Get your head out of the gutter! Not that kind of size...I mean book size. What kind of blog do you think I'm running here?
Today I want to talk about the length of books and if it matters to you. I'm not going to lie. Really long books like the Game of Thrones series scare me. I just feel like it's such a huge time commitment to start reading them. I'm not the type of person that can read more than one book at a time. If you can, I consider you a freak of nature. How the heck do you keep all the stories and the characters straight?? So when I commit to a book that's over 1,000 pages, I'm committing to a book that may take me more than two or three days to read. And that means that I can't read any other books for however long it takes me to finish. I feel all panicky inside just thinking about it. I read fast. Which means that I'm onto a new book every two days or so. And I like this. I like constantly jumping into new worlds, meeting new characters, and experiencing new things. Do I really want to experience the same book for 5+ days?
I've read a few books that have taken me over a week to finish either because I was busy or because I was in a reading slump, or because the book just wasn't doing it for me. And it drives me crazy every time this happens. Then I find that I start skimming through the book just to finish so I can move onto the next one. I don't want to miss anything. I'm worried if I start a series like Game of Thrones or even the last couple books in the Harry Potter series (yes, I'm one of the people that's never read them. I'm working on it. Promise.) I will get bored and frustrated and not enjoy the book as much as I should or could. And that's the last thing I want to do.
Maybe when I do pick up these two series (and I will. I'm determined.) I will have to learn how to read two books at a time. I don't know if that's possible, but I just kinda feel like I'm going to need a break. Perhaps these longer books are broken into parts and I can take a break at each different part. There's an idea! I literally just thought of that while typing this up. I'm a genius, not really.
So I guess my question to you is, does size matter? Do really long books intimidate you? Do you still read them? What are your methods for getting through these chunkers?
I also think twice before reading really long books. There are simply so many books that I want read and like you, I feel that more than 2 or 3 days on a book is a commitment I'm not sure I want to make. Often if I'm reading a 500+ page book, I'll also choose really short books or novellas for that week. :) I also have a hard time DNFing books, so starting one so long feels daunting!
ReplyDeleteSabrina @ I Heart Y.A. Fiction
I'm glad I'm not the only one that has a hard time DNFing books. I just feel like I need to see it through. I'm not a huge fan of novellas though so normally then I only end up reading one book that week and that's just not enough for me. Lol.
DeleteI've weathered 4 Game of Throne books so far, so I guess size doesn't intimidate me as much as it used to. Before I started the series, I definitely was wary about them being so big - like you said, you have to spend so much time on one book when you could read 3 others in the same time! I usually space my huge books with short/light reads so that I don't feel like I'm losing time I could spend on other books.
ReplyDelete- Kritika @ Snowflakes & Spider Silk
Yeah, that's a good idea. I can't believe you've read four of the GOT books! That's awesome. My plan is to at least start the series this summer so hopefully I stick to it.
DeleteI'm not sure if size in terms of page number particularly is a problem with me. I think this is mainly because most of the books I read now are ebooks. So the size of the book never comes into play when choosing a book. I don't even look at the "approximated number of pages" they come up with because sometimes I really do think it's totally off. That's just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThe number of books of a series (i.e. the size of the series itself) could dissuade me though. If I've never read Harry Potter and was considering reading it now (granted I haven't read the last two yet...), I think I'd be dissuaded just because of the sheer number of books. It seems like a big commitment.
That is true and a great point about Kindle books. Maybe I'll read GOT on my Kindle. That way I can't really tell how long it is... I just need to trick my brain!
DeleteThat is very true about number of books in a series. There's this series called the Chronicles of Nick by Sherrilyn Kenyon that I love. There are five books in the series. But the YA series is based off of her adult series called the Dark-Hunters. Which has over 20 books in it!!! As much as I love CON, there's no way I will ever read DH because that is way too many books.
I also feel like The Mortal Instruments may have been a bit too long. I absolutely love the series. Don't get me wrong. But I felt like it could have ended after the third one and not turned into 6 books with an extremely long wait for the 6th one since she wrote her prequel series the Infernal Devices in between books in TMI.
