Yes,I agree. I'll leave out the hyphens for the novels.
Technical correctness and visual appeal, both have their own places. Which I would opt for would depend on the material I am copyediting.
A novel is not a menu. :)
Thank you for the reply. That's precisely the problem; "a ham-and-cheese omelet" might be an unwarranted overkill. Still, I believe it is...
According to CMoS, which is technically correct? 1) a ham and cheese omelet 2) a ham-and-cheese omelet
Separate names with a comma.