I absolutely love long books. Spending that kind of time with a great story feels like a gift. Middlemarch. Or nonfiction like Red Comet. Les Mis and War and Peace are on my literary bucket list. Ethan Frome is fantastic. 🤓
I think your comment sums up some of our reading differences as I’ve only read one of the long books you listed (Red Comet) and no intention of reading the others (well, your love of Middlemarch does sometimes make me think I should try it. Red Comet is a great work of scholarship that Plath’s life and work deserved.
So many short things in life are great - short songs, animation shorts, short lectures in Uni, short meetings at work, denim shorts, shortbread....the list goes on....love this video and absolutely agree - I am trying to consistently champion short stories on my channel which is slightly different from short novels, but with lots of similarity. Great points here Brian.
Thanks Gareth. I love good short stories and I think there is a connection. The only thing better than a short work meeting is a canceled work meeting.
I agree with so much of this. Short books are great for atmosphere but sometimes I'll finish one and find that it had no effect on me and a month later I'm unable to say a single thing to say about it.
I am always impressed with short books, it feels like the authors tried to be concise and direct--they're not indulging, they respect your time, you know.
I wasn't convinced by your arguments until you mentioned remembering who all the characters are, which is one of my greatest challenges of longer books!
I have always had difficulty with names and that has only gotten worse over the decades. This is a big advantage of ebooks, for me, since it is so easy to search on a name and review the first couple appearances of the character.
@@slothrob That's a great point! I only read physical books, which means I'm occasionally flipping back trying to remember who a particular character is.
I completely agree with you (especially the 1% gain at every turn of the page 😂) but if I look back some of the most memorable books I’ve read have been the longest ones (Ducks Newburyport, Hundred Years of Solitude, Absalom Absalom, Wolf Hall trilogy) which probably reflects the time spent with them. So my approach now is I read 10 pages a day of a long one and read short ones at the same time. I just started Solenoid by Cartarescu and I hope to finish it by the end of November 😱
I haven’t read Ducks Newburyport, but when I saw the other books in your list I thought, “Those aren’t long books are they?” But I guess they are. Which I think speaks to their greatness because of don’t remember thinking they were long when reading them.
@@BookishTexan I guess it's all relative - as a slow reader, anything over 400 pages is long to me - and Absalom isn't quite that long but it takes time to read (dare I say it feels like more than 400 pages!)
I tend to balk at books over 400 pages. There are exceptions, but in general I like to stay around 300 pages. Sometimes I feel bad that I hesitate to read long books.
My ideal book length is 200-300 pages. I have read and loved some longer books recently, but increasingly I look at those over 300 pages and wonder if they are really worth the time it will take me.
I do love short books that have well chosen words. I love that Shorty September comes just as I’m finishing the BTP in which I am reading usually longer NF. It’s rejuvenating to race through all the short reads.
Brian I loved this video. I am enjoying the shorty books I read this September and totally agree with your analysis. Many of the ones I have read are also more willing to play with structure (Mild Vertigo, Gretel and the Great War and Kick the Latch) and as you said, in the short form we really get into the head of one or two characters. Another reason I love short stories.
Great video, Brian. I do like short books also, yet I think I mostly read longish books. I think I’ve been reading more shorter books since I’ve started reading a lot of classic science fiction. But the contemporary fiction I tend to read is on the medium to longer side. I have loved reading short stories this month, though.
My ideal maximum book length is around 350 pages, though I did live Katie Lumsden’s The Trouble With Mrs. Montgomery Hurst a great deal and I think it’s 400+
@@BookishTexan 350-400 is a great length. I guess, now that I think about it, since jumping into booktube, I have read a lot more shorter books because of my reading of science fiction, but I have also signed on to read an awful lot of very long books--like Les Miserables and Ulysses. So I guess I'm really all over the place. I still need to get to Katie's book. Definitely on my list. Oh, and I do believe a book by another one of my favorite booktubers is about to arrive in the mail--any day now! Can't wait!!! 😉
I have been reading short books for September. Some genres work really well in short form like crime fiction. The Postman Always Rings Twice is completely brilliant but wouldn’t work so well as a long novel.
