Nah, I'd call it a short novel.
John
No, you have to remember that Carrie was even shorter.
John
True. Last night Gaiman mentioned the word count determines whether or not it is a short story, novella, novelette or novel. Id look it up on Wiki but realized I dont know the Joyland word count and too lazy to research it.
reality continues to ruin my life
It's not that strict. A novel can be very short. There are some well known novels that are even shorter than Joyland.
I honestly think what a story is determined is up to the publisher and/or writer. I've seen old novels from the 50's that are shorter than "The Mist" which is considered a novella. I was mostly just joking about Joyland being a novella because of how long a lot of King's novels can be.
However, this whole thing is like how in the days of vinyl, tons of albums were 40 minutes or under to fit on one disc, but now if you put out an album under 40 minutes (i.e. NIN's 'broken' or Lady Gaga's 'The Fame Monster') they're called EPs by the labels in the US. However, in the UK because of different rules to qualify for a singles/EP chart, if the record has more than 4 unique tracks (not remixes of the same track, etc.) and runs for more than 25 minutes it's classified as an album (or LP) and not an EP.
For me, it's all about readability. By which I mean, if it can comfortably be read in a single sitting, it's a short story; if it can be read in a single sitting with maybe one meal and/or bathroom break wedged in there, then that's a novella. Anything else, that's a novel.
That's just me, though.
I know Borders carried Tin House, but they don't exist anymore. Does Barnes & Noble or any other chains have Tin House?
Ken
I got my copy at Barnes & Noble. It was one of two on the rack.
John
Got mine from BN.com -- good story, although I think I enjoyed it more when King read it.
Thanks everyone I will check mat B&N. When did King do the reading?
Ken
Never mind I see it at the beginning of the thread.
Author of The Road to the Dark Tower, Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences and The Dark Tower Companion. Co-editor with Stephen King of the anthology Flight or Fright.
Thanks Bev.