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Does anyone besides me have a min page req to bother with a book?
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Benjamin
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Jan 01, 2015 04:38PM
For me, for the most part, I wont bother with a book thats less than 400 other than with specific authors that have give me special reason too. Less than that and the stories are just too short, even in series. When I read a book in want to get sucked into the world, and that world ends just way too soon with these 250 page books.
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NAh. I'm the opposite. I'm leery of long books that I have to put too much investment into.
Nope. I don't have a minimum page requirement at all. But then again, I love short stories and novellas, so it would be silly if I did. ;) I do completely understand what you mean about getting sucked into a world. That's one of the reasons I like to read series books back to back when possible.
I have no minimum page requirement. But I do allow myself to quit before 100 pages if I think it sucks.
Nope. Some of the best books I've read are 200 pages or less. Then again I think my two favourite books clock in at about 150 pages for Cannery Row and more than 1400 pages for A Suitable Boy. I believe one could be is sing out at both ends of the spectrum, but I've been leaning towards the shorter end with good results recently.
Nicki wrote: "No, I'll read books of any length... but I do get grumpy when they want to charge me the same £7.99 for some 200-page leaflet that they charge for a 900-page monstrosity. Yes, quality over quantity..."Completely agree. I don't have a minimum page requirement but I will definitely think twice when I feel like I'm being overcharged for something that is really short.
Generally I tend to prefer books that are between 350 and 550 pages. Past that I find that a lot of books can drag a bit unless the author is really good.
Nicki wrote: "No, I'll read books of any length... but I do get grumpy when they want to charge me the same £7.99 for some 200-page leaflet that they charge for a 900-page monstrosity. Yes, quality over quantity..."Paul wrote: "Nicki wrote: "No, I'll read books of any length... but I do get grumpy when they want to charge me the same £7.99 for some 200-page leaflet that they charge for a 900-page monstrosity. Yes, quality..."
Ditto to both posts, although:
1. I read much slower than Nicki and Paul, but the concept is the same.
2. I'm willing to go upwards to about 700 pgs (instead of 550) before having 2nd thoughts.
I agree about the price thing. I saw a short story the other day going for almost the price of a full book. No effing way.
Price affects me, but I use my library so heavily now.
Unfortunately, my library doesn't often get in the little short-story add-ons that seem all the rage for series these days.
colleen the contrarian ± (... never stop fighting) ± wrote: "Unfortunately, my library doesn't often get in the little short-story add-ons that seem all the rage for series these days."That can be a problem. I have found my library has been awesome at getting me things through inter - library loan,but your mileage may vary unfortunately. Little add ons are a marketing evil. Marketers rank slightly lower than lawyers for me. :)
Nicki wrote: "I'm starting to hate those little short story add-ons. I liked them at first, as little snippets of the world I was missing while waiting for the next full book, but publishings can't seem to get t..."YES.
Fuck your short stories!
For series that I'm only so-so on, I don't even bother. And, honestly, I try to find the stories online for free - legally, of course.I broke down and bought one the other day, but only because I had some giftcard money. Otherwise, I probably would've just done without.
And I agree about the ordering. There was one recently where the numbering put it between books 3 & 4, but the blurb made it sound like it should actually come after book 4.
Nicki wrote: "I'm starting to hate those little short story add-ons. I liked them at first, as little snippets of the world I was missing while waiting for the next full book, but publishings can't seem to get t..."Totally agree. It's so annoying to look at the Dresden series page - it's a nightmare of add-ins, most which require the acquisition of a whole lot of multi-author collections just for one little story.
Side Jobs isn't so bad because it collects many of them, but FFS... I love Dresden and I don't want to bother with any more of the shorts. It's just aggravating.
LOL exactly. I'm like "I just want to know what book 16 is called! *scroll scroll scroll... >_< CTRL+F for 'book 16'*"
lolYeah, the series page here can become a nightmare. A pure nightmare.
I really wish they had sub categories or something to clean that up.
I also hate the ones that you can only read in a random short story collection.
colleen the contrarian ± (... never stop fighting) ± wrote: "I also hate the ones that you can only read in a random short story collection."I think all of the short stories for the Hollows series are that way!
NOte: While I am a hater of these stories... I admit that I buy books for the Kate Daniels shorts (she should do a compilation!) and I never read the other stories. I think I shall stop now.
You can blame the librarians for that one. It was debated how to set up serieses, and the majority of the ones working on them seem to thing clutter a good thing. I actually set up a lot of those, only to have the clutterfucks come back and bloat them all to hell. Some are still ok, but the popular ones especially are an unfunctional mess.
Nicki wrote: "Oh god, I just went to look at the Dresden series page. What a mess. And I got to this multi-author collection and just cracked up:My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding (There Be Pirates, #1; Kit and O..."
You know what else is stupid? They will list those short stories individually on the same series pages! So you'll have 5.5, then 5.5, and so on.
Becky wrote: "Side Jobs isn't so bad because it collects many of them, but FFS... I love Dresden and I don't want to bother with any more of the shorts. It's just aggravating...."He should be releasing another collection that will have all those post-Side Jobs stories. I think it's to be called Brief Cases.