@@anotherbibliophilereads Great point. I was just going to reply to another persons comment that fantasy, which requires world building and often involves quests, would be hard to pull off in a 200 page book.
The long books just carry a lot more risk. They might be amazing but a lot of them, especially the contemporary ones, suffer from bloat and lack of editing. My procrastination regarding long books is getting worse the older I get. Most of my longer favorites are older classics like Jane Eyre and Middlemarch, but a couple of newer long ones that I did love were Cloud Cuckoo Land and The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois.
@@BookishTexan I would suggest that if you decide to read Love Songs, read the print version because there's a family tree that I looked back on many times. The story covers several hundred years back and forth within a family.
This last year I've read a lot of shorter books, and there is definitely a sense of satisfaction in being able to start and finish a book in a day or two and getting to the end of the month with a pile of twenty finished books, but I've started yearning to relax into long books, to slow down and spend days with one story line, one set of characters. For the rest of the year, I hope to read at least one long book each month - but it's hard to get away from that rush of finishing one book right after another
@@MustReadMore I have some long books coming up for Victober and NonFiction November. I hope I have the experience of relaxing into at least one or two of them.
I tend to favour short books too. Books (and films) really need to justify their length, and so many long books would’ve been more impactful with some streamlining. It’s a joy when a long book does keep me engaged and enthusiastic the whole way through, but it feels like a rarity.
I love both long and short books. I've read short books that were awesome as shorties and ones I thought needed more length. And I've read chunky books that needed all the length and others that should have been shorter. I can't limit my preference to either, but I have been reading longer books over the past few years and I don't regret the time spent on them even though I am a year older than you. It's the quality of the book that matters and either length can be great or terrible. I agree that Claire Keegan is fantastic at short books.
True, it is the quality that matters. And there are some longer books I have read this year that I really liked. But recently the ones that really work for me have been pretty short.
This is going to sound strange as a fantasy nerd, but I agree with you! Some of my favorite books happen to be long with a large cast, but I’m appreciating shorter fiction more than ever. Foster was an amazing example! I loved it!
I think there's an issue with authors/publishers who don't respect the readers time. And I say it as someone who loves long form content, and who can appreciate a slow burn. If the story and the characters require three 1000 page books due to their complexity and depth, no issue whatsoever, I'm happy to read them. But if there's pointless filler because the publishing house mandated it must be a trilogy, or if there's constantly repeated information that should have been edited out and wasn't (I'm looking at you, Wheel of Time) that makes a potentially 7 book series into a 14 book behemoth, then it's just self-indulgent and excessive. And also self-defeating because it can make the reading experience a slog, and it can intimidate some readers into not reading because it's perceived as this herculean task that people don't have time for, which is a shame. There is an art to being able to write a story and keep it just as long as it needs to be. And to write a novella and still have a full breath of character and world building? That's masterful.
Exactly. There is true mastery in being able to create a world, characters, conflict, and emotional depth in a short book. I’ve never started The Wheel of Time series. Mostly because I don’t care much for books in a series and particularly when there are a lot of books or the books are long. I read Game of Thrones recently and I thought it was ok, but there was a great deal that could have been cut or shortened and I have no desire to read more in that still incomplete series.
You make a great case for them here Brian! Love this channel. I don't know what you make of Richard Brautigan, but I've always loved the brevity of his chapters (within his short books.) A couple of other beauties spring to mind - Becket's 'Ill Seen, Ill Said,' 'Company,' McCuller's 'Ballad of Sad Cafe,' Orwell's 'Animal Farm,' and a great more recent find - Christopher Wilson's 'The Zoo.' (Faber & Faber, 2017.)
I don’t think I’ve read Brautigan, maybe some short stories (?). There are so many great short books that when I thought of this video I came up with dozens.
I have a limited number of long books left in me, at this point, so I generally limit them to 1 to 3 a year and choose them carefully. I make an exception for Elizabeth George, a few times a year.
I think I prefer long books over short books most of the time. But I do enjoy immersing myself in short books during September. Now that it is October I’m back into the long books!
@@myreadinglife8816 I do have some long books on my Victober POP. I think for me that I just naturally admire the skill involved in a well written short book. It feels like long books can be really self indulgent for the writer. The Bee Sting comes to mind.
