Short stories versus Novels

I love to write short stories. It seems that every time I want to try something new that is where I turn.  There is something that is lovely about a short sweet story that lets you explore a new idea or style.  When I wrote my short story Rapture it was to try to help cope with my recent loss of a beloved family pet. My story Save the Last Dance was a trial of meshing a dystopian story with a contrasting image.  In the case of this story it was the song and dance of Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly.

While I love to write short stories I have found that I struggle to read short story collections, anthologies, and even those in magazines.  I find it refreshing to sample something small without committing to an entire novel.  It's like the free samples at the grocery store, all the flavor with none of the obligation of buying a twenty pound box of frozen tacos.  Yet if you have too much of the same subject, writer, or style it can become stale rather quickly.  This is why I can go through a novel in a week yet it can take me up to a year to get through a short story collection.

So as I was sitting at home sick this last week, unable to write, unwilling to read for fear of my brain acting up with fever dreams, I had something to ponder.  I began to wonder why it was that the short story collection I was working on still had at least one hundred pages left, I'd only been reading it for about a year.  In the same time I had read probably at least twenty novels, if not more.

The conclusion that I came up with is that there is a thread of continuity in a novel which keeps us reading.  While a chocolate sampler is nice from time to time we generally have recipes and foods we eat weekly.  We go back to the same treats, cakes, or dishes that makes us happy time after time.  This is what the novel does, it prepares us something that we like just with some new developments, twists, or characters.

Let's use macaroni and cheese as our example as most people have polarizing feelings towards it.  There is something nostalgic about going back to our childhood with hot dogs and mac and cheese.  You can dress it up by making it from scratch, adding four, six, even eight types of cheese.  You can throw a curve ball at us by adding something like bell pepper, bacon, or even some sun dried tomatoes to the mix.  In the end though it is still something we know and are comfortable with deep down inside.

When you look at the stories of your favorite authors many of them fall into very similar plot patterns. These are our comfort foods, the foods for thought.  For Stephen King I'd say it's a slow burn horror, the story builds pressure like a pressure cooker, and in the end you are never sure if you'll find the ending really satisfying.  I know the characters are going to be well developed, and that I will find myself passionately questioning whether they really should have made key decisions.  I love Stephen King and when I'm in the mood for something like this it is the first place I turn.  Yet even when I find a collection of his like Four Past Midnight or Different Seasons I can't seem to read straight through it.

There is something to be said about the beauty of a novel.  When done right it'll make you turn pages in the way an anthology won't.  When it's done you feel satisfied and can walk away happy (most of the time) as though you'd just left an all-you-can-eat buffet.  You've had your meal and you don't have a bunch of stuff still on the plate, as it often is with anthologies.  The story is ready to be digested and you can start deciding what you want for dinner.

With this revelation I'll probably still read short story anthologies, but I won't plan to get through it as fast as I would a novel.  Sometimes you just want a sample, sometimes you want the full meal.

The importance of reviews.

I have been wanting to write this blog for a while now, probably since I started the blog.  I had just published a collection of short stories and came to the realization that reviews are important.  They're not important in a way that you can pay some guy to read your book and quickly crank out a review, it is something that needs to be heart felt.  

I realize that I am probably as guilty as everyone else in this.  I read a book, get to the end, talk about how good the book is and move on with my day.  Yet in today's market with the self-publishing options that are available to us a good review is the difference between someone buying your book or passing.  

We've all been eyeing products online, or even at the store when we ask someone what they think of it. We already have a good idea of what we'll like, but we have that little nagging voice in the back of our head of self-doubt.  What if the television's picture isn't as sharp as I think it is?  What if there is a newer model of the phone out in two weeks that'll make anyone who owns this one look like a chump?  What if we're not the educated consumer that we all pretend to be at the stores?  

Suddenly, our decision is placed on Jon Doe #476 who just happened to be in Best Buy to see if they had the new Call of Duty game in stock. But what kind of feedback does he give?  

"Eh, that TV's okay, but I went with the sixty inch because I have nothing better to spend my money on."  he says and we're suddenly amazed that we hadn't thought of that astounding option.  That decision which was almost formed is now cast back into the nebulous thought cloud to reform as something with a sixty inch TV in mind.  

That's why I want to address the guidelines I use when I review books on Goodreads.  This basically will tell you what you're getting if you look at my ratings.  I never usually take the time to write a review as I'm usually busy writing all sorts of other stuff, but we'll do etiquette after.  

1.  5 Star Review- This is the most coveted review and should, in my humble opinion, be reserved for those books which changed your life.  The one that suddenly made you want to go seek out the author and kiss them just for bringing those characters into your life.  This is not just some flimsy review, this is enshrining the book in a museum for all the world to see. Example:  Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
2. 4 Star Review - This is the kind of book I'll recommend to a friend if they've already read my five star's.  The book is good, no it's awesome, but it didn't make me want to suddenly go live in that world.  This review means I really enjoyed the book and can't think of anything bad to say, but it just didn't pass that threshold into amazing.  Example: The Crimson Shadow by R.A. Salvatore 
3. 3 Star Review - The three star review for me is a sign that I've read and enjoyed the book.  The book was satisfying and didn't come across as so boring that I couldn't finish it. Now, I wouldn't necessarily go out and read it again right away, but at least its on the list of books I've read.  Example: A Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein.   
4. 2 Star Review - This is the kind of book that I would designate as assigned high school reading. They are books that someone told you to read, but really you find yourself almost making excuses to not read anymore of it.  You know that there is supposed to be a lesson, but really, you don't know what it is supposed to be and don't really care.  Ex: For Whom The Bell Tolls by Hemmingway
5. 1 Star Review - This is the one that I reserve only for the worst kind of book I've ever read.  The book that went nowhere and I derived no satisfaction from it what-so-ever.  Above I've mentioned Hemmingway as a two star option, but as I finished For Whom The Bell Tolls I felt satisfaction at knowing that at least something had happened.  At some points the characters acted on their plans and so with some conflict being resolved I was able to accept it as done.  The one star books don't even give you the satisfaction of that, they are the ones that should you find yourself in hell you'll probably be reading it for all eternity.  I can only think of one book that has fallen so low that I felt it deserved one star... Catcher in the Rye.  

I know that gives you my feelings on some books as well as how they should be rated and I understand that you might not agree with me.  That's okay, the last thing I want to bring up is etiquette in your review.  It is sad that some of these things need to be said but the biggest no-no is don't give spoilers.  Another thing, if you're going to pan the book and give it a one star review give a reason.  

These are my two biggest pet peeves when it comes to reviews, the spoilers because it destroys the joy I might have at a well crafted ending or plot turn.  The lack of a good reason because I've read books that people found horrible and loved them.  Perhaps you don't like a book because of the language or the gore described inside.  Please tell us that so that we can understand your rating.  If you rated a book one star because it had lesbian vampires that sparkled and took tea in the sunlight every afternoon while discussing the politics of the court, tell us! I know people that would be intrigued by a Vampire version of Little Women or Pride and Prejudice, though the lesbian aspect would be entirely new.  But this means that you give the author/artist/musician the best chance to succeed.