This article is from our 2025 Fall District Discovery, see the full publication
by Drew Cerino
Are you addicted to your smart device? If you have ever picked up your phone and suddenly lost hours to an endless stream of content, you might be!
This technology, in conjunction with social media apps, has changed the way we consume information, mostly in the form of short, addictive bursts. The price of this shift? For one thing, our attention spans are getting shorter, and it would seem our interest in weighty tomes has gone the way of the dodo. A 2021 study showed that books on the New York Times Best-Selling List had shrunk in length by more than 50 pages in the last decade, and the likelihood of a longer book (400+ pages) getting on the best-seller list fell by nearly 30%.
Apps like TikTok are being blamed for a decline in reading overall, and this trend has forced the publishing industry to change tactics. Modern writers are using the tricks of digital media and psychology to connect with readers whose attention is constantly under siege. These techniques can include writing shorter sentences and chapters, as well as teasing major plot points up front. It seems many writers no longer feel they have the luxury of easing into the story with a long, slow preamble. And shorter chapters written in bingeable chunks give their reader a sense of accomplishment they wouldn’t experience stopping mid-chapter. Shorter sentences, lean paragraphs, a streamlined structure, and quick hooks seem to be the fashion these days.
“I think average readers are less likely to commit to a longer book; rather, they choose something they consider more interesting and that’s realistic to complete.”
– Dimitrije Curcic, Research Director, Words Rated
The online world of Fandom is also an alluring target for authors. Online groups like BookTok offer the ability for authors to interact directly with their readers and adapt to trends that tend to increase commercial success. You too can sell lots of books (if you just give the people what they are literally telling you they want)!
Of course, authors are human too, and although some of these changes may stem from the more cynical desire to sell books, others may simply be a result of the author’s own changing tastes and consumption. After all, surely, we write what we like?
However your tastes may have evolved, Pikes Peak Library District has bite-sized page turners, timeless classics, and everything in between for you. You can easily browse reviews, explore local authors, and discover a reading list that matches your tastes at ppld.org. Let us help you find your next great read… no pressure, no judgement—just books that may make you forget about that phone for a moment!