splitting books
 

Has there ever been a book that was too large and had to be split into two? Novels such as Stephen Kings The Stand or the big Harry Potter novels should be split up. Sometimes it can just be too heavy to hold such a weighty book for long periods of time. Is there a rule that books cannot be divided? Do you guys think the publishers should start doing this?

IIRC, "Lord of the Rings" was originally one huge novel that was split into three novels by the publisher. (Tolkien never intended for it to be a trilogy.)

Clive Barker's "Imajica" was split into two MMPBs at one point (it was initially released as a single hardcover, and then a single MMPB) because the original MMPB was something like 900 pages of very small type that many people had trouble reading.

Neal Stephenson's Baroque Trilogy, originally released as three hardcovers and then three TPBs, was split into something like eight MMPBs when it was released in that format.

And I think there was at least one long book that was split into a double volume by a specialty publisher for a slipcased limited edition. (Can't recall what the book was at the moment. It might've been a King book.)

"And I think there was at least one long book that was split into a double volume by a specialty publisher for a slipcased limited edition. (Can't recall what the book was at the moment. It might've been a King book.)"

That would be "The Talisman" by King and Straub

It used to happen all the time, before bookbinding technology reached the point where you could have more than a few hundred pages to a volume. If you ever see a novel from the 19th Century or earlier that's divided into "books" or "parts", it's because it was originally published in multiple volumes.

I like the books being together instead of split. It gives me a great sense of accomplishment after finishing such a huge one!