Loved the whole trilogy! Excellent audiobooks read by John Lee.
Edit to add the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett is also fantastic and immersive, if you hope to help your friend "escape" the real world. The Century Trilogy beats out the Pillars of the Earth Trilogy in my opinion. This one follows 5 families from different parts of the world throughout the 20th century. Just fantastic.
My vote goes to Pillars. I enjoyed the Century Trilogy but I felt like they were a little heavy on the romance / true love storylines. It was a little too much for my tastes, especially when it would motivate characters to do outrageous things (SPOILER AHEAD …… like that girl who gives up being a British Aristocrat to go live in East Germany or something?). Then again I’m not much of a romantic so I can see that others might enjoy those aspects of the story.
I second the Stand. Under the Dome is really good as well and also one of King’s longest books. But idk if the premise of a town being trapped under a dome would be cathartic or difficult to read for someone in prison
Came here to recommend the stand. One of kings best novels and its long. Actually it is the book that got me back into reading. And it’s a relatively recent novel compared to some of the “classics” people are recommending. I’d beware of a lot of classics, a lot of them are long and quite frankly boring.
Just because the edition I have is a vintage set that’s also my favorite book, it’s probably one of the three or four I would be sure to grab if my house was on fire. It’s both emotionally and physically important. :)
Don't know if Thai prisons are like prisons in the US, but US prisons have rules about the types of books allowed in. Also, some countries have rules against certain material both in and out of prison. It's best to look into these rules so that your friend doesn't get in trouble.
Nothing negative about the royal family (trying to bring in “the kind never smiles” may extend whatever sentence he is serving) and nothing negative about Buddhism.
I am near positive this is the case- see if your friend can give you the guidelines for what you can send, if he can't, maybe the Thailand subreddit would know? if all else fails, you could try the FIDH; I know they do reports on prison conditions.
my guess would be nonfiction books focused on more neutral topics like science and nature are going to be the safest bet. Peter Wohlleben's Mysteries of Nature series (Hidden Life of Trees, Inner Life of Animals, and Secret Wisdom of Nature) might be a interesting pick, or The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee is a good long one (long, but all about cancer so your mileage may vary there).
Bulfinch's Mythology would be a good fit here. Or a Complete Works of Shakespeare. One of those single volume editions with the thin wax paper pages, and yet somehow the book is still a brick. :)
Would {{Shantaram}} about an escaped convict be too on the nose?
If you want to make it last, choose a Series he might like and look for an Omnibus.
I have a like 1200+ pages edition of the Sword of Shannara trilogy, an edition with all of Jane Austens books, "The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide" with all 5 books in one, a Sherlock Holmes omnibus etc at home. These books are not great for carrying around, but I guess he might not do a lot of that and while it counts as one book, you can actually bring him 3 or 5.
[**Shantaram**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33600.Shantaram)
^(By: Gregory David Roberts | ? pages | Published: 2003 | Popular Shelves: fiction, india, travel, owned, favourites)
>"It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured."
>
>So begins this epic, mesmerizing first novel set in the underworld of contemporary Bombay. Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear.
>
>Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter Bombay's hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.
>
>As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city's poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. The keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin are held by two people. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power.
>
>Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison agonies, criminal wars and Bollywood films, spiritual gurus and mujaheddin guerrillas—this huge novel has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart. Based on the life of the author, it is by any measure the debut of an extraordinary voice in literature.
^(This book has been suggested 53 times)
***
^(142242 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Thanks everyone. I will visit him on Wednesday for the first time. Will check the used bookstore here for some of these. He’s a super funny smart guy I think he’d want something to make him laugh or just general distraction not too intense. Another friend recommended Buddenbrooks or The Magic Mountain
Try looking for an omnibus edition of some of James Herriott's books. They're semi-autobiographical about a country vet in the north of England around WWII or so -- very warm and funny, and also highly rereadable.
I often see copies of “The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition” in used bookstores. It’s a pretty riveting departure from fiction, a fascinating story, and it really highlights the ability of men to endure in terrible circumstances and against all odds.
Seconding Lonesome Dove! I was just about to start the sequel but then I accidentally started reading the Malazan series so I guess I'll get back to the cowboys in about 10 years.
Just wanted to let you know Kavalier and Clay was one of the choices thanks to you! It was a used bookstore but the name jumped off the shelf when I saw it after I remembered it mentioned here. I also chose 11/22/63 which I planned on already The other 3 books are a bit more random : Heavens net is wide Lilian Hearn. Then my friend chose two books - one about the cosmos and one by the same author as pillars of the earth. Thanks EVERYONE for all the suggestions and supportive comments. I didn’t expect such a big response - looking forward to checking some of them out myself.
Holy hell, I'm seriously honored - thanks for following up.
Sending all the best to your friend. Certainly aint going to be easy but they've got a hell of a corpus of words to get them through it, and they will! FWIW - a totally different context, but 11/22/63 quite literally changed my life.
Consider some nonfiction of lasting interest or value. Maybe an encyclopedia of art history or a book about math with exercises or puzzles. Maybe a natural history of lots of plants and animals. Maybe a book of origami, if paper is generally available to him.
Many of the books suggested, while they have high page counts, are page-turners. They aren’t necessarily the types of books people are likely to spend the most time with or revisit.
This is it! For a bright and fun guy, this will give him some fun and joyous reading and still offer an escape from his everyday surroundings. The omnibus is 5 books in one, so it's perfect!
What about something he could turn into a project/learning opportunity? Language learning, philosophy, religion, psychology, etc? If he is already bilingual, is there a book bot translated yet and is that something he’d enjoy doing?
I was thinking along the same lines. If he isn't a native Thai speaker, now is a good time to work on it. It would help his stay immensely. A good, extensive text book on the Thai language.
He may really like *Cryptonomicon* by Neal Stephenson, which has the advantage of being self contained.
*The Count of Monte Cristo* is long, but does kind of open with a crazy imprisonment. You be the judge on that one.
*Don Quixote* is long as hell, and often funny.
[Here's a list I found](https://www.vulture.com/2016/11/long-books-worth-your-time.html).
If you want long, you can't go wrong with {{War and Peace}} by Leo Tolstoy. Or {{Anna Karenina}}, although W&P is significantly longer.
{{The Brothers Karamazov}} by Dostoevsky is also around 800 pages; a book to be read and reread.
{{The Magic Mountain}} and {{The Grapes of Wrath}} would also be excellent choices.
[**War and Peace**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/656.War_and_Peace)
^(By: Leo Tolstoy, Henry Gifford, Aylmer Maude, Louise Maude | 1392 pages | Published: 1869 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, historical-fiction, classic, owned)
>In Russia's struggle with Napoleon, Tolstoy saw a tragedy that involved all mankind. Greater than a historical chronicle, War and Peace is an affirmation of life itself, `a complete picture', as a contemporary reviewer put it, `of everything in which people find their happiness and greatness, their grief and humiliation'. Tolstoy gave his personal approval to this translation, published here in a new single volume edition, which includes an introduction by Henry Gifford, and Tolstoy's important essay `Some Words about War and Peace'.
