tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32085591.post3085557636946638160..comments2023-11-07T21:12:19.852-06:00Comments on Wyrdsmiths: Short fiction vs. novelstate hallawayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06631759014508937940noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32085591.post-49990192134540304632008-11-19T13:39:00.000-06:002008-11-19T13:39:00.000-06:00I have to say that for me reading your (Eleanor's)...I have to say that for me reading your (Eleanor's) short fiction in an anthology led to reading the novels, much faster than I probably would have gotten around to it. Actually, first it was hearing you read aloud a short story at Marscon that made me hit my head and go 'oh, that's why everyone always says to read her stuff.'<BR/><BR/>Shorts (and now audio files of them) allow a taste of a person's work without having to really commit to reading a whole book - I find it specifically useful for finding good reads by writers whose work isn't easy to describe in a blurb. Or who don't fit in the subgenres I'm more ready to just go ahead and read everything in.<BR/><BR/>Like, flipping through your novels in the library I had trouble getting a sense for them. In the short you read, it was the language and the slow and subtle way things developed into something surprisingly fascinating that ended up being the hook. After that, I trusted that a longer work would have that same quality. (Sure, reviews can convey that too - like, reviews of Per Petterson's Out Stealing Horses easily convinced me to take the dive on that slow and subtle novel.)<BR/><BR/>-CJDAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com