Get ready for Novellas in November!
Novellas: “all killer, no filler”
~Joe Hill
For the third year in a row, Rebecca of Bookish Beck and I are co-hosting Novellas in November as a month-long challenge with four weekly prompts.
We’ll both put up an opening post on 1 November where you can leave your links throughout the month, to be rounded up on the 30th, and we’ll take turns introducing a theme each Tuesday.
1 – 7 November: Short Classics (Rebecca)
8 – 14November: Novellas in Translation (Cathy)
15 – 21 November: Short Non-Fiction (Rebecca)
22 – 28 November: Contemporary Novellas (Cathy)
29/30 November: My Month in Novellas/ New to my TBR
(As a reminder, we suggest 150–200 pages as the upper limit for a novella, and post-1980 as a definition of “contemporary.”)
In a change from last year, we are hosting one buddy read throughout the month and this year we have chosen Foster by Claire Keegan. If you want to join in, you can read Foster online here and review it at any point throughout the month. You could also try and catch the Irish language film version of Foster – An Cailín Ciúin – which was released this year to rave reviews and is widely tipped for an Oscar nomination.
It’s always a busy month in the blogging world, what with Nonfiction November, German Literature Month, Australia Reading Month. Why not search your shelves and/or local library for novellas that count towards multiple challenges?
We’re looking forward to having you join us! Keep in touch via Twitter (@bookishbeck / @cathy746books) and Instagram (@bookishbeck / @cathy_746books) and feel free to use the feature images and the hashtag #NovNov22.
Novellas in November #NovNov22 claire keegan Novellas in November reading challenge
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I am a 40 something book buying addict trying to reduce the backlog one book at a time!
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Really looking forward to it Cathy! My blogging is terrible at the moment but I’m hoping to join in. I’m sure the month will send my wishlist spiralling 🙂
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It certainly doesn’t help my TBR, that’s for sure 🙂
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I’m getting ready for my tbr to expand markedly! Pretty sure I have a few already on the shelves that would fit the bill. Thanks, as ever, for helping to organise this, Cathy.
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It’s always a tempting month Susan!
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I always look forward to Novellas in November, so thank you for hosting it again. I think I have plenