/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.2732799]

Novels vs. short stories, which one is your favourite?

I for one tend to favor short stories because nothing impresses me more than the ability to say a lot of things with few words. I have yet to read any long book that I didn't feel it could use shortening, examples being Lolita or Crime and Punishment.

What are your thoughts?

[Anonymous No.2732809]

god you're fucking a tool

[Anonymous No.2732818]

>>2732799
I've read more novels that impressed me in a lasting manner, but that's partly because you get attached to the characters I think. Also, I've read more good novels than good short stories.

But I like short stories as a format. Very much so. I hope to read more of them and succeed at writing them myself.

[Anonymous No.2732820]

succint, neatly constructed short story > novel

but i'll read both

[Anonymous No.2732821]

novels, the longer the better. short stories just feel too ephemeral, whereas a good doorstopper becomes a significant part of my life while i'm reading it. yeah, a great short story writer can say a lot with a few words, but a great long story writer will always say more.

[Anonymous No.2732825]

>>2732818
I'd might add that I probably like the novella the most. Concise enough to urge the author to get on with it, while being long enough to make a complete point or tell a story.

[Anonymous No.2732829]

obviously it's not a question about one replacing the other, but one can still have personal preferences about which medium one prefers

[Anonymous No.2732841]

if they're good, they're good. a lot of people seem to believe that short stories are just little novels, or that novels are really padded out stories, and write them as such. i have no time for that. respect the form or gtfo

[Deep&Edgy No.2732858]

Both can be equally effective. A good short story can be as powerful and impressive as a long, immersive novel. I could never imagine Lolita being a short story, whereas I could never imagine a short story by Borges as a thick novel.
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[Anonymous No.2732881]

I prefer both reading and writing short stories.

In all honesty, I just don't have the patience for a full novel. That's not to say I don't read them but it takes me longer, because my reading patterns aren't consistent. I might read a chapter or two of a book and not pick it back up for days or weeks. A short story is something I can knock out in a night.

[Anonymous No.2732890]

I don't have a favourite, both formats have their place and some things work better as the one than the other. I admit I have a few hundred more novels than short stories, but that's mostly because I only started buying collections of short stories within the last couple of years.

[Anonymous No.2732927]

One could say that the short story, having been less popular in recent times, is actually the perfect form for our times.

[Anonymous No.2732942]

OP you're a tit.
As for the question I like both forms, however I've read more novels than short stories so I've obviously experienced more great novels than shorts. I'd personally argue that the novella is the best form for prose as it offers both depth and ease of reading.
I do plan to read more short stories, however I also plan to read more novels and poetry so I doubt that the dominance of the novel in my reading habits will ever change.