|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Whitty: wwh wrote, "The one exception I can think of was James A. Michener, who was an editor with Saturday Evening Post before he wrote Tales of the South Pacific (emphasis, mine)." Hawaii followed the tales, so Michener hadn't begun writing his 800+ page tomes. It would be interesting, however, to know whether any Michener redactophobes did, in fact, quake if Michener wrote, "Expand!" His own expansions were volcanic.
Now an editing question. Did I correctly parenthetically use "(emphasis, mine)"?
WW
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
I am unable to confirm my recollection of the Michener-Saturday Evening Post connection. But I did find a couple mentions of his having been an editor for a couple short stints. He was said to have been an orphan, subsequently "adopted" by his biological mother, although that could not be confirmed.They were so poor he had no sports equipment. At ages 17 he ran away from home. He worked in a travelling carnival Yet, if I remember correctly, he gave away over a hundred million dollars. A remarkable achievement in view of his early deprivation. A real life Horatio Alger hero.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189 |
But since Michener's writing style had a penchant for extended detail, I'm sure he was incorporating that into his work long before his big novels. I enjoyed the work of his I managed to read...most notably Tales of the South Pacific. But he did tend be be long-winded. The Drifters sat on my shelf, dying to be read for years. But everytime I scooped it up I looked at the length of it again and said, "Naaaaaaaa..." Leon Uris tomes (400-600 pg) were about my limit of endurance. Unless, of course, I was singling out a real classic. Which leads me to ponder an interesting question, Wordwindy...what's the longest book you've ever read, cover to cover? I can't come up with a quick answer, I'd have to think a bit. Maybe Dickens, maybe Moby Dick. (The Bible, of course, but I never read straight through it.)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
Whitty: I read the Bible cover-to-cover due to having been cabin-bound resulting from a blizzard in 1984, I think. I also read Ulysses with about as many pages in explanatory notes in 1975. Other long books read include Boswell on Johnson and Hawaii, which is the only book I've read of Michener's.
How 'bout you, Whitty, and the rest of you? What are some of the longest books you've read and lived to tell the tale?
Book regards,
WW
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460
addict
|
|
addict
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460 |
Some years ago, I tackled (is that the right word?) Proust's Remembrance of times past which took me a year off and on. More recently -- a translation of Don Quixote. And I've nearly completed the complete novels of Iris Murdoch (which seem to get longer and longer).
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094 |
My longest has to be Atlas Shrugged. For Whom the Bell Tolls is pretty long too, I guess.
What about a series of books that aren't really separate but intended to be continuous? Lord of the Rings is like that, and Harry Potter I think. I haven't read the latter, but it's supposed to be 7 or 8 books long.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605 |
My personal: Chruchill's 6-volume history of the World War II.
BTW, Potter is planned as a series of seven books, the first four of which have been published.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
I have but probably will never finish Will Durant's XI volume "The Story of Civilization". Because of my failing vision, not because of any fault of the writing, which I find very enjoyable. It takes up just under two feet of shelf space.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636 |
And so, of course, I have read all of Mitchner's books. I'm not sure if any one of those is the longest book I've ever read, but I do so like them when they go on forever.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409 |
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,371
Members9,182
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
0 members (),
803
guests, and
0
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
