PROMPT: Longest Book

Daily writing prompt
What’s the longest book you’ve ever read?

I’m not sure. I’ve read a few north of 1,000 pages. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand leap to mind. I don’t read too many very long books as I generally find they are badly in need of editing. [That is certainly the case for Atlas Shrugged.] And, you know, they take a long time to read.

The fattest book on my physical bookshelf at the moment is Stephen Wolfram’s A New Kind of Science, but I’m pretty sure I never got through that one.

PROMPT: Overrated

Daily writing prompt
What’s a classic book that you think is overrated?

Joyce’s Ulysses springs to mind. I do love some of the language, but — overall — reading it was a bit like getting my teeth drilled. (But I have been known to have a different perspective upon giving a book a second chance.)

There are many long works that I thought could have used an editor (e.g. Moby Dick and Atlas Shrugged,) but still I see their literary appeal.