# Do you take a books length into account when buying it ?



## TheSFReader (Jan 20, 2011)

When buying a book, I like to know its approximative length. When a DTB, I quickly check out it's formatting and width, to get an estimate reading time. When an ebook, I check if a length is given as a number of pages, or even word count. 
But you, does it matter to you ?


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## kisala9906 (Sep 4, 2011)

It matters to me for two reasons, the first what mood I am in do I want to read a short story or a novel the second is the price I won't pay anything over .99 for a short story


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## emalvick (Sep 14, 2010)

Generally, it doesn't matter to me when buying a book except in checking that they it isn't a short story to begin with.  Much like the previous post, I find that short stories can be deceiving in their marketing and generally limit myself to $2 or less for shorts.

However, I do take length into account to some extent when choosing to what to read next.  i.e. am I in the mood to read something long or do I need to read something short and quick.  Of course, it is challenging when one considers that some books just read faster than others, regardless of their length.


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## Todd Trumpet (Sep 7, 2011)

Yep.

I'm far more likely to try an unknown author at 200 pages than I am at 600.

I'm so page conscious, in fact, that I often jot the number of the final page onto the inside back cover of the book, and refer to it while reading.  That way, I know exactly where I am and how far I have to go.

That said, if I like something, I won't let page count be a deterrent.  A recent example is "CRYPTONOMICON" by Neal Stephenson.  1100+ pages...

...and each one covered with Intelligent Thought.

Todd


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

emalvick said:


> Generally, it doesn't matter to me when buying a book except in checking that they it isn't a short story to begin with. Much like the previous post, I find that short stories can be deceiving in their marketing and generally limit myself to $2 or less for shorts.
> 
> However, I do take length into account to some extent when choosing to what to read next. i.e. am I in the mood to read something long or do I need to read something short and quick. Of course, it is challenging when one considers that some books just read faster than others, regardless of their length.


Ditto ^^


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## mistyd107 (May 22, 2009)

Todd Trumpet said:


> Yep.
> 
> I'm far more likely to try an unknown author at 200 pages than I am at 600.
> 
> I'm so page conscious, in fact, that I often jot the number of the final page onto the inside back cover of the book, and refer to it while reading. That way, I know exactly where I am and how far I have to go.


ITA


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## WriterCTaylor (Jul 11, 2011)

Todd Trumpet said:


> Yep.
> 
> I'm far more likely to try an unknown author at 200 pages than I am at 600.
> 
> Todd


I was told by a publisher that exact thing. They said if you are a first time author you had to keep the number of pages down. No one wants to read a novel the length of Lord Of The Rings by a new author, simply because you are an unknown entity.

I do take into account how long a book is before I buy it because I tend to like shorter novels. It would have to be an utterly amazing read to keep me engaged for a thousand pages or so. I like up to 500 words or less.

Just my opinion though.


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## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

I enjoy both short and long (and really long) works, but I do like to know what I'm getting into. It's much harder to judge when reading ebooks, so I have more often been unpleasantly surprised by something being either too short or dauntingly long. Generally it's my own fault because it did say on the kindle page. But one problem is that by the time I open the book, I've lost all the "back matter" such as the blurb and the word count, because Amazon doesn't include that when they send you the book.

I wonder: am I the only one who would find that useful to be included at the front of an ebook?


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## WriterCTaylor (Jul 11, 2011)

Tara Maya said:


> I wonder: am I the only one who would find that useful to be included at the front of an ebook?


Yes! I often refer back to the blurb while I'm reading.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

TheSFReader said:


> When buying a book, I like to know its approximative length. When a DTB, I quickly check out it's formatting and width, to get an estimate reading time. When an ebook, I check if a length is given as a number of pages, or even word count.
> But you, does it matter to you ?


Mainly just to be sure it is a novel rather than a shorter work, but my preference is for fairly substantial works.


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## KateEllison (Jul 9, 2011)

Yes, but only in that I'm put off by massive tomes. I generally won't pick up a 600 page book unless it was very highly recommended (or I'm already familiar with the author).


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## GerrieFerrisFinger (Jun 1, 2011)

The only reason I would take the book length into account is if it's a short or a novella. Still, I would pay 2.99 for either if they were quality. I would have to know that from reviews or a sample. Novels can be any length, whatever it takes to tell the story.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

I always consider the length of a book because if it's short I'm not willing to pay as much as I would for a full novel. Also, sometimes I'm just in the mood to read shorts and am looking for them specifically. At other times I'm browsing for novels and ignore the shorts.


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## candyann (Jul 26, 2011)

Yes, I will pay more money for a longer book.


