If you’re a heavy reader, you’ve probably read a mix of very short and very long books in your life. and you’ve probably wondered how long some of your favorite stories are. But because time sometimes slows down or speeds up when we’re engrossed in a good story, it’s very difficult to compare the lengths of different stories when reflecting on our experiences. the number of pages doesn’t help much either, as publishers use different typefaces, page sizes, font sizes, etc. However, the ultimate measure of story length is its word count, which is why the literary geeks here at Foster Grant have put together a list of many of history’s most popular books and stories for you. Be sure to check out our range of reading glasses if you need a little help reading your next book!
what is the difference between a novel, a novel and a short story?
first of all, it is important to be able to differentiate between a novel and a novella, a short story and a work of fiction.
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- flash fiction is between 100 and 500 words
- a short story is usually between 1000 and 8000 words, but many are usually longer
- a novella is usually between 20,000 to 50,000 words
- the average novel is usually between 80,000 and 100,000 words
- an epic novel is over 110,000 words
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count of words in different genres
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to how many words a novel in a particular genre should have. however, publishers expect averages and approximate word counts. Of course, figures differ depending on which publisher you ask, so the following figures are just approximations derived from various sources.
- crime: 90,000 to 100,000 words
- thriller: 70,000 to 90,000 words
- literary: 80,000 to 110,000 words
- romance – 40,000 to 100,000 words
- fantasy – 90,000 to 110,000 words
- horror – 80,000 to 100,000 words
- science – 90,000 to 125,000 words
- historical – 100,000 to 120,000 words
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literary fiction
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Literary fiction is a somewhat difficult genre to define at times, as it tends to contain a mixture of all genres. one thing that seems to connect all books considered “literary” is that they are all considered cleverly written. however, there are clever books in every genre, so literary fiction is really just the upper echelons of books considered “good” by revered critics and scholars.
- to kill a mockingbird, harper lee – 100,388 words
- gullivers travels, jonathan swift – 107,349 words
- wuthering heights, emily bronte – 107,945 words
- the adventures of huckleberry finn, mark twain – 109,571 words
- while i’m dying, william faulkner – 56,695 words
- lord of the flies, william golding – 59,900 words
- mrs dalloway, virginia wolf – 63,422 words
- black beauty, anna sewell – 59,635 words
- the color purple, alice walker – 66,556 words
- treasure island, robert louis stevenson – 66,950 words
- the sun also rises, ernest hemingway – 67,707 words
- the photo of dorian gray, oscar wilde – 78,462 words
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epic novels of literary fiction
Epic novels are works of fiction of 110,000 words or more.
- ulysses, james joyce – 265,222 words
- bland house, charles dickens – 360,947 words
- great expectations, charles dickens – 183,349 words
- les miserables, victor hugo – 530,982 words
- war and peace, leo tolstoy – 561,304 words
- anna karenina, leo tolstoy – 349,736 words
- gone with the wind, margaret mitchell – 418,053 words
- moby dick, herman melville – 206,052 words
- for whom the bell tolls, ernest hemingway – 174 106 words
- memoirs of a geisha, arthur golden – 186,418 words
- jane eyre, charlotte brontë – 183,858 words
- catch-22, joseph heller – 174,269 words
- sense and sensibility, jane austen – 126,194 words
- atonement, ian mcewan – 123,378 words
- lonesome dove, larry mcmurtry – 365,712 words
- atlas shrugged, ayn rand – 561,996 words
- crime and punishment, fyodor dostoevsky – 211 591 words
- the grapes of wrath, john steinbeck – 169,481 words
- one hundred years of solitude, gabriel garcia marquez – 144,523 words
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fantasy books
Fantasy readers often expect all of their books to be epic. therefore, most famous fantasy novels are over 110,000 words, though there are a few exceptions…
- jonathan strange & mr norrell, susanna clarke – 308,931 words
- american gods, neil gaiman – 183,222 words
- the color of magic, terry pratchett – 65,113 words
- eragon, christopher paolini – 157,000 words
word count of the books of ursula k. le gui’s terramar series:
- a mage from earthsea – 56,533 words
- the tombs of atuan – 45,939 words
- the farthest shore – 60,591 words
- tehanu – 99,200 words
- stories from Tierramar – 128,960 words
- the other wind – 89,280 words
word count of george r.r. martin’s song of ice and fire series:
- a game of thrones: 298,000 words
- a clash of kings: 326,000 words
- a storm of swords: 424,000 words
- a feast for crows: 300,000 words
- a dance with dragons: 422,000 words
- the entire song of ice and fire series (so far): 1,770,000 words
word count of j.r.r. tolkien’s lord of the rings series:
- the hobbit – 95,356 words
- the fellowship of the ring – 187,790 words
- the two towers – 156,198 words
- the return The King: 137,115 words
- The entire Lord of the Rings series (including The Hobbit): 576,459 words
word count of books in j.k. rowling’s harry potter series:
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – 76,944 Words
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – 85,141 Words
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – 107,253 words
- harry potter and the goblet of fire – 190,637 words
- harry potter and the order of the phoenix – 257,045 words
- harry potter and the half blood prince – 168,923 words
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: 198,227 words
- The entire Harry Potter series: 1,084,170 words
word count from his dark materials series by philip pullman:
- the golden compass: 112,815 words
- the subtle knife: 109,120 words
- the amber spyglass: 168,640 words
word count of c.s. lewis chronicles of narnia series:
- the lion, the witch and the wardrobe – 38,421 words
- prince caspian – 46,290 words
- the voyage of the dawn treader – 53,960 words
- the silver chair – 51,022 words
- the horse and his child – 48,029 words
- the magician’s nephew – 64,480 words
- the last battle – 43,333 words
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science fiction
- the time traveler’s wife, audrey niffenegger – 155,717 words
- fahrenheit 451, ray bradbury – 46,118 words
- the martian chronicles, ray bradbury – 64,768 words
- brave new world, aldous huxley – 63,766 words
- the war of the worlds, g. good – 59,796 words
- the time machine, g. fine – 32,149 words
- nineteen eight and four, george orwell – 88,942 words
- dune, frank herbert – 187,240 words
- the left hand of darkness, ursula k. le guin – 94,240 words
- Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Phillip K. cock – 79,360 words
- frankenstein, mary shelley – 74,800 words
See Also: How to Loan Kindle eBooks to Your Friends and Family? – Hooked To Books
See Also: How to Loan Kindle eBooks to Your Friends and Family? – Hooked To Books
See Also: How to Loan Kindle eBooks to Your Friends and Family? – Hooked To Books
See Also: How to Loan Kindle eBooks to Your Friends and Family? – Hooked To Books
See Also: How to Loan Kindle eBooks to Your Friends and Family? – Hooked To Books