As the length of a book increases, it seems sensible to assume the number of chapters increases too. But this isn’t always the case, in fact there’s a very weak relationship between the length of a book and its chapters (for those who want the maths, a correlation of R2=25%*). What this means is that just because a book is long, doesn’t mean its chapters are, and vice versa – a shorter book can have drawn out chapters.
To me, this feels like an important observation. Many people are put off by books due to their length, when actually it’s the scaffolding within it – how easily you can move from chapter to chapter – that I believe can make a book harder or easier to get through.
It also means that different books might be more or less appropriate in different settings. By segmenting books based on their chapter cadence – that is the average length of each chapter – and their overall length, we can identify different settings that a bit may or may not be more suitable for. Of course, these are my own suggested occasions, but hopefully they are a beneficial guide.
These are short books with short chapters. And so, lend themselves to bedside reading when you often want short chapters you can get through and concise books that don’t overstay their welcome on your bedside table.
These are short books, but with longer chapters. Being sat on a train or a bus for a while means you are more open to longer chapters, as you have the travel time to get through them. Yet, short enough to avoid feeling like it’s Groundhog Day every time you commute.
These are long books, but with shorter chapters. Many of us reserve a ‘good book’ for the holidays and given we often have more free time when on leave this lends itself to longer books, but with shorter chapters so they are easier to pick and put down.
These are long books, with long chapters. A big book is daunting and often the preserve of a topic we have a genuine passion about. Long chapters take time to traverse, and when multiplied across a long book demands perseverance, so it needs to be book you’re willing to commit to.
*Based on analysis of the 250+ non-fiction books I own. Where the median book length is 250 pages and median number of chapters is 11, resulting in around 20 pages per chapter on average.