For the love of big books

I'm currently in the middle of the 850 page epic New York: The Novel by Edward Rutherfurd. So while this post is partly serving as filler until I can write about something I've read, it's also going to be a brief reflection on that beloved genre of novel: the chunkster.

I find that there are few reads more satisfying than when you finish a big 500+ page book that was just incredible and completely sucked you in.

Yet, the chunkster read is a risky one. You may get 250 pages in and realize you don't like the characters or the plot. Or you get bored. Or you don't have the time to commit to it. Or, worst of all, you finish and there's an unsatisfying ending that just makes you say, "THAT'S what I spent so much time to get to???" But finish a worthy chunkster and, oohlala, you just want to dive right into the next—if you can bear to move on beyond these characters you now know so well, that is.

Some BIG BOOKS I've enjoyed:

• Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann — This main character had some ISSUES, but I somehow got sucked in anyway.
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett — Yes, I know...me and everybody else.
• When Everything Changed by Gail Collins —Nonfiction and oh-so interesting!
• Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell — I read this in high school and felt oh-so-freakin-smart carrying this massive book with me everywhere I went.

Some BIG BOOKS that have made me go UGH:

• The World As I Found It by Bruce Duffy — O.M.G. Let's not get into it about this one again, m'kay?
• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel — I didn't really go UGH, but I can't say I really enjoyed it either. It was just meh. 
• The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami — Umm....WHAT? This inspired me to never read anymore Murakami. Sorry, Murakami fans.

Some BIG BOOKS I'm still waiting to read:

• Roses by Leila Meacham — Generations of a family in Texas? Sounds like Dynasty! Yes, please!
• Coming Home by Rosamund Pilcher — I have this in mass paperback format and haven't gotten around to reading it yet, partly because I'm almost too embarrassed to carry it in public. It looks like an awful romance novel, and I have to look cool on my L train commute.
• Swann's Way by Marcel Proust — Ha, this has been on my list since 10th grade and an episode of Gilmore Girls, so let's just pretend like it won't be another 9 years before I even consider reading it.

Seeing as how this is a genre that ALWAYS perks my ears, what are some of your favorite BIG BOOK reads??