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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Entertainment
Paul Daley

In praise of short books: to start and finish in one sitting is a rare, unbridled joy

Man on sofa reading book.
‘To sit after dinner one evening, start a book and finish it by bedtime feels like such a guilty and rewarding pleasure.’ Photograph: Jacobs Stock Photography Ltd/Getty Images

In recent weeks and months, more by chance than planning, I’ve been reading more much shorter books than I usually do. A slow and careful reader, I take on average a week to finish a 300-page novel (I once read that most adult novels are between 70,000 to 120,000 words). Nonfiction books usually take me significantly longer.

I recently took six weeks to finish Mister Mister by Guy Gunaratne (374 pages) for a review – but that had as much to do with my walking away after every 20 or so pages, sometimes for days, to contemplate the provocation of this fine novel.

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