This Week’s Topic:
I LIKE BIG BOOKS - NOPE!
This topic is back in my head after reading a review, where a blogger talked about how the book could have been 100+ pages shorter. It was funny, because they were talking about an author who is notorious for writing long books that always can be shorter. I mean are we back in Victorian times where they were being paid per word?
But seriously, I have a list of authors, who are often called out for their overly long books, YET, we keep reading them! I seem to be more forgiving when it comes to fantasy books, but when a contemporary author gets into those higher page counts, I tend to cut them off. I have finished some book and actually been mad about the author wasting my time. If you are going to make your book really long, every page better count, you know.
If you look at my weekly reading, you will see that I start a new book just about every day. It's not about reading X number of books for me though. It about keeping myself entertained. Those who know me are well acquainted with my love for endings. When I reading a long book it takes way too long to get to that ending. Maybe I have no patience, but those final chapters are why I do it (unless the author shanks the ending, but that's a whole different topic).
I get that sometimes I can get wrapped up in a book, be swept away by the story, and not even notice how long the book is, but that's not the norm for me. I like a quick read. I want to meet as many characters as possible and to read as many stories as possible, and that's not easy to accomplish reading books with 700 - 1000 page counts.
If you love big books - more power to you, but they are just not for me.
Now it's your turn!
Do you like big books?
Let us know in the comments!
Let us know in the comments!
I don't mind reading long books, but I usually break them up and read other books in between. And right now I'm reading so slowly that long books aren't appealing to me!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I am reading slower than I used to as well. I don't know if it's my new lock-down lifestyle with no commute that has me moving a bit slower, but I know my page rate has gone down.
DeleteSuch a great topic! As someone who reads a book each week, longer books usually slow me down too much. That being said, if there is a really long book that I know I'll want to read, I try to read a couple shorter ones first. That way I can still stay on track with my goal.
ReplyDeleteAre you a Stephen King reader? If you read his book, they are LONG. I actually plan my weekly TBR taking page count into consideration. I will sometimes read a (bit) longer book, but I balance it out with a shorter book.
DeleteI know some authors who right ridiculously long books, both fantasy and romance, but I'm not often a fan. There are certain authors I know will be worth it, but if it's a long book I need it in ebook form because I have no way of knowing how long the book is until I start reading and then I only notice it dragging if it's not well written. I don't often finish a book in a day any more and so if the story feels draggy that's how I begin to notice the book is too long and that works for me. Some authors really need better editors though, they don't all need to be big enough to knock someone out with.
ReplyDeleteThere is one romance author in particular, who I will never read again. I read one of her most popular books, and it was long. There was so much filler that didn't really need to be there too. A nope for me. I have read short books that drag. Usually signals a pacing issue for me. Yeah, editors are a great thing.
DeleteI'm the same way - I really shy away from long books. When I first got back into reading a few years ago, I did read some longer ones and it didn't bother me as much. But now I've discovered so many great authors and books and I can't fathom spending say an entire week reading only one book.
ReplyDeleteMy desire to read all the books probably fuels this a bit too. With only so much time, I have to choose wisely with how I want to use it. Same. I could not dream of reading the same book for several days. I read about 5 books a week, and it's a good pace for me.
DeleteI'm kind of spilt on this one. If it's an author I love, I don't mind a big book. But I am trying to read books that have been on my Kindle for a long time and I've been trying to pick the shorter ones to read first. I really love for them to be under 300 pages.
ReplyDeleteMy sweet spot is 300 - 400 pages. Which I think it fair for a contemporary book. One of the authors I elude to up there has contemporary romance books with 700+ page counts. That is insane!
DeleteLike you I think it depends on the author and the story. I feel like even some fantasy books could be shaved down a tad. I remember reading some where things were dragging out sooooo long and other times I read ones where the words are flying off the page and I'm eating it up. So really I guess it just depends on the story and how the author handles it.
