tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post567212998722360290..comments2024-03-26T13:46:42.738-05:00Comments on 4 Quarters, 10 Dimes: Books Read in 2015, Part 3Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03463621516644789183noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-4805737581697418422016-01-10T20:36:04.147-06:002016-01-10T20:36:04.147-06:00Oh, I can ditch a novel in a couple of paragraphs ...Oh, I can ditch a novel in a couple of paragraphs too, although I tend to give them 40-50 pages most of the time at the bare minimum and usually more like 100. Ditching things isn't the issue.<br /><br />For me the point comes when I get to the end of a short story and ask myself "Is that all there is?" Because then I feel I have truly wasted my time, even if it's only a handful of pages. I read an anthology in 2014 that was full of stories like that - maybe half of them made me think, "I would read this if they expanded this into a novel, but right now this was just skeletal and useless."<br /><br />I learned how to read in snatches in graduate school, when reading was my job and I still had dinners to make and appointments to keep. I still read hard-core academic history like that, so novels are no trouble. <br /><br />Different strokes, I guess. I'm glad there are people who enjoy short stories, as those authors would die of starvation if the world consisted only of people like me.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03463621516644789183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-13114208134781832372016-01-10T18:05:30.555-06:002016-01-10T18:05:30.555-06:00Now see, for me, that's an incentive to read M...Now see, for me, that's an incentive to read MORE short stories!<br /><br />Couple paragraphs in, MEH, moving along to the next story. :)<br /><br />Possible the fact that I often read in snatches of time while waiting helps encourage me to read short stories. Something to read while waiting for the doctor, even knowing that my doctor frequently runs early. :)Random Michelle Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13817444379694818074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-68891197374928287232016-01-09T23:30:02.261-06:002016-01-09T23:30:02.261-06:00My problem with short stories is 1) so few authors...My problem with short stories is 1) so few authors know how to do it that the risk/reward structure for starting them is awfully threadbare, and I've reached the point in my life where I am no longer willing to put up with bad writing in order to get to an author's idea; and 2) I find that I prefer stories that have the space to stretch out a bit, which brings me to novels. Even novellas feel cramped to me, most of the time.<br /><br />When it is done well, it is, indeed, something marvelous. But it so rarely is, and life is short.<br /><br />I may try de Lint at some point, though. Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03463621516644789183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-65669296978556938382016-01-09T18:33:55.878-06:002016-01-09T18:33:55.878-06:00"I’m not sure why I’m reading so many short s..."I’m not sure why I’m reading so many short stories of late, since it’s not really a genre I tend to enjoy much. It’s hard to get a whole idea out in a handful of pages"<br /><br />As someone who LOVES short stories (I have shelves and shelves of anthologies), I agree with you that it is not easy to get a well-done story in a few pages, but when it's done well, it's something marvelous.<br /><br />I've always had a collection of short stories at hand, because I get INVOLVED in the books I read, and I also do not function well on short sleep, so short stories allow me to get my story fix but not stay up past my bedtime.<br /><br />That said, the problem (IMO) is that it's a skill to craft a short story, and the ability to write a novel does not mean someone can compose a good short story. So when anthology writers solicit big names for their anthologies without bothering to learn whether those authors can write in a shorter format, well, that just gives short stories a bad name, which then ruins it for everyone else. <br /><br />I think this turned into a rant. Sorry.<br /><br />So to end on a more positive note, if you're willing to give short stories a try (as snacks for when you don't have time for a full novel.) I really really recommend Charles de Lint. I utterly adore his stories. He manages fantasy and world and character building in only a few pages, and even when writing about recurring character, you don't feel as if you're missing something without a backstory.<br /><br />I have other favorites as well, but IMO he is probably the best crafter of fantasy short stories around.Random Michelle Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13817444379694818074noreply@blogger.com