However, the pattern didn't recur on TorDotCom nth-in-a-series novellas, nor on one from Nightfire.

This makes me think there's nothing nefarious here; rather my current working theory is that some GR users are wanting to maximize the number of books they've read to meet a end-of-year reading challenge target, and are picking titles that are high-profile and short to help reach that goal.

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I haven't looked (yet), but I'd not be surprised if there was a GR blog post promoting these titles and others for exactly those reasons.

The GR Choice Awards would also have an impact on activity, although only 2 of these 4 books were finalists.

I know there have been a few admirable initiatives to push people to read novellas outside of those from TorDotCom, maybe this is another angle to try?

Apologies in advance if this is indeed already being done, and I've forgotten about it.

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