Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is...
WHAT IS YOUR IDEAL BOOK/AUDIOBOOK LENGTH?
First off, I'm going to talk about books here, not audiobooks, since I only read on paper/screen, for a number of reasons (which of course don't include the old and tired "audiobooks aren't real books" argument 🙄).
So...I don't have a real preference. I'm not intimidated by big books, and if I have yet to read a really thick one (à la Stephen King), it's totally by accident. I would never rule out reading a book on a page-number basis. I'd say that, generally speaking, I prefer full-fledged novels to shorter ones/novellas, because I like to be able to live in a fictional world and know its character for a longer time; but on the other hand, there are so many novellas that rocked my socks off. Anyhow, as long as there isn't filler content, I'll happily welcome tomes 😉.
(Also, shall we talk about FONTS? Because sometimes apparently average-length books have REALLY TINY ones, in order to save paper, and how are we supposed to know how long they are for real?).
Well, that's it for now. Did you enjoy this post? Would you like to participate in the meme on a regular or semi-regular basis, and get emailed the prompt list? Just head over here and fill in Jen's form! (Of course, you can jump in anytime you like - you are under no obligation to actually do all the posts, or even most of them, just because you signed up, and you can remove yourself from the list at any time). And if you're interested in participating in a more casual manner, or only in commenting, here is the TMST prompt list for the month of April:
- April 4th: What are some of your favourite indie/small pub authors/books? (a question I submitted)
- April 11th: How long do you stick with a series you loved, if you start not enjoying the books?
- April 18th: What were your expectations when you started blogging? (a question I submitted)
- April 25th: If you could go back and change one thing about your life, what would it be? (a question I submitted)
I'll be back for the meme on April 4th, fangirling about unsung books/authors (which are the primary reason why I started blogging more than 10 years ago...)....
Now tell me something...do you prefer big books, small books or a happy medium?
The golden length for me is 200 pages. I definitely am more likely to pick a shorter book over a longer book, as I am impatient lol. I just like to get to the point fast!
ReplyDelete😂
Delete200 pages seems to be the average length for a novella.
I'm the same... I don't really care about page length as long as the story grabs me. And I've been liking novellas lately! Good point about fonts too.
ReplyDeleteMy long-lost twin! 😂
Delete:)
DeleteI actually do rule out books that I deem too long. Sorry. I see a 500+ page contemporary, that's a no for me. I learned my lesson that those books are long because they need to be edited. I tend to like full-lengths more as well, though I have been wowed by some short stories/novellas (Most recently - The Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman). 300 - 400 pages is my sweet spot
ReplyDelete"I see a 500+ page contemporary, that's a no for me. I learned my lesson that those books are long because they need to be edited."
DeleteActually, that makes a lot of sense! Fantasy and sci fi books on the average (may) need to be longer, because they have a lot of world-building to incorporate, which isn't the case for contemporaries.
I'm most comfortable with books in 300-400 page length. But for favorite authors I will go beyond that page count😁
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Above and beyond 😉.
DeleteI agree with you on the font/text sizes. Each printed edition is different thickness depending on how it was printed. I've noticed that classic books often have rather smaller text compared to the more modern releases. I don't know why they do it but my guess is because it's more classy that way. In a certain way, bigger text means more crude looking and it's why most books have small text - that's my theory.
ReplyDeleteI am willing to read a book at any length, even at 1000+ pages if the story is done right. But since most books now are part of a series, I do prefer that they keep the books under 500 pages because 1000 pages for each book in a series is just too much but then again book series (that is, the number of books) seems to be getting longer so they destroy any thoughts of book length. If people sum up a book series, they are seriously reading more than they think.
Have a lovely day.
It may be! Also, fonts tend to be lighter lately (which adds to the reading distress). And your theory makes even more sense because of that. Tiny is classy.
DeleteIn a way, yeah, with series getting longer, people read more than they think! But I suppose most would find it more intimidating if they had to read an 800-page-long book as opposed as two 400-page-books back to back...