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

Length of the work isn't a major factor for me, but it is something to which I pay attention. I've run across a few Kindle "novels" selling for $3.99 and higher, and they were listed as only 84KB or so on Amazon. I don't mind paying for a good book, or even a short story, but I'm also not going to allow myself to be a fool over the matter.


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## Todd Trumpet (Sep 7, 2011)

mistyd107 said:


> ITA


International Tennis Association?

Todd


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Todd Trumpet said:


> International Tennis Association?
> 
> Todd


I was curious about that one too


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I voted yes, but my real answer is: sometimes.  Sometimes I get into a mood where I want to accept the challenge of reading a really super-long book.  Sometimes I want a short fast read.  Sometimes I just like how a books sounds and don't really care what length it is.


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

Todd Trumpet said:


> International Tennis Association?
> 
> Todd





Chad Winters (#102) said:


> I was curious about that one too


ITA is "I Totally Agree"


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

KateEllison said:


> Yes, but only in that I'm put off by massive tomes. I generally won't pick up a 600 page book unless it was very highly recommended (or I'm already familiar with the author).


I love massive tomes (GWTW 1000+, IT 1000+, and have recently come to the conclusion that shorter works (less than 50 pages) are rarely worth my time. It's not about if the story is worth the monetary cost, it's about MY TIME cost.


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## theraven (Dec 30, 2009)

Yes, but it relates more to how much a shorter length of work costs rather than not buying because it is shorter. I won't spend the same amount on a 100 page book that I would on a 300 page book, print or ebook. (exception is children's picture books with their beautiful illustrations)


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## amandamay83 (Apr 11, 2011)

This takes me back to high school, when we had to read books for "outside reading" and then take tests on them.  Nearly all the kids raced to get the short books...not realizing that the tests for the short books were much harder.  There wasn't as much material to question about, so many of the questions were nit-picky.  

Anyway, no, I don't really take the length into account.  The only "exception" being now on the Kindle, I want to know if I'm buying a "single" or some other short story, simply so I don't spend $8.99 for something that's should only be $0.99.  Beyond that, if it sounds good, I read it, regardless of the length.


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## Charrlygrl (Aug 1, 2011)

I do check the length, but it is usually because I prefer 'meaty' books.

I am also a short story and anthology fan, but it seems that these are widely available now with ebooks.

I prefer to read a few shorts in between a few longs, if ya know what I mean? LOL


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## Todd Trumpet (Sep 7, 2011)

intinst said:


> ITA is "I Totally Agree"


TMA!

Todd


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## henryandhenrybooks (Sep 6, 2011)

Yes, I do consider the length of the book.  Depending on when and how much time I have will often
dictate when I read it.  I don't like to "draw out" a book.  I like to gobble it up as soon as possible!


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## cheriereich (Feb 12, 2011)

When buying a book, I do not take the length into account. If I want to read a book, I'll buy it, whether it is a short story, a novella, a regular-sized novel, or a Stephen King sized one.

But when picking a story to read next, I do take the length into account. If I don't have much time, I'll look toward shorter reads. If I have a weekend or more to read, I'll pick up a longer book. I buy more books than I read, but whether an author wants to have their work bought or read is a completely different matter for a different thread.


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## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

BTackitt said:


> I love massive tomes (GWTW 1000+, IT 1000+, and have recently come to the conclusion that shorter works (less than 50 pages) are rarely worth my time. It's not about if the story is worth the monetary cost, it's about MY TIME cost.


Agreed. But I also agree with the person who said that I feel cheated if I pay more than $.99 for a short story. On the other hand, if the book $14.99 but 650,000 words, I won't begrudge the price. Of course, I have to know I want to invest both the time and money in that.

But say the 650,000 word book is .99. I might still hesitate to read it, because I'm not sure I have the time.


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

I do, because I too prefer long and "meaty" books - or series  Except for mysteries, those really should be the average length. I also strongly dislike short stories unless they are absolutely terrific (which happens rarely). Most of them feel like underdeveloped sketches that were published somewhat prematurely. 
I never really think about the price in connection with the length. I mean, considering an outrageous price of many things we buy, I think the cost of books is not that bad.


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## Tickety Boo (Sep 20, 2011)

Charrlygrl said:


> I do check the length, but it is usually because I prefer 'meaty' books.


"Meaty!" I like that. I have often said I like a novel that I can really sink my teeth into. I'm a mystery fan, and although I've read & enjoyed my share of series of short books ("The Cat Who..." series comes to mind) it seems that the more realistic novels that really develop characters are longer works.


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## Nicki Leigh (Aug 25, 2011)

I generally check to make sure a paperback is under 400 pages long before buying. This isn't because I'm not willing to read something longer, but because I don't have as much time to read as I'd like. I love books that are between 200-250 pages as they're easy to devour. If it's an ebook, I like when the author or publisher lists the word count somewhere in the book's description. I know a lot of readers are like this as well.