And I think it's an even bigger commitment if all the books are out. Because then I feel the need to binge read the series (might as well, right?) but reading 6 books in the same series in a row? That is a pretty large commitment.
Although I did read the first five TMI books and then all three of the TID books one right after the other. So maybe I don't even know what I'm complaining about. Lol. I'm just babbling now.
If you do end up reading GOT on your Kindle, I'd love to know if it made it seem easier. I do think that it could definitely be a mind trick.
DeleteI've been considering The Mortal Instrument series for a while now. I have the first one but have been hesitant to start. I know once I do, I'll probably need to read all the rest. I do agree that it seems like a bigger commitment if all the books are out. I usually binge read as well. With trilogies it's not as bad, but 6 books is a lot.
At the same time though, there are some mystery series out there that boggle my mind. Kind of like the Dark-Hunter series you mentioned. I used to read a series and the series started getting to 20 books and seemed like it'd be never ending. After a while I stopped. That wasn't daunting I guess per say, more like tiring after a while.
Haha & now I'm babbling. Hope it makes sense.
I definitely will let you know if it helps reading on my Kindle.
DeleteYou should totally read TMI!! It's soooo good. And I actually like The Infernal Devices even better! I know it's daunting with six books though. But if you wanted to, you could split it up. You could read the first 3, take a break and then read the last 3. The third one doesn't end on a super huge cliffhanger so I think you would be satisfied doing that. :)
Yeah, I think I would get bored after 20 books in the same series with the same characters.
I don't worry about the length of books, sometimes the longer the better (obviously depending on the book). But yes, number of books in the series can make me think twice about reading that series right then, I have to think about whether I want to commit to it. If I love the series, binge reading is great, but if there's more than three books, sometimes I may have to take a break and read a completely different book in between. The Morganville vampire series is one that has a ton of books in it and I've actually read a few, but I just couldn't binge read that series because there were just so many of them.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you decide to read Game of Thrones and I'll read it too! ~Pam
Yes! I will probably be reading it this summer, maybe May or June? We will read it together for sure! I'll email you when it gets closer. :)
DeleteI know exactly what you mean!! Everyone keeps telling me to read Game of Thrones, that it's so good, but it terrifies me! The book is HUGE and honestly, I'm not that big of a fantasy reader to think that it's necessary! I could read 3 books instead of one! I want to try... but it's such a huge commitment!
ReplyDeleteI do think you should read the last of the HP series though! :) The series ending is just ... wow. And I feel like it didn't take as along to read those ones as other large books. I also always wanted to read Outlander but that's another one I'm putting off due to size :(
I do read multiple books at a time though.. I have to. I have a weird attention span and sometimes I will be mid into one book and just start another. For some reason I've never had a problem differentiating between the books... luckily for me because I always have at least two :P
So yah, size matters to me too!!
I'm going to try reading Game of Thrones this summer with Pam from YA Escapes Reality if you want to join in with us. I love fantasy so I feel like I will be fine, but it's still a bit scary.
DeleteAnd HP is on my list to start by fall. I need to read that series and I should at least be able to get through the first few before the end of 2014. The first ones are tiny compared to the last couple!
You are a brain ninja. I don't know how you can keep it all straight. Lucky you. :)
lol I guess I'm a freak of nature, because I often read more than one book at a time. BUT there are some rules to this- the books all have to be of completely different genres (like, I can read a contemp romance and a fantasy at the same time, but not two contemps). Or they can be of the same genre, but I must have read one of them before (so a reread). I also don't really like reading two review books at the same time.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, back to the point of the discussion, I LOVE long books (as long as they're good ones, of course). I like spending a lot of time in the worlds that authors have built, so I think that's why I like adult fantasies so much. Also, more value for money lol :P
That's a good rule for reading more than one book at a time. :) I still wouldn't be able to do it. Guess my brain isn't cool enough. Lol.
DeleteThat's a good point about the value for the money. :) You will have to give me some good adult fantasy recs! I love fantasy and am trying to read more adult this year so book push away! :)