Rules:
1. Anything 400 pages or more qualifies as a big book.
2. The challenge runs from the Friday of Memorial Day weekend (May 22 this year) through Labor Day (September 7 this year).
3. Choose one or two or however many big books you want as your goal. Wait, did you get that? You only need to read 1 book with 400+ pages this summer to participate! (though you are welcome to read more, if you want).
4. If you are a blogger or YouTuber and want to share your Big Book Summer plans, book reviews, or wrap-ups, you can add your link(s) to the links list in the challenge post so others can find you (it will remain open until September 30). If you post a YouTube video for Big Book Summer, please tag Melinda (@awebofstories) and I (@SueJacksonDE), so we can visit and share it with others.
5. Join the 2026 Big Book Summer Goodreads group to enjoy Big Book discussions all summer long! Or if you prefer, join the Big Book Summer Storygraph group and/or Big Book Summer Storygraph Challenge
6. For chatting on other social media platforms, use #BigBookSummer
7. What kind of books "count"? All kinds! Middle-grade, YA, graphic novels, classics, all genres, all types as long as they are at least 400 pages. Yes, e-books and audio books count, too--just check online for the number of pages in the print edition.
I am currently reading The Sapphire Child (515) by Janet Macleod Trotter and plan on reading All This and More by Peng Shepherd (472) sometime this month. Later in the summer I plan on reading Joseph Finder's The Oligarch's Daughter (440), Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards (412), The Calamity by Kathryn Stockett (640). Last month I picked up an 840 page fantasy novel The Priory of the Orange Tree. I don’t know if I will have time to finish the novel though. The Daughters of Shandong (400) and The Young Will Remember (448) both written by Eve Chung are also on my tbr list.
