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Books That Took Years to Write

To make you feel better about your own writing speed, here are 40 books it took authors anywhere from 2 to 10 to 17 to 50 years to complete.
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The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
The Hobbit
1
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Golden Compass (Philip Pullman)
The Golden Compass
2
Philip Pullman
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
3
F. Scott Fitzgerald
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird
4
Harper Lee
Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
Gone Girl
5
Gillian Flynn
The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
The Time Traveler's Wife
6
Audrey Niffenegger
Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
Lord of the Flies
7
William Golding
J K Rowling the Philosopher's Stone
J K Rowling the Philosopher's Stone
8
Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
Gone With the Wind
9
Margaret Mitchell
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
10
J.D. Salinger
Les Mis (Victor Hugo)
Les Mis
11
Victor Hugo
The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R.Tolkien)
The Lord of the Rings
12
J.R.R.Tolkien
Finnegans Wake (James Joyce)
Finnegans Wake
13
James Joyce
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Diaz)
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
14
Junot Diaz
A Song Flung Up to Heaven (Maya Angelou - 2002)
A Song Flung Up to Heaven
15
Maya Angelou - 2002
No Great Mischief (Alistair MacLeod)
No Great Mischief
16
Alistair MacLeod
Sphere (Michael Crichton)
Sphere
17
Michael Crichton
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol. 1-3 (Edward Gibbon)
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol. 1-3
18
Edward Gibbon
Cantos
Cantos
19
Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton)
Jurassic Park
20
Michael Crichton
The Magicians (Lev Grossman)
The Magicians
21
Lev Grossman
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
22
C.S. Lewis
A Game of Thrones (George R.R. Martin)
A Game of Thrones
23
George R.R. Martin
A Clash of Kings (George R.R. Martin)
A Clash of Kings
24
George R.R. Martin
A Storm of Swords (George R.R. Martin)
A Storm of Swords
25
George R.R. Martin
A Feast for Crows (George R.R. Martin)
A Feast for Crows
26
George R.R. Martin
A Dance With Dragons (George R.R. Martin)
A Dance With Dragons
27
George R.R. Martin
Dune (Frank Herbert)
Dune
28
Frank Herbert
The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
The Secret History
29
Donna Tartt
The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
The Pillars of the Earth
30
Ken Follett
The Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss)
The Name of the Wind
31
Patrick Rothfuss
The Little Friend (Donna Tartt)
The Little Friend
32
Donna Tartt
The Wise Man's Fear (Patrick Rothfuss)
The Wise Man's Fear
33
Patrick Rothfuss
The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt)
The Goldfinch
34
Donna Tartt
Stiltsville (Susanna Daniel)
Stiltsville
35
Susanna Daniel
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
War and Peace
36
Leo Tolstoy
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovtich (Alexander Solzhenitsyn)
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovtich
37
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Ulysses (James Joyce)
Ulysses
38
James Joyce
Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides)
Middlesex
39
Jeffrey Eugenides
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
40
Joseph Heller
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