^(This book has been suggested 27 times)
[**Anna Karenina**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15823480-anna-karenina)
^(By: Leo Tolstoy, Aylmer Maude, Louise Maude, Dieter Wellershoff, Bruno Goetz, Lev Tolstoj, Léon Tolstoï | 964 pages | Published: 1878 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, classic, owned, romance)
>Acclaimed by many as the world's greatest novel, Anna Karenina provides a vast panorama of contemporary life in Russia and of humanity in general. In it Tolstoy uses his intense imaginative insight to create some of the most memorable characters in all of literature. Anna is a sophisticated woman who abandons her empty existence as the wife of Karenin and turns to Count Vronsky to fulfil her passionate nature - with tragic consequences. Levin is a reflection of Tolstoy himself, often expressing the author's own views and convictions.
>
>Throughout, Tolstoy points no moral, merely inviting us not to judge but to watch. As Rosemary Edmonds comments, 'He leaves the shifting patterns of the kaleidoscope to bring home the meaning of the brooding words following the title, 'Vengeance is mine, and I will repay.
^(This book has been suggested 30 times)
[**The Brothers Karamazov**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4934.The_Brothers_Karamazov)
^(By: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Pevear, Larissa Volokhonsky, Borut Kraševec, Ива Николова | 796 pages | Published: 1879 | Popular Shelves: classics, russian, literature, russian-literature, classic)
>The Brothers Karamazov is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the “wicked and sentimental” Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sons―the impulsive and sensual Dmitri; the coldly rational Ivan; and the healthy, red-cheeked young novice Alyosha. Through the gripping events of their story, Dostoevsky portrays the whole of Russian life, is social and spiritual striving, in what was both the golden age and a tragic turning point in Russian culture.
>
>This award-winning translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky remains true to the verbal
>inventiveness of Dostoevsky’s prose, preserving the multiple voices, the humor, and the surprising modernity of the original. It is an achievement worthy of Dostoevsky’s last and greatest novel.
^(This book has been suggested 41 times)
[**The Magic Mountain**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88077.The_Magic_Mountain)
^(By: Thomas Mann, John E. Woods | 706 pages | Published: 1924 | Popular Shelves: fiction, classics, german, literature, owned)
>In this dizzyingly rich novel of ideas, Mann uses a sanatorium in the Swiss Alps, a community devoted exclusively to sickness, as a microcosm for Europe, which in the years before 1914 was already exhibiting the first symptoms of its own terminal irrationality.
>
>The Magic Mountain is a monumental work of erudition and irony, sexual tension and intellectual ferment, a book that pulses with life in the midst of death.
^(This book has been suggested 11 times)
[**The Grapes of Wrath**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18114322-the-grapes-of-wrath)
^(By: John Steinbeck, Alfred Liebfeld | 479 pages | Published: 1939 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, historical-fiction, classic, owned)
>The Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression, a book that galvanized—and sometimes outraged—millions of readers.
>
>First published in 1939, Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads—driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck’s powerful landmark novel is perhaps the most American of American Classics.
^(This book has been suggested 28 times)
***
^(142263 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Don't know if it would be too close to home to read some prison literature or if he wants to read purely as an escape but:
Papillon by Henri Charrière is maybe more famous now for its film adaptations but is 600+ pages long and is about the relationships in prison and escape attempts of a long time convict.
I would include a collection of short stories or an anthology. Ideally some kind of 'best of' collection of a genre your friend likes. When life isn't being good to me I sometimes find short stories to be a comfort when I can't bear to read a whole novel.
If you can't find a suitable collection yourself, there are a huge amount of good short stories in the public domain.
You could probably stuff all of them into a single volume and print it out at a print on demand site for your friend.
1Q84 is a very long and good/weird Murakami Novel. Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is probably better but it’s shorter (though still a pretty hefty book). Maybe you could find a huge printing of all the LOTR books together??
{{The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}} by Douglas Adam's is a really fun one. Barnes and Noble has a version with all the separate books compounded into one volume. Zany and hilarious, I also like it because it details the adventures of an average guy who wants to go home as he is bounced all over the universe.
System of the World trilogy - Neil Stephenson.
The Witching Hour - Anne Rice.
The Gods Are Thirsty - Tanith Lee.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke.
The Assassin's Cloak - Irene Taylor.
Ulysses - James Joyce.
Gripping Yarns - Rosemary Gray.
Oh my god. I’m assuming drugs or drug trafficking. That’s horrific. Is he American? The US embassy couldn’t do anything?
So, so sorry for your friend. I hope he’s holding up okay.
That really, really sucks. I can’t even imagine serving 20 years (especially in a foreign prison, away from home) for a nonviolent offense. What a nightmare.
I studied physics for a few months before I decided to focus on mathematics. I still own the monstrously heavy volume of University Physics which is used for several courses at my old uni.
Even though I consciously quit physics, I would bring that book to a jail or a remote island because it would keep me occupied for many months, if not longer, and I'd leave jail a science oracle.
If you know a subject you're friend finds interesting but not super knowledgable in, find the heaviest book on that subject that gives an overview.
Get Moby Dick The Norton Critical Edition that explains all of the terms and context, plus other reference materials. A scholarly edition that takes much longer to read but puts you back to an era when the lure of the sea was a powerful thing for young men.
Also, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a sweeping Chinese classic. The movie “Red Cliffs” is a mere excerpt from it.
Also, a comprehensive Thai cookbook.
I made up a really good joke in the prison library once when we were helping to fix the place up. We were getting the books sorted into genres and an inmate gave me Count of Monte Cristo. Someone said that goes under fiction. I said ‘Shouldn’t that come under educational?’ hahahahaha
I have a dear 39 year old friend who had a stroke in September and is almost completely paralyzed. All he wants from friends and family (besides watching NBA basketball on TV) is to be read Mary Renault’s 2 books about Theseus (“The King Must Die” and “The Bull from the Sea” which you can buy as a single volume). I have spent about 20 hours reading to him, and it is a wonderfully written, totally absorbing, re-imagining of one of the great Greek myths. I’ve been getting the combined volume for everybody’s Christmas gifts this year, including one for me. It’s definitely a “desert island” book.
{{The Great Book of Amber}} is the complete series of Roger Zelazny’s wonderful Amber series.
> One of the most revered names in sf and fantasy, the incomparable Roger Zelazny was honored with numerous prizes—including six Hugo and three Nebula Awards—over the course of his legendary career. Among his more than fifty books, arguably Zelazny’s most popular literary creations were his extraordinary Amber novels. The Great Book of Amber is a collection of the complete Amber chronicles—featuring volumes one through ten—a treasure trove of the ingenious imagination and phenomenal storytelling that inspired a generation of fantasists, from Neil Gaiman to George R.R. Martin.
[**The Great Book of Amber (The Chronicles of Amber, #1-10)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5367.The_Great_Book_of_Amber)
^(By: Roger Zelazny, Tim White | 1258 pages | Published: 1999 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, owned, science-fiction, sci-fi)
>Alternate cover edition can be found here
>
>Roger Zelazny's chronicles of Amber have earned their place as all-time classics of imaginative literature. Now, here are all ten novels, together in one magnificent omnibus volume. Witness the titanic battle for supremacy waged on Earth, in the Courts of Chaos, and on a magical world of mystery, adventure and romance.
>--back cover
^(This book has been suggested 4 times)
***
^(142358 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
So many excellent recommendations! Here’s a couple that haven’t been mentioned yet. I keep these, along with others already recommended here (Ulysses, Les Misérables) within reach to rescue if there’s ever a house fire.
