A novel doesn’t have to clock in at Tolstoy or Pynchon proportions to be good. In fact, some of the very best are the shortest. The novella is not dead, it’s just a dead term of classification. Not everybody uses it, so there may be a few excellent novels out there lurking in the bushes of popular culture, hardly weighing more than 50, 000 words when wet, and calling themselves something titular followed by A NOVEL.

These shorties (or shawties if Justin Bieber read books) are not interested in terms. They’re out for a good time. A storied good time. And you’d like them too, if you’d only give those small fries a fighting chance. Some don’t even require ketchup. They’re ketchup flavored already. So step away from the condiments….That’s right and step on over to the novella buffet counter. We’ve cooked up all your favorites in tapas sized plates.