SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

I have noticed that in the last few years (I just turned 60) I am not willing to tackle the over 500 page book and I really have difficulty with longer series.

In my youth I used to re-read the earlier book in a multiple book series merely to remember plots and characters but I more loathe to do so now.

How do you address this. Do you wait until the whole series is out to then read the books in a row?

When I see a 600 or 700 page book, I tend to turn the other cheek.

Jeffrey, I'm coming up on 56. I used to do the same thing! The hardest was the Wheel of Time series. Every time a new book was published I'd re-read all of the books before it. I just don't have the urge or the patience for that type of thing anymore. Sometimes I'll re-read just the one preceding book if it's a convoluted plot, and sometimes I just dive in to the new book. For some reason, the page count hasn't been an issue for me. Yet. Stay tuned :)

I'm 59, and still happy to re-read entire series. But I've always been an avid re-reader of my favourites, so I tend to dip into them anyway, whether a new book is coming out or not.

I'm 50-ish (and fighting cancer). I'm currently rereading Dune, among other novels. It remains one of my fav SFF books of all time.

I do use audiobooks a lot more nowadays. My eyesight is not great and some days it's worse than others, and that's on top of my ADHD. Also with my cancer, I've gotten weaker and holding books can be genuinely difficult. However, the heaviest books that have given me the most difficulty in this regard haven't been regular print novels, but graphic novels, as the higher quality paper and all that ink makes them a bit heftier.

The only time in recent memory I felt impatient with a book's length was with Dragonborn and mainly because it is a very YA-ish YA novel. Good, just...for younger audiences than me.

73 here and I still read long books and often re-read the earlier parts of series when a new one comes out. Transitioning to using a Kindle with its considerably lighter weight and ability to resize fonts has, I think, helped a lot with this.

Right now, out of the 5 books I'm currently reading one is 513 pages (this is my outside the house book) and another is 609 pages with the shortest being 292

One thing about being old (I’m 68) and more to the point, retired is that there is theoretically time in the day to tackle big tomes that I might have avoided in the past. In another sense however remaining time is limited and I don’t want to waste it. Average novel length seems to have increased and I don’t want to bother with long mediocre works. Regarding series, there aren’t many that I need to reread in order to enjoy the latest instalment. I still haven’t read Brust’s Lyorn but I probably will before I reread the rest of the series (which I may do next year.)

I observe that back in the day, the enormous multi-book series was less of a thing. When I was young, there were a lot of single book works. And a trilogy was considered a long work.

Stephen wrote: "I still haven’t read Brust’s Lyorn but I probably will before I reread the rest of the series (which I may do next year.).."

That series is different as it isn't written in a strict timeline, so I don't go back a re-read the rest of the books in it

61 here ... no problem for me if it is good. I do find myself more willing to quit on a book than I used to do.

CBRetriever wrote: "Stephen wrote: "I still haven’t read Brust’s Lyorn but I probably will before I reread the rest of the series (which I may do next year.).."

That series is different as it isn't written in a stric..."

I haven’t read any of them more than once. Though I didn’t start until relatively late. But it might be about time.

David wrote: "61 here ... no problem for me if it is good. I do find myself more willing to quit on a book than I used to do."

Me, too, but that's even for singletons.

Embracing my 66 years, I have gone to audio books for the long hours. It helps when other tasks are being done throughout the day. This works for me.

Some have chosen hand held books, the weight, the smell, seeing the written words on the pages, feeling the pages as they are being turned. Go you!! That is the beauty of tangible books.

I am 55 but I have always preferred shorter books and stand-alone to chunksters and longer than trilogy series. That said, I’ve read plenty of Beasts and, in fact, I’m rereading The Realms of the Elderlings series right now, each one of which is a brick. I will think twice about reading a very long book though. I feel like there are so many books and authors I’d like to read that I don’t have time for these mammoth books. I also need some sense of accomplishment and it comes too seldomly with long books.

Oh and I find myself, like D, able to process books in audio much better these days. Especially the long ones.

CBRetriever wrote: "Stephen wrote: "I still haven’t read Brust’s Lyorn but I probably will before I reread the rest of the series (which I may do next year.).."

That series is different as it isn't written in a stric..."

Me, neither.

David wrote: "61 here ... no problem for me if it is good. I do find myself more willing to quit on a book than I used to do."

Oh my gosh me, too. My completionist ship sailed some time ago!

I read about 60 books a year and I have found at this time that I rarely read more than 2 or 3 books longer than 500 pages. I listen to the longer books rather than read them. It's still a significant investment of time and varying degrees or worthiness vs bloated. I still like series but rarely read two books in a series in the same year. And I don't have much interest beyond a trilogy. And yes I consider myself an older reader.