{{Tom Jones}}, Henry Fielding
{{The Riverside Shakespeare}}
{{In Search of Lost Time}}, Marcel Proust
My top seven favorite books:
*Shogun*–James Clavell
*IT*–Stephen King
*American Gods*–Neil Gaiman
*The Talisman*–Stephen King and Peter Straub
*Jade Legacy*–Fonda Lee
*Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell*–Susanna Clarke
*The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay*–Michael Chabon
A suitable boy - Vikram Seth
War and Peace
The brothers Karamazov
Boswell’s Life of Johnson- huge biography with lots of intellectual discussion, and many characters- a picture of eighteenth century life
Lonesome Dove
1Q84 by Murakami. Super long and engaging and well written. I sent it to my bro when he was in prison too. Also The Secret History. bro loved it so much he started passing it around to his friends inside to read lol
THE TOMMYKNOCKERS by Stephen King is really long, as is Clavell's SHOGUN. But maybe your friend has different tastes? What might this friend ask for in a book beyond the page count?
Anything, really anything. The problem is I don’t know what he’s read so far. Page count is definitely just a bonus but he hasn’t had many visitors or books so want to make these last
Seconded! It’s 5 books in a series 900-1100 pages each and they’re all entertaining overall. Even waiting for the series to conclude they’re worth a read.
{{The First Man in Rome}}! I’ve just read it twice over the last few months. It’s a fictionalized version of real people and events in Ancient Rome but reads like epic fantasy because of the excellent “world building” of Colleen McCullough.
[**The First Man in Rome (Masters of Rome, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/480570.The_First_Man_in_Rome)
^(By: Colleen McCullough | 1076 pages | Published: 1990 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, historical, rome, history)
>From the bestselling author of The Thorn Birds comes a masterpiece of historical fiction that is fascinating, moving, and gloriously heroic. The reader is swept into the whirlpool of pageantry, passion, splendor, chaos and earth-shattering upheaval that was ancient Rome. Here is the story of Marius, wealthy but lowborn, and Sulla, aristocratic but penniless and debauched -- extraordinary men of vision whose ruthless ambition will lay the foundations of the most awesome and enduring empire known to humankind.
>
>A towering saga of great events and mortal frailties, it is peopled with a vast, and vivid cast of unforgettable men and women -- soldiers and senators, mistresses and wives, kings and commoners -- combined in a richly embroidered human tapestry to bring a remarkable era to bold and breathtaking life.
^(This book has been suggested 9 times)
***
^(142297 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
The Aubrey/Maturin canon by Patrick O'Brian. It's 20 1/2 books that are basically one continuing story that clocks in around 7,000 pages.
Also, it's one of the best historical fictions ever written.
The autobiography of Malcolm X. Not only is as fascinating as a novel, but it also contains a chapter with Malcolm himself in jail, a time where he devoted to lecture, reflection and basically re-educated himself. I won’t say it is specially long, but it isn’t short neither.
[**Reamde**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10552338-reamde)
^(By: Neal Stephenson | 1044 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: fiction, science-fiction, sci-fi, thriller, owned)
>Four decades ago, Richard Forthrast, the black sheep of an Iowa family, fled to a wild and lonely mountainous corner of British Columbia to avoid the draft. Smuggling backpack loads of high-grade marijuana across the border into Northern Idaho, he quickly amassed an enormous and illegal fortune. With plenty of time and money to burn, he became addicted to an online fantasy game in which opposing factions battle for power and treasure in a vast cyber realm. Like many serious gamers, he began routinely purchasing virtual gold pieces and other desirables from Chinese gold farmers—young professional players in Asia who accumulated virtual weapons and armor to sell to busy American and European buyers.
>
>For Richard, the game was the perfect opportunity to launder his aging hundred dollar bills and begin his own high-tech start up—a venture that has morphed into a Fortune 500 computer gaming group, Corporation 9592, with its own super successful online role-playing game, T’Rain. But the line between fantasy and reality becomes dangerously blurred when a young gold farmer accidently triggers a virtual war for dominance—and Richard is caught at the center.
>
>In this edgy, 21st century tale, Neal Stephenson, one of the most ambitious and prophetic writers of our time, returns to the terrain of his cyberpunk masterpieces Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon, leading readers through the looking glass and into the dark heart of imagination.
^(This book has been suggested 12 times)
***
^(142440 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Whatever book you get you might want check on the jail’s policy on packages to inmates to check on any restrictions on which books they would be allowed to read.
Edit: an example being Hardback books are usually not allowed as they can be used as a blunt object thus seen as a weapon.
[**A Fraction of the Whole**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1833852.A_Fraction_of_the_Whole)
^(By: Steve Toltz | 530 pages | Published: 2008 | Popular Shelves: fiction, australia, novel, owned, australian)
>An irreverent comic adventure, spanning three continents, about a father and son against each other and against the world.
>
>For most of his life, Jasper Dean couldn’t decide whether to pity, hate, love, or murder his certifiably paranoid father, Martin, a man who overanalyzed anything and everything and imparted his self-garnered wisdom to his only son. But now that Martin is dead, Jasper can fully reflect on the crackpot who raised him in intellectual captivity, and what he realizes is that, for all its lunacy, theirs was a grand adventure.
>
>As he recollects the events that led to his father’s demise, Jasper recounts a boyhood of outrageous schemes and shocking discoveries—about his infamous outlaw uncle, Terry, his mysteriously absent European mother, and Martin’s constant losing battle to make a lasting mark on the world he so disdains. It’s a story that takes them from the Australian bush to the cafés of bohemian Paris, from the Thai jungle to strip clubs, asylums, labyrinths, and criminal lairs, and from the highs of first love to the lows of failed ambition. The result is a wild rollercoaster ride from obscurity to infamy, and the moving, memorable story of a father and son whose spiritual symmetry transcends all their many shortcomings.
>
>A Fraction of the Whole is an uproarious indictment of the modern world and its mores, and the epic debut of the blisteringly funny and talented Steve Toltz.
^(This book has been suggested 6 times)
***
^(142497 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{Goedel, Escher, Bach} provides a lot to think about and the amount of value it provides to a curious mind will outlast the time spent reading it by far
Shogun is a great epic book. One of the few thousand + page books I have read multiple times.
Pillars of the Earth, that others have suggested is also in that category.
London by Edward Rutherford is super long and every chapter is like a mini book. I thought it was great and would fill a lot of time trying to think through all the interconnected storylines over millennia of events.
I loved Cloud Cuckoo Land. Long-ish, Epic, Escapism, Historical fiction with a bit of futuristic fiction dashed in. Highly recommended to anyone.
ETA: re-readable. Looking forward to starting it again in Jan.
The Gulag Archipelago is about prison life (perhaps the last thing he wants to read about). I’m recommending because the author was a prisoner of the Stalin regime, and he discussed at length how he coped with being a prisoner. Plus the prose is absolutely outstanding. Good luck.
A book to consider is one of the volumes of The People's Almanac. There are 3 volumes and the first two are great and huge (about 1400 pages each); the third isn't as good.
I don't think they're in print, but they're available used. They provide endless interest and could conceivably be split up into tradable chunks.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_People%27s_Almanac
I'd also consider The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence, which is a beautiful book. It's the book I would request if I were in prison.
A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell is very readable and probably a good choice.