ReplyDeleteI have read some fantasy books that could be shaved (*cough* SJM *cough*). I think an author who paces their book well can get away with it being longer for me. I read from a kindle, so I am not seeing the size of the book, but bad pacing or too much extra filler can make it seem even longer than it is.
DeleteHARD same, Sam! I just think it too daunting when I see a book that is anywhere above 500, honestly. If it is a series finale or something, I can handle a *little* longer, but not generally. I think that 300-400 is the sweet spot- 300ish for contemporary, nearer to 400 for sci-fi/fantasy. Otherwise I am just not likely to even start the thing! (One funny example is when I requested Wanderers by Chuck Wendig- without realizing it was 800 pages! Luckily, it was really good and I didn;t mind the length at all, but I was scared hah.)
ReplyDeleteI am thinking of certain authors when you are talking about writers who could use an editor and YEP. I have quit a few popular series because I just could not anymore. Just because you're allowed to drone on for 1000 pages doesn't mean you SHOULD!
*high five* we have the same sweet spot. I give a side-eye to contemporaries creeping over 400 pages. You're not building a whole world now. Wow! You knew it was 800 and picked it up. I give you a gold star (and am happy it was good). I look back and am impressed I read certain books. I didn't use to look at page count so much, and they were ebooks, so I had no clue, but I always felt they could be edited a bit more. I am know for being terse <-- that's a quote, and even in my job, we talk about "word economy". I have been swept away, at times, but it's more the exception than the norm when it comes to big books.
DeleteAfter reading your blog for so long, your thoughts on this are definitely no surprise. LOL! I don't care how long a book is as long as I'm engrossed in the story. Endings are usually my favorites, too, but I'm always sad to see them when I'm really loving a story. I just don't want it to be over! LOL!
ReplyDeleteThere are times when I would love to stay in a world, but I do want resolution of whatever is going on for the majority of the story, you know?
DeleteOther than the occasional fantasy I don't really need my books to be super long either. I love a good 300 page book more or less- that's a perfect length for me, generally.
ReplyDeleteYou are making me feel so generous. My sweet spot is 300 - 400.
DeleteI feel the same way, Sam! Those big books intimidate me! I think that blogging has opened my eyes to this. Maybe the fact that there are so many other books to add to the list, those page counts become important.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think it is somewhat related to wanting to read all the books and only having some much time to do so.
DeleteI just finished a 400-page book that I think could have been 100 pages shorter. I don’t mind big books if they’re tightly plotted or have amazing characters. When I’m interested in the story, I’ll fly through a giant book and not notice its size. The problem is that most giant books aren’t tightly plotted with amazing characters. When a book is saggy, I lose motivation to read it, and then it takes me forever to finish, and I get a little frustrated. I could have read several short books instead of a mediocre long one.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I only start calling books long when they go over 400, but I give leeway depending on genre. Some genres need more pages to make the magic happen. Maybe I have trust issues after reading several too long books, that didn't move along for me. You never know what you're going to get. I have read short books that felt like they were going nowhere, but I DNFed those books.
DeleteIt depends on the author's ability to "make every page count" (as you would say) for me. But then again, the books I read are rarely very long (and that's just a coincidence, not a deliberate choice on my part). I can't very well say how I would react to a 800-page tome LOL. I think the longest one I've read was around 550...and I loved it!
ReplyDeleteI have read some long books (all fantasy). Overall, I enjoyed the stories, but I still felt they could have been trimmed. I think it came down to the fact that I was deeply entrenched in the world at this point and had to keep moving forward.
DeleteI've gotten to the point where I just don't have the patience for long books. I won't say that I avoid them completely but if it's a story I'm interested in and the book is a brick, I'll usually listen to the audio version which makes it a little less daunting.
ReplyDeleteI don't know. I was thinking about listening to one of the Shadowhunter books and it clocked in at 24 hours! So long
DeleteI don't mind a long book as long as the book is good.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a mental game with me, but I also want to not be reading the same book for a long time.
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