--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A short story collection can be as…" description: "\"A short story collection can be as exciting as a novel. It is a real complete experience, like when you listen to a real good recording, a Beatles reco..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/david-means-12399_beatles_a-short-story-collection-can-be-as-excit_2672791.jpg" --- # A short story collection can be as exciting as a novel. It… ![“A short story collection can be as exciting as a novel. It is a real complete experience, like when you listen to a real good recording, a Beatles record, and there are so many good songs.” quote by David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/david-means-12399_beatles_a-short-story-collection-can-be-as-excit_2672791.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/david-means-12399_beatles_a-short-story-collection-can-be-as-excit_2672791.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/david-means-12399_beatles_a-short-story-collection-can-be-as-excit_2672791.jpg) > “A short story collection can be as exciting as a novel. It is a real complete experience, like when you listen to a real good recording, a Beatles record, and there are so many good songs.” [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Short story collections can deliver a complete, immersive experience comparable to a novel or a great album. **In simple terms:** Short collections can feel as rich as novels. Key Takeaway Value concise storytelling. Themes literature music comparison Mood analytical enthusiastic Type literary comparative When to use this quote - reading a collection - curating playlists - teaching literature Key Concepts narrative depth cohesion artistic variety Questions to Reflect On - How do you define a “complete” experience? - What makes a story collection cohesive? A Different Perspective May overlook differences in structure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beatles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beatles/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Collection Exciting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collection-exciting-2517046/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Experience Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-like/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-son/) [Novel Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-real-782171/) [Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short/) [Short story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-story/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Story Collection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-collection-495017/) ## Related quotes > [Wellcome Collection will be an exciting place in which to explore themes of human well-being, starting with the powerful collections of Sir Henry Wellcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-walport/wellcome-collection-will-be-an-exciting-place-in-which-to-explore/) [Mark Walport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-walport/) > [The collection under my name is an exciting opportunity to really express my own aesthetic and connect with a very different consumer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-krakoff/the-collection-under-my-name-is-an-exciting-opportunity-to-really/) [Reed Krakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-krakoff/) > [If you break things down to goodies and baddies, the baddies are always a bit more alluring in fiction, and that's true from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/if-you-break-things-down-to-goodies-and-baddies-the-baddies-are/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [“Novelists congratulate themselves on their creation of this kind of “character” or that kind of “character,” and readers pretend to talk knowingly about “character,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/novelists-congratulate-themselves-on-their-creation-of-this-kind-of/) [Sōseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [You can't have a novel without real, believable people, and once you get into either too theoretical a novel or too philosophical a novel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-can-t-have-a-novel-without-real-believable-people-and-once-you/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Dialogue must appear realistic without being so. Actual realism-the lifting, as it were, of passages from a stenographer's take-down of a 'real life' conversation-would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/dialogue-must-appear-realistic-without-being-so-actual-realism-the/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Simply put, you can read a story in a single sitting and hold it all in your mind. You can experience all of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ross/simply-put-you-can-read-a-story-in-a-single-sitting-and-hold-it-all/) [Adam Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ross/) > [“My dear, you will be woefully disappointed if in my story you expect any thing like a novel. I once heard a general say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/my-dear-you-will-be-woefully-disappointed-if-in-my-story-you-expect/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [“Writing a novel is like making soup. The base is a broth we make up wholesale—for instance, I have one child, not five, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-frankel/writing-a-novel-is-like-making-soup-the-base-is-a-broth-we-make-up/) [Laurie Frankel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-frankel/) > [Successful fiction does not need to be validated by 'real life'; I cringe whenever a writer is asked how much of a novel is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/successful-fiction-does-not-need-to-be-validated-by-real-life-i/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [“In fact, there is no such thing as character, something fixed and final. The real thing is something that novelists don’t know how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soseki-natsume/in-fact-there-is-no-such-thing-as-character-something-fixed-and-final/) [Soseki Natsume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soseki-natsume/) > [A short-story collection is harder to formulate pithy sentences about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dolnick/a-short-story-collection-is-harder-to-formulate-pithy-sentences-about/) [Ben Dolnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-dolnick/) > [By examining characters lighting the way to hell, as it were, are readers spared iniquity? Are stories a heeded warning, or merely an entertainment?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ross/by-examining-characters-lighting-the-way-to-hell-as-it-were-are/) [Adam Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ross/) > [The book that first made me want to be a writer is Flannery O'Connor's short story collection 'A Good Man Is Hard To Find.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/the-book-that-first-made-me-want-to-be-a-writer-is-flannery-o-connor/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [Jean Thompson's short-story collection 'Who Do You Love' is a beautiful book, but a hell of a sad one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-giles/jean-thompson-s-short-story-collection-who-do-you-love-is-a-beautiful/) [Jeff Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-giles/) ## More by David Means > [In the days following 9/11, when we were reeling and disoriented, there was a kind of solace to be found in old recordings, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/in-the-days-following-9-11-when-we-were-reeling-and-disoriented-there/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [Wars never simply end, not for those in combat and not for the culture, and one way or another, they shape-shift from generation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/wars-never-simply-end-not-for-those-in-combat-and-not-for-the-culture/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [Every interaction with another person involves a dance of expectation, even when you're just passing someone in the street. Inside those moments - however…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/every-interaction-with-another-person-involves-a-dance-of-expectation/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [I love the nooks