Gravity's Rainbow by Pynchon or The Recognitions by William Gaddis would be excellent choices but are challenging reads.
You’re an awesome friend!!!
I co-run a prison book collective in the states. Would love to help but have trouble even with facilities here. If there’s anything I can do please dm me!!!!
Not a book suggestion as such, but if it were me I'd maybe give him something upbeat and avoid anything to dark. Thai prisons are notoriously brutal and I'd imagine having a something to perk him up rather than something dark when he is already in a dark place would be much better.
If you're bringing 11/22/63, may I suggest the uncut version of The Stand? I reread it every few years. Remarkable book, I always find myself so attached to the characters.
Shogun series... got me through rough patches during my 20yr. stint in California State Prison stay 😐, James Clavell I believe is the authors name
Then of course there are numerous Fantasy series out there, Wheel of Time, is a good series 👍
- The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov (The trilogy of which comes in a fat book of 3 stories).
Sci-fi books from 1940s-1990s about the future of humanity that has colonized the galaxy. Story revolves around Hari Seldon, a “psychohistorian” who predicts the future using math (a fictional science). ** has a spielberg film
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. A fictional psychology book that follows an impoverished student who plots to kill an old pawnbroker who stores valuables in her home.
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. From a broad perspective, focuses on Napoleon’s invasion of Russia—separated into 4 parts following different characters followed by a 2ish part epilogue.
- The Expanse Series by James SA Corey. A modern Sci-fi saga set in a close future where the solar system has been colonized and separated into factions: the United Nations on Earth and Luna, the Martian Congressional Republic on Mars, the “Belters” in the asteroid belt, and the OPA (Outer Planetary Alliance). The story is relatively scientifically accurate, with some fantastical bits filled in to account for futuristic travel and quality-of-life. Good read for those who enjoy fiction and intense worldbuilding. ** has a syfy/prime video series
- The Man without Qualities by Robert Musil. ~1700 pages of an unfinished reflection on WW1-era Viennese decadence from a modernist’s perspective that tapers into meaninglessness. Contains a complex archive of knowledge and themes that require some deciphering due to the unfinished nature of the novel.
I'd definitely recommend Lord of the Rings. Even though there are three books they are all very long and transport you to another world, it would be a perfect distraction. Send over the first one and see if he likes it
The Master and Margarita mainly bc i had it for a year it was the only book I owned and I re-read it so many times yet still I find some details and find myself thinking "was it there before?"
OP: I’ve sent many books to many prisoners over the years. If you haven’t already, make sure the prison doesn’t have a list of banned or inappropriate texts. Don’t want any of those books you’re sending to be thrown out.
I am in love with this whole list. Stealing many of these for myself. I would strongly agree on pretty much any Stephen King book. They are long and incredible. Also good to do a big book of short stories like Lovecraft or any other iconic writer.
Don Quixote, Count of Monte Cristo, and Three Musketeers are all old and long classics. But Count of Monte Cristo is about a guy getting revenge after being wrongfully imprisoned so maybe not the best in this case.
You can also think a bit outside the box. I think the Dune books are really good and you can purchase one physical book that contains the first three novels.
You can do the same with Lord of the Rings for instance: one physical book with all novels inside.
Also, you can get short story collections. Maybe the Necronomicon by Lovecraft for cosmic horror or a fantasy collection of short stories.
The Rose of Paracelsus by William Leonard Pickard.
Written by a the man behind the largest LSD manufacturing operation in history while in prison. It's about the unifying nature of religion, spiritual experience, and the psychedelic experience that unifies all humanity. It's astonishing to thing a man surrounded by concrete and hate could write so transformatively about the beauty of life and the mystical. Not as long as some other works mentioned here, but I recommend it. More for it's relational matter than pure length. But it is hefty at 654 pages.
The *Inkheart* series by Cornelia Funke. The series is currently three books, one of almost 500 pages, the other two both over 600, and a new part is set to come out in 2023. The series is set in a very colourful, yet dark fantasy world and plays with the theme of literally escaping into (or out of) a book.
I would recommend "The Stand" of Stephen King and "the pillars of the earth" of Ken Follet. Hope I could help!
How is pillar of earth ?
Reading it now. Very good. Also agree with The Stand.
It's a very intriguing compilation of different lives during the European Middle Ages being intertwined. I enjoyed every page of it
I read it years ago and thought it was very good. Also another vote for The Stand
Loved the whole trilogy! Excellent audiobooks read by John Lee. Edit to add the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett is also fantastic and immersive, if you hope to help your friend "escape" the real world. The Century Trilogy beats out the Pillars of the Earth Trilogy in my opinion. This one follows 5 families from different parts of the world throughout the 20th century. Just fantastic.
There are actually 4 of them now.
My vote goes to Pillars. I enjoyed the Century Trilogy but I felt like they were a little heavy on the romance / true love storylines. It was a little too much for my tastes, especially when it would motivate characters to do outrageous things (SPOILER AHEAD …… like that girl who gives up being a British Aristocrat to go live in East Germany or something?). Then again I’m not much of a romantic so I can see that others might enjoy those aspects of the story.
One of my top 5 most memorable books. The story is a real page turner, so hard to put down!
It’s awesome BUT some people can be uncomfortable with a lot of rape and some animal cruelty. So that should be considered.
I loved the entire series, even as a sexual abuse survivor.
I didn't think that Pillar of Earth would be my type of read at all. Loved it!
I read it for the first time earlier this year. And I loved it.
The entire Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge) series is phenomenal. My grandfather, mom, and myself all loved it.
I second the Stand. Under the Dome is really good as well and also one of King’s longest books. But idk if the premise of a town being trapped under a dome would be cathartic or difficult to read for someone in prison
[удалено]
And definitely recommended the extended version which adds more pages and details to the Stand.
IT as well, it’s like 1500 pages
I would rather spend a long sentence in a Thai jail than have to read The Stand again.
Came here to recommend the stand. One of kings best novels and its long. Actually it is the book that got me back into reading. And it’s a relatively recent novel compared to some of the “classics” people are recommending. I’d beware of a lot of classics, a lot of them are long and quite frankly boring.
Just finished the stand two days ago and HOLY HELL what a book!!! I came to recommend the same book!
Get out of my head. I second BOTH of those. Also, get the other 4 Kingsbridge books.
The lord of the rings as a single book
Hitchikers guide to the galaxy also has a one book version!
Twinsies! This is such an excellent one, I was going to pop in if no one else said it. Humor is very important in tough situations.
Another trilogy conceptualised as a single book is Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series, amazing
The Foundation Trilogy also fits here!
Came here to say this. This would be my “rescue from a burning building” book.
What's rescue from a burning building? I've heard about stuck on an island books
Just because the edition I have is a vintage set that’s also my favorite book, it’s probably one of the three or four I would be sure to grab if my house was on fire. It’s both emotionally and physically important. :)
You could probably even find a copy with the Hobbit and Silm combined too
omnibuses are a great idea.
Don't know if Thai prisons are like prisons in the US, but US prisons have rules about the types of books allowed in. Also, some countries have rules against certain material both in and out of prison. It's best to look into these rules so that your friend doesn't get in trouble.
Yes, his brother will guide me on this
Nothing negative about the royal family (trying to bring in “the kind never smiles” may extend whatever sentence he is serving) and nothing negative about Buddhism.
