Quote:
Originally Posted by Zetmolm
The conclusion that books are getting longer is unfounded. All that the survey says is that they are getting fatter.
My own impression, not supported by any research, is that the number of words per page in the average book has gone down a lot over the last few decades.
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I mostly read major publisher eBooks. But I think I would have noticed if the typical hardcover font size had increased by 20 percent. Then, thinking isn't proving. Here's someone on your side:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/201...nya-yanagihara
Quote:
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“I suspect they’re chunkier on the page than in their word count,” Bowler continues. By altering the spacing on the page, increasing the leading or using a slightly larger font, publishers can choose to give a novel some additional weight. “It may be that a genre audience wants a chunkier feel to the books they’re buying.”
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With the kind of major publisher non-fiction I tend to read, the notes and bibliography may be increasing rather than the core text. I can't remember right now which is which, but in the last month I got to the end of one book when the Kindle hit 56 percent, and another at 55 percent.
My gut feeling is that the narrative text of these kinds of books increased between the 1950's and 1970's but may be gone down since then. If so, this is a good example of the peak:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Brok.../dp/0394720245
Still no eBook
