Thursday, January 31, 2008

In Fiction: Consider keeping it short

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/01/can_the_novella_save_literatur.html
Edelstein argues that the novella works in today's lifestyle. "Readable in a couple of hours, a novella demands far less time than a full-length novel: you can get through them in the same amount of time it takes to watch a film or two reality television programmes. .....I'd much rather purchase a £5 novella than yet another soul-destroying glossy magazine to accompany me on an hour-long train trip. "
Of course, being a young 'em she misses some of the marketing aspects that could entice the aging boomers. Well she did get that being able to read the whole thing in one night is a blessing for those whose memories disappear as quickly as the clock struck midnight for Cinderella. And for those of us who find running the length of an airport a bit of challenge and now have the added weight of a laptop, a 1/4 weight reduction in the book increases the chance of having enough breath left to climb the stairs into the plane. And as anyone who has ever been around when a new hymn book is being introduced, the weight of the book can be the difference between being in pain or not for anyone with the 40 varieties of arthritis.
I overheard a conversation between young friends. "I'd like to read the book you wrote. How many pages is it?" "130 pages" "Never read anything that long." So there you go.

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