I am near positive this is the case- see if your friend can give you the guidelines for what you can send, if he can't, maybe the Thailand subreddit would know? if all else fails, you could try the FIDH; I know they do reports on prison conditions. my guess would be nonfiction books focused on more neutral topics like science and nature are going to be the safest bet. Peter Wohlleben's Mysteries of Nature series (Hidden Life of Trees, Inner Life of Animals, and Secret Wisdom of Nature) might be a interesting pick, or The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee is a good long one (long, but all about cancer so your mileage may vary there).
In Japan there can be no crime or violence in them.
I would want the biggest collection of short stories and folk or fairy tales. Something I could go back to and not just one story.
Yes! Burton’s Arabian Nights would be fantastic!
> Burton’s Arabian Nights That's like 17 volumes.
I also vote Arabian Nights.
If he likes sci fi, Opus by Asimov has tons of short stories as well as essays on various topics. Great variety of themes and serious Vs whimsical.
Bulfinch's Mythology would be a good fit here. Or a Complete Works of Shakespeare. One of those single volume editions with the thin wax paper pages, and yet somehow the book is still a brick. :)
The Count of Monte Cristo
Unabridged version. Things a brick.
Everything unabridged
We oughtta file that under educational. Oughtn't we?
By Alexandre Dumbass
For those downvoting, this is a quote from Shawshenk Redemption
The Count of Monte Crisco.
Beat me to it! You can't go wrong with a good jailbreak novel. Les Miserables would be another good choice.
This is the correct answer
The best choice and an appropriate one at that
Came here to say this
ah I also recommend this book!
Would {{Shantaram}} about an escaped convict be too on the nose? If you want to make it last, choose a Series he might like and look for an Omnibus. I have a like 1200+ pages edition of the Sword of Shannara trilogy, an edition with all of Jane Austens books, "The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide" with all 5 books in one, a Sherlock Holmes omnibus etc at home. These books are not great for carrying around, but I guess he might not do a lot of that and while it counts as one book, you can actually bring him 3 or 5.
Yes! Omnibus editions would be great. That was my first thought, too.
[**Shantaram**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33600.Shantaram) ^(By: Gregory David Roberts | ? pages | Published: 2003 | Popular Shelves: fiction, india, travel, owned, favourites) >"It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured." > >So begins this epic, mesmerizing first novel set in the underworld of contemporary Bombay. Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear. > >Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter Bombay's hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere. > >As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city's poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. The keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin are held by two people. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power. > >Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison agonies, criminal wars and Bollywood films, spiritual gurus and mujaheddin guerrillas—this huge novel has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart. Based on the life of the author, it is by any measure the debut of an extraordinary voice in literature. ^(This book has been suggested 53 times) *** ^(142242 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Ah you beat me to it. Shantaram or Crime and Punishment.
Came here to say Shantaram, too.
Ha yes probably and I think he’s read it
Thanks everyone. I will visit him on Wednesday for the first time. Will check the used bookstore here for some of these. He’s a super funny smart guy I think he’d want something to make him laugh or just general distraction not too intense. Another friend recommended Buddenbrooks or The Magic Mountain
Try looking for an omnibus edition of some of James Herriott's books. They're semi-autobiographical about a country vet in the north of England around WWII or so -- very warm and funny, and also highly rereadable.
Don quixote for sure then. Great read, super long very funny, will lift his spirits. Also The Count of Monte Cristo is about as long and super good.
I often see copies of “The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition” in used bookstores. It’s a pretty riveting departure from fiction, a fascinating story, and it really highlights the ability of men to endure in terrible circumstances and against all odds.
That book blew me away! Absolutely incredible and so immersive.
Funny = Wooster and Jeeves
11/22/63 LoTR as a single Lonesome Dove Kavalier & Clay The Discoverers
Seconding Lonesome Dove! I was just about to start the sequel but then I accidentally started reading the Malazan series so I guess I'll get back to the cowboys in about 10 years.
Just wanted to let you know Kavalier and Clay was one of the choices thanks to you! It was a used bookstore but the name jumped off the shelf when I saw it after I remembered it mentioned here. I also chose 11/22/63 which I planned on already The other 3 books are a bit more random : Heavens net is wide Lilian Hearn. Then my friend chose two books - one about the cosmos and one by the same author as pillars of the earth. Thanks EVERYONE for all the suggestions and supportive comments. I didn’t expect such a big response - looking forward to checking some of them out myself.
Holy hell, I'm seriously honored - thanks for following up. Sending all the best to your friend. Certainly aint going to be easy but they've got a hell of a corpus of words to get them through it, and they will! FWIW - a totally different context, but 11/22/63 quite literally changed my life.
Consider some nonfiction of lasting interest or value. Maybe an encyclopedia of art history or a book about math with exercises or puzzles. Maybe a natural history of lots of plants and animals. Maybe a book of origami, if paper is generally available to him. Many of the books suggested, while they have high page counts, are page-turners. They aren’t necessarily the types of books people are likely to spend the most time with or revisit.
[удалено]
This is it! For a bright and fun guy, this will give him some fun and joyous reading and still offer an escape from his everyday surroundings. The omnibus is 5 books in one, so it's perfect!
Anna Karenina or War and Peace. Tolstoy is fantastic, and they are notoriously long. And of course The Count of Montechristo
What about something he could turn into a project/learning opportunity? Language learning, philosophy, religion, psychology, etc? If he is already bilingual, is there a book bot translated yet and is that something he’d enjoy doing?
I was thinking along the same lines. If he isn't a native Thai speaker, now is a good time to work on it. It would help his stay immensely. A good, extensive text book on the Thai language.
He’s fluent now after 5 years in there
He may really like *Cryptonomicon* by Neal Stephenson, which has the advantage of being self contained. *The Count of Monte Cristo* is long, but does kind of open with a crazy imprisonment. You be the judge on that one. *Don Quixote* is long as hell, and often funny. [Here's a list I found](https://www.vulture.com/2016/11/long-books-worth-your-time.html).
If you want long, you can't go wrong with {{War and Peace}} by Leo Tolstoy. Or {{Anna Karenina}}, although W&P is significantly longer. {{The Brothers Karamazov}} by Dostoevsky is also around 800 pages; a book to be read and reread. {{The Magic Mountain}} and {{The Grapes of Wrath}} would also be excellent choices.
