Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy discussion
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Do you like longer or shorter books?
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I want more bang for my buck ... I like longer novels (400p +)
I like books to be at least 300 pages, so many these days seem to be around the 200 pages and the stories seem rushed.
I want a great story with great characters. I don't care if it's 150 pages or Outlander length as long as it's well written and engaging. "If you [write] it, they will come." ; ) I also agree with Shawn when it comes to value. I won't page $5 for a 150 page book, I don't care how good it is. That's not really the issue here. The public library is available used bookstores fix a lot of those issues.
LONG BOOKS! That's my thing. I like investing into a book and I feel I only get that with longer books (300+). I will occasionally give short books a shot but usually someone has to recommend it to me and it's not usually a top pick. That's not to say short books are bad, but I just don't usually get as much satisfaction from them.
I'd rather have a 300 - 400 page book. Gives you plenty to sink your teeth into. When the book starts getting over 400 pages it can start to get tedious or annoying. No one wants 15 pages of pouting by a characters that can be done in one page.
This is such a relief to hear. I'm getting the same response to the question in a FB group. Whew. I'll take the so called "expert" opinion with a heavy doze of salt. :)Thanks!
Well, really, what did you expect to hear from a group considered to be a bunch of rabid readers ... LOL ;)
Shawn wrote: "Well, really, what did you expect to hear from a group considered to be a bunch of rabid readers ... LOL ;)":) And I ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ you. LOL.
Missyb wrote: "I'd rather have a 300 - 400 page book. Gives you plenty to sink your teeth into. When the book starts getting over 400 pages it can start to get tedious or annoying. No one wants 15 pages of poutin..."I agree with Missy. I just don't have the time or the inclination to invest in a door stopper of a book. Anything over 500 pages is generally a no-go for me anymore.
I usually stay away from shorter books unless it's part of a series or I absolutely love the author. Most of the books I read range from 300-400 pages. I don't shy away from longer books. Generally it takes me around a day to day and a half to read a book, so with longer books I like to find something I think I can read in about four to five days.
I like longer reads but I do love a good novella every now and then, especially if they are part of a series I already love. I also like prequels because they can give you a good taste for an author's writing style without having to read a whole book or pay the price of one.
I like to read/write shorter novels for a few reasons...- I don't have time for much else
- I don't have to feel guilty about spending too much time reading,, because I can finish the book in one sitting.
- I find that most longer novels can't hold my attention for very long or they drag on with no purpose in the middle.
However if it's a really good author or one of my tried-and-true favorites, I won't care how long the book is.
I prefer longer books. 400+ pages if it's exciting. Otherwise it can just drag. Most books I come out feeling satisfied by are at min 300 pages.
I'm not like you all. I don't like books with more than 300 pages, the most often I feel like the story's dragging on and on. There are unnecessary details or long monologues or descriptions.Perfect examples: in McNaught' Paradise, there were very long chapters about boards of directors for both the h and H's companies. Or in Jean Auel's series, there were more and more descriptions (clouds, mammoths, plants, ...).
I like longer novels that have a time lapse.... so you end up getting to know characters over years, rather than a week or month. It's fun to watch them grow and see how an author can develop them. I suppose series books also have this result, but. a sucker for happily for now stories, and checking out how those same characters go from 'in love in a vacuum' to 'reality and real stuff checks in'. I also like longer suspense or action, but only if there are lots of sleuthy details to try and figure out.
I like to read books in a series because you can realy get to know the characters as the stories unfold, but i very often lighten the mood by reading short one off books.so both have there merits.
I've found my preference changing with the influx of indie/SPs/freebie. A few years ago I definitely would have said I prefer long books that allow me to spend more time with the characters. But as I read more and more ebooks and books from unknown indie/SP authors I'm tending toward shorter books (the 150 page rage). The reason is that even though I've found some awesome authors, I don't necessarily know which will be gems and which duds going in and am reluctant to commit to spending 400 pages with a poorly written book. So for an unknown I like them shorter, but once I've read one or two of an authors books and know I can expect quality I'd prefer a longer one.