I am with you on the kindle thing 😂I like short books but I also love chunky books. I feel like I start the year reading longer books and as the year moves on they get shorter and shorter. I do prefer a book with less characters in for the most part so I agree with you there.
I was thinking of how much I disliked The Bee Sting by Paul Murray this month as I read several excellent short books. I just felt like he exemplified the lack of discipline sometimes evident in long books. I’m probably being unfair to that book though.
When it comes to reading prose fiction, I much prefer short stories to novels, for the very concision that you address. I prefer poetry even more, appreciating how every single word and its placement matters in a poem to degrees that are not typical of prose fiction, which can be and often is more digressive in nature.
@@BookishTexan I know of at least one author, Annie Proulx, who has stated publicly that she finds composing a short story much more challenging than writing a novel. The concision and compactness the form demands requires an extra level of discipline.
I like short books but in the back of my mind question whether its equivalent to reading a regular sized novel. I don't know why I think that especially since I've read some great short books. Actually, one of the reasons I love Shorty September is because it legitimizes reading short books for me.
I think that too sometimes. But in looking at my shelves when thinking about making this video I realized the number of great short books I have read is equal to, if not greater than, the number of long books I have read.
I understand that you can feel satisfied after quickly finishing a good book; but the real question is whether or not that chess clock on your shelf ever sees any quick blitz games action.
@@Summalogicae Haha! I haven’t played a blitz game in decades. I have used the clock in recent years in games against my son. I tried to play chess seriously for about a year - played in tournaments, got a ranking studied, etc- many years ago, but I lack the discipline to really improve.
I'm aiming to make my work-in-progress historical fiction novel as concise and fast paced as possible. The chapters are on the short side (< 3K words). But I have chosen to base it on real people and real events (1694 London), and there is a tragedy that strikes the main character, so 2 or 3 other characters and plot lines are necessary to carry on after the tragedy. Current estimate is 150K words, which is about 500 pages. My hope is that readers will *feel* like it is short because of the fast pace, economy of writing, the immersive world, and deep characters. (I'm working with an editor as I write.) Even so, I know that some readers and book publishers will pass on my book without even considering it. So be it. (I have 27K words so far, which is 10 chapters out of ~55 total. Plus a fairly complete outline)
Hey Brian, Have you read Train Dreams by Denis Johnson (116 pages)? I read it just recently and loved it so much I thought seriously about rereading it immediately. It contains a lot of what you talk about-few characters, great succinct writing. And complexity. I’m sure I’ll reread it many times & finds new things each time. Thanks!! 😊
I have read Train Dreams and I think it is a great example of a great short book in which each word is carefully chosen and each sentence perfectly crafted.
Have you ever had to put on wet shoes, a wet swimsuit, or clothes that are wet? It’s not usually pleasant at the outset but once you’re in them you quickly acclimate and get on with your task. The biggest problem with short novels is the increase in these occasions of going in cold…
@@BookishTexan Starting a new book can feel like arriving at a party where you know nobody. And especially if the author is clumsy about it, the settling-in process is often the worst part of the whole affair as you try to decipher whether you even belong here or not.
I rarely pick up a book that I don't finish within three days. I think it's because my energy, stamina and memory for reading long books has diminished. The advantages of short books are that you can read them to the end even if the style bothers you, and even if you don't find them interesting after reading them, the damage is minimal. And since most Japanese writers start with short books, it is fun to discover new favourites.
Looking at my reading history, I find something odd. I apparently love novellas and love long novels, but don’t love many short novels. I’m not in the slightest clear why that should be, but there’s this gap in my affections. If anyone has a plausible theory, I’d love to hear it. (I can make up nonsense ones on my own. :) )
Would that everyone had Claire Keegan's ability. I find that I connect with shorter books less often because not everyone is a Keegan or Wharton, so it's not that the format is worse but that it is harder to do well and therefore I have a better hit rate with longer books.
@@AaronReadABook Iy is harder to do well which makes the short books that do it so much better for me. I have really connected with some long books relatively recently. Collected Works by Lydia Sandgren for example.
