Are modern books too long these days?

[Nuttyaboutnutella]

Or is it just me?

I love reading. However, with two very small children who don't sleep well, I don't have time to read much. I'm finding that I'll get a book from the library or buy online, and it just seems like a 1000000 pages of drivel. It's just waffling and taking 2 pages to describe their surroundings. I keep thinking "get on with the actual story!"

I've started 3 books in a row that seem hopeful but within a few chapters, I'm just losing interest because there's too much 'filler'.

I just want a book I can enjoy and get engrossed in without spending half a day with the author describing what a character wants for lunch (slight exaggeration but you get the drift )

Did this start with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which was two inches thick in hardback? I couldn't even finish The Casual Vacancy.

I know what you mean: some modern books do seem to be over-long.

I think it’s always been the same, some books are too long, some aren’t. It’s just that most of the rubbish old books have been lost to history.

Perhaps as your life has now changed, what you need from a book has changed? I personally quite like a slow burn, meandering book (as long as it’s well written), but sometimes struggle with that style when stressed or busy

I don't think that long books are necessarily a bad thing as long as all the content is actually required.

Some of them do feel a bit like badly written student essays trying to pad things out to meet the required word count

Seeline you have summed it up perfectly about the word count thing lol.

I just find they waffle on about a load of fucking nonense. When I'm reading a book and I keep shouting " Get on with the bloody story!" It doesn't exactly make for positive reading

Having done an English degree 40 years ago, I can assure you that there are hefty tomes from every period of literature.
You need to be more selective about the books you choose. There was a time in my life when I could only cope with poetry. Short ones.

I tend to enjoy a longer book all the more, longer to get stuck into the world it creates and generally they have richer detail I appreciate

There was a great thread on here recently, in which we bemoaned the death of good editing

I totally agree. Can’t think of much I’ve read lately that would not be improved by slashing the word count. Lincoln in the Bardo was a pleasant surprise, but then Sanders background is the short story.

There are some really good science fiction short story anthologies from the 20the century which are good reads - I really appreciate the short story format these days.