Book Review Guide original data
Average Book Length by Genre: Data From 254 Books (2026)
The page counts of 254 reviewed books show how long a typical book is, and how much that changes from one genre to another. The median book is 400 pages long; the average is 438 pages. Long books pull the average above the middle book.
At either end are Wild Symphony, with 44 pages, and Wind and Truth, with 1,344.
Key Findings
- The book right in the middle of the sample is 400 pages long.
- 51.6% of the reviewed books have at least 400 pages; 25.2% reach 500.
- Historical fiction runs longest by median, at 535 pages.
- Classics comes out shortest by median, at 324 pages. That's 211 fewer than historical fiction.
- Wild Symphony is the shortest book in the sample at 44 pages; Wind and Truth is the longest at 1,344.
How Many Pages Is the Average Book?
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The average is 438 pages, while the book in the middle is 400 pages long. Long books pull the average above the middle book.
Average Book Length by Genre
Here are the genres with at least five reviewed books with page counts, starting with the highest median. A book can belong to more than one genre, so the group totals overlap.
| Genre | Books | Average | Median | Shortest | Longest | 400+ Pages | 500+ Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historical fiction | 27 | 559 | 535 | 128 | 1,040 | 77.8% | 55.6% |
| Romance | 34 | 472 | 418 | 272 | 1,040 | 61.8% | 26.5% |
| Thriller | 44 | 422 | 416 | 176 | 688 | 59.1% | 18.2% |
| Fantasy | 96 | 468 | 411 | 64 | 1,344 | 56.3% | 31.3% |
| Nonfiction | 20 | 405 | 400 | 246 | 720 | 55% | 10% |
| Science fiction | 75 | 407 | 399 | 160 | 896 | 49.3% | 22.7% |
| Horror | 17 | 416 | 384 | 88 | 1,040 | 47.1% | 23.5% |
| Classics | 45 | 385 | 324 | 64 | 1,024 | 35.6% | 22.2% |
Which Genres Have the Longest Books?
Historical fiction leads the sample: its median is 535 pages, compared with 400 for all the reviewed books. That group contains 27 books.
Next come romance (418 pages) and thriller (416 pages). Those are the middle books in each group, not a promise about every title on the shelf.
Which Genres Have the Shortest Books?
Classics is at the other end, with a median of 324 pages. Even here, length varies: the shortest has 64 pages and the longest has 1,024.
The next lowest medians belong to horror at 384 pages and science fiction at 399 pages.
How Long Are the Reviewed Books?
The biggest group is 301-400 pages: 86 books, or 33.9% of the sample. The bars show how the rest compare.
- 1-100 pages4 books (1.6%)
- 101-200 pages15 books (5.9%)
- 201-300 pages29 books (11.4%)
- 301-400 pages86 books (33.9%)
- 401-500 pages56 books (22%)
- 501-600 pages25 books (9.8%)
- 601-700 pages14 books (5.5%)
- 701-800 pages10 books (3.9%)
- 801-900 pages3 books (1.2%)
- 901-1000 pages3 books (1.2%)
- 1001+ pages9 books (3.5%)
51.6% of the sampled books reach 400 pages, and 25.2% reach 500.
Book Length Distribution by Genre
Each number is a book count. Brighter cells mean more books in that range, using the same scale for every genre.
| Genre | 1-100 | 101-200 | 201-300 | 301-400 | 401-500 | 501-600 | 601-700 | 701-800 | 801-900 | 901-1000 | 1001+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historical fiction | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Romance | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Thriller | 0 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fantasy | 2 | 7 | 9 | 29 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| Nonfiction | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Science fiction | 0 | 7 | 9 | 24 | 18 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Horror | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Classics | 3 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Three Books That Show the Range
The shortest book, a book near the average, and the longest: three very different reading commitments.
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Shortest
Wild Symphony
Dan Brown
44 pages · childrens literature
Read my reviewNear the average
The Eternity Cure
Julie Kagawa
434 pages · fantasy
Read my reviewLongest
Wind and Truth
Brandon Sanderson
1,344 pages · fantasy
Read my reviewReal Examples by Genre
These are the shortest and longest books in each group, with a third book as close to the group's average as possible.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Linked titles open Amazon when an affiliate link is available; otherwise, they open my review.
Historical fiction
Romance
Thriller
Fantasy
Nonfiction
Science fiction
Horror
Classics
Average vs. Median Book Length
Adding up every page and dividing by 254 books gives about 438 pages. That's the average. Line the books up from shortest to longest instead, and the middle gives the median: 400 pages. With an even number of books, the median is the average of the two in the middle.
A long book can still fly by. To see how pace and difficulty differ from physical length, try the reading profiles by genre.
Book Length at a Glance
- Books reviewed
- 254
- Average pages
- 438
- Median pages
- 400
- Shortest book, pages
- 44
- Longest book, pages
- 1,344
- 400+ pages
- 51.6%
- 500+ pages
- 25.2%
About the Data
This dataset covers reviewed books, including novels, nonfiction, and shorter works. A book is included when its catalog record has a positive whole-number page count, a title, a slug, and a genre tag. Preview pages are left out.
Page counts refer to the editions stored in the catalog. A different format or layout can change that number. The genre comparisons use the tags you see elsewhere on the site, with at least five books needed for a group to appear.
When another reviewed book is added with a valid page count, the numbers, examples, and downloadable CSV update with the next site build. Averages are rounded to whole pages and percentages to one decimal place when needed.
How to Cite This Data
Book Review Guide. "Average Book Length by Genre: Data From 254 Books." 2026.
If you use these figures, please link back to this page so readers can find the figures and see the calculation method.