Book length

[jgaiser]

I'm trudging through Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 right now. Count Pages plugin for Calibre reports it being a bit over 3000 pages. I'm actually enjoying the book, but I've been reading it off and on for ages and am only about 7% into it, so it's a bit depressing. That said, it's an enjoyable non-fiction and I'll just keep trudging.

I tend to not read short stories and novellas. I like my fiction in the 400 page range.

[BeccaPrice]

My problem with books that are too long (for me) is that, by the time I've reached the end, I've forgotten a lot of what the beginning was. but then, I have a compromised short-term memory from a (relatively minor) closed head injury.

This didn't happen with Name of the Wind, but I was listening to that in audio on a long trip down to Florida, so the listening time was compressed into just a few days. I rarely get a chance to read/listen that intensely.

[James_Wilde]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

I'd have to be highly motivated to read a 1000 page book. I read reasonably fast, so it is not the time to finish, but the doubt that a book can have 1000 pages of quality entertaining writing. Of course I am into plots that move along and not humongous descriptions and info dumps and referrals back to previous books etc. After two paragraphs of non story related stuff I tend to zone out.

Helen

Would you read a series of four books at 250 pages each?

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by James_Wilde

Would you read a series of four books at 250 pages each?

Definitely. Not quite the same as breaking a long book into 4 equal chunks though. A really good series IMO the books can be read standalone and there is a conclusion to each book. If God forbid, the series ends at that point you may wish for more but you aren't left hanging.

When I first got my ereader and found I could get whole series I read a lot of series books in a row. Unfortunately I burnt out on most after book 10 approximately so I changed my reading habits.

If I broke a 1000 page book into 4 equal parts I would most likely be left hanging, in which case I would continue on or abandon the book. And I hate abandoning a book unless it offends me or is total drek.

I read a lot right now, probably 1200 pages a week or more. Even so I find the thought of reading massive tomes a bit appalling or intimidating.

I am reading a Nero Wolfe book right now which by todays standards would be considered a novella. But I have never felt let down by a Nero Wolfe book. I also completed a John Lescroart novel of 640 pages which I had been reading for 2 days. Enjoyed both thoroughly.

I guess my point is, if I even have one, is who would I be fooling by breaking a big book into 4 parts. Would it make it a better book if I read one part a day? Would I breath a big sigh of relief as I completed each segment. Not likely.

helen

[Quexos]

I can actually be attracted to long books. I've fully read Stephen King's the Stand uncut, Tolkien's The lord of the Rings, Jenning's Raptor etc ... It takes me time to finish those but I don't shy away from a book just cause it's long to read.

Originally Posted by stop__dreaming

Anyone else get 'scared' upon a book that is a certain length?

I don't know what it is, but whenever I see a novel that is over 600p long, I tend to shy away. Strangely enough, Harry Potter on the other hand is a different story.

I recently attempted Under The Dome by Stephen King and got around 200p in and stopped. I enjoy King's writing, and the plot drew me in, but at over 1000p, my mind got the best of me as the story wasn't keeping me from staying with it.

Game of Thrones is another one; stuck with it to the end but ultimately, I didn't end up enjoying it or believing the hype.

Interested to know what everyone elses opinions are

[weltonsfancy]

Originally Posted by weltonsfancy

Yep! Though I do wish I could tell before I download an ebook roughly how many pages it is.

Thanks to Pookeysgirl, Pidgeon92, DustyDisks,Speakingtohe, & HarryT for the info. Now I only have myself to blame for those really, really short stories!

[Rumpelteazer]

If I'm sure I'm going to like a book I don't mind it if it's long. If I'm not sure I'm going to like it I'm hesitant starting it. For instance, I've been putting off A Feast of Crows by George R.R. Martin for ages because a lot of people say it's a long long read.

If I start to burn out a bit when reading a long book I take a break by reading something complete different which is usually quick and easy.

[BearMountainBooks]

I prefer medium books. I'll read a short story or novella once in a while, but I generally don't go looking for them. I very much avoid books that are over 450 pages. Seriously. I don't want that kind of time commitment. I read them when I was younger, but I loathe the idea now. It's crazy, I know. I recently got a print book that was 3 books in one at the library. I couldn't read it. Yes, I know. It was 3 separate books (fantasy series). I started it, but it wasn't compelling enough that I could see myself reading that much material about the characters...

I seem to be geared to 250 to 350 pages. I know about how long it will take and can set aside that amount of time to read in one or two sittings.

[crich70]

As far as book length I think it often runs along the same lines of what Mozart (Tom Hulce) said in the movie 'Amadeus' when someone said there were too many notes in a piece of his music. He said, "I have used just as many as were needed, neither more nor less" and I think the same applies to the number of pages in a book. The author uses that number of pages which are necessary to tell his/her story, neither more nor less than that. Besides with a longer story you get to see a writer's craft at its best I think. Anyone could throw together a short story or a novella but to put together a 600 + page novel that keeps its focus and develops its story properly is another thing. And besides as mentioned already with ebook tech. you don't notice the additional heft of a longer book. It's not unwhieldy to carry due to being too thick either. The modern ereader makes all books equal in that way I think.

[Edward M. Grant]

With rare exceptions ('The Stand' being one of them) life's too short for thousand page doorstops. I'd rather read four 40-60,000 word novels than one 200-250,000.

[Laridae]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

Actually my ereader has helped me with my fear of long books. I never wanted to tackle them because they were intimidating and the print was too small. But now, I can make the print any size I want and I don't have the physical heft to intimidate me.

And on a related point; with variable font, who knows How long a book is anymore on an e-reader? It kind of takes away that whole concern.

There are no page numbers, and unless I keep referring back to the ToC, I really have no idea how far along I am at any particular time. As long as I'm enjoying the story I just keep goin' along for the ride, no matter how long it is - until, all to soon, it's over.

[caleb72]

Hmmmm - I shouldn't be concerned because book length certainly has no bearing on whether I BUY a book or not.

However, I tend to find that I a bunch of reading commitments that sometimes get in the way of me picking that huge tome that I purchased - think Neal Stephenson, Peter Hamilton, Patrick Rothfuss etc..

I'm not as good at reading multiple books in parallel otherwise I'd read the bigger books in the background while powering through some of the books I feel the need to complete in a specific timeframe. I have promised myself that I'm going to tackle some of my bigger books next year.

Of course, I could always dedicate a lot more time to reading and the size of a book becomes less of a factor. Sounds like infallible reasoning to me.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Laridae

And on a related point; with variable font, who knows How long a book is anymore on an e-reader? It kind of takes away that whole concern.

There are no page numbers, and unless I keep referring back to the ToC, I really have no idea how far along I am at any particular time. As long as I'm enjoying the story I just keep goin' along for the ride, no matter how long it is - until, all to soon, it's over.

Rather odd of you to say. Reflow and font size don't change word count or your reading speed, and whether they call it a page number or not, every ereader has some form of progess indicator.

[haydnfan]

I read long novels and short novels, but the frequency with which I read a certain sized novel is inversely proportional to the size of the novel. I read many more short novels than I do long ones. It's easier to get cozy with long novels or series in the summer, right now I'm too busy for that kind of commitment.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by ApK

Rather odd of you to say. Reflow and font size don't change word count or your reading speed, and whether they call it a page number or not, every ereader has some form of progess indicator.

the progress indicator is not visible while reading on my PEz (Adobe). I have to bring up a menu to see anything available , other than the book.