Do you read books over 400 pages?
I guess I'd answer this with another question: Why the heck wouldn't I?
Okay, so 400 pages is a long book.
It's a huge investment of time and if you're reading that bad boy in print, you're going to get muscle strain trying to prop the flipping thing open. However, if it's a book you want to read, why wouldn't you read it?
Just because it's long?
Surely that just means more bookish goodness?
More of the characters and writing style that you love?
If it was a brand-new author and I had no idea whether I'd like the writing, the world, or the characters, then I may be a little more hesitant but not by much... Case in point, over 1000 pages for The Priory of The Orange Tree, I've never read the author but it's sitting on my kindle awaiting my leisure.
If a book sounds good and you want to read it then read it.
It's not a difficult decision, it's rather simple.
If it's not, then I ask you why do you read?
Is it to batter though as many books as you can or is it to read content that you'll enjoy?
Is it to escape and experience? Or to rock up a tally on Goodreads?
I don't think I've ever seen a book cost more because it's a long book, so that can't be the reason...
I'm genuinely mystified as to why this is an issue for people.
Can someone explain it to me?
🙏
Okay, so 400 pages is a long book.
It's a huge investment of time and if you're reading that bad boy in print, you're going to get muscle strain trying to prop the flipping thing open. However, if it's a book you want to read, why wouldn't you read it?
Just because it's long?
Surely that just means more bookish goodness?
More of the characters and writing style that you love?
If it was a brand-new author and I had no idea whether I'd like the writing, the world, or the characters, then I may be a little more hesitant but not by much... Case in point, over 1000 pages for The Priory of The Orange Tree, I've never read the author but it's sitting on my kindle awaiting my leisure.
If a book sounds good and you want to read it then read it.
It's not a difficult decision, it's rather simple.
If it's not, then I ask you why do you read?
Is it to batter though as many books as you can or is it to read content that you'll enjoy?
Is it to escape and experience? Or to rock up a tally on Goodreads?
I don't think I've ever seen a book cost more because it's a long book, so that can't be the reason...
I'm genuinely mystified as to why this is an issue for people.
Can someone explain it to me?
🙏
I honestly don't care how long a book is as long as it is good. I mean almost everyone has read Harry Potter and those books are super chunky! I like longer books because you get more of the story and the characters.
ReplyDelete~Kendra @ Kendra Loves Books
The later ones are quite beastly!
DeleteIt all depends on how much I want to read them. I've read A Song of Ice & Fire, Harry Potter and some of them are big books. I do get intimidated by huge books as they take me longer to read. Most of my reads are 150-250 pages.
ReplyDeleteI think most of my reads are 250-400 pages but I don't hyperventilate if they're longer.
DeleteI’ve never understood it when I saw people say they avoided “big books.” Or wouldn’t read books with more than X number of pages. What in the world does that have to do with the story inside and your possible enjoyment of it? If anything, to me a longer book means more to enjoy. Many times I’ve finished a book and haven’t felt ready to say goodbye to the characters and wished there were 50 (or 100) more pages. But overall, it’s just not something I pay attention to.
ReplyDeleteI understand if a book is an overly long rambling mess that could have been cut down to make a better book but if it's 400+ pages of awesome then I'll never understand...
DeleteI can't explain it! The last thing I consider is the length of the book, I either like the sound of it or I don't! I would chose to read a heavy book via ebook, but that's just a comfort thing for me.
ReplyDeleteYep! Big books are easier to read digitally.
DeleteYeck yes, I love big books. My favorite two books that were like 600 pages ech were Acheron and Styxx because I love the series they're in. I really like longer books if the story is great.
ReplyDeleteAh, I loved those!! So hard to read in places though... SK really likes to torture her characters before giving them a HEA!
DeleteI've had experiences with long books that weren't plotted well. Some of them seemed to take a plot that would have been great for 200 pages and stretched it out into 400. Others have had plots that were simply really uneven as far as how slow or fast the pacing was going. These are a few of my pet peeves as a reader, so I do try to avoid them.
ReplyDeleteDue to these issues, I'm cautious about very long books. Some of them are obviously great! But I like to read reviews and try to get a sense of whether their storylines are well-written before I dive in.
It does annoy me when books have been padded out with too much fluff/un-necesary detail just to make it longer...
DeleteAbsolutely! I don't start to get really worried about picking up a book until 600 pages. The likelihood of me picking up a book that big is slim.
ReplyDeleteI just need to have faith that it'll be worth it and then it doesn't bother me.
DeleteI kind of agree with Lydia.
ReplyDeleteI've read longer books in the past and have lost interest part way through and I have to be honest and say that books with this many pages does tend to put me off for this very reason, 200-300 is my average.
But that’s not to say I don't read longer because I have and really enjoyed them, there are at least half a dozen books on my Goodreads 5 star rating shelf that are over 400.
I think it helps if there’s enough going on in the plot to keep me engaged, for example, Blade of Darkness by Dianne Duvall was 541 pages long and I absolutely loved it and devoured every page! The same with Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia which is a whopping 735 pages long!
I suppose what I'm saying is the page count doesn't matter for a favourite or known author but I hesitate for new-to-mes because of past experience.
I can understand people being wary.
DeleteI love your answer. :-) If I really want to read a book, the size won't matter.
ReplyDeleteExactly so! :)
DeleteMy sweet spot is between 300-400 pages. Contemporaries really shouldn't be too long. They aren't building a world from scratch, you know? I will admit, that size does intimidate me, and is probably why I don't read too many fantasy books any more.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a super long contemporary is off putting... There's no need.
Delete