Don't want no short books around here. I love long books. A short story or book seems like an idea not a novel although there are of course exceptions. Longer books are comforting to me and seems like I'm getting my money worth. Sounds silly to not read a book because its too long and sounds like something my kid would have said. No offense.
@@pennyg156 I was waiting for someone to incorporate “short people” in their comment😂 No offense taken. I will admit that sometimes paying a not small amount of money for a short book bothers me. It’s why I have only read one of the Murder Bot books.
I absolutely love long books. Spending that kind of time with a great story feels like a gift. Middlemarch. Or nonfiction like Red Comet. Les Mis and War and Peace are on my literary bucket list. Ethan Frome is fantastic. 🤓
I think your comment sums up some of our reading differences as I’ve only read one of the long books you listed (Red Comet) and no intention of reading the others (well, your love of Middlemarch does sometimes make me think I should try it. Red Comet is a great work of scholarship that Plath’s life and work deserved.
I also really like short novels (and stories). It forces writers to write "tightly," which I appreciate!
Economic writing that still conveys deep meaning is my favorite.
So many short things in life are great - short songs, animation shorts, short lectures in Uni, short meetings at work, denim shorts, shortbread....the list goes on....love this video and absolutely agree - I am trying to consistently champion short stories on my channel which is slightly different from short novels, but with lots of similarity. Great points here Brian.
Thanks Gareth. I love good short stories and I think there is a connection. The only thing better than a short work meeting is a canceled work meeting.
I agree with so much of this. Short books are great for atmosphere but sometimes I'll finish one and find that it had no effect on me and a month later I'm unable to say a single thing to say about it.
That happens with me long and short books if the book isn’t good.
I ❤ novellas too.
@@siobhancondon8109 They are great.
I am always impressed with short books, it feels like the authors tried to be concise and direct--they're not indulging, they respect your time, you know.
Exactly. And I think it helps them refine and clarify what they want to say,
I wasn't convinced by your arguments until you mentioned remembering who all the characters are, which is one of my greatest challenges of longer books!
@@joshyaks The older I get the worse this gets. Thanks Josh.
I have always had difficulty with names and that has only gotten worse over the decades. This is a big advantage of ebooks, for me, since it is so easy to search on a name and review the first couple appearances of the character.
@@slothrob That's a great point! I only read physical books, which means I'm occasionally flipping back trying to remember who a particular character is.
@@slothrob Me too. It is why 19th century Russian novels usually defeat me.
I completely agree with you (especially the 1% gain at every turn of the page 😂) but if I look back some of the most memorable books I’ve read have been the longest ones (Ducks Newburyport, Hundred Years of Solitude, Absalom Absalom, Wolf Hall trilogy) which probably reflects the time spent with them. So my approach now is I read 10 pages a day of a long one and read short ones at the same time. I just started Solenoid by Cartarescu and I hope to finish it by the end of November 😱
I haven’t read Ducks Newburyport, but when I saw the other books in your list I thought, “Those aren’t long books are they?” But I guess they are. Which I think speaks to their greatness because of don’t remember thinking they were long when reading them.
@@BookishTexan I guess it's all relative - as a slow reader, anything over 400 pages is long to me - and Absalom isn't quite that long but it takes time to read (dare I say it feels like more than 400 pages!)
I tend to balk at books over 400 pages. There are exceptions, but in general I like to stay around 300 pages. Sometimes I feel bad that I hesitate to read long books.
My ideal book length is 200-300 pages. I have read and loved some longer books recently, but increasingly I look at those over 300 pages and wonder if they are really worth the time it will take me.
I do love short books that have well chosen words. I love that Shorty September comes just as I’m finishing the BTP in which I am reading usually longer NF. It’s rejuvenating to race through all the short reads.
@@alldbooks9165 The BookTube Prize almost always winds up with me reading long books. Shorties definitely rejuvenate me.
Brian I loved this video. I am enjoying the shorty books I read this September and totally agree with your analysis. Many of the ones I have read are also more willing to play with structure (Mild Vertigo, Gretel and the Great War and Kick the Latch) and as you said, in the short form we really get into the head of one or two characters. Another reason I love short stories.