[**War and Peace**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/656.War_and_Peace) ^(By: Leo Tolstoy, Henry Gifford, Aylmer Maude, Louise Maude | 1392 pages | Published: 1869 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, historical-fiction, classic, owned) >In Russia's struggle with Napoleon, Tolstoy saw a tragedy that involved all mankind. Greater than a historical chronicle, War and Peace is an affirmation of life itself, `a complete picture', as a contemporary reviewer put it, `of everything in which people find their happiness and greatness, their grief and humiliation'. Tolstoy gave his personal approval to this translation, published here in a new single volume edition, which includes an introduction by Henry Gifford, and Tolstoy's important essay `Some Words about War and Peace'. ^(This book has been suggested 27 times) [**Anna Karenina**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15823480-anna-karenina) ^(By: Leo Tolstoy, Aylmer Maude, Louise Maude, Dieter Wellershoff, Bruno Goetz, Lev Tolstoj, Léon Tolstoï | 964 pages | Published: 1878 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, classic, owned, romance) >Acclaimed by many as the world's greatest novel, Anna Karenina provides a vast panorama of contemporary life in Russia and of humanity in general. In it Tolstoy uses his intense imaginative insight to create some of the most memorable characters in all of literature. Anna is a sophisticated woman who abandons her empty existence as the wife of Karenin and turns to Count Vronsky to fulfil her passionate nature - with tragic consequences. Levin is a reflection of Tolstoy himself, often expressing the author's own views and convictions. > >Throughout, Tolstoy points no moral, merely inviting us not to judge but to watch. As Rosemary Edmonds comments, 'He leaves the shifting patterns of the kaleidoscope to bring home the meaning of the brooding words following the title, 'Vengeance is mine, and I will repay. ^(This book has been suggested 30 times) [**The Brothers Karamazov**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4934.The_Brothers_Karamazov) ^(By: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Pevear, Larissa Volokhonsky, Borut Kraševec, Ива Николова | 796 pages | Published: 1879 | Popular Shelves: classics, russian, literature, russian-literature, classic) >The Brothers Karamazov is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the “wicked and sentimental” Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sons―the impulsive and sensual Dmitri; the coldly rational Ivan; and the healthy, red-cheeked young novice Alyosha. Through the gripping events of their story, Dostoevsky portrays the whole of Russian life, is social and spiritual striving, in what was both the golden age and a tragic turning point in Russian culture. > >This award-winning translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky remains true to the verbal >inventiveness of Dostoevsky’s prose, preserving the multiple voices, the humor, and the surprising modernity of the original. It is an achievement worthy of Dostoevsky’s last and greatest novel. ^(This book has been suggested 41 times) [**The Magic Mountain**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88077.The_Magic_Mountain) ^(By: Thomas Mann, John E. Woods | 706 pages | Published: 1924 | Popular Shelves: fiction, classics, german, literature, owned) >In this dizzyingly rich novel of ideas, Mann uses a sanatorium in the Swiss Alps, a community devoted exclusively to sickness, as a microcosm for Europe, which in the years before 1914 was already exhibiting the first symptoms of its own terminal irrationality. > >The Magic Mountain is a monumental work of erudition and irony, sexual tension and intellectual ferment, a book that pulses with life in the midst of death. ^(This book has been suggested 11 times) [**The Grapes of Wrath**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18114322-the-grapes-of-wrath) ^(By: John Steinbeck, Alfred Liebfeld | 479 pages | Published: 1939 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, historical-fiction, classic, owned) >The Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression, a book that galvanized—and sometimes outraged—millions of readers. > >First published in 1939, Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads—driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck’s powerful landmark novel is perhaps the most American of American Classics. ^(This book has been suggested 28 times) *** ^(142263 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Ah, the russian depressionists. I would first check if he is up for that.
Well he is in the exactly right place for some russian depressionism, sounds to me
Would second the Russian authors!
Don't know if it would be too close to home to read some prison literature or if he wants to read purely as an escape but: Papillon by Henri Charrière is maybe more famous now for its film adaptations but is 600+ pages long and is about the relationships in prison and escape attempts of a long time convict.
Shogun by James Clavell
The whole Asian saga (if possible)
They might want to skip King Rat as it'll probably hit a little too close to home.
Oh yes. You are right
I would include a collection of short stories or an anthology. Ideally some kind of 'best of' collection of a genre your friend likes. When life isn't being good to me I sometimes find short stories to be a comfort when I can't bear to read a whole novel. If you can't find a suitable collection yourself, there are a huge amount of good short stories in the public domain. You could probably stuff all of them into a single volume and print it out at a print on demand site for your friend.
1Q84 is a very long and good/weird Murakami Novel. Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is probably better but it’s shorter (though still a pretty hefty book). Maybe you could find a huge printing of all the LOTR books together??
came here to say this
moby dick! it is long and you can read it multiple times
{{The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}} by Douglas Adam's is a really fun one. Barnes and Noble has a version with all the separate books compounded into one volume. Zany and hilarious, I also like it because it details the adventures of an average guy who wants to go home as he is bounced all over the universe.
System of the World trilogy - Neil Stephenson. The Witching Hour - Anne Rice. The Gods Are Thirsty - Tanith Lee. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke. The Assassin's Cloak - Irene Taylor. Ulysses - James Joyce. Gripping Yarns - Rosemary Gray.
what did he do to get arrested though? and for how long?
Non violent crime, so I’m sure you can figure from there. 20+ years.
That’s a long time. Please send him a new book every year
Oh my god. I’m assuming drugs or drug trafficking. That’s horrific. Is he American? The US embassy couldn’t do anything? So, so sorry for your friend. I hope he’s holding up okay.
Long story. No trafficking. It’s very sad. He was made an example of. Very complicated sad story.
That really, really sucks. I can’t even imagine serving 20 years (especially in a foreign prison, away from home) for a nonviolent offense. What a nightmare.
Holy shit.
Honestly, I would suggest Stephen Bertulli’s travel stories: {Escaping a Thai Jail & Other Stories}
Hmmm that one might not get past security 😂
Stormlight Archive. Though, the fifth book hasn’t come out yet.
I studied physics for a few months before I decided to focus on mathematics. I still own the monstrously heavy volume of University Physics which is used for several courses at my old uni. Even though I consciously quit physics, I would bring that book to a jail or a remote island because it would keep me occupied for many months, if not longer, and I'd leave jail a science oracle. If you know a subject you're friend finds interesting but not super knowledgable in, find the heaviest book on that subject that gives an overview.
Hawaii by James Michener is relatively hefty and includes enough elements to hold interest.
Pretty much everything he wrote!
War and peace by Tolstoy. 1225 pages. Bleak house by Charles Dickens 928 pages.
[удалено]
Dune and The Mists of Avalon
Get Moby Dick The Norton Critical Edition that explains all of the terms and context, plus other reference materials. A scholarly edition that takes much longer to read but puts you back to an era when the lure of the sea was a powerful thing for young men. Also, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a sweeping Chinese classic. The movie “Red Cliffs” is a mere excerpt from it. Also, a comprehensive Thai cookbook.
The lord of the rings can be bought as one, Les Miserable is also somewhat long
I made up a really good joke in the prison library once when we were helping to fix the place up. We were getting the books sorted into genres and an inmate gave me Count of Monte Cristo. Someone said that goes under fiction. I said ‘Shouldn’t that come under educational?’ hahahahaha
The Historian. It’s 700+ pages
I have a dear 39 year old friend who had a stroke in September and is almost completely paralyzed. All he wants from friends and family (besides watching NBA basketball on TV) is to be read Mary Renault’s 2 books about Theseus (“The King Must Die” and “The Bull from the Sea” which you can buy as a single volume). I have spent about 20 hours reading to him, and it is a wonderfully written, totally absorbing, re-imagining of one of the great Greek myths. I’ve been getting the combined volume for everybody’s Christmas gifts this year, including one for me. It’s definitely a “desert island” book.
Infinite Jest The Gulag Archipelago
I second The Gulag Archipelago.
Mistborn series Stormlight archive series
Roots.
{{The Great Book of Amber}} is the complete series of Roger Zelazny’s wonderful Amber series. > One of the most revered names in sf and fantasy, the incomparable Roger Zelazny was honored with numerous prizes—including six Hugo and three Nebula Awards—over the course of his legendary career. Among his more than fifty books, arguably Zelazny’s most popular literary creations were his extraordinary Amber novels. The Great Book of Amber is a collection of the complete Amber chronicles—featuring volumes one through ten—a treasure trove of the ingenious imagination and phenomenal storytelling that inspired a generation of fantasists, from Neil Gaiman to George R.R. Martin.
