Not a week goes by without hearing about Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and it’s usually not a good sign. This week, the chief executive of X (formerly known as Twitter) took to his platform to criticise the lengths of books, suggesting that AI could transform the seemingly insurmountable task of reading. Hence, we ask: Are books generally too long, or are we missing the point if all we care about is the length?

Musk’s controversial take on book lengths

Musk responded earlier this week to an X post by Future Ventures CEO Steve Jurvetson, who was reading philosopher Nick Bostrom’s tome “Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World.” Jurvetson complained, “My biggest frustration with the book is that he takes over 500 pages to convey what could be more clearly said in well under 50. I can’t wait to run the text through a (Large Language Model) LLM for the compressed summary.”

In response, Musk agreed, saying, “most books can be much shorter. Definitely a useful task for LLM’s to summarize the salient points of a book.” The irony of Jurvetson’s own post being more than 1,500 words was not lost on users.

As expected, there was backlash to both comments, with many admirers of Musk coming to his defence. On the other hand, there were many irate book lovers with one person saying, “This is why we need more humanities education. People don’t even know what a book is for,” while another likened it to criticising Mozart for having “too many notes.”

Michael Upshall, with a background in publishing, wrote in 2020 that he prefers shorter books. He states, “All other things being equal, I would prefer to read a non-fiction book that is 64 pages rather than one that is 640 pages.” Of course, in the case of some academic books, getting through the jargon can be a rather challenging slog.

Why sometimes longer books matter

However, blockbusters tend to be long. “Harry Potter,” “Twilight,” “A Game of Thrones,” “The Hunger Games,” “The Da Vinci Code,” “Gone Girl,” “The Hate U Give,” and “The Golden Compass” all had huge word counts, with some exceeding 400,000 words. Nathan Bransford, author of “How to Write a Novel,” believes the reason for the tremendous length of these novels is their immersive nature, stating, “It takes time and description to build those worlds. The canvases are large and we lose ourselves in them”.

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He blames the trend of condensing books into novellas to “screenplay-izing novels,” which essentially means writing for the sake of adapting them for the big screen. He adds, “When writers are grappling with bloated word counts, physical description tends to be the first to go. Tastes vary, but in my opinion, cutting too much physical description is almost always a mistake. We’re already in a physical description drought, please don’t make it worse!”

Bransford fears that the publishing industry might go too far in adjusting word counts, leading to unnecessary editorial pressure to reduce the length of already appropriately sized books. Certainly, we should eliminate any superfluous content and aimless dialogues. However, it is crucial not to compromise the quality of books based on fleeting and overly simplistic notions of current reader preferences.

Why we seem to be reading shorter books

A 2022 study by WordsRated analysed 3,444 books, encompassing both fiction and nonfiction, published between 2011 and 2021. Each of these titles had achieved a ranking within the top three spots on the New York Times bestseller list at some point. The analysis revealed a noticeable trend toward shorter books in the latter half of the decade. Specifically, the average length of bestsellers decreased by about 50 pages. While the average bestseller from 2011 to 2017 exceeded 400 pages, by 2021, only 38% of bestsellers were longer than 400 pages. This marks a significant decline of 29.5% from 2011.

Some of the biggest reasons for this shift in habits have been attributed to our contemporary lifestyle. People appear to have less time to read in general due to our increasingly busy lives. There’s also something to be said about the gamification of reading, and trying to cram as many books on a TBR pile than humanly possible. The younger generation has significantly shorter attention spans than before apparently, largely blamed on social media consumption.

Past studies imply that Gen Z’s attention spans have shrunk to only eight seconds and that they find it more difficult to maintain focus for extended periods— though the veracity of these claims has since been questioned. On the other hand, a worldwide survey conducted by Yahoo and OMD Worldwide discovered that Generation Z’s active attention span for advertisements dwindles to a mere 1.3 seconds, the shortest duration compared to that of any other demographic group.

Binge culture and fast consumption

Guardian journalist Paul Daley suggests that part of this trend is also related to our binge culture. He writes: “We’ve been primed to want it all now. Every episode of each series of a made-for-streaming drama in a weekend.” He acknowledges that this challenges our concentration but argues that shorter books may actually serve as an antidote to this issue. Daley describes the pleasure of reading half a book in 45 minutes one evening and then eagerly anticipating the chance to read the other half the next day.

We often talk about the dopamine rush associated with small rewards, a phenomenon James Clear describes in “Atomic Habits.” These rushes are well-known for eliciting strong responses and playing a critical role in positive motivation. Hence, this inclination may be related to keeping this sense of happiness flowing.

What the experts say: books as the spice of life

Lauren Cobello, a three-time author, book coach, and PR agency owner for non-fiction authors, vehemently opposes Musk’s suggestion. “I 100% disagree with what Elon says,” the Leverage With Media founder told How To Be Books. She believes the value of the traditional reading experience: “I have this saying, ‘You need to write a book, not a pamphlet,’ and I stand by this phrase. People that like to read, like the experience of reading. They like holding a book that feels like a book, that is over 200 pages and feels like an actual book. I do not believe that will ever change.”

Sabrina Wiggins, founder of Self Ink It Awards, a platform championing indie authors, offers a nuanced perspective. “Think of book-length like a recipe. Sometimes, you need a quick stir-fry for a busy weeknight, while others call for a slow-cooked stew simmering with rich flavors. Books should cater to the reader’s appetite and the subject matter’s complexity.”

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The Little Aiden Press CEO argues for diversity in book lengths: “Shorter books can act as literary appetizers, tantalizing readers’ taste buds and leaving them hungry for more. On the other hand, longer books offer a feast of knowledge, allowing readers to savor each chapter and dive deep into the narrative.”

Paul Millerd, an author and independent consultant, shares insights from his personal experience. “I wrote a 55k word book, and many have shared it because they’ve finished it—it only comes in at 192 pages in a paperback form. Now I’m working on a 25k word book, not because Elon things books should be shorter, but because I think too many people are tied to ideas of books being shaped by publisher demands.” 

The Pathless Path author points out the flexibility self-publishing offers over traditional publishing models: “As a self-published author, I don’t need to add fluff to my books to meet a target word count… I’m thinking of book publishing more like music—Drake releases ‘singles’ all the time, why not shorter books?”

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Millerd, who has sold nearly 50,000 copies of his first book, sees potential in experimenting with shorter formats for his next publication, indicating a possible shift in how authors approach book-length and content delivery in the digital age.

The bottom line is that we need variety in our reading diet; otherwise, we risk ending up with homogenous, mundane works. While shorter books may serve a purpose for those seeking a quick dopamine boost, we should not overlook the incredible epics that we’ve been fortunate enough to experience. From Tolkien to Homer, our minds have expanded considerably through exploring other possible worlds. It’s important to note that LLMs are the equivalent of CliffNotes, which are nowhere near the same as a novella. Hence, it’s crucial that we differentiate between the two.