So I just finished reading the third (and final) book in Neal Stephenson's
Baroque Cycle series.. I must say, it was quite the 3000 page ride. Although
it took a good few hundred pages to get sucked in, I really ended up loving
it. The storyline was so decadent, so epic, it just blew me away. I feel like 
I learned a lot (though am constantly questioning what was historically 
accurate and what was not) from it, too. Anyway, I'll quit rambling about 
it, but if you're looking for a long series of books to read, well err, go for it.