Wats with the length!!

How long should a book be??

Ever wondered.. What is a decent size? An author can never answer this question but a reader can depending on of course the appetite and the strength to carry on..

So as a reader I am going to opine on the long & short of the books that I have read...

vs

The biggest book that I have read. Now that is debatable.. Lord of the Rings or The Suitable Boy..

It cannot be ascertained by the number of pages because the size varies from book to book.. probably the count of words is one determinant but that is difficult to count..   unless the publisher helps you by putting it in the book..

 

That is very quantitative way but a reader looks at it in a very psychological way.. like how much time did they take to read.. or how heavy the book is or looks so... like the thickness..

 

But the final determinant is the amount of pleasure a reader gets.. there are times when I hate finishing a book, wanting it to continue forever because it was so good.. dreading with every page turned that it will be over soon.. like so many readers felt when Harry Potter Series ended.. what if all this was in one book.. would we have such big fan following now that it is split into seven books.. a debatable point.. maybe I can blog about it sometime.

 

If it is a drag... taking you forever to finish.. That can be painful even forcing you to drop them mid way.. you keep reading it hoping it would get interesting, or sometimes especially when it is a recommendation you continue reading doubting your own judgement hoping that it sure holds something..  I have myself experienced many such books.. but would skip naming them because they are supposed to be best sellers and even award winners... but probably they were just not my types..

 

Like you say everyone loves someone.. similarly there is always a book which is liked by someone.. someone does find the true soul of the book behind the thickness of its size, weight, length, breadth, no. of pages.. or hours & hours gone in reading it... so there are no answers to how to find the right book or what is the appropriate length of a book.. you just have to keep reading and for the authors just keep writing.. ultimately you do get measured up.. by finding the right readers or probably finding the right EDITOR ;))