The weight of Under the Dome

[Wayne C. Rogers]

I just got home after spending five weeks in the hospital due to an infected leg, and I found Under the Dome waiting for me in my accumulated mail. The first thing I noticed when looking at the book was how heavy it was. I know I'm still weak from the hospital stay, but boy this novel is heavy. I think I need a home care nurse to hold it for me while I read it. Has anyone else had problems with the book's weight? I don't remember having a problem with The Stand or It, but then I was a lot younger then.

[Moderator]

According to our postal scale, it weighs 3 lbs. 10.2 oz. Gives a whole new meaning to hefty tome. :smile2:

Hope you're doing better now. I can empathize with the feeling weak part.

[JohnDalglish]

Hi,

Am I right in recalling that the original manuscript weighed 19 pounds?

Long days and pleasant nights

[Moderator]

It did, but I couldn't remember if that included the shipping box.

[jenboxer77]

Boy, your not the only one who thought this book was heavy! I often lay on the couch or in bed and read and I had to sit up with it propped up on my legs. I would hold it from time to time, but it hurt my hands. Not complaining though, it was worth the workout. ;)

[mojomofo]

Holy cow, 19 pounds is more than BOTH my kids birth weight put together!

I know there is a joke in there somewhere about writing and birth, but darned if I can find it...:blush:


I didn't have a problem with the weight, but when I hold a book I usually do it one handed- not this time! I think my pinky might have collapsed under the pressure.:laugh:

[danie]

When reading UtD in bed, I find I get a stomach ache from balancing it on my tummy while I read! Not complaining, however!

[djbeilstein]

Man-Man––wasn't both IT and THE STAND longer then UNDER THE DOME –– or are they using heavier material to make books now?

[Patricia A]

Hope your feeling better soon Wayne. I'm not having too much trouble with the weight of the book but I'm living in fear of falling asleep reading it and bonking my self in the face with it.

[Jay P Lang]

That had to be on printed paper much bigger and heavier then a book. How many pages was the book before it was cut down to size? (and did you change formatting style or font size to make it smaller?)

[Haunted]

Gosh, I hope the infection is gone and that you are on the mend.

Reading UTD I have broken two fingernails trying to pick it up!

But there is something comforting for a bona fide fan when a book with such heft is read. So many pages, so many characters, so many scenarios, such heaven.:love:

[Sugar Marie]

:laugh: Whenever my honey would start "bothering" me while I was reading in bed, I'd threaten to throw my book at him. He always laughed, but the first few times that laugh was accompanied by a nervous glance at the immensity of the thing.

[Moderator]

That had to be on printed paper much bigger and heavier then a book. How many pages was the book before it was cut down to size? (and did you change formatting style or font size to make it smaller?)

The first draft was over 1,400 pages long. The publisher always uses a different font style/size than what the manuscript has been typed in and the manuscript is double-spaced, single-sided so that will cut down the final version by quite a few pages.

[Jay P Lang]

This may be a bit off topic but a manuscript sent in to a publisher should be double spaced, size 12 font, 1 inch borders all the way around, tabbed at the beginning of a paragraph? Being double spaced makes it two times as many pages though. They also don't want it justified right? Just some questions. Sorry if this doesn't fit here.

[ChristineB]

OK you guys made me get up from my seat and go weight my 1/1 copies, here are the results:

The Stand (Uncut): 3lb 11 3/4oz
It: 3lb 9 1/8oz
DT VII: 3lb 3 7/8oz

Comparing DT to the other books is a bit misleading since the Grant books have illustrations and are done with better paper.

So this one is in line with the other heave tomes of his. Feeling like it is heavier for me has to do with how long it has been since I read a book of this length it seems. :)

[karend3]

Your right bot books were longer, IT being the longest of them all, but it was heavy, could not put t down though.

[Wayne C. Rogers]

My Home Care nurse came over yesterday and took one look at Under the Dome, then suggested that I start working out with five-pound weights so that I could lift the darn thing. I was using it elevate my foot so that my leg would get better faster. Until I can lift it, I intend on getting some use out of the book. I know SK would agree wholeheartedly with me!

[Moses]

Hope your feeling better soon Wayne. I'm not having too much trouble with the weight of the book but I'm living in fear of falling asleep reading it and bonking my self in the face with it.

I regularly read myself to sleep and consequently have suffered mutliple bruises from whacking myself in the head from books like this. At one point, I swore I'd never buy another hardcover but I wasn't going to wait around for the paperback edition of this one so I'll just show off my facial bruises as a proud SK fan. :eyebrow:

~Mo

[davemelnick]

It definitely is the heaviest book that I have. Yet, it is absolutely worth it.:grinning:
Boy, your not the only one who thought this book was heavy! I often lay on the couch or in bed and read and I had to sit up with it propped up on my legs. I would hold it from time to time, but it hurt my hands. Not complaining though, it was worth the workout. ;)