The novel has evolved over the years in composition, context, content, audience and delivery. Look at the difference between literature 50, 100 and 200 years ago and what we read today. There are more genres, and more ways of getting the stories, than ever before. Even more startling is the literary differences between countries today.

Japan has a serialized form of novels that hasn’t caught on yet here in the states. They’re called cellphone novels. No, I’m not talking about reading books on your cell phone. These are novels actually composed as text messages on cell phones. Apparently, there are Web sites you can send your texts to and post your novel. After a while, ta-da! You have a book. The grammar usually isn’t complex, but these novels are incredibly popular. Just as bloggers and self-published authors here in the US are getting book deals, so are cellphone novelists. I did a quick search and couldn’t find any cellphone novels in English, but has anyone ever read or wrote one? Would you want to?

China is also into cellphone novels, or just reading ebooks on their phone. (If you think getting published in the US is crazy, try working as a writer in China.) The Chinese are trying to branch out in terms of content, but with all the social and legal restraints this is difficult.

Anecdotal proof young people read short story collections: I went home for the weekend for a family event and many of my brother’s friends (freshmen and sophomore college students) were also around. During one of the rare quiet moments I noticed one of the girls reading a book. Turned out she was reading a short story collection by a single author, published by a small press. Bonus points: She’s NOT an English major.