I'm quite intrigued by the notion of a book that is completely self-contained but related to another book. I've coined a rather hideous word for it - a paraquel.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
The trouble with calling a book a novel, well, it's not like I'm writing the same book all the time, but there is a continuity of my interests, so when I start writing a book, if I call it 'a novel,' it separates it from other books.
A book is either autobiography or a novel.
A book is a book is a book.
A book is a journey: It's a thing you agree to go on with somebody, and I think every reader's experience of a book is going to be different.
I used to comfort myself with the idea of a book with serrated, detachable pages, so that you could read the thing the way it came and then shuffle the pages, like a giant deck of cards, and read the book in an entirely different order. It would be a different book, wouldn't it? It would be one of infinite books.
A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.
At the same time, I think books create a sort of network in the reader's mind, with one book reinforcing another. Some books form relationships. Other books stand in opposition. No two writers or readers have the same pattern of interaction.
Books are not like albums, where you can simply download and enjoy your favorite chapter and ignore the rest.
I think of every book as a single entity, and some have later gone on to become a series, often at the request of readers.
A book is simply the container of an idea like a bottle; what is inside the book is what matters.