Glad to know that I am not alone in my love of short books. All the titles you mention are knew to me so I will look into each. Thank you!
Great video, Brian. I do like short books also, yet I think I mostly read longish books. I think I’ve been reading more shorter books since I’ve started reading a lot of classic science fiction. But the contemporary fiction I tend to read is on the medium to longer side. I have loved reading short stories this month, though.
My ideal maximum book length is around 350 pages, though I did live Katie Lumsden’s The Trouble With Mrs. Montgomery Hurst a great deal and I think it’s 400+
@@BookishTexan 350-400 is a great length. I guess, now that I think about it, since jumping into booktube, I have read a lot more shorter books because of my reading of science fiction, but I have also signed on to read an awful lot of very long books--like Les Miserables and Ulysses. So I guess I'm really all over the place. I still need to get to Katie's book. Definitely on my list. Oh, and I do believe a book by another one of my favorite booktubers is about to arrive in the mail--any day now! Can't wait!!! 😉
I have been reading short books for September. Some genres work really well in short form like crime fiction. The Postman Always Rings Twice is completely brilliant but wouldn’t work so well as a long novel.
@@anotherbibliophilereads Great point. I was just going to reply to another persons comment that fantasy, which requires world building and often involves quests, would be hard to pull off in a 200 page book.
_Ethan Frome_ is a great example. Though I probably prefer books in the high 200’s. (In the case of Wharton it’s _Frome_ hands down though.)
I think my preferred book length is about 120-350.
The long books just carry a lot more risk. They might be amazing but a lot of them, especially the contemporary ones, suffer from bloat and lack of editing. My procrastination regarding long books is getting worse the older I get. Most of my longer favorites are older classics like Jane Eyre and Middlemarch, but a couple of newer long ones that I did love were Cloud Cuckoo Land and The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois.
Same here. I have had Love Songs of DuBois on my TBR for years and just can’t seem to pick it up and start.
@@BookishTexan I would suggest that if you decide to read Love Songs, read the print version because there's a family tree that I looked back on many times. The story covers several hundred years back and forth within a family.
@@readandre-read Thanks for the heads up on that!
This last year I've read a lot of shorter books, and there is definitely a sense of satisfaction in being able to start and finish a book in a day or two and getting to the end of the month with a pile of twenty finished books, but I've started yearning to relax into long books, to slow down and spend days with one story line, one set of characters. For the rest of the year, I hope to read at least one long book each month - but it's hard to get away from that rush of finishing one book right after another
@@MustReadMore I have some long books coming up for Victober and NonFiction November. I hope I have the experience of relaxing into at least one or two of them.
I tend to favour short books too. Books (and films) really need to justify their length, and so many long books would’ve been more impactful with some streamlining. It’s a joy when a long book does keep me engaged and enthusiastic the whole way through, but it feels like a rarity.
This exactly how I feel. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray was a long boom I read that I felt could have been cut down by hundreds of pages.
I love both long and short books. I've read short books that were awesome as shorties and ones I thought needed more length. And I've read chunky books that needed all the length and others that should have been shorter. I can't limit my preference to either, but I have been reading longer books over the past few years and I don't regret the time spent on them even though I am a year older than you. It's the quality of the book that matters and either length can be great or terrible. I agree that Claire Keegan is fantastic at short books.
True, it is the quality that matters. And there are some longer books I have read this year that I really liked. But recently the ones that really work for me have been pretty short.
This is going to sound strange as a fantasy nerd, but I agree with you! Some of my favorite books happen to be long with a large cast, but I’m appreciating shorter fiction more than ever. Foster was an amazing example! I loved it!
@@Johanna_reads I can’t imagine a really good work of fantasy coming in under 200 pages though I assume there are some examples. Foster was beautiful.
I think there's an issue with authors/publishers who don't respect the readers time. And I say it as someone who loves long form content, and who can appreciate a slow burn. If the story and the characters require three 1000 page books due to their complexity and depth, no issue whatsoever, I'm happy to read them.
