Books can be categorised into short and long books. However there’s always books that are medium, which means not very long and not very short.
Preference in reading takes on different forms and one of those forms is the actual length of the book.
Some reader’s especially avid readers will prefer longer books because they just like to read. But this is not always the case, sometimes even the most dedicate reader will prefer a shorter book over long one.
This article will discuss whether short books are generally better because this discussion is quite popular among readers.
With that said, are shorter books better?
Shorter books are not always better than longer books; it’s a matter of preference. Some people don’t want to spend too much time reading a long book and would rather read short books instead.
However short books can be just as good longer books and saying one is better than the other would depend on a number of things like:
Book category
Short books being better or not depends on the category of books at hand.
Certain topics for example cannot be well and fully expressed in short books so while a short book on biology can be a quick and easy read chances are it might be lacking the information and knowledge required to make for better understanding.
Therefore it’s a matter of preference and other factors like the kind of book.
Short stories are great and can be more appreciated because the author can take the reader through a range of varying emotions using a few pages.
The author
The quality of the short book also depends on the author.
If the author is a well rounded and good author, their short books could even be better than most long books out there backed by large publishing houses.
Therefore, before you decide whether or not to buy a short book, you might want to take some time discover who the author is.
The reader
Readers are different, some people like longer material whole others simply don’t have the time to sit and read 400 pages.
Therefore, the reader that likes shorter book will obviously say, shorter books are better simply because they prefer them.
The material
Another consideration is the material itself in the book. Not all short books are jam packed with value and not all long books are jam packed with value.
Therefore it’s impossible to judge a book based on length. We cannot definitively say shorter books are better books in general because many factors have to be taken into consideration and even then, we would have to pit every short book that has ever been published against every long book that has been published which would be an impossible task that would take too much time.
The value of a book is in the information it caries, not the number of pages it has.
Short Books pros
Let’s look into some of pros that short books generally have over longer ones.
Quicker to read
This is quite obvious; of course shorter books are quicker to read because they only have within them a few pages.
Readers who don’t like to read or come back to a book over and over will appreciate short books because they can go through them much quicker without the need to read them over long periods of time.
Usually cheaper
Another benefit of short books is that they are generally cheaper mainly because they can easily be self published.
Therefore somebody with the mind of keeping costs low will generally find it easier to shop for short books.
Short book Cons
Below are some of the cons that short books generally have.
Can compress the story
The authors of short books work to complete an idea within a limited number of pages. While this may be great for readers that enjoy generally short books, it can also diminish the magnitude of the story or information being expressed.
This is why some authors may choose to write a longer boom if they feel they need more room to express and explain an idea or story.
Harder to find good ones
Another disadvantage that comes with shorter books is that it is generally harder to find good ones.
The reason for this is simple, shorter books are generally easier to publish because they don’t require a lot of admin and with the rise of the self-publishing revolution every one out there can write and publish their own short book.
Of course the problem here is that since everyone can publish their own book you have to dig deeper to find work that’s actually good.
Long book pros
Below are some if the advantages longer books have over shorter ones.
Allows the characters/knowledge to unfold
With longer books, authors have more room to manoeuvre and can tell the story in full without leaving out any information.
This is even more important for books written to teach something or share knowledge because authors can take time to write everything to give the reader perspective and foundational knowledge when dealing with concepts in the book.
Easier to find good ones
Longer books or normal books are generally well published with publishers that have a reputation for quality. This makes it easier for you to find good books with much ease without needing to look through and vet a large number of works.
Long book cons
Below are the disadvantages that normal length books have.
Takes much time to read
Your average normal book is longer and therefore demands more time to read.
This is why some people prefer shorter to books to general long ones.
Usually Cost more
Books of course don’t cost an arm and a leg but still, normal length books cost more than your average shorter book.
For people financially conscious about how much they spend on books, longer normal books can generally be more costly.
In conclusion
Shorter books are generally better or not depending on a variety of reasons. It all comes down to what you prefer.