I agree with Jule. I prefer reading series of books. But some books that appeared to be a one time novel; received some much attention that the author went on to write more in the series. Since my preference is to actually have a real book in hand to read, I take a lot of chances on "newer" authors (at least they are new to me, as I did not know of them until this website).I have read quite a few novellas, but these mostly fill in some blank areas of series that I read that cannot really be incorporated into the books as that would detract from the complexity of the book itself.
I do have an e-reader (not a fan) and read the much shorter novels that Sadie has mentioned and I have to have the e-reader because some authors are self-published and the only way to read the book is with the e-reader now.
300-400 pages seems the best to me for certain books. If it's a series I like, the longer the better, prefer over 500 pages
The length doesn't matter if you make every word count. I dislike long books where the same point is made over and over. Sometimes when I am reading and wonder if the author thinks all the readers are idiots. Make your point and move on. No need to beat the reader over the head with what ever justificies your characters actions. If you have to try that hard it is probably because it is a bad idea.Since so many books are ebooks I rarely look at the length at all. Sometimes I am surprised that a book is so short because I can't see that the pages like a real book. I would be more upset but I get most of the books I read from the library.
Each book you write should stand alone with a clear beginning, middle and end. Even if it is part of a trilogy or a series. Cliffhangers are a cheap and lazy way to end a book.
I like big books, and I cannot lie!Although, I don't mind serials (like the Wool series) that are smaller and more frequently delivered and can be bundled together, essentially becoming a big book.
I'm not a fan of novellas, even though they tend to be cheaper. I just don't get enough oomph from them, and they seem rushed. At least the one's I've read. Conversely, longer novels, say 600 pages and up, tent to be too long for me. Everything seems to drag on, and on, and on... You know?
Mostly, I'm a long book fan. Gives me time to really bond with the characters, and if it's special I feel a sense of loss when it's over. I read regularly, and I'd rather have a connection to a single story than hop from one to another with the hopes of re-engaging.
Bah! That statistic scares me. I am writing a book right now and I am at 25K words at chapter 7. There are at least ten more chapters to go... I am probably going to hit 350+ pages by the end.
It all depends on the story. I don't like long books that ramble aimlessly with no direction only to hit a word quota. If the price is right and the story good, the length doesn't matter. I usually look for the sales or the free promotions when trying a new author. What I absolutely hate is for a story to leave me hanging at the end of the book with the intent for me to buy the next one. I've made a steadfast rule to never purchase the follow-on for those stories.
Dany Rae wrote: ""Experts" say that today's readers prefer shorter works, say 20,000-50,000 words. My novels are typically in the 90,000 range.
What do you say as a reader?"
50 000 - 60 000 is the required length for many novels in the Harlequin/Mills and Boon lines.
But even they have recently increased the word length for some of their books - up to something like 85 000 for the SuperRomance line.
80 000 - 90 000 is the kind of length you'll find in paperbacks being put out by major publishers.
50 000 is fine for a simple story, but it's not enough for anything more. If you have more to your plot than the romance itself (world-building in PNR/UF, for example), I need more than that!
20 000 is a novella. Novellas are usually far too short to make me care about the characters.
Length doesn't matter. It's quality that counts.
most of the time I like longer books, but sometimes a shot one hits the spot. It depends on my mood.
I do not have a preference for either.I have moments when I want a quick read & need something to occupy my time. Sometimes I want to read a book with a well establish plot and complex characters that includes a lengthy amount of internal monologues throughout.
It depends on the genre. I like YA fiction that I can read in one sitting, I like paranormal romance that is novel length--two days at the max for me to read, but when it comes to fantasy, I like the epics that take days to read. The Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix is my favorite of all the fantasy books I've ever read.
The thing I love about ebooks, both as a reader and as a writer, is that length doesn't really matter. The story is all that matters. In the past, printing cost and market price dictated how long a novel "should" be. Pulp fiction publishers wanted novels of around 50,000 words. Later mass market paperback publishers wanted to charge more, so they wanted longer books, 80,000 words.
