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Old 02-27-2012, 11:07 AM   #4
QuantumIguana
Philosopher
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The distinction between the novel and the novella is a matter of length. Here is how the Science Fiction Writers of America make the distinction:

Novel over 40,000 words
Novella 17,500 to 40,000 words
Novelette 7,500 to 17,500 words
Short story under 7,500 words

Other groups have different cutoff points, of course.

Now, 'book', that's a different matter, and gets a bit tricky. People tend to think of 'book' and 'novel' as being synonymous, but they really aren't. A book can be any length. In the days of paper books, if it was bound like a book, it was a book.

A magazine is a book by some definitions, it is printed on paper and has a cover. But because it has a thin paper cover rather than a stiff cover, and because it tends to be more than just text, we think of it as distinct from a book. Even paperback books tend to be more durable than magazines.

There get to be some gray areas. If I read an article on an e-reader, am I reading a book? If it was bound in a (relatively) stiff cover, people would call it a book.
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