Mary wrote: "I observe that back in the day, the enormous multi-book series was less of a thing. When I was young, there were a lot of single book works. And a trilogy was considered a long work."

It was!

We can probably blame Tolkien and then his successors for the development of the doorstopper series in the decades that followed. I don't reread often, so if the author doesn't give a little summary at the beginning of subsequent books, I try to scrape up what I can via context, and if it still doesn't come together, so be it.

No real change with age, as far as I can tell. A willingness to fill in the blanks on series that have lain fallow for quite a while, perhaps, but that could have happened just about any time.

Michelle wrote: "Jeffrey, I'm coming up on 56. I used to do the same thing! The hardest was the Wheel of Time series. Every time a new book was published I'd re-read all of the books before it. I just don't have th..."

I think I re-read the first 6 books of WOT at least 3 times, and then the books immediately prior to last trilogy, but have not cracked it open again.

Jeffrey wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Jeffrey, I'm coming up on 56. I used to do the same thing! The hardest was the Wheel of Time series. Every time a new book was published I'd re-read all of the books before it. I j..."

I had to read them all in order as I bought this one: The Complete Wheel of Time. Ditto for Outlander.

I also have a book in Throne of Glass eBook Bundle: An 8 Book Bundle set to complete an item in the TBR challenge (8 books total). It's book 2 so I don't have to read the whole thing this year.

and the 3rd book in The Riddle-Master of Hed (three book collection) will fulfill a challenge on another forum

myself, I love to immerse myself in a world

I don't think it's a chore if the series is excellent. I mean I've read Janny Wurts' 11 book series twice within the last five years. I'm talking 800-1000 page chonkers. And I loved every minute of it. The same with Bernard Cornwell. His Sharpe series is 23-24 books now, and I've read the series three times.

So maybe it just depends on the series, Jeffrey!

Mid 50's as well. I have an alternate theory, it isn't that I avoid longer books, I just don't have any patience anymore with meandering writing which is usually what makes books long.
I just finished Wanderers which was huge but good the whole way through. Rare.

Mid 60's and I have only re-read about 20 books in my entire life. If I need to brush up on what happened in a series there are a few places on the internet that offer a synopsis.

Thanks Hank, yes, meandering writing, not worth my time.

AndrewP, thanks for the reminder. I should check on that more often, those summaries might exist even for basic kids' books.

I'm 52 and I don't read nearly as much as I should (I'm an author, and reading is a key attribute :)). With that said, I'm not turned off reading multi-book series with, say, seven books in them. They have to grab me, is all.
I got to book five of Wheel of Time and it just dragged on - to me. Trilogy's seem to be the norm for fantasy and sci-fi, unless there is a standalone. I'm fine with either.

For now, as it has been over the past four years, I've been spending much of my discretionary (let's say) time writing.

Michelle wrote: "Jeffrey, I'm coming up on 56. I used to do the same thing! The hardest was the Wheel of Time series. Every time a new book was published I'd re-read all of the books before it. I just don't have th..."

You re-read the whole series when a new book came out?

I admire your tenacity :)

I did, Jeffrey! Looking back, I don't know how I did it.

That's very impressive! I only ever did something along these lines with Bernard Cornwell's historical fiction Saxon Tales series. There were 52,000 characters with similar names, (Æthelhelm, Æthelred, Æthelwulf, Æthelfrith, ...). I made a cast of characters document on my kindle with the Who, What, Where, When, How and Why of all of those Æthel-people.

The inverse law applies:

"The older the reader, the shorter his books."

This is proven by a study I just thought up.

Of course NOT. Although you might think that the remaining time left in life could be distributed over more books ;-)

The question is: Do older readers end up reading shorter books?

I'm 52, so I guess I'm in the "older" category here. Funny enough, when I was 21, I thought 52 was practically ancient—sorry about that! But honestly, I’m not scared of reading longer books. In my opinion, it’s less about age and more about mood. What do I feel like reading? If I’m in the mood for a longer book, then I’ll dive right in.

Sure, I probably had better concentration at 28, but I can still manage! So, to answer your question: No, I don’t think older readers inherently prefer shorter books. It really depends on the individual. That said, it’s a thought-provoking question. Thanks for asking!

From some perspectives (like mine) 52 is rather young!

So, I'll say that this older reader does not prefer shorter books. At least, I do not prefer them on the basis of age. For example, I love Sharon Penman's historical fiction (see The Sunne In Splendour weighing in at >900 pages). Where I do like shorter books is when I don't have the time to spend on reading because too much is going on, or if I am unsure of the author and don't want to commit that amount of time.

