Hello and a very warm welcome to damppebbles. It’s Tuesday which means it’s time for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday post. I’ve decided to take part in That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday meme to mix things up a little here at damppebbles. Add a little bit of variety to our bookish weeks.
The meme was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish but has lived with Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl since January 2018. It was created to encompass a love of books, of lists and to bring readers together. If you would also like to take part then you’re very welcome: the more, the merrier. Just make sure you link back to Jana’s post every week. If you don’t have a blog then no problem, just add your list to the comments below.
This week’s theme is Animal Companions (These animals can be real or fantasy!) (submitted by P.S. I Love Books). A lovely choice of topic this week but another one that just doesn’t really fit in with what I read. I do recall mentioning the main character’s pets in reviews before but can I remember the titles of those books? No. No I can’t. So I’m going to be going off-plan again this week and sharing the longest books I’ve read. This will be interesting because long books tend to make me nervous. I have a copy of IT by Stephen King on my shelf which gives me the shudders every time I look at it (nothing to do with the scary clown, everything to do with the amount of shelf space it takes up — in fact, it’s so long, it has it’s own shelf!). So please don’t expect anything on the same scale of IT, or bigger. I just don’t tend to read long books. I’m also using Goodreads to tell me how many pages each book has so any mistakes are theirs, not mine 🤭
1. All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker | 592 pages
This book is the sole reason I chose this topic this week. I don’t need much of an excuse to shout about how amazing it is!
2. The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis | 608 pages
3. Gallery of the Dead by Chris Carter | 528 pages
4. The Disciple by Stephen Lloyd Jones | 544 pages
5. The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter | 512 pages
6. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton | 544 pages
7. The Restless Dead by Simon Beckett | 512 pages
8. Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama | 656 pages
9. Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes | 544 pages
10. I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes | 912 pages
It became very clear whilst writing this post that 1) I actively avoid books with a lot of pages and 2) Goodreads doesn’t really know what it’s talking about when it comes to page counts! I had to go deep into the archives to find some of these books. The last couple were pre-blog (so over 10 years ago). Plus, for anyone else thinking of do this theme in future, Goodreads is a terrible resource. I double checked the page count against the Waterstones website, just to be sure. Goodreads had some books down as 689 pages, where as Waterstones said 303!
Have you read any of these books? What’s the longest book you have read (go on, put me to shame 😂). Do you prefer to read longer books or, like me, are shorter books your thing? How many pages is *too* many pages? Are you taking part in Top Ten Tuesday this week? Let me know in the comments.
So there we have it! If you fancy joining in next week then head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl’s blog to find out what the next topic is!
Please note, this post contains affiliate links. This means I may earn commission should you choose to make a purchase using the links.
damppebbles.com 
I’ve read All The Colours of the Dark and I Am Pilgrim. I think the longest books I’ve read is Gone With the Wind which weighs in at over 1000 pages!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Longer books, particularly those over 1000 pages, just feel so intimidating! Perhaps if I was a faster reader I wouldn’t mind so much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was always putting off longer books because they slow down content (I’m a slow reader) but have found some amazing ones in that 600-1k page range! iT is totally worth it! Thanks for stopping by my post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe that’s why I don’t tend to avoid longer books. I’m also a slow reader. But maybe I need to be a bit braver!
LikeLike
912 pages is such a long book!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Too long!
LikeLike
Long books make me nervous too, so I totally get it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! It seems we’re in the minority 🙈😂
LikeLike
I struggled with this prompt and went with Animals on Covers.
I actively avoid long books unless I really really want to read them, such as ACOTAR series 😂
Have a great week!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a much more sensible direction to go in! Thanks for stopping by 🥰
LikeLiked by 1 person
😂 that’s ok 🥰
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you enjoy reading all of these when you get the motivation.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!https://readbakecreate.com/animal-farm-ten-books-with-animals-on-the-cover/
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree that IT is definitely daunting! I’ve read it, but it was overlong for me… I enjoyed The Stand better if we are talking about long King books. I don’t usually read a lot of books over 600 pages either, although I’ve read the five A Song Of Ice And Fire books years ago which are all 1000+ pages each if I remember right. Outlander is also a big one… But in general, most of the books I read are under 500 pages. I loved The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love your off topic list! I would like to do this topic myself one day. I might keep it for the next freebie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely! Just don’t use Goodreads as your page number checker. It’s so inaccurate 😂
LikeLike
I tend to avoid long books, too. I don’t know why since I don’t mind a long book if it holds my interest; they just seem to be overly wordy which often equals boring in my mind. I do want to read ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK, though.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
All the Colours of the Dark FLIES by! It’s so engrossing you don’t realise how long the book is. Thanks for stopping by.
LikeLike
Read Six Four prepublication- it’s a beast. Think I had a mini break in the middle and read something lighter 😆 x
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t blame you! I have memories of it never ending 😵💫 x
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is where e-readers come in handy. You buy and download a book and never realize it’s 500+ pages. Ask me how I know. 🤣 Karin Slaughter’s books can be long, but they’re always so engrossing you don’t realize!
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved that Stuart Turton book. I need to read more from him!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me too! Seven Deaths is all I’ve read.
LikeLike
Great list! Dark books don’t typically have animal companions, but I do love a chonk of a book. I haven’t read any of these, but a few were already on my TBR, and I’ll be adding some from this list too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: #CaseClosed: May 2025 | Monthly Wrap-Up #amreading #amreviewing #bookblogger #BookoftheMonth #GoodreadsChallenge #NetGalleyCheckIn #BookTwitter #booktwt #BookX #BookSky #damppebbles | damppebbles.com
Pingback: #TopTenTuesday | 10th June 2025: Bookish Wishes #Top10Tuesday #bookblogger #bookish #amreading #TTT #BookTwitter #booktwt #BookX #BookSky #damppebbles | damppebbles.com
Pingback: #TopTenTuesday | 19th August 2025: The Shortest Books I’ve Read #Top10Tuesday #bookblogger #bookish #amreading #TTT #BookTwitter #booktwt #BookX #BookSky #damppebbles | damppebbles.com
Pingback: #TopTenTuesday | 19th August 2025: The Shortest Books I’ve Read #Top10Tuesday #bookblogger #bookish #amreading #TTT #BookTwitter #booktwt #BookX #BookSky #damppebbles -