Recommend me a long audiobook

The Lion women of Tehran. A beautiful book for audio book. I usually listen to all audio books on 1.8 speed but it was so vividly written I could not bear to. Also topical right now ofc. I had limited knowledge of the history of Iran and went down all sorts of internet rabbit holes finding out about it whilst reading

not the kind of thing that I would normally pick up but it was in the sale and I needed an epic, I found Wilbur Smith’s Courtney series set in Africa absorbing and they often run at 30 hours+ The first one In the series is When The Lion Sleeps is ’only’ 17h if you enjoy it, there are loads.

Rohington Mistry’s A Fine Balance is a favourite at 25h

The last Hours and The Turn of Midnight by Minette Walters are about 16 hours each. Absorbing tales of the response to the plague in Dorset.

I would second the Ken Follett Kingsbridge series , apart from the More recently written prequel which didn’t add much.

I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes.Again Not one that I would have picked up but it was given to me as a gift and I enjoyed it And it’s race against time style.

I never finished reading A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth in hard copy but a couple of people from my Bookgroup have recommended the audiobook version to me recently. I’ve downloaded it but not read it yet. It might be another one to consider, maybe other people on the thread have read it and can give an opinion

I have just realised What a small percentage of my library Is listens of an epic length!

Yes - agree, good call

I haven’t listened to it, but how about George Eliot’s Middlemarch? Some consider it the greatest novel in English.

Powell’s A Dance to the Music of Time. It has been called Britain’s answer to Proust, and it probably is the closest thing in English to A La Recherche.

Evelyn Waugh’s Sword of Honor trilogy is wonderful. Michael Maloney does a brilliant reading of Waugh’s Decline and Fall. He might have recorded this too.

Ford Maddox Ford: Parade’s End (Harold Bloom thought it the most underrated English language novel of the 20th century).

Vanity Fair is another underrated novel. It tends to be overshadowed by Dickens and George Eliot and the Brontes.

I’m a big Iris Murdoch fan. Many of her novels are 500 or 600 pages. Maybe try The Sea, The Sea or The Good Apprentice, if they have been recorded.

Stephen Fry has recorded the whole of Sherlock Holmes. Listening to that in a hot bath with a bottle of wine is my idea of heaven.

Half of a Yellow Sun is an excellent epic novel set during the Nigerian civil war.

The Seven Sisters books are amazing.

Yes, yes, yes, Miriam Margolyes reads Dickens brilliantly.

Yes, good recommendation!😀

All the colours of the dark? It's about 600 pages long so probably a decent length as an audiobook, I absolutely loved it.

Oooh yes - one of my favourites.

Yes!! Also a series it’s definitely worth listening to rather than reading (or in addition to). Jeff Hays is a GLORIOUS narrator.

Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential”, read by the man himself.

The whole Wolf Hall trilogy is about 30h, I think, available on Audible.

Historical fiction, the Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett. 6 books, each over 20 hours. Her other series, The House of Niccolo, has 8 books at 23 to 30 hours each and I like it better.

The Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson clocks in around 82 hours if you like fairly hard scifi.

The Forsyth Saga. It is very long but you need to use about 4 credits to get them all. It was brilliant

My Name is Barbra - Barbra Streisand's autobiography read by Barbra. 48 hours long and really interesting and entertaining.

Pillars of the Earth.
CJ Swanson.
Strike books.
The Children’s Book or Possession by AS Byatt.

Dungeon Crawler Carl series starts out short-ish but by the 7th book it's 28 hours. There is an 8th book out soon and at least two more to follow.

Currently it's over 140 hours and climbing. One of the best series I've read in years and I've barely stopped thinking about it since I first started it a year ago.

The Heart’s Invisible Furies
The Bee Sting
and yes Stephen King has some brilliant long listens I loved The Stand 11/22/63 and Fairytale.

Another vote for Stephen King - I don't think 11/22/63 has been mentioned, that kept me enthralled!

Riders by Jilly Cooper is around 30 hours, as is the sequel Rivals. I listened to both of them - the American accent so bad it’s quite funny. Very easy listening when you’re driving etc!

I love all the ones you listed OP. Will be adding some new books to my library from this thread.

My suggestion would be ‘he who fights with monsters’ 13 books and counting.

Eragon. It’s dragons and coming of age 16.5 hours first book but the last is 31.5

the name of the wind. Absolutely amazing books. But there are inly 2 of the 3 published and it’s like game of thrones not sure the series will ever be finished. Very frustrating

anything by Brandon Sanderson. Mistborn is a good series (25 hours a book). Stormlight archive a close second- 25 hours then over 50 for later books

another brilliant author is Trudi Canavan. Thief’s magic- millenniums rule series. 17/18 hours a book. Age of the 5 series similar length. Her first series the magicians guild much shorter and the first couple books read as though for a younger audience but the final book then prequel book and following series in the world less teen.

very different genre but ‘pillars of the earth’ is something like 50 hours. No magic but if you like game of thrones it’s similar but historical fiction, excellent characters different storylines running at once. Strong intelligent females overcome hardship. First in the series (although there is a prequel but pillars of the earth and the second book world without end are the best) TW nasty rape scene in it though but if you can cope with game of thrones it’s manageable.

robert Galbraith books are also long. Not fantasy. Private investigator. Some nasty crimes but excellent books.

much shorter but the huger games by Susan Collins , divergent by Veronica Roth and the thief by Megan Whalen turner. All the fantasy genre and very good first books in series

Any Philpa Gregory - 18+ hours per novel, historical fiction and there’s loads in a series!

Sherlock Holmes, the definitive collection, read by Stephen Fry. 71 hours long.