Novellas in November

For the fourth year in a row, Rebecca of Bookish Beck and Cathy of 746 Books are celebrating the art of the short* book by co-hosting Novellas in November as a month-long challenge.

This year there are  five prompts, adapted from ones commonly used for Nonfiction November. (*A reminder that it is suggested that 200 pages serve as the upper limit for a novella.)

Here’s the schedule:

Week 1 (starts Wednesday 1 November): My Year in Novellas

• During this partial week, tell about any novellas you have read since last November.

Week 2 (starts Monday 6 November): What Is a Novella?

• Ponder the definition, list favourites, or choose ones you think best capture the ‘spirit’ of a novella.

Week 3 (starts Monday 13 November): Broadening My Horizons

• Pick your top novellas in translation and think about new genres or authors you’ve been introduced to through novellas.

Week 4 (starts Monday 20 November): The Short and the Long of It

• Pair a novella with a nonfiction book or novel that deals with similar themes or topics.

Week 5 (starts Monday 27 November): New to My TBR

• In the last few days, talk about the novellas you’ve added to your TBR since the month began.

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There are two buddy-read options this year, one contemporary and one classic. Please join us in reading one or both at any time in November!

Western Lane by Chetna Maroo (2023) is on this year’s Booker Prize longlist; whether or not it advances to the shortlist on Thursday, it promises to be a one-of-a-kind debut novel about an eleven-year-old girl coming to terms with the loss of her mother and becoming deeply involved in the world of competitive squash.

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (1929), an extended essay about the conditions necessary for women’s artistic achievement, is based on lectures she delivered at Cambridge’s women’s colleges. This feminist classic is in print or can be freely read online (Internet Archive or Project Gutenberg Canada).

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It’s always a busy month in the blogging world, what with Nonfiction November, German Literature Month, and Margaret Atwood Reading Month. Why not search your shelves and/or local library for novellas that count towards multiple challenges? You might also consider participating in Annabel’s Beryl Bainbridge Reading Week (the 18th through 26th) as most of Bainbridge’s novels were under 200 pages.

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We’re looking forward to having you join us! From 1 November there will be a pinned post on Rebecca’s site from which you can join the link-up.

Here is a list of novellas I might read in November. Do you recommend any of these?

Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares (100 pages)

The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan (100 pages)

A Lost Lady by Willa Cather (108 pages)

The Trial by Franz Kafka (119 pages)

The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy (128 pages)

Hunger by Knut Hamsen (132 pages)

Barabbas by Par Lagerkvist (144 pages)

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (144 pages)

The Drowned World by J. G. Ballard (156 pages)

In the Mountains by Elizabeth von Arnim (160 pages)

The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather (160 pages)

The Third Man by Graham Greene (160 pages)

To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway (162 pages)

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino (165 pages)

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula LeGuin (184 pages)

Summer by Edith Wharton (194 pages)