NetFlix’s new series House of Cards was written up in the New York Times. The article talks about how the series was intended to be watched in long segments of two or more episodes at a single sitting. Many viewers, they anticipated, would watch all 13 in a single sitting.

The article compares the experience to that of reading literature. These days, many pundits have been talking about reading rates and how the internet has changed people from long-form readers into readers who want quick bites. This series in its own way proves that literature and other types of long-form reading is not dead.

The key is that the format has to be appropriate for long-form reading. Stories that delve into something deeper–in terms of a character’s inner or outer journey, for example–have always been in demand. They will continue to be, if this single-sitting viewing pans out as the newest trend.

And in case you’re wondering, I watched the series myself over the course of three evenings.