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## Julia444 (Feb 24, 2011)

I generally don't look at the length; I never really have, and I'm not sure why.  When I read a traditional book, my son always wants to know what page I'm on: page numbers are important to him, and if he gets a book he immediately checks to see how many pages it has.

It would probably bother him that Kindle doesn't have page numbers, because he likes to track his progress numerically.  I find that the little percentage bar is enough for me.

Some interesting responses to this question!

Julia


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## Alain Gomez (Nov 12, 2010)

Length is just part of my shopping routine.  When I pick up physical copies of books I will factor in how many pages/amount of life needed to devote to reading it/level of interest in the subject.  Like if it's something I'm mildly interested in and it's short, I would get the book a try.  

I do like to know what kind of a story I'm getting into before I buy.  If I want a short story, I'm looking for a short story.  I actually don't much care for short story collections that are novel-length.  In my mind, that kind of defeats the purpose.


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## Grace Elliot (Mar 14, 2011)

I'm amazed by these answers. I dont think I've ever bothered to look at the length of a book before buying (but I dont read short stories!)
My criteria when purchasing is to look for a great, page turning read and when I find one, I dont want the book to end so I dont mind the length. 
Just me, eh?


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## Alexis-Shore (Feb 20, 2011)

I used to, to save my delicate wrists. But with the Kindle, it's completely irrelevant now. Brilliant.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

Yes, I expect to pay less money for a shorter book. And I have to have some pretty good reasons to buy an enormous tome. In my experience, 1000+ page books are in need of editing.


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## Alain Gomez (Nov 12, 2010)

QuantumIguana said:


> Yes, I expect to pay less money for a shorter book. And I have to have some pretty good reasons to buy an enormous tome. In my experience, 1000+ page books are in need of editing.


Eh. I think there are ranges. If you want into a bookstore, a book that is 250 pages will probably be the same price as one that is 400 pages. 400 pages is nearly double in length but most people don't even consider that. Of the two, they buy the one they want to read.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

If people are choosing between two books, it is quite often not the case that they want to read one, but not the other. If they are considering both books, they probably want to read both, but are considering which to buy now. With paper books, it is immediately apparent which one is longer and which one is shorter. With e-books, it's not obvious. I don't expect much of a price difference between a 250 page book and a 400 page book. But these are both within the range of novels. I wouldn't pay as much for a novella or a short story.


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## yingko2 (Jul 26, 2011)

I do. I grew up reading a lot of pulp novels, which were around 50,000-60,000 words, so I much prefer shorter, punchier novels. When I see a book that goes over the 400 page mark (or has minuscule print at that length) I get a bit squirmy and usually move on to a short novel. I am not a particularly fast reader, so that probably has something to do with it, but I also don't like a book just over packed with detail and history or facts. I like a fast paced story.
Cheers, 
Howard


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## thegreywolf (Sep 21, 2011)

This is an interesting question. I handle my e-book reads with the same logic as my paper reads. If I pick up a particularly thin on the ground novel and then turn over and find that they are asking the same prize as a book three times the length I do pause and usually go for the bigger read. But that is entirely based on price not the quality of the work.

I think that there are two fundamental points to be considered. 1, what are we paying for, what value do we put on creativity? Shorter reads can often still provide an epic after-taste.

The second point is that E-books can offer so much more flexibility on behalf of the author. I can think of nothing worse than a good story that a writer is forced to pad out in order to fit into a publishers guidelines for a paper copy. So in writing the shorter story the author can still benefit financially without having to price himself out of the market.

In a nutshell what I'm saying is that the e-book revolution means that stories can be priced proportionately based on length, something that is not possible with a physical book.

Grey Wolf


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

I definitely take it into account, but it usually doesn't make or break the purchase, unless it's _really_ short. I prefer longer novels so that I can really bond with the characters, but it's just one factor in the decision-making process.


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## Debbie Bennett (Mar 25, 2011)

It's not the money for me. But with anything on a kindle, I feel cheated if I was expecting a full length novel and it turns out to be a novella or even short story when there was nothing in the description to indicate that. I don't mind short stories or novellas - I just like to know what I'm reading before I start.


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## Figment (Oct 27, 2008)

Back in the day, when I made WAY less money than I do today (when my measure of "really making it" was "when I can afford to no longer have to wait for it to come out in paperback), I would go into stores and not even look at books which weren't at least 400 pages...and the longer the better.  I was looking for something to last me a while.

Since getting the Kindle (and I was in the very first wave of shipments of the K1), I actually pay less attention to the length of the book.  I buy them much more on description that what I did when I focused on their physical side.  (The really good part of this is that I wound up reading and loving all sorts of authors I had missed simply because their bookd were "too short"...J D Robb, Terry Pratchett, etc.)