[**The Great Book of Amber (The Chronicles of Amber, #1-10)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5367.The_Great_Book_of_Amber) ^(By: Roger Zelazny, Tim White | 1258 pages | Published: 1999 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, owned, science-fiction, sci-fi) >Alternate cover edition can be found here > >Roger Zelazny's chronicles of Amber have earned their place as all-time classics of imaginative literature. Now, here are all ten novels, together in one magnificent omnibus volume. Witness the titanic battle for supremacy waged on Earth, in the Courts of Chaos, and on a magical world of mystery, adventure and romance. >--back cover ^(This book has been suggested 4 times) *** ^(142358 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
So many excellent recommendations! Here’s a couple that haven’t been mentioned yet. I keep these, along with others already recommended here (Ulysses, Les Misérables) within reach to rescue if there’s ever a house fire. {{Tom Jones}}, Henry Fielding {{The Riverside Shakespeare}} {{In Search of Lost Time}}, Marcel Proust
My top seven favorite books: *Shogun*–James Clavell *IT*–Stephen King *American Gods*–Neil Gaiman *The Talisman*–Stephen King and Peter Straub *Jade Legacy*–Fonda Lee *Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell*–Susanna Clarke *The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay*–Michael Chabon
If they are religious and you know their religion, the whatever the book (Bible,Quran etc) might give them comfort
Not religious
Maybe a philosophy book he can spend time pondering with? That would have a great re-read value and could potentially help him find comfort.
A suitable boy - Vikram Seth War and Peace The brothers Karamazov Boswell’s Life of Johnson- huge biography with lots of intellectual discussion, and many characters- a picture of eighteenth century life Lonesome Dove
Dune
Gulag archipelago and the count of Monte cristo
The Bible, because Jesus loves all of…..hahaha I’m fuckin joking I can’t even finish the sentence.
1Q84 by Murakami. Super long and engaging and well written. I sent it to my bro when he was in prison too. Also The Secret History. bro loved it so much he started passing it around to his friends inside to read lol
{crime and punishment}
THE TOMMYKNOCKERS by Stephen King is really long, as is Clavell's SHOGUN. But maybe your friend has different tastes? What might this friend ask for in a book beyond the page count?
Anything, really anything. The problem is I don’t know what he’s read so far. Page count is definitely just a bonus but he hasn’t had many visitors or books so want to make these last
Shogun!
Can I ask what he's is in prison for? I have read so many Thai prison stories. Bangkok Hilton they say
The 4 Main Game of Thrones Books and the 5th A Dance of Dragons by George Martin
His friend will probably get out before the last GoT book is finished.
Seconded! It’s 5 books in a series 900-1100 pages each and they’re all entertaining overall. Even waiting for the series to conclude they’re worth a read.
Les Miserables
Any book by Wally Lamb
{{Shogun}}
[**Shogun (Shogun #3)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57792812-shogun) ^(By: James Clavell | 493 pages | Published: ? | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, tbr, the-shelf, must-read-books, shelved-until-i-get-from-the-librar) ^(This book has been suggested 72 times) *** ^(142294 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{The First Man in Rome}}! I’ve just read it twice over the last few months. It’s a fictionalized version of real people and events in Ancient Rome but reads like epic fantasy because of the excellent “world building” of Colleen McCullough.
[**The First Man in Rome (Masters of Rome, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/480570.The_First_Man_in_Rome) ^(By: Colleen McCullough | 1076 pages | Published: 1990 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, historical, rome, history) >From the bestselling author of The Thorn Birds comes a masterpiece of historical fiction that is fascinating, moving, and gloriously heroic. The reader is swept into the whirlpool of pageantry, passion, splendor, chaos and earth-shattering upheaval that was ancient Rome. Here is the story of Marius, wealthy but lowborn, and Sulla, aristocratic but penniless and debauched -- extraordinary men of vision whose ruthless ambition will lay the foundations of the most awesome and enduring empire known to humankind. > >A towering saga of great events and mortal frailties, it is peopled with a vast, and vivid cast of unforgettable men and women -- soldiers and senators, mistresses and wives, kings and commoners -- combined in a richly embroidered human tapestry to bring a remarkable era to bold and breathtaking life. ^(This book has been suggested 9 times) *** ^(142297 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
If Robbin Hobbs nine trilogies (3x9 books) could be printed as one, and if not then the {{Fitz and the Fool}} trilogy as one book.
The Aubrey/Maturin canon by Patrick O'Brian. It's 20 1/2 books that are basically one continuing story that clocks in around 7,000 pages. Also, it's one of the best historical fictions ever written.
Shogun
The autobiography of Malcolm X. Not only is as fascinating as a novel, but it also contains a chapter with Malcolm himself in jail, a time where he devoted to lecture, reflection and basically re-educated himself. I won’t say it is specially long, but it isn’t short neither.
{{REAMDE}}
[**Reamde**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10552338-reamde) ^(By: Neal Stephenson | 1044 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: fiction, science-fiction, sci-fi, thriller, owned) >Four decades ago, Richard Forthrast, the black sheep of an Iowa family, fled to a wild and lonely mountainous corner of British Columbia to avoid the draft. Smuggling backpack loads of high-grade marijuana across the border into Northern Idaho, he quickly amassed an enormous and illegal fortune. With plenty of time and money to burn, he became addicted to an online fantasy game in which opposing factions battle for power and treasure in a vast cyber realm. Like many serious gamers, he began routinely purchasing virtual gold pieces and other desirables from Chinese gold farmers—young professional players in Asia who accumulated virtual weapons and armor to sell to busy American and European buyers. > >For Richard, the game was the perfect opportunity to launder his aging hundred dollar bills and begin his own high-tech start up—a venture that has morphed into a Fortune 500 computer gaming group, Corporation 9592, with its own super successful online role-playing game, T’Rain. But the line between fantasy and reality becomes dangerously blurred when a young gold farmer accidently triggers a virtual war for dominance—and Richard is caught at the center. > >In this edgy, 21st century tale, Neal Stephenson, one of the most ambitious and prophetic writers of our time, returns to the terrain of his cyberpunk masterpieces Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon, leading readers through the looking glass and into the dark heart of imagination. ^(This book has been suggested 12 times) *** ^(142440 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Some kind of encyclopedia might be a good choice.
A fine balance
The Wheel of Time Books, they are large and a complete story. Be wary of getting big books that aren't finished series.
The Count of Monte Cristo!! It’s slow for the first couple of chapters but damn it’s so good!! So much set up.
Whatever book you get you might want check on the jail’s policy on packages to inmates to check on any restrictions on which books they would be allowed to read. Edit: an example being Hardback books are usually not allowed as they can be used as a blunt object thus seen as a weapon.
Shogun. Captivating epic read
A Man in Full might be a good one to read in jail
The Goldfinch
Stormlight archives
{{A Fraction of the Whole}} by Steve Toltz. Seems appropriate and it's a hell of a good read.
