Friday Fun With Megan - When You Say Short, You Mean How Short?

I've been thinkng a lot about reviews. And the lengths of stories. I'm noticing a lot of short stories on Amazon, AllRomance ebooks, and publisher sites. I write mostly short stories. So short stories fascinate me. I've also got a short attention span. Like the attention span of a gnat. Why? I have children and well, you get distracted.

But my thoughts about short stories are heading in the direction of reviews. I love to write quick reviews of books. Why? Because I liked the book. I want to tell everyone about it. There are some books that just don't shake me. Shrug. It happens. Do I review them? Sometimes and sometimes not. I'll review it and post the review if the book was interesting, but not really my cuppa. I probably won't post the review or take the time to write one if I just plain wanted to toss it against the wall.

Why? I've got a mentality of "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Momma taught me to keep it quiet if I didn't like something I can't change. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

What I'm seeing as a trend with short story reviews... I've wanted to talk about this for a while. I'm seeing a lot of, this book was too short and I didn't like it short, type of comments. Now I don't mind if the reader wants a longer book. It's like Almond Joy and Mounds. Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. Fine.

But why mark it down because you wanted to spend more time with the characters? I call that the mark of a good book. It must've drawn me in and made me think about the characters after I closed the book. If I dream about the characters, then yes, it's a book worthy of review. I'd mention that I was totally engaged with the characters and wanted to know what happened afterwards, before, whatever and hint, hint to the author, I'd like another book with them in it.

Then there's the complaint that there's not enough story to it and it's too expensive. Um. Most sites place the length, file size, page length and word count on the buying page. Most authors don't set the price of the books, especially when with a publisher. It doesn't seem right to knock down a rating because the book was too expensive.

Does the length of the book turn you off before you get a chance to read it? Does the length affect your rating? And are you willing to overlook the length if the characters draw you in? I'd love to know.