Chris wrote: "You know what else is stupid? They will list those short stories individually on the same series pages! So you'll have 5.5, then 5.5, and so on."I *think* the stories get relisted if they are stand alones. A lot of people want to be able to see if a particular story is in a particular book before reading?
IDK, it can be helpful (all the clutter) but its mostly annoying and confusing. It could all be cleaned up IF they would allow hierarchies or subs or better series pages or something. Or even a different section on the page that lists shorts and/or "can also be found in"
Becky wrote: "Oh that would be cool. :)"
It certainly would be!!
MrsJoseph wrote: "IDK, it can be helpful (all the clutter) but its mostly annoying and confusing. It could all be cleaned up IF they would allow hierarchies or subs or better series pages or something. Or even a different section on the page that lists shorts and/or "can also be found in" ."
^This!
I just need to know where the stories fall in the series, man. Seriously!!
Yes! It's all useful information, but too much of a good thing is a white noise mess.Subs would be great. AND, a standard UNIFORM way to set them up, instead of the free for all.
Chris wrote: "Yes! It's all useful information, but too much of a good thing is a white noise mess.Subs would be great. AND, a standard UNIFORM way to set them up, instead of the free for all."
Yes! Soooooo yes.
Problem with fixing them, is that every librarian has a different idea of what fixed is. So if one of them sees what you did, they'll "fix" it back to what they think it should be. And there is no standard to go by, so it's just a back and forth war until someone just gives up.
Nicki wrote: "I used to try to fix them. Silly me. All those wasted hours I could've spent doing something more productive like obedience training my cats or picking my nose."*dies laughing*
I still rely heavily on GR for series order, primarily out of habit. I just learned about Fantastic Fiction less than a week ago.
FictFact is pretty decent once you find the series for which you're looking. Plus, they're really good at adding or updating series quickly, if you tell them they're missing something.
I also use Wikipedia, but:
1. It can be hit or miss, especially where subseries are concerned, and
2. I have accidently read a few spoilers searching for series info there.
Chris wrote: "Problem with fixing them, is that every librarian has a different idea of what fixed is. So if one of them sees what you did, they'll "fix" it back to what they think it should be. And there is no ..."Thats some Name of the Wind shit right there...
Chris wrote: "Problem with fixing them, is that every librarian has a different idea of what fixed is. So if one of them sees what you did, they'll "fix" it back to what they think it should be. And there is no ..."This sounds like where I work... :-/
Nyssa wrote: "I still rely heavily on GR for series order, primarily out of habit. I just learned about Fantastic Fiction less than a week ago.
FictFact is pretty decent once you find the series for which you'..."
I like ficfact but it was a pain to use last time I was there.
MrsJoseph wrote: "I like ficfact but it was a pain to use last time I was there. ."Yep! Not always intuitive, and I think you have to have a login (not sure, I signed up a long time ago).
Nyssa wrote: "MrsJoseph wrote: "I like ficfact but it was a pain to use last time I was there. ."Yep! Not always intuitive, and I think you have to have a login (not sure, I signed up a long time ago)."
Yeah, you have to have a login.
I use FictFact and I find it easy. I am not looking forward to trying to catch up Laundry Files. 2.5, 2.9. Stupidity.
Yes. I will allow the author 100-pages to hook me up. If I'm not invested by then, I do not even bother with that book.
Nope. Actually, I'm the opposite. If I'm intrigued by a book, I'm more likely to try it the shorter it is. Not to say I don't like long books. But I have to really like it to not get bored with it. Shrug. It isn't an attention span thing. I just don't like wasting my time reading books I don't like.I *do* have a problem paying too much for short books though. And worse, short stories. I'm tired of authors writing "extra chapters" that amount to 10 pages and selling them. Novellas are okay. But paying 2$ for 10 pages? Hell no!
I used to want at least 250 pages to tell a rich enough story. But novellas have become a trend, and when they're a part of a series, I really like that. You can get a side adventure or a minor character's story, all in one quick read. I quite like the trend. These novellas are tightly written and lacking the flab of a lot of long books.
In fact, I get wary of books over 300 pages because I wonder if it really -needs- 400ish pages to tell the story. Few books can handle that kind of length without a ton of flab that makes me super bored.
In fact, I get wary of books over 300 pages because I wonder if it really -needs- 400ish pages to tell the story. Few books can handle that kind of length without a ton of flab that makes me super bored.
^Yep, there's something about a story that is to the point and told well. I think most of the concerns are related to how much would you spend on a short book that you'd devour in an afternoon as opposed to a few days or a couple of weeks. I use my library a lot so shorter works don't bother me at all and I prefer them a lot of the time, but when I'm paying money for them I expect cost to be relatable.
^Well that's certainly true. I have found some novellas that were overpriced for the length IMO and I opted not to get them because of it.
Agreed. I bought the short novels of John Steinbeck a while back. I'd have a hard time spending $10.99CDN on each ~100 page book, but in a set it was a great deal. Not worth the $66 it would cost separately, but well worth the $23 together.Another reason I'm happy being a full decade behind most things when it comes to reading. Not having to pay exorbitant prices to stay current. :)
I don't have a minimum, because I enjoy my short stories and novellas along with my great epics. That said, I'm like Colleen these days; I feel that with full-time work and everything, if it's long it has to be bloody outstanding to get me to devote hours of my time to it.