I must confess, however, that I am still really fond of long, dense books and/or book series.  Shorter books just always seem unfinished to me.


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## scl (Feb 19, 2011)

I consider the length of a book because I have a limited budget for books.  Longer books mean that I am entertained for less dollars per hour.


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

I take book length into account more than I did when I was younger. I'm not quite sure why, but I prefer books in the 250 to 400 page range these days. Like someone else mentioned, if the author is unknown and self-published, I'm less inclined to try it. But if the author is Diana Gabaldon or George Martin, I'll go for it. I think part of the reason for the shorter preference is that my reading tastes have changed, and I prefer faster reads. Maybe, after I retire, I'll dip into much longer works. I still have the complete print collection of Shakespeare I been avoiding for a long time.


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## HeidiHall (Sep 5, 2010)

anguabell said:


> I do, because I too prefer long and "meaty" books - or series  Except for mysteries, those really should be the average length. I also strongly dislike short stories unless they are absolutely terrific (which happens rarely). Most of them feel like underdeveloped sketches that were published somewhat prematurely.
> I never really think about the price in connection with the length. I mean, considering an outrageous price of many things we buy, I think the cost of books is not that bad.


I used to turn my nose up at shorter works, but have discovered I actually enjoy novellas. A few of my favorites are: Debora Geary's _Novel Nibbles_ (particularly _Matchmakers 2.0_), Lisa Scott's _Flirts!_ and Marie force has a Novella-length introduction to her books that I can't remember the name of right now, but was really good. All are long enough to get great character development, which I'd worried about before reading them. They are also perfect because I don't have as much time lately to spend on longer works (I get OCD and end up accomplishing nothing other than reading ).

I do think $0.99 is a good price for anything shorter than novel-length. I would hesitate to spend over that, no matter how much I enjoyed the author, unless it's for a collection. Short stories are really too short though, and I have yet to find any that I'd recommend.


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

In a DTB, I'll buy what I'm interested in, regardless of length, but the thick book might sit longer before I get to it.


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## GerrieFerrisFinger (Jun 1, 2011)

Generally not unless the author's unknown. Often, though, I go by genre. A straight-out mystery, police procedural, etc. should be shorter than an historical or thriller, but that's not set in stone as far as my reading preferences go.


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## JFHilborne (Jan 22, 2011)

Yes, I consider the length of the novel. My preferred read seems to fall anywhere between 65,000 - 85,000 words. Anything over 90k and I find the story often contains annoying filler. If I take the book on holiday, I want to gauge how long the read will take and if I'll need to pack a 2nd book.


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## Stacey Joy Netzel (Aug 3, 2011)

I take length into account when it comes to price mostly.  I don't want to pay more than $3 for a novella, and on the flip side, I'm willing to pay a bit more ($5-7) for a full length book.  Otherwise with my ereader I'm fine with any length book because I can instantly move on to the next book.


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## normcowie (Jun 21, 2011)

I'd like to say, 'no,' but once in awhile I'll pick up a tome that weighs as much as my ego, with teeny, tiny print, slim margins, and back off from reading it.


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## Marie S (May 20, 2011)

I think it depends on the book. If it's something I really want to read then I won't think about it.


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## Scott Daniel (Feb 1, 2011)

Length does matter to me quite a bit. I like a novel that's 200-300 pages in length. My life is very busy, so it takes some time even to read even shorter novels. I'd rather have a shorter novel that's tightly written than a novel that's padded with subplots I don't care about, too.


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## Kate R (Apr 7, 2011)

Yes. I prefer shorter books as I tend to savour books and therefore if it's 400 pages + I know it'll be a while before I get onto my next book. If the book is highly recommended I might make an exception.  I do find that length and genre are connected. Contemporary/literary books tend to be shorter


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## Colin Taber (Apr 4, 2011)

I suppose it does depend what the book is about, but as a general rule, I know I wouldn't bother with fiction that isn't above 50,000 words in length as I prefer a longer and meatier read.

I'd go for shorter works if I was particularly taken by a cover, concept or author, but more so if it was non fiction I was interested in.


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## ciscokid (Oct 10, 2010)

I clicked too fast.  I clicked on "Not at all", but then I realized I DO check the length of a book because I don't like novellas or short stories.....and I don't buy magazines.  I like a longer, more envolved story and a short story just doesn't do it for me.  Now, if I know its a book and not a short story or novellas, I never check the length. 

The only book that I have wanted to read, but put off reading because of the length is "Insomnia" by Stephen King.  I know how books by Stephen King sometimes take forever to get interesting and I've just not have the nerve to delve into my copy yet....maybe I should get it on kindle since my copy is a hardcover......and its HUGE.  lol


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