Hey Guys,
Today I want to do a post on Why do we avoid big books? This discussion post was actually inspired by another discussion post I read by Nyx on ‘Does the length of the book matter.’ This was such a brilliant discussion post and it got me thinking about big books and if we all avoid them.
Its 2019, I’m 24 and I can say that I have never in my whole life come across someone who continuously picks up big books. I’m talking 600+ pages, every week or month. Which got me to thinking, do we all put off reading the big books?
The ones we can’t lug around on our commutes easily or take to the park. I’m not saying that people who constantly read big books aren’t out there, sure these people exist and if you are one of them I applaud you because I can’t do it.
Me? I find safety and comfort in the standard paperbacks of 400 pages max. For books which have 500 or more pages, I start to put them off. Why?
I’ve figured out I don’t like the commitment it brings with it. A larger book means I can’t just take it to work to read on my lunch break because it’s too big and too heavy to carry around which means I can only read it during my spare time at home. As well as this I feel like I am also stuck with that big book until I finish it because I always tend to stick with the books to the very end… unless it’s absolutely awful of course.
But here is where my dilemma gets interesting… this fear of starting a big book also includes my favourite authors such as J.K Rowling’s Order of the Phoenix and Cassandra Clare’s The Dark Artifices series. These are hefty reads by anyone’s standards but they are both authors I love. I know when I start reading them, I am going to love the story within but still I sit and stare at the books on my shelves for a good few months before I draw up the courage to go ‘no, I need to start it now.’ Once I have then finished the book I kick myself for not starting it sooner and this is the cycle I go through each time…
So I’m wondering, what stops you from reading the big books?
Are you like me and does the commitment put you off from picking it up straight away?
Let me know in the comments below, I would love to hear your thoughts on this!
mortalreader.wordpress.com 
I think it truly has something to do with the actual physical book for me. Because I have no problems committing to buying an entire book box, which includes 5 volumes of 300 pages, but I am not going to buy one big 1000 page tome. It’s just not going to happen haha
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I agree completely. If I had one giant book like that, there would be absolutely no way I picked it up. I mean how would you even carry it everywhere? Although thinking to the Harry Potter whoopers of 800+ pages… I did that aha
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I tend to also try to avoid big books. I’m the type of person who likes to read a lot of books (and quickly), so if I pick up a big book, this kind of prevents that from happening for me. Plus, since I’m in high school and have a lot of work, it’s so hard to even sit down and read a 200 page book!
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I also avoid big books because I only read one book at a time and I’m scared I won’t have time to read more if I commit to something big.
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This is exactly how I am like. I get scared if I commit to such a big book then I’ll be stuck with it for so long. I’m the sort of person who will continue with a book regardless if I don’t like it.
Thank you for your comment and I’m sorry for the awfully late reply x
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It varies for me, but I do prefer my books to be around 400 pages. Super large books intimidate me a bit. Maybe because of how long it would take to get through? Sometimes I worry that it won’t hold my interest. And they just suck to hold. But I do read some that are bigger.
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You described perfectly how I feel when faced with a big book! They are intimidating and time consuming and just not easy to transport. 😕 I’d rather read a series with 3 different books than 1 with 1000 pages. But yeah sometimes, we can pass up some really good stories. So I keep the big ones for when I’ve got a break from work. 😊 Great post! 😘
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I don’t necessarily try to put off reading big books, since I’m always delighted when I come across one, but I often end up saving it for the weekend. My favorite thing to do is to binge read a large book within a day, especially from authors I love. I know that when I start, I don’t want to stop reading, so I don’t pick them up until I know I have a solid day or two of uninterrupted reading time haha. That’s usually the only reason I avoid a large book for a little bit! Though sometimes, I do avoid them because I would prefer to read a series of shorter reads, about 500 pages max, so that I can get more reads within a month!
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Such a lovely post! I tend to be scared to read any book over 500 pages. The commitment it takes for me to finish them is daunting! 😂
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I feel like I almost become impatient for the end, or I’m just very aware of how it’s taking me longer to read than usual. But I also work on getting rid of that hesitation against them because my favourite books tend to be huge 😆
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I think I also enjoy knowing I finished something! Especially with a reading challenge, it feels nice to finish a book in a day or two, and not have to worry it will take you all month to finish it. That being said I have finished some pretty hefty books in one day. But I’ve found that as I get busier, I tend to enjoy reading shorter books because I know they won’t drag on for as long, since when I get busy I only have time to read in half hour chunks.
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You summed up my feelings perfectly, as I get busier I really don’t want to be caught in a really long book when I could finish a few in the small amount of time I have x
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