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Bookish Rants or Raves: Is Bigger, Better?
Filed in Bookish Rant or Raves , The Crazy Lover Posted on February 10, 2011 @ 12:01 pm
23 comments
Hey Everyone! After this hiatus, when Authors took over our beloved Book Lovers Inc., I am back =)
I have been thinking about length when it comes to books. They can be in a series or standalone, but do the length matter? Do you prefer shorter books or longer ones? Full Novels or Novellas?
I am usually partial to Full length novels in general, but I have enjoyed a lot of Novellas and I feel that sometimes they are perfect in size to tell some stories that don’t really need 300+ pages to be told.
However, there are some Novellas or shorter length novels that have the potential to be so amazing, that the shorter length just doesn’t do it justice. In those cases, bigger would definitely be better.
Now, I want to know from you guys…
Do you like shorter length novels?
Do You prefer Novels or Novellas?
Why?
I’d love to know!
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It really depends. I like being able to have a short book, but it has to be good, like I have read a short book and there was no character/plot development. I felt like the author was concerned about writing everything so fast, it zipped write to the I am different/special girl who needs to save everyone part in like 30 pages and it was a 200 something page book, huh? no. no! no!
I have read short books that were great too, and I liked being able to zip through them. I find that I like the 300-350 page books at the most 400. I am not a fast reader and it depends on if I am liking the book or not, if I take 4 to 5 days to finish the book or sooner.
But again it depends. I typically hate mass market paperbacks b/c they take me longer to read b/c the text is soooo small, so I go kindle style I finish the book within 2-3 days and I enjoy it more.
But I perfer novels. They are typically more enoyable for me to read.
Usually, I prefer full length novels, 300-350 page books are good for me too. However, I do like shorter erotica novellas.
Diana @ Book of Secrets
& The Forbidden Bookshelf
I'm a very fast reader, so I find that novellas are just too short for me, and short stories are completely out of the car. I also love books where I can really get to know the characters and I always feel kind of gypped when I read a novella because if I like the characters, I want to spend more time with them!
I'm kind of in the middle. I'm a relatively slow reader, so I do like shorter novels. It makes me feel accomplished seeing all those novels I finished even if they are short. But, I also love long books. I know when it came to the Harry Potter series, the longer the better!
For me it really depends. The book has to flow, and sometimes, with longer books, it seems like the author writes useless pages, even chapters just to make their word count quota. In other cases, even the super long books flow so well that every scene is necessary and adds to the book. So all-in-all, if the book doesn’t drag and bore me to sleep, I could read any length.
I don't have a preference but after a couple longer books (400-500 pages) I like to read a shorter book just because its shorter and makes for a quicker read.
I like a full length novel. Novellas are a tease. Just as I am settled in to read I'm done.
marypres@gmail.com
Generally I prefer full-length novels to novellas. It takes a darn good writer to craft a satisfying and complete novella (which is too long for short story…it's really like a pseudo novel, in my opinion).
Now, what tends to get me is the SUPER long novel. Like, 700 pages for one story arc. They can absolutely be riveting and superb literature, but man, just getting through one can be a bear!
I really like both. I enjoy diving into a full length novel that takes a couple of days to finish. Some weeks I know that I won't have as much time to read as I want. Those weeks I will read novellas because I can always finish them in one sitting. I usually get several read in that week. I am a big fan of anthologies.
GeishasMom73 on twitter
I love a well told story. Some take 300+ pages and some take 29. I have read absolutely fabulous stories from both ends of the spectrum. Just give me a riveting story and the page count is irrelevant. While it seems that some authors are more suited to one length of writing or another, there are some who do both quite well. Kim Dare and Sean Michael come to mind as two writers with a gift for short stories and novellas who also write wonderful full-length novels and series. It is the gift of story-telling that matters most to me, not the number of pages.
It depends, I reckon. I now that there is a proverb about do not judge a book by its cover, but that what I do exactly xD Of course I read a lot of reviews, but it's the cover what draws my attention. If I like a book, I don't even look at the page number of the last pages, just start to read. I know, I'm really voracious when it comes to books.
But generally the longer books have bigger influence on me. I love when a character or a story is well-drawn and really detailed, and I think it can't be solved in 200 pages.
If we speak about only one book, my record was 1200 page (it was a Ken Follet book, actually), but I've read series which have 20-30-40 volume. These books I really detailed, I have to admit. =)
@Mariya
I totally agree with you! =D
@Diana
Me too! =D hehe
@JenM
I am a fast reader too, so yep, I have the same problem hehe
@Jackie
hehe Amen on the HP books!
@Angelina
You make a good point… I dont like books that are only long for the sake of being long =/
@Jenny
totally understandable!
@marybelle
hahahah I know the feeling!
@Alisha
LOL I can totally understand that =/
@Geishas
Anthologies is def a great way to read shorter novels and get a feel of an author you hadnt read before =)
@Donna
I have to agree with you… some stories just fit better in shorter or longer lengths… =D
@Mikki
I can definitely understand that… I like being able to get lost as much as I can in a world I love… so in that casde, bigger is def better hehe
it REALLY depends on the story. i expect my epic fantasies to be 500+ pages but a YA novel i excpect to be shorter. now if the YA or whatever novel is really good and i really get into then a bigger page count does not bother me, but if im druging through it then shorter is better. some take a good concept and stretch it out way to much.
I'm more to the full length novels I feel that I get deeper into the book and the characters have more time to develope but sometimes a short book is just what I need, they don't draw out the plot and some of them is really good too.
I read them all, but prefer the longer novel.
I like full, but that's not to say I haven't enjoyed the shorter ones. I guess it just depends on the story, and how many pages said story calls for.
Depends. If the book is one that book that only have sex from the beginning to the end, 100 pages are good, but if the history is good, and the characters are well developed, 300-350 are the minimum for me.
I like novels much more than short stories – I tend to stay away from the latter because I always want to know more about the characters/ their interactions. Although, I've recently started reading a lot more short/er stories because of my e-reader.
smaccall @ comcast.net
It really depends on my mood. In general, I like to finish a novel in no more than three days because any longer than that I'd forget the beginning. So anything more than 400 pages is a bit too long for me. Of course, I've read books that really ought to be longer, too.
The shorter length is also a reason for reading YA books.
The exception is anthologies which could be any length because they're full of short stories anyway.
i love long books!
300 pages plus! for me please
to be honest i fall back on novellas when i feel i want to boost my reading quota for the month. taking it from 6 to 8 in a matter of half a day makes me feel all fuzzy inside 🙂
Thanks for all your thoughtful comments!!! =D
I do usually prefer the longer novels… but if it's less plot and more sex, shorter is better hehe =D
I like a book to be as long as the story needs. I don't want extra words in there just to make it longer/ bigger if they are not necessary.
I do get more satisfaction out of BUYING bigger books, because it seems like you are getting more for your money. However I do not get more enjoyment out of READING them because of thier length.
I prefer Chapbooks. They are 20-60 pages and are really beautiful and more creative than any book you can imagine. I say to hell with big books because every popular big book that i've read has bored me (except Harry Potter #7, the ONLY HP book I read). Other than that, shorter is sweeter. I'm an author of an upcoming chapbook and it somewhat discourages me to see people love big books and overlook the chapbook.