Chapter preferences

Just as we all have preferences in authors, books, in genres, in subject matter, in writing styles, etc. we may also have preferences in chapters. Some books don't even have chapters, which I find annoying. I prefer chapters to break up the text. They provide obvious stopping points. If I want a tea break or to stop reading for the day, I like being able to stop where a chapter ends. Otherwise I must stop in the middle of the narrative, making it more difficult when I resume reading

Here are some of my other preference in chapters:

1. I like it when chapters are numbered. 

2. Chapter titles in novels are an unexpected bonus. Most novelists don't title their chapters, but I love those that do. Alexander McCall Smith is noted for his intriguing chapter titles. Recent novels I've read, including This Disaster Loves You, The Midnight Library and I Cheerfully Refuse, have chapter titles, making these good books even better. This Disaster Loves You gets extra credit for having both numbered chapters and chapter titles.

3. I dislike prologues in novels. Just call it chapter one already. The same goes for epilogues. Again I must mention This Disaster Loves You. This novel has an epilogue that actually works better than a final chapter. Most epilogues, like most prologues, should just be chapters.

4. When authors change the scene and even the characters in the middle of a chapter, I wonder what purpose they think chapters serve. Just write shorter chapters.

5. And I like short chapters. Is a chapter just two or three pages long? Wonderful. That means I can read multiple chapters today instead of just one or two. I get the illusion of speeding along through the book even when I am reading at the same slow pace I usually do. And, in fact, it does speed up my reading. When chapters are short, I find that I tend to read more each day. The next chapter's just three pages? I have time to do that. And on and on.