I'm over 70 and I regularly read tomes. Currently working on

The Dragonbone Chair = 627 pages
Heritage of Cyador = 528 pages
Legacies = 608 pages
A Curse of Krakens = 662 pages

and a short mystery at 316 pages

The only reading change I’ve had with age is much more willingness to DNF

Thinking of a long work as over 450-500 pages. I read long works when I was in my teens, and read long works in my 60s. Same for short works. It is more important that someone I trust recommend a work to me or I find out about it some other way. Don't think the percentage of long works has dropped, it may even have risen.

Several considerations here. Sorry in advance if some of them are off-topic.

I'm still more or less "nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita", but I realise that mostly due to work concerns I've been postponing a long book I really want to read (Ours) for fears that life might intervene, forcing me to restart or get lost somewhere down the line.
On the other hand, I've been tackling several series or trilogies this year, in one case totalling over 13 hundred pages.

To be honest I've always thought, or rather hoped, that later in life I'll finally have the peace of mind to read all those Pynchons!

On the topic of series: I only tend to read the ones that are already concluded, so that I can go right trough.

I'm aware that some writers will actively hate me for this.

I'm older (51 years), and yes, I tend to read shorter works now than I did when I was younger. I find myself judging longer works - does this book really need 600 pages when the same story can be told in 300? But of course, that judgement typically comes after the fact.

I do tend to gravitate towards shorter works, unless the author or work has a reputation for good stuff. I read a lot of indie authors, so I prefer short and sweet - more like an aperitif.

Don't forget that older people who retired from work and live on pensions will then have plenty of time to read all the books they want...or write some books of their own. In this actual rat race for earning a living, workers often don't have much time left for reading, after work, taking care of family and home maintenance/renovations. I am 69 and my main hobby (nearly day-long) is reading and writing, so long books don't bother me...if they prove to be interesting.

I just carry a Kindle everywhere I go and if I have a spare moment, I open a book and start reading. It takes a while to read a book that way (Heritage of Cyador) is the one I'm reading that way now and I started it in September.

I'm 68 and I never pick a book based on length other than to avoid short stories usually. In fact, I love long running book series on top of long books. I love reading but I also love audiobooks and audiobooks help me to get in my 7 or so miles a day walking, miles spent on my stationary bike, and things that don't require my full attention.

MarilynW wrote: "I'm 68 and I never pick a book based on length other than to avoid short stories usually. In fact, I love long running book series on top of long books. I love reading but I also love audiobooks an..."

I started doing the Short Story Challenge and no I'm happy to purchase and read short stories

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I've read 412 so far this year. Plus they can count towards most of the other Challenges on this forum

CBRetriever wrote: "MarilynW wrote: "I'm 68 and I never pick a book based on length other than to avoid short stories usually. In fact, I love long running book series on top of long books. I love reading but I also l..."

What helped me to like short stories more is when I read a short story associated with a series I'm reading. Having the background of a series, knowing some of the characters, has helped me to warm up the short story format.

Yes, I enjoy short stories related to another work I like. And short stories as a general format. My struggle is with anthologies, whether it's stories by one author or multiple. I think it's my auDHD that makes me dislike the transition from one story to another.

CJ wrote: "Yes, I enjoy short stories related to another work I like. And short stories as a general format. My struggle is with anthologies, whether it's stories by one author or multiple. I think it's my au..."

ah, but that's where my tendency to read more than one book at a time helps. I think of the short stories as breaks from the longer works

Nadine in California wrote: "The only reading change I’ve had with age is much more willingness to DNF"

Yes! This is what I've seen as well. So many books. So little time. I'm not going to spend that time on one that's not working for me.

Plus I've developed a set of pet peeves over the years...

One pet peeve I have concerning book series is when the author does not really add new ideas or material to his stories and instead fills his/her books with long babbling in order to pad the number of pages, often repeating the same stuff. That was one reason I dropped David Weber's SF book series on Honor Harrington.

I’m an old guy (68) and I don’t think I’m less likely to read long books than I used to be. I think I am more aware of the fact that there are a lot of books I want to read and a limited number of years remaining to read them in. I might be more selective. I’m not likely to start reading some thousand-page fantasy novel unless I’m convinced it will be a better use of my reading time than other options.

I'm 56, so I'm not sure if that counts as 'older', but my reading--or I should now say my listening--habits have not change in regards to book length. I rarely pick a book that is less than 300 pages.

On another note, as I get older, I feel more nostalgic for books I read in my youth, so I'm rereading them. The challenge is I forgotten the title and author of several books and I have to depend on the kindness of strangers on Goodreads to identify them. 😊