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Do older readers end up reading shorter books
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Having recently turned 60 I agree that time is precious, it doesn’t make me read shorter books, but I’m quicker to DNF books if I find them uninteresting, life’s to short for boring or poorly written books
Nadine in California wrote: "The only reading change I’ve had with age is much more willingness to DNF"Me, too
John wrote: "I'm 56, so I'm not sure if that counts as 'older', but my reading--or I should now say my listening--habits have not change in regards to book length. I rarely pick a book that is less than 300 pag..."I get nostalgic, too. It's quite the bummer when a beloved book from youth is a dud once I've reread it, though. My nostalgic rereads have lessened of late so that I can keep my fond memories of a given book :)
Michelle wrote: "My nostalgic rereads have lessened of late so that I can keep my fond memories of a given book."Same for me. Some books I loved as a kid no longer sound so good. Rather, there are books resonate much more deeply now. Like Matheson's or Dick's.
Lars wrote: "Having recently turned 60 I agree that time is precious, it doesn’t make me read shorter books, but I’m quicker to DNF books if I find them uninteresting, life’s to short for boring or poorly writt..."I totally agree!
Lars wrote: "Having recently turned 60 I agree that time is precious, it doesn’t make me read shorter books, but I’m quicker to DNF books if I find them uninteresting, life’s to short for boring or poorly writt..."I'm the same age and have found I do exactly the same thing. I love giant tomes of book but will DNF short or long alike if I'm not enjoying the experience.
Lars wrote: "Having recently turned 60 I agree that time is precious, it doesn’t make me read shorter books, but I’m quicker to DNF books if I find them uninteresting, life’s to short for boring or poorly writt..."I have been up to 3/4 through a book and dropped it. Sometimes that last quarter is just not worth it...good money after bad as they say.
I've become more stubborn as I get older, so I force myself to finish the book
I read and listen to books of varying lengths. I'm 46... not sure if that counts as older lol.
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Age hasn't influenced my reading choices in terms of page count. Technology has. I'd avoid two inch thick tombs when younger because holding them open would eventually cause my hands to cramp up or risk concussion when landing on my sleepy head. Ebooks (and age) reduced the former concern greatly.
John wrote: "Lars wrote: "Having recently turned 60 I agree that time is precious, it doesn’t make me read shorter books, but I’m quicker to DNF books if I find them uninteresting, life’s to short for boring or..."There was one, maybe 7 or 8 years ago, that I DNF after 90%. It was just to painful to continue. I can't remember now which book. But I guess if it was that lousy it's a mercy that I can't remember it.
Ryan wrote: "We're all older than we were yesterday/last year...Age hasn't influenced my reading choices in terms of page count. Technology has. I'd avoid two inch thick tombs when younger because holding the..."
I fell asleep with my kindle the other night and woke up because it fell on top of one of my cats. Poor little girl! It's a 10+ so it's got some heft to it unlike a paperwhite. Maybe I should have bought one of those for late night reading purposes :)
But I agree about the weight with large books. It aggravates the arthritis, that's for certain.
Fortunately, I have good memory, so I can still recall the details of books in a series if I like the series, and a new one comes up.Question: Do you think this might be alleviated some, if there was a summary of the story so far at the beginning of the books in the series? Probably authors would not want that, as it could mean others could skip opening books but...
P. Pherson wrote: "Fortunately, I have good memory, so I can still recall the details of books in a series if I like the series, and a new one comes up.Question: Do you think this might be alleviated some, if there..."
it would help. I'm reading A Curse of Krakens by Kevin Hearne which is the third book in a series and i could not get a handle on what was going on in the beginning of the book. I'd read the second book in 2021.
P. Pherson wrote: "Fortunately, I have good memory, so I can still recall the details of books in a series if I like the series, and a new one comes up.Question: Do you think this might be alleviated some, if there..."
I love plot summaries in books! That's never stopped me from reading the previous installments. They're just a great refresher.
P. Pherson wrote: "Question: Do you think this might be alleviated some, if there was a summary of the story so far at the beginning of the books in the series?"Great idea. I often read other books between volumes of a series. Plus I don't always follow the exact order of the volumes. In short, I make a bit of a mess, so a summary would save my life. :-)
Michael wrote: "Plus I don't always follow the exact order of the volumes." ** GASP!! ** Blasphemy!:D
John wrote: "Michael wrote: "Plus I don't always follow the exact order of the volumes." ** GASP!! ** Blasphemy!:D"
some books aren't written in timeline order like Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series
P. Pherson wrote: "Question: Do you think this might be alleviated some, if there was a summary of the story so far at the beginning of the books in the series?"Sanderson (or his fans) got his readers covered. On Coppermind wiki there are chapter by chapter summaries for (I think) all his books
https://coppermind.net/wiki/Summary:R...
You can get to the summaries from book pages. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an easier way. A list of summaries would be very helpful, I think.
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Books mentioned in this topic
A Curse of Krakens (other topics)Heritage of Cyador (other topics)
Ours (other topics)
Legacies (other topics)
Heritage of Cyador (other topics)
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I have been thinking a lot lately about the value of time. Your words are very wise, Stephen. It doesn't matter if we are young or old, we have to be more selective. Time has value.