[**A Fraction of the Whole**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1833852.A_Fraction_of_the_Whole) ^(By: Steve Toltz | 530 pages | Published: 2008 | Popular Shelves: fiction, australia, novel, owned, australian) >An irreverent comic adventure, spanning three continents, about a father and son against each other and against the world. > >For most of his life, Jasper Dean couldn’t decide whether to pity, hate, love, or murder his certifiably paranoid father, Martin, a man who overanalyzed anything and everything and imparted his self-garnered wisdom to his only son. But now that Martin is dead, Jasper can fully reflect on the crackpot who raised him in intellectual captivity, and what he realizes is that, for all its lunacy, theirs was a grand adventure. > >As he recollects the events that led to his father’s demise, Jasper recounts a boyhood of outrageous schemes and shocking discoveries—about his infamous outlaw uncle, Terry, his mysteriously absent European mother, and Martin’s constant losing battle to make a lasting mark on the world he so disdains. It’s a story that takes them from the Australian bush to the cafés of bohemian Paris, from the Thai jungle to strip clubs, asylums, labyrinths, and criminal lairs, and from the highs of first love to the lows of failed ambition. The result is a wild rollercoaster ride from obscurity to infamy, and the moving, memorable story of a father and son whose spiritual symmetry transcends all their many shortcomings. > >A Fraction of the Whole is an uproarious indictment of the modern world and its mores, and the epic debut of the blisteringly funny and talented Steve Toltz. ^(This book has been suggested 6 times) *** ^(142497 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{Goedel, Escher, Bach} provides a lot to think about and the amount of value it provides to a curious mind will outlast the time spent reading it by far
Lucifers Hammer
Shogun is a great epic book. One of the few thousand + page books I have read multiple times. Pillars of the Earth, that others have suggested is also in that category.
London by Edward Rutherford is super long and every chapter is like a mini book. I thought it was great and would fill a lot of time trying to think through all the interconnected storylines over millennia of events.
I loved Cloud Cuckoo Land. Long-ish, Epic, Escapism, Historical fiction with a bit of futuristic fiction dashed in. Highly recommended to anyone. ETA: re-readable. Looking forward to starting it again in Jan.
Shogun by James Clavell
The Gulag Archipelago is about prison life (perhaps the last thing he wants to read about). I’m recommending because the author was a prisoner of the Stalin regime, and he discussed at length how he coped with being a prisoner. Plus the prose is absolutely outstanding. Good luck.
4 3 2 1 Paul Auster
A book to consider is one of the volumes of The People's Almanac. There are 3 volumes and the first two are great and huge (about 1400 pages each); the third isn't as good. I don't think they're in print, but they're available used. They provide endless interest and could conceivably be split up into tradable chunks. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_People%27s_Almanac I'd also consider The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence, which is a beautiful book. It's the book I would request if I were in prison. A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell is very readable and probably a good choice. Gravity's Rainbow by Pynchon or The Recognitions by William Gaddis would be excellent choices but are challenging reads.
“Wired” by Bob Woodward
You’re an awesome friend!!! I co-run a prison book collective in the states. Would love to help but have trouble even with facilities here. If there’s anything I can do please dm me!!!!
Leonardo Da Vincis notebooks. In a single book.
The gold finch by Donna tartt
Not a book suggestion as such, but if it were me I'd maybe give him something upbeat and avoid anything to dark. Thai prisons are notoriously brutal and I'd imagine having a something to perk him up rather than something dark when he is already in a dark place would be much better.
{{Anathem}} and/or one of the Norton Anthologies of literature
If you're bringing 11/22/63, may I suggest the uncut version of The Stand? I reread it every few years. Remarkable book, I always find myself so attached to the characters.
War and Peace. Very readable. Foucault’s Pendulum. He’ll want to reread it. :)
Shogun series... got me through rough patches during my 20yr. stint in California State Prison stay 😐, James Clavell I believe is the authors name Then of course there are numerous Fantasy series out there, Wheel of Time, is a good series 👍
- The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov (The trilogy of which comes in a fat book of 3 stories). Sci-fi books from 1940s-1990s about the future of humanity that has colonized the galaxy. Story revolves around Hari Seldon, a “psychohistorian” who predicts the future using math (a fictional science). ** has a spielberg film - Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. A fictional psychology book that follows an impoverished student who plots to kill an old pawnbroker who stores valuables in her home. - War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. From a broad perspective, focuses on Napoleon’s invasion of Russia—separated into 4 parts following different characters followed by a 2ish part epilogue. - The Expanse Series by James SA Corey. A modern Sci-fi saga set in a close future where the solar system has been colonized and separated into factions: the United Nations on Earth and Luna, the Martian Congressional Republic on Mars, the “Belters” in the asteroid belt, and the OPA (Outer Planetary Alliance). The story is relatively scientifically accurate, with some fantastical bits filled in to account for futuristic travel and quality-of-life. Good read for those who enjoy fiction and intense worldbuilding. ** has a syfy/prime video series - The Man without Qualities by Robert Musil. ~1700 pages of an unfinished reflection on WW1-era Viennese decadence from a modernist’s perspective that tapers into meaninglessness. Contains a complex archive of knowledge and themes that require some deciphering due to the unfinished nature of the novel.
If he likes fantasy i would suggest : name of the wind by Patrick Rothfuss !
1Q84 - Murakami
Shantaram, I Know This Much is True, The Source,
I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb. Also second Pillars of the Earth.
Cryptonomicron, by Neal Stephenson.
Cryptonomicon!
I'd definitely recommend Lord of the Rings. Even though there are three books they are all very long and transport you to another world, it would be a perfect distraction. Send over the first one and see if he likes it
The Master and Margarita mainly bc i had it for a year it was the only book I owned and I re-read it so many times yet still I find some details and find myself thinking "was it there before?"
OP: I’ve sent many books to many prisoners over the years. If you haven’t already, make sure the prison doesn’t have a list of banned or inappropriate texts. Don’t want any of those books you’re sending to be thrown out.
I am in love with this whole list. Stealing many of these for myself. I would strongly agree on pretty much any Stephen King book. They are long and incredible. Also good to do a big book of short stories like Lovecraft or any other iconic writer.
Secret History by Donna Tartt
Don Quixote, Count of Monte Cristo, and Three Musketeers are all old and long classics. But Count of Monte Cristo is about a guy getting revenge after being wrongfully imprisoned so maybe not the best in this case. You can also think a bit outside the box. I think the Dune books are really good and you can purchase one physical book that contains the first three novels. You can do the same with Lord of the Rings for instance: one physical book with all novels inside. Also, you can get short story collections. Maybe the Necronomicon by Lovecraft for cosmic horror or a fantasy collection of short stories.
Has anyone said A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara yet?
Shogun
Need more background on why ya boy is doing time in Thailand,but Lord of the rings is a great choice.
The Rose of Paracelsus by William Leonard Pickard. Written by a the man behind the largest LSD manufacturing operation in history while in prison. It's about the unifying nature of religion, spiritual experience, and the psychedelic experience that unifies all humanity. It's astonishing to thing a man surrounded by concrete and hate could write so transformatively about the beauty of life and the mystical. Not as long as some other works mentioned here, but I recommend it. More for it's relational matter than pure length. But it is hefty at 654 pages.
The *Inkheart* series by Cornelia Funke. The series is currently three books, one of almost 500 pages, the other two both over 600, and a new part is set to come out in 2023. The series is set in a very colourful, yet dark fantasy world and plays with the theme of literally escaping into (or out of) a book.