QualismaBooks worth your time

Ranked list · refreshed weekly

A week of evenings

Ten hours and up — the books you commit to rather than squeeze in.

Ten hours or more of reading, which at an hour or two an evening is a week or more. These are the books worth starting when you want something to live in rather than finish in a sitting. The hours sit beside each title so you can see exactly what you are signing up for. Shortest first.

59 books

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1
The Overstory by Richard Powers

The Overstory

Richard Powers

502 pages · 4.10★ on Hardcover

≈ 10h6.9/10
4
The Iliad by Homer

The Iliad

Homer

267 pages · 3.86★ on Hardcover

≈ 10h5.9/10
5
Just for the Plot by Meghan Quinn

Just for the Plot

Meghan Quinn

512 pages · not widely rated yet

≈ 10h6.5/10early
8
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Fourth Wing

Rebecca Yarros

517 pages · 4.03★ on Hardcover

≈ 10.5h6.6/10
9
Dune by Frank Herbert

Dune

Frank Herbert

528 pages · 4.33★ on Hardcover

≈ 10.5h8.0/10
12
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist

Charles Dickens

608 pages · 3.69★ on Hardcover

≈ 10.5h5.2/10
14
Emma by Jane Austen

Emma

Jane Austen

512 pages · 3.92★ on Hardcover

≈ 10.5h6.2/10
15
Dracula by Bram Stoker

Dracula

Bram Stoker

408 pages · 3.87★ on Hardcover

≈ 11h6.0/10
16
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

Caste

Isabel Wilkerson

544 pages · 4.44★ on Hardcover

≈ 11h8.3/10
18
Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe

Daggermouth

H.M. Wolfe

566 pages · 4.08★ on Hardcover

≈ 11.5h6.7/10
19
Tempting Venom by Rina Kent

Tempting Venom

Rina Kent

576 pages · not widely rated yet

≈ 11.5h7.5/10early
20
Prince of Swords by Elise Kova

Prince of Swords

Elise Kova

576 pages · not widely rated yet

≈ 11.5h6.2/10early
24
1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin

1929

Andrew Ross Sorkin

592 pages · not widely rated yet

≈ 12h6.2/10early
25
Victorious by V. E. Schwab

Victorious

V. E. Schwab

592 pages · not widely rated yet

≈ 12h
26
East of Eden by John Steinbeck

East of Eden

John Steinbeck

601 pages · 4.49★ on Hardcover

≈ 12h8.6/10
27
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Invisible Man

Ralph Ellison

610 pages · 3.90★ on Hardcover

≈ 12h6.0/10
28
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Great Expectations

Charles Dickens

512 pages · 3.55★ on Hardcover

≈ 12.5h4.4/10
29
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Little Women

Louisa May Alcott

818 pages · 3.94★ on Hardcover

≈ 12.5h6.2/10
31
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

555 pages · 4.02★ on Hardcover

≈ 12.5h6.5/10
33
The Disappearers by Marlon James

The Disappearers

Marlon James

640 pages · not widely rated yet

≈ 13h6.4/10early
34
The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

The Calamity Club

Kathryn Stockett

656 pages · 4.10★ on Hardcover

≈ 13h6.6/10
37
The Poison Daughter by Sheila Masterson

The Poison Daughter

Sheila Masterson

668 pages · 4.14★ on Hardcover

≈ 13.5h6.8/10
38
Eldritch by Keri Lake

Eldritch

Keri Lake

676 pages · not widely rated yet

≈ 13.5h6.5/10early
44
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

Moby-Dick

Herman Melville

549 pages · 3.63★ on Hardcover

≈ 14.5h4.7/10
45
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

A Little Life

Hanya Yanagihara

720 pages · 4.10★ on Hardcover

≈ 14.5h6.7/10
46
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

The Goldfinch

Donna Tartt

775 pages · 3.97★ on Hardcover

≈ 15.5h6.2/10
47
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Idiot

Fyodor Dostoevsky

784 pages · 4.05★ on Hardcover

≈ 16.5h6.4/10
51
Ulysses by James Joyce

Ulysses

James Joyce

1068 pages · 3.81★ on Hardcover

≈ 17.5h5.5/10
52
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Gone with the Wind

Margaret Mitchell

976 pages · 4.00★ on Hardcover

≈ 19.5h6.1/10
53
Middlemarch by George Eliot

Middlemarch

George Eliot

853 pages · 4.23★ on Hardcover

≈ 21h7.0/10
56
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes

1072 pages · 3.86★ on Hardcover

≈ 28.5h5.3/10
58
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy

838 pages · 4.07★ on Hardcover

≈ 37.5h6.1/10
59
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Les Misérables

Victor Hugo

1458 pages · 4.22★ on Hardcover

≈ 38h6.8/10