What Do You Think Of Novellas?
I realized something a few days ago: I don’t read novellas. I almost never pick them up. I’m talking about the novellas or novella bind-ups that are set in the same world and/or with the same characters as a series written by that author.
I started to think, Is this weird? Am I the only one who does this? So I wanted to write a blog post about it.
Think of Stars Above, from the Lunar Chronicles.
The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favorite series EVER. I adore those books and those characters, and have had Stars Above (the collection of novellas) for forever. Yet I still haven’t picked it up. Before its release date, I was dying for it, but now? Now I have no motivation to read it at all. Which is sad, because I WANT to find out more about these characters. I just can’t bring myself to pick it up.
Why I SHOULD love novellas:
They might be part of my favorite series.
Normally, I’m begging for more stories in my favorite world, and that’s what novellas are.
They’re short!
I can quickly and easily read novellas, and then add to my Goodreads challenge. Yay!
They add more to characters or stories that I previously loved reading about.
Novellas can add a lot of background information that I might not have known otherwise.
But why? Why do I avoid novellas, even those that are part of my favorite books? I’ve only thought of one reason!
Sometimes, a novella doesn’t add anything to the story.
It can be a complete waste of time! I haven’t read the Red Queen novellas, but I’ve heard people saying that one of them was unnecessary, and I’ve experienced that with other novellas before. Sure, sometimes it can enrich the story, but in my experience, it hasn’t.
Other than that, I have NO CLUE why I don’t read novellas.
The Assassin’s Blade is a collection of Throne of Glass novellas, and is one of the only ones I’ve enjoyed. Even though I liked it, I didn’t LOVE it as much as I loved all the other Throne of Glass books. I’ve seen people who absolutely adored and cried over those novellas, and I just… didn’t.
Through the Dark, the collection of The Darkest Minds novellas? Nope. Still haven’t picked it up. I love The Darkest Minds trilogy with all my heart, yet I still haven’t read it.
The Shadowhunter novellas that exist in kindle form? I bet you can guess: I haven’t read them. I’ve heard great things and want to read them, but I just… don’t. Because they’re novellas.
The Grisha trilogy has a novella or two, I believe, and I love that trilogy. But I haven’t read the novella.
There’s a pattern here!
Whatever the reason, I’m sadly not a fan of novellas.
What about you? What do you think of novellas? Do you find yourself avoiding them, or do you love them? What are your favorite novellas?
Thanks for reading!
Ava
Bookishness and Tea 
I don’t hate them or love them, I’m just okay with them so I do read them. I think the key with novellas is not to expecting too much for them. Don’t expect it will tie loose ends, or have engaging plot or swoony moments. Most of novellas are just an addition to the story, and most of them even only feel like a filler instead of an actual story. I never buy any bind-up novellas though, since I usually pick my book copy to have some extras inside it 😀
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I totally agree with you! I barely ever read novellas. Even when I have read them in the past, I really haven’t found that they were necessary or blew me away. I feel like lately every series has 0.5,1.5, 2.5, 3.75, 4.82….I mean, it’s getting a bit ridiculous. Sometimes it makes me feel like publishers are just trying to trick us into spending more money….
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I recently read the novellas from the Red Queen universe, and I really enjoyed them! I definitely think I should read novellas more often 🙂
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I like Novellas if I’m already invested in the series, but most of the time I find them somewhat short and annoying. I don’t mind it… but I don’t actively go and seek them out. Unless it’s necessary, or I really, really, like a series I don’t bother. There are some good ones out there, it’s just not my thing : )
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I agree. It seems like novellas are a way for an author to keep interest up for the next book in a series. I don’t know, but perhaps publishers pressure writers to do this.
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I’m a bit hit-and-miss with novellas. I’ve got Fairest and Stars Above (have yet to read Stars Above) for The Lunar Chronicles, and I’ve read Assassin’s Blade for Throne of Glass. I’ve enjoyed those two I’ve read, but don’t have any others. I know there’s novellas for The Darkest Minds trilogy and the Shatter Me trilogy, both series I’ve started, but I honestly don’t know if I’ll end up getting them. Honestly, I probably would if they were cheaper or similarly priced to the books in the actual series, but most of the time I’ve found them to be more expensive…when you get less story? But I LOVE knowing more background so like I said, it’s hit-or-miss!
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I’m the same as you on this one. As of this day, I’ve never ever read a Novella, but I’m looking to change that. I want to read the Shadowhunters novellas before picking up lady midnight. For now, that’s all I have planned, but maybe as I read more books, I’ll pick up the novellas that go with them, who knows?
Great post 😀
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usually i don’t read them but i loved Happily Ever After for the selection it was amazing! and it really tied up loose ends plus the CELESTE SCENES I CAN’T
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I don’t read novellas unless I’ve read the series it’s related to and I really loved it. Other than that, I’m pretty sure I won’t pick up that thin book. xD
Even so, I’ve only read a few novellas in my lifetime, and I think that’s mainly because I consider them as only companion stories for the series I loved, and that they’re only there to bring back the feels I felt while reading the actual books. They don’t really bring anything to the actual story, so I just read them when I feel I have nothing else to read.
Great post, Ava!
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I feel like Novellas aren’t really important! I totally agree with you.
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I agree with your point about them not adding anything to the story. The writer isn’t doing a good job at telling a full story if they need to add novellas to the mix. A couple of extra snippets or blog posts here and there to explain backstories (that aren’t really important to the plot) is fine, but to publish a novella is a bit much.
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You made some good points and there really aren’t a lot of cons to novellas, but somehow I am still not a massive fan … there are a couple good ones, like you said, that add to the understanding of a character or offer more to the story, but a lot of the time, I find novellas to be the same story that was already told just from a different character’s POV. That’s probably why I am very hesitant to pick them up, because I get really bored with those.
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