With ebooks you tell the story you want to tell. If it only takes 30,000 words, so be it. If it takes 300,000 words, fine. As long as it's a good story, I will read it.
I think it depends on the story. Sometimes I read more than 500 pages approaching to 1000+ pages when it's all about action and stuff. But when the story gets a little redundant and nothing's happening, why take it so long.When its paranormal and UF, I'd rather read 300+ pages
It really depends on the story. The Hobbit and LOTR books never seemed long to me. However, the Game of Thrones books were quite daunting. And depressing.
I have to admit, shorter sounds good sometimes - life gets busy. But there are some books I could stay in forever; like Shelly Laurenston's shifter series :)
Longer, always longer. 300 pages or so
I'm in the middle I think 300 to 400 is good. Don't get me wrong I'll reader shorter and bigger. The problem with small reads is that the worlds and character tend to be underdeveloped. Long ones can get long winded. Even the best of author can over do it. ^_-
But I always prefer longer reads to shorter. I remember when I was getting a lot of ARC for books that were being released in 3 to 4 parts. It drove me crazy. Plus the idea of paying full price for up to 4 "parts" of one book. No thank you. It only works for Tolkien.
I like books around 300-400 pages. I have read books that are bigger but I rarely make the exception. I like to read the book in about two days so I can do other things, and most of the time if the book is good Im glued to it to find out what's going to happen.
I think around +/- 400 pages is about right for me. Though there is no strict rule when I choose a book. I just don't care for 100 pages because I think that's not enough to build great solid story.
I wish this was a vote instead of a discussion. I would love to see the stats. But it looks like most who responded like longer books.Ditto for me by the way. But I thought the trend now was towards shorter books or even novellas.
I do a lot of reviews for authors, they tend to send me a novella as an addition to their main novel, I think it's more to fill in whilst main book is being edited etc. Sometimes the novella is used to introduce on of the other characters in their books.
I normally aim my books between 250-300 pages, but the romantic suspense story I just finished is a bare 200 pages. It really depends on what it takes to tell the story. I hate it when an author is obviously just filling pages. The last book in Nora Roberts' Dark Witch trilogy had a ton of "they got up and ate breakfast, then someone did something that took 2 pages, then they all got together and Branna cooked and they all ate dinner". This sequence happened over and over and over and ...It depends on genre, too. Fantasy tends to be longer because of the need for world building. As an author, I can always throw in a few more action sequences in a fantasy novel to stretch it out.
I enjoy getting to know the book so I guess I like long books but I like the anthologys because they introduce me to a new author with out wasting my $.
I prefer reading books which vary between 350 to 500 pages, as it allows the author to adequately develop their characters, settings, and plots to create a dynamic piece of art. But I've read some intense 80 -90 page novellas, which do a great job of getting you hooked on a character or on an upcoming novel. It really depends on the writers aim.
It doesn't really matter to me. I have read books with over 1000 pages and others just under 300.
Some of my favorite reads have been longer books, immersing me deeply in the story and characters. But in today's rushed world, I often opt for shorter reads as well.
I read a fair bit of YA, so I tend to read shorter books these days. My page range would be anything from 150 to 300, on average. I do find longer books daunting, although I used to read them just fine. I guess that's because of a lack of time these days. (Sometimes being an adult sucks!)It's funny, because the idea of embarking on a trilogy where each book is 200 pages bothers me less than the idea of a 600-page novel. I guess it's because in the trilogy there are natural break points so the story is in more easily digested chunks. (The flipside is that the trilogy will usually cost at least twice as much as the 600-page book would.)
I don't really like novellas, except on the rare occasions I decide to read erotica. Then novellas are fine. ;)
I like mid-sized novels. My typical pull is between 300 and 500 pages long.
It depends on the book. I've read some really great short stories as well as very long books. If the author is really good s/he can hold my interest no matter how long the book is. I really enjoyed the Clan of the Cave Bear series, and those books were fairly long. On the other hand I love Poe's short stories. I'm game for just about anything.
My novels are typically in the 90,000 range.
What do you say as a reader?