Omg tiny font is scary, I once had to give up on a book like that
ReplyDeleteEven with glasses, you struggle sometimes.
DeleteI don't mind longer books if they're part of a series I'm reading. Styxx and Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon were both around 800 pages and it took me a couple of days to get through them but the books were so good. I don't listen to audiobooks.
ReplyDeleteAnother old comment that went straight into Blogger jail (I mean, the one with the comments waiting to get approved...which, apparently, is a Mary-shaped jail, because only yours seem to end up there 😂).
DeleteI can relate! You can tear into an 800-page book if it's captivating.
I actually physically struggle to read books with small font size. My eyes just can't focus on a single line at a time ... and I can barely see it even with my glasses. I've found myself more drawn to ebooks lately because I can make the font so big lol In terms of length of book, if the font is a decent size with decent line spacing, I like a shorter 400ish page book. Just because I read so slow...it makes me feel like I'm actually making progress.
ReplyDeleteRight? They're killing us with those small/light fonts. I love my physical books, but sometimes it looks like publishers think all readers are young-ish or have perfect eyesight 😭.
Delete"I like a shorter 400ish page book. Just because I read so slow...it makes me feel like I'm actually making progress."
Haha, it makes sense!
YES - I didn't even mention fonts. Probably because I read on a Kindle now, so I can change the font. But I will dig into my TBR pile, and some of those 350 page books have the tiniest font - what were they thinking? (Yes, I'm old and need readers!)
ReplyDelete😂😭
DeleteFONTS!!! OMG that's becoming an issue. I mostly read e-books and dabble in audio (still not great at it lol) but bought a few paperbacks - 1 online and 1 in person so I should have looked first - but the print is so freaking tiny.!!!! Even wearing my glasses! I couldn't even do it.
ReplyDeleteI am intimidated by big books but mostly because they haven't panned out when I have gone ahead and read them. It's more filler but I'm not opposed if there's a good story there.
Same with novellas. I had written them off but then all of a sudden authors were writing really good ones with full, fleshed out characters and story.
So, I prefer an average 300 pager but I'm open if it's written well.
Karen @For What It's Worth
We're getting old and suddenly we realise the whole world is young-people-friendly. Even books betray us 😭.
DeleteFrom what I've seen, there are so many great novellas around lately! I guess the format was mostly used for companion books before, while more and more authors are using it properly and sharpening the tool nowadays.
I'm generally okay with any length/size when it's a physical copy; however, I like shorter audiobooks. I think it's because I read faster than I listen, if that makes sense. A 14 hour audiobook might take me 9 total hours to read. I haven't really noticed different fonts!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I've missed you!
I'm a fast reader as well, so it totally makes sense.
DeleteHa! "I" have missed you! You've been so quiet for a while now. I hope you can go back to posting more often!
My first year teaching has been a whirlwind for sure! I feel like I'm finally getting my feet under me.
DeleteI didn't know you had gone back to teaching! 👏
DeleteSo I don't really care a TON, but I do get a little intimidated by very big books? Don't get me wrong, I will still read them, but they scare me hahah. I think probably somewhere between 300-400 is ideal, but if it needs more or less to tell the story, I am down. I just want the word count to fit the book, if that makes sense? I get annoyed when books clearly need more words to tell the story, or needed far fewer to get the point across!
ReplyDeleteIt definitely makes sense! Especially with long books that sometimes take weird detours or rehash the same concepts...
DeleteI know you don't listen to books, so I wondered if that was just going to be your answer, very short post lol. Page numbers are not the most useful since they depend on a variety of factors. But I'm like you, I tend to prefer a bit longer (or series, really) so I can get deeper into things, but I've also read some great novellas. Good is good!
ReplyDeleteWith an author who know what they're doing, I'm a fan of novellas (McGuire has some good/excellent ones). But there's nothing like a long-ish story (or an ongoing series) you can get lost in for a long time!
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