 3 chunskters that I would just love to read this year (in addition to The Divorce Papers which I’m currently reading) are Les Miserables, Gone with the Wind, and The Diviners.

        *I mention this because the Chunskter Reading Challenge says the books have to be Adult reads, but technically The Book Thief is YA and it’s on their recommended list, so…

        • Hallo Christine,

          See!? See how easy it is to *surprise yourself!?* I had a feeling if you went through your list you’d be plumb shocked by the results!! You’re now experiencing what I experienced! Two of my tCC choices are amongst the ones you want to read, when were you projecting to read “Gone with the Wind” & “Les Mis”?! I was shooting for Summer!?

          I think “The Book Thief” goes between both worlds of YA and adult for whichever reason. It appears to be the most talked about book not only for where it ‘fits’ but for its story, which is one reason I was always curious about reading it!?

          *17!* does not surprise me!! I had no clue *13!* would ‘fit’ on the list at the jumpstart myself! :O :O

          Who knew!?

          *hoot* *hoot*

          Perhaps the owl!?

          • I was thinking I would be surprised as well, but I was not expecting to be surprised at how many MG chunksters I’ve read! It’s incredible, how long some MG reads can really be – and with no artwork inside the book either!

            I was thinking probably Autumn for Gone with the Wind. I’m not quite sure why, it just seems like an Autumn read to me? And Les Mis I could read any time really, though I’m starting to wonder if I should start reading it within the next week or so which has more to do with the fact I was first properly introduced to the musical this time of year :)

            Yeah, The Book Thief definitely has those qualities. It’s also kind of like how certain series start out as MG but then move into YA territory as it progresses (like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus). The Book Thief though is really, really good IMO, though I know some people don’t like it. I still haven’t seen the movie even though that was why I read the book last year, I’m just not ready to revisit the story and cry yet!

            Yes, some sort of bookish owl must have known! Perhaps one from my mom’s collection of owl figurines…. XD

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