Short Stories and Novellas.

Image from the article.

I read a terrific article on the WIRED website:  HOW TECHNOLOGY SHAPES THE WAY WE READ by some poor, uncredited staff member.  It tells the story of the resurgence of the novella and how it is the perfect format for our society today.

I must say the I completely agree.  I am often overwhelmed by the commitment involved in a series or even stand alone novels.

Way back, when the paperback revolution was underway, books often came in around 150 pages.  These were tightly plotted and sparse that got to the point of things.  But then, in the past few decades, books began to top out over 400 pages, my guess is to justify the cover price; readers wanted quantity over quality.

How often have you read a chapter knowing full well that it is nothing but filler?  I once read a Star Trek novel that took three pages (!) to answer the door.

Anyway, the article was rather liberating to me.  Short stories and novellas are often only available to mystery and science fiction readers in magazines or anthologies.  After reading the piece, I felt I had permission to enjoy myself, to read a short story or novella and appreciate it for what it can be - a story well told.

Although I've given short stories their fair share, here on my humble little blog (usually posted on Wednesdays), I've always felt that it is not "real" reading, you know?  Novels are the thing.  I've often felt that some of the best short stories could have easily been expanded into a novel.  But maybe that's not quite right.  Maybe I liked it so much, because it was just the right length, that it left me wanting more.

I went straight to Chapters Indigo and bought the first TOR.Com ebook that appealed to me.  It was by John Scalzi, more on that in my next post.