and crannies of the American landscape; the back roads and back alleys, the places that are still untouched by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/i-love-the-nooks-and-crannies-of-the-american-landscape-the-back/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [I love novels, and I read them more than anything, but stories cut in sharp and hard and are able to reveal things in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/i-love-novels-and-i-read-them-more-than-anything-but-stories-cut-in/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [The more you know about Bob Dylan, the less you know. A truly enigmatic artist, Mr. Dylan's work and life offer vaporous handholds, explanations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/the-more-you-know-about-bob-dylan-the-less-you-know-a-truly-enigmatic/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [As a story writer, you have work with sharp but relatively small tools, the picks of metaphor, the shovel blade of images, the trowel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/as-a-story-writer-you-have-work-with-sharp-but-relatively-small-tools/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [In 'Kid A' and 'Amnesiac,' Mr. Yorke's lyrics were often unfathomable, moaned and mumbled and forced beneath the surface of the music. In 'Hail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/in-kid-a-and-amnesiac-mr-yorke-s-lyrics-were-often-unfathomable/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [Alice Munro is an atomic writer blasting doors into narrative time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/alice-munro-is-an-atomic-writer-blasting-doors-into-narrative-time/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [Iggy Pop is a pure Michigan product - gritty, smart, but not afraid of looking stupid or foolish. His father was once a high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/iggy-pop-is-a-pure-michigan-product-gritty-smart-but-not-afraid-of/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [I like landscape, I guess. It's kind of a game to see how you can describe it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/i-like-landscape-i-guess-it-s-kind-of-a-game-to-see-how-you-can/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [You don't know what you need when you're a young writer. You can get small slivers of critical input, advice, comments, but if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/you-don-t-know-what-you-need-when-you-re-a-young-writer-you-can-get/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [I'm not sure if a writer should talk about themes. Themes arrive out of the deeper structure and concerns, but to me, the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/i-m-not-sure-if-a-writer-should-talk-about-themes-themes-arrive-out/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [I was an at-home father, taking care of them for seven years when they were babies. I was one of those new-age, at-home dads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/i-was-an-at-home-father-taking-care-of-them-for-seven-years-when-they/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [I'm a relatively optimistic kind of guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/i-m-a-relatively-optimistic-kind-of-guy/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) [Explore all 55 David Means quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) ## More Beatles quotes > [When I first started making music, it was learning other people's songs and putting them onto four-track. Like Beatles songs and stuff. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-ward/when-i-first-started-making-music-it-was-learning-other-people-s/) [M. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-ward/) > [I am a big Beatles fan. And, you know, unbeknownst to anyone, I used to be one. But I have no problems of putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ringo-starr/i-am-a-big-beatles-fan-and-you-know-unbeknownst-to-anyone-i-used-to/) [Ringo Starr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ringo-starr/) > [As a child, I was this record collector/listener that would sit in a room and listen to the entire Beatles catalog alone, over and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/as-a-child-i-was-this-record-collector-listener-that-would-sit-in-a/) [Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/) > [I thought my Beatles LPs sounded pretty good on a record player, but that was before I had heard a CD.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-wood/i-thought-my-beatles-lps-sounded-pretty-good-on-a-record-player-but/) [Alastair Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-wood/) > [Growing up in San Diego, my main interests were the Beatles, Louis Armstrong, 'Star Wars,' baseball cards, and drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-mooney/growing-up-in-san-diego-my-main-interests-were-the-beatles-louis/) [Kyle Mooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-mooney/) > [He's (Ringo Starr) not even the best drummer in the Beatles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/he-s-ringo-starr-not-even-the-best-drummer-in-the-beatles/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [It was great fun to be able to work with so many different artists. And I'm paying a tribute to the Beatles. I've just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-preston/it-was-great-fun-to-be-able-to-work-with-so-many-different-artists/) [Billy Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-preston/) > ['The X Factor' seems to be more about building up personalities and people in tears. And it's not a new idea. The pre-Beatles pop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jools-holland/the-x-factor-seems-to-be-more-about-building-up-personalities-and/) [Jools Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jools-holland/) > [Oh, I think country has changed tremendously. I think country has totally changed. Country music when I was a kid was Hank Williams. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mellencamp/oh-i-think-country-has-changed-tremendously-i-think-country-has/) [John Mellencamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mellencamp/) > [Elvis Presley's music said, 'Free your body.' The Beatles said, 'Free your mind.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheff/elvis-presley-s-music-said-free-your-body-the-beatles-said-free-your/) [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) > [The Beatles have a deeper appreciation of all music. There's a humor, there's a Broadway sense, and later on, the Indian stuff came in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-vivino/the-beatles-have-a-deeper-appreciation-of-all-music-there-s-a-humor/) [Jimmy Vivino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-vivino/) > [The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, these are just some of the people who threatened to sue if we used their songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-mochrie/the-beatles-rolling-stones-barbra-streisand-bruce-springsteen-these/) [Colin Mochrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-mochrie/) > [If you look in my CD case, you'll see it's Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, now I can't think of anyone else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-angarano/if-you-look-in-my-cd-case-you-ll-see-it-s-pink-floyd-the-rolling/) [Michael Angarano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-angarano/) > [ “Like almost all of Beefheart's recorded work, \[Trout Mask Replica\] was not even "ahead" of its time in 1969. Then and now, it stands… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/like-almost-all-of-beefheart-s-recorded-work-trout-mask-replica-was/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [It's marvelous when you visit Tokyo: they have these clubs, and they'll have 'Motown Night' or 'The Beatles - Totally Authentic and Live!' You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-palmer/it-s-marvelous-when-you-visit-tokyo-they-have-these-clubs-and-they-ll/) [Robert Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-palmer/) [Browse all 786 Beatles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beatles/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A short story collection can be as exciting as a novel. 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