But if there's pointless filler because the publishing house mandated it must be a trilogy, or if there's constantly repeated information that should have been edited out and wasn't (I'm looking at you, Wheel of Time) that makes a potentially 7 book series into a 14 book behemoth, then it's just self-indulgent and excessive. And also self-defeating because it can make the reading experience a slog, and it can intimidate some readers into not reading because it's perceived as this herculean task that people don't have time for, which is a shame.
There is an art to being able to write a story and keep it just as long as it needs to be. And to write a novella and still have a full breath of character and world building? That's masterful.
Exactly. There is true mastery in being able to create a world, characters, conflict, and emotional depth in a short book. I’ve never started The Wheel of Time series. Mostly because I don’t care much for books in a series and particularly when there are a lot of books or the books are long. I read Game of Thrones recently and I thought it was ok, but there was a great deal that could have been cut or shortened and I have no desire to read more in that still incomplete series.
You make a great case for them here Brian! Love this channel. I don't know what you make of Richard Brautigan, but I've always loved the brevity of his chapters (within his short books.) A couple of other beauties spring to mind - Becket's 'Ill Seen, Ill Said,' 'Company,' McCuller's 'Ballad of Sad Cafe,' Orwell's 'Animal Farm,' and a great more recent find - Christopher Wilson's 'The Zoo.' (Faber & Faber, 2017.)
I don’t think I’ve read Brautigan, maybe some short stories (?). There are so many great short books that when I thought of this video I came up with dozens.
I have a limited number of long books left in me, at this point, so I generally limit them to 1 to 3 a year and choose them carefully. I make an exception for Elizabeth George, a few times a year.
I think we are pretty close to the same in terms of reading big books.
Short books are the best for the instant gratification monkey :D
Especially when there is no time for reading and long books are too much to handle.
Very true. Though I don’t find that I appreciate the artistry (not sure that’s the right word) of short books too.
I think I prefer long books over short books most of the time. But I do enjoy immersing myself in short books during September. Now that it is October I’m back into the long books!
@@myreadinglife8816 I do have some long books on my Victober POP. I think for me that I just naturally admire the skill involved in a well written short book. It feels like long books can be really self indulgent for the writer. The Bee Sting comes to mind.
@@BookishTexan oh yes, Stephen King I am looking at you! 🤣
I am with you on the kindle thing 😂I like short books but I also love chunky books. I feel like I start the year reading longer books and as the year moves on they get shorter and shorter. I do prefer a book with less characters in for the most part so I agree with you there.
I was thinking of how much I disliked The Bee Sting by Paul Murray this month as I read several excellent short books. I just felt like he exemplified the lack of discipline sometimes evident in long books. I’m probably being unfair to that book though.
@@BookishTexan 😂😂Not you coming for one of my fave books of last year😂😂Each to their own… I respectfully disagree 😉
@@CharlieBrookReads 😂😂😂😂
I couldn’t agree more.
We are often on the same page about books! (I’m a Dad so you know the pun was intended)
@@BookishTexan Hahaha!
When it comes to reading prose fiction, I much prefer short stories to novels, for the very concision that you address. I prefer poetry even more, appreciating how every single word and its placement matters in a poem to degrees that are not typical of prose fiction, which can be and often is more digressive in nature.
There is something incredible about a really well written and constructed short story or a well crafted poem.
@@BookishTexan I know of at least one author, Annie Proulx, who has stated publicly that she finds composing a short story much more challenging than writing a novel. The concision and compactness the form demands requires an extra level of discipline.
I like short books but in the back of my mind question whether its equivalent to reading a regular sized novel. I don't know why I think that especially since I've read some great short books. Actually, one of the reasons I love Shorty September is because it legitimizes reading short books for me.
I think that too sometimes. But in looking at my shelves when thinking about making this video I realized the number of great short books I have read is equal to, if not greater than, the number of long books I have read.
@@BookishTexan That's a good way of looking at it. Thx.
I understand that you can feel satisfied after quickly finishing a good book; but the real question is whether or not that chess clock on your shelf ever sees any quick blitz games action.
@@Summalogicae Haha! I haven’t played a blitz game in decades. I have used the clock in recent years in games against my son. I tried to play chess seriously for about a year - played in tournaments, got a ranking studied, etc- many years ago, but I lack the discipline to really improve.
