When I go to the bookstore I pick my books out by how thick they are and then read the secription to see if I might be interested.  Would you all be so kind as to give me recommenations of your favorite HUGE books?  I am NOT a fan of courtrooms dramas or any book that seems like all the other books (same old story, different characters).  I enjoy fiction and non fiction.  So of my favorites are Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, Tristan Egolf's Lord of the Barnyard and anything by John Irving or Thomas Wolfe.  Extra points if its THICK and has a great strong hero (John Galt being my first love).  Thanks!

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers, and the Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkein was a good book at 1008 pages.  Stephen King also has a few long books out if you like his work.  It has 1138 pages in it, The Stand has 1149 pages in it and Salem's Lot has 588 pages. 

I also came across this book on this site but I have not read it yet so I don't know how it is.  Some people on this site raved about it and decided to give it a try.  It's called And Ladies Of The Club by Helen Hooven Sanymyer at 1,176 pages.

Give me more because you are certainly on the right track.  I read all of LOTR when I was a kid and have also read all King (except for the brand new one), AND strangley enough I just jotted down "And the Ladies Club" on my notepad here about 5 minutes ago!

you might want to check out the Sun Sword series by Michelle West.  it is six thick books, i believe 600+ pages each.  i enjoyed it, though it took quiet a while to read!  the first one is "The Broken Crown".

By all means read Gone With The Wind.   Scarlett O'Hara is the best character ever written, in my opinion.  Strong as hell, but also smart, loyal, selfish, crabby, fierce, funny, etc.   I couldn't put it down, and when I finished it I was so upset because I wanted MORE!!  

How about the Outlander series?  I know there's a discussion thread on this board about it.  It's a great series - each of the books - I believe we're up to six - are around 1000 pages.  Fabulous, unique, intense story (historical fiction with a strong romantic element) and a GREAT strong hero.   Jamie Fraser is probably my favorite hero of all time.

I'm currently listening my way through The Historian and there is always Harry Potter.

re Gone with the Wind & wanting more: great book, one of the best of the best; & there was a sequel finally written this entitled Scarlett & I finally read it & it was superb as well. I didn't read it when it first came out cuz I didn't think anyone could do as good a job as the 1st book but I was delighted to find out that they did!

The Terror by Dan Simmons.  Its about a British expedition that gets trapped in the arctic.  Its about 700 pages long and it has some really good heroes & villains.  Also, I really enjoyed Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susannah Clarke.  Its not your typical fantasy. 

If you're at all interested in fantasy epics, here's three series of thick books to try:

The Wheel of Time series, by Robert Jordan

The Sword of Truth series, by Terry Goodkind

The Song of Fire and Ice series, by George Martin

If fantasy isn't your thing, some of the other favorite thick books I've read are the historical fiction works of James Michener.  I haven't read them all, but the ones I have read are all great.  Centennial and Chesapeake are stand-outs for me personally.  Each one is at least 1000 pages.

Another great THICK book of historical fiction (abt 1400 pages) is Sacajawea by Anna L. Waldo.  And if you're looking for strong characters, Sacajawea turns out to be a very well developed, strong character.  Looks like the book's available for order here on PBS:  http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/details/9780380842933-Sacajawea+Lewis+Clark+Expedition

The Moon in the Water and The Chains of Fate (the sequel) by Pamela Belle are two of my favorite historical fiction books. They take place during the English Civil War (1630s?) and have a great hero and heroine. (And they're nice and thick.)

I also adore The Thorn Birds, if you haven't read that one yet. And The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher.

The first one that comes to mind is Pillars of the Earth, maybe because I'm listening to the sequel on cd and I think it's good too.

I'm reading Lonesome Dove right now which is excellent, I'm halfway through....it's a heffer and has some strong hero types in it.

One of my all-time favorites is the unabridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo.  My version was something like 1600 pages and I was completely engrossed throughout the entire book.

I'll second Lonesome Dove - 900+ pages, great characters.

Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. It has a great first line, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way"

The Shadow of the Wind by Zafon - not terribly long, around 500 pages but one that really captured my attention

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond - if you are the least bit interested in how we have evolved to become the people we are today you should give this one a try.

The Devil in the White City or Thunderstruck by Erik Larsen. Both are great books. I preferred Thunderstruck - I found Marconi to be a very intriguing figure however, The Devil in the White City has received more favorable reviews.

Some of my absolute favorite thick books:

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. This is on the "1001 books to read before you die" list. There are so many layers to this book, it is absolutely amazing.

I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb. This one has a book within a book.

Try Roots by Alex Haley

April posted both of the books I was going to suggest. I read Pillars of the Earth and it was wonderful, and I have Lonesome Dove on my TBR pile.

I am currently reading Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati.

Edited to add link.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.  Nice thick book, great heroine; as well as many other memorable characters.   

i second the Outlander series... I have recommended it to everyone I know, and no one has ever walked away disappointed!  My books have been read so much they are falling apart : (  I read the first one and I was sucked in to the whole story... I even took a day or two from work so i could devote the entire day to read!!!

I was also going to say the Outlander series. The first is 800 and the rest are about the same.

ETA: I ordered Gone with the Wind and it's "lost in the mail!" So sad...I don't want to order it again in case it comes.

I agree wholeheartedly with Pillars of the Earth and Lonsome Dove, both long and great.

I also love Richard Russo -- Empire Falls and Bridge of Sighs.  Both are fantastic for his great knack for developing characters (not just the protagonists, but everyone is very well done).  Empire Falls won the pulitzer and Bridge of Sighs is his latest -- I just finished it a few days ago and was so sorry to see it end.

A few others (oldies but goodies):  The Shellseekers by Rosemond Pilcher.  I love that book but have been very disapointed in everything else I've read by her (not nearly as long or as well developed, IMHO).  Shogun by James Clavell and The Thorn Birds by Colleen MacCullough.

- Tracy

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides tops 500 pages and it is phenomenal.  Great protagonist.  An amazing read.

Anna Karenina (Pevear traslation)- Tolstoy

The Poisonwood Bible - Kingsolver

The Lymond Chronicles - Dunnett