Random Thoughts on Books is going to be my new feature. It sounds exactly like what you think it is – my random thoughts on anything book related.
Novellas. Love them? Hate them?
I have a love/hate relationship with novellas, though it’s definitely more love then hate.
*edit* I’m referring just to novellas that are in-between books in a series. I have only love for regular novellas.
Why I Love Novellas…
I love that they have little bits of information in them. Not enough that you’ll be missing out if you don’t read them, but enough to get something out of it if you do.
I love that they are usually told from a different view point.
I love that they are short and I can read it in one sitting.
I love spending more time with awesome characters.
Novella’s Aren’t Perfect Though…
Inaccurate page count. This drives me crazy. Do not tell me the novella is 100 pages when the last 30 of it is a sneak peak at the next book.
Cost. I don’t want to pay 2.99 for a novella. I think 1.99 is a better price (or better yet .99) is a better price. I’ve been lucky enough to find all the novella’s I’ve purchased on sale so the most I’ve paid is 1.79, but I know that depending on the ereader you have your choices are limited.
*edit* It also sucks that they are only available as ebooks, they should come in print in some way shape or form.
What are your thoughts on novellas? Love them? Hate them?
I love it when novellas are told from another character’s POV and that they are quick reads, but agree about the inaccurate page count. If I’m expecting a short 60 page read then the book ends at page 40, I admit that I’m disappointed. And totally agree about the price, as I don’t want to pay $3 for a 40 page story! All in all though, I love novellas!
Yeah the page count kills me! I can’t remember which one I was reading but there was 40 extra pages of stuff after the story. I was very sad. Thankfully that was a free one. The most I’ve paid is 1.79 but I get most for usually 1.49 or .99.
I have a bit of a love/hate thing for novellas too, currently if it’s free and I have time, I might read it, but I’ve yet to pay for one. The page count thing drives me nuts too, the prequel novellas tend to be worst for this, but there are a lot of guilty parties!
Yeah I’ve had a couple of regular ebooks turn out that way too before, but not nearly as often as novellas.
Ugh, I hate novellas. Well, at least as they are now. So, novellas in the classic sense of just being short but complete novels, I am all over. However, these tweener novellas (.5, 1.5, 2.5, 2.5 ad infinitum) piss me off so much. They’re not necessary for you to understand the flow of the novel, and they can’t be, since they only come in digital format (at least usually).
I wouldn’t mind so much if they were all free. I don’t buy ebooks. I just don’t, because they don’t feel like a thing that I own. I read one of the free Kagawa ones, and there was no point to it at all. I’m not going to pay for something without a story.
That said, there are a couple that I really want to read, most of all Sarah J. Maas’ three prequels before Throne of Glass. BUT I will not buy them. I hope they package them into a novel, like Harper is doing with the Delirium shorts.
I wish I had your mentality towards ebooks it would save me some money! I don’t mind buying them, but I think 2.99 is too much. I’ll add an edit about them only being in ebook format because that is a downside. I think they should automatically be included in the book that succeeds it or at least sold separately.
I agree that they’re not necessary to understand the novel, but I think they can give you some clues. My thoughts towards Requiem totally changed after I read Hana. I’m very curious to see if I’m right about that one or not.
Well, from your post I assume you’re not talking about novellas in general, but the ones associated with a series, usually put out as a teaser for the next book.
I have enjoyed the ones I’ve read, but I would never spend more than 99 cents on one. Also, for at least a couple authors, when the mass market version of the book comes out, the novella associated with that book is published with it. So, even if you don’t want to buy it individually, you can still read it later.
Yeah, I just clarified that. I’m just talking about the ones in series, not novellas in general.
It’s good that they put the novellas in books, but I wish they would do it for hardcover too. Too bad no one asks for my opinion lol.
Double Crossed has me sold on them, I think. But I reserve the right to change my mind at any point.
Lol of course! You’re a woman, that’s your right!
For the most part I love novellas, a little more into characters you have grown to love. I agree on the page count, you see 70 80%, looking forward to more and it just ends, sigh.
I also love them for a sneak peak of style of an author you haven’t read, most times it gives enough of if I want to read a full novel or not.
I love sneak peaks too and yes they should not include anything but the actual novella in the page count.
I’m glad that someone else objects to being told a book is x amount of pages when it is fact less than that. Not a fan of the novella, like short stories they generally leave me wanting more.
Novella’s aren’t for everyone. And yeah, the page count thing irritates me lots.
I’ve never read a novella that was part of a series. Pathetic, I know. I totally intend to I just haven’t yet. So the only novellas I’ve read are stand alone short stories and I really don’t like them. They’re just not long enough.
That’s the beauty of a novella that part of a series, there is still more to come!
I love novellas when they fill gaps in a series’ canon. If I’m a fan of the series, I generally want to know everything there is to know. Call me obsessive if you want, I like to call it dedicated ;)
I call it dedicated!
I do love novellas, but I agree about the page count thing- it drove me nuts that it added the same sneak preview into Odd Apocalypse on all three installments of Odd Interlude- who the hell did they think was buying parts 2 and 3 if not people who had already read part 1, therefore already getting the sneak peek of the next book?!
And novellas should be longer than a short story… otherwise it’s just a short story. I feel the term novella is applied a little to liberally.
LOL, I agree about that with all novellas. If I’m buying the novella it’s already likely that I’m going to read the next book, otherwise why would I waste my time on a novella?
I’m with you on novellas. While I like that little extra between books, I don’t often feel like I want to spend $3 on something that I can read in an hour. (And I’m a slow reader!) But if I really really love the series then I’ll try to get the novellas no matter if I have to spend a little extra for them. But I do try to wait until they go on sale.
And I agree with Kate–novellas are supposed to be like 150 pages or something, not 50. That’s definitely a short story.
Most novella’s I’ve read are between 70-100. I guess I always considered short stories and novellas to be the same but now that you mention it, they really aren’t.