I'm aiming to make my work-in-progress historical fiction novel as concise and fast paced as possible. The chapters are on the short side (< 3K words). But I have chosen to base it on real people and real events (1694 London), and there is a tragedy that strikes the main character, so 2 or 3 other characters and plot lines are necessary to carry on after the tragedy. Current estimate is 150K words, which is about 500 pages. My hope is that readers will *feel* like it is short because of the fast pace, economy of writing, the immersive world, and deep characters. (I'm working with an editor as I write.)
Even so, I know that some readers and book publishers will pass on my book without even considering it. So be it.
(I have 27K words so far, which is 10 chapters out of ~55 total. Plus a fairly complete outline)
@@russellcameronthomas2116 Great pacing and a fascinating plot/characters can make a long boom seem short. Good luck with your writing.
Hey Brian, Have you read Train Dreams by Denis Johnson (116 pages)? I read it just recently and loved it so much I thought seriously about rereading it immediately. It contains a lot of what you talk about-few characters, great succinct writing. And complexity. I’m sure I’ll reread it many times & finds new things each time. Thanks!! 😊
I have read Train Dreams and I think it is a great example of a great short book in which each word is carefully chosen and each sentence perfectly crafted.
I finished Ethan Frome this morning! 😂
Not my favorite Wharton novel but it is intense and that ending is so awful.
Lol. Great intro.
Thank you.🤓
Have you ever had to put on wet shoes, a wet swimsuit, or clothes that are wet? It’s not usually pleasant at the outset but once you’re in them you quickly acclimate and get on with your task. The biggest problem with short novels is the increase in these occasions of going in cold…
@@BooksForever I have had that experience, but I never thought to apply it to books. I’ve never felt that way when starting a book though.
@@BookishTexan Starting a new book can feel like arriving at a party where you know nobody. And especially if the author is clumsy about it, the settling-in process is often the worst part of the whole affair as you try to decipher whether you even belong here or not.
☕️😌📖
I need some ☕️ and I have one more short 📕 to get to this month
⚛️❤
I rarely pick up a book that I don't finish within three days. I think it's because my energy, stamina and memory for reading long books has diminished.
The advantages of short books are that you can read them to the end even if the style bothers you, and even if you don't find them interesting after reading them, the damage is minimal. And since most Japanese writers start with short books, it is fun to discover new favourites.
Great point about being able to read to the end with minimal damage. I also have diminishing stamina and memory for long books.
@@BookishTexan Just to be clear, this has been the case for the last 2-3 years, until then I had boldly taken on the challenge of reading long books.
did I miss you defining what makes a book short/long? Page count?
@@MarcNash You didn’t miss it. Yes, I would define it by page count- 225 pages or less I think.
@@BookishTexan Variable typography sizes book to book? Books with lots of white space? Books with very short chapters?
Looking at my reading history, I find something odd. I apparently love novellas and love long novels, but don’t love many short novels. I’m not in the slightest clear why that should be, but there’s this gap in my affections. If anyone has a plausible theory, I’d love to hear it. (I can make up nonsense ones on my own. :) )
That is interesting. I don’t have any theories I’m afraid.
Would that everyone had Claire Keegan's ability. I find that I connect with shorter books less often because not everyone is a Keegan or Wharton, so it's not that the format is worse but that it is harder to do well and therefore I have a better hit rate with longer books.
@@AaronReadABook Iy is harder to do well which makes the short books that do it so much better for me. I have really connected with some long books relatively recently. Collected Works by Lydia Sandgren for example.
@@BookishTexan I agree it makes them special. Collective Works could have been shorter for me 😂I found it repetitive.
@@AaronReadABook Ha!
Don't want no short books around here. I love long books. A short story or book seems like an idea not a novel although there are of course exceptions. Longer books are comforting to me and seems like I'm getting my money worth. Sounds silly to not read a book because its too long and sounds like something my kid would have said. No offense.
@@pennyg156 I was waiting for someone to incorporate “short people” in their comment😂
No offense taken.
I will admit that sometimes paying a not small amount of money for a short book bothers me. It’s why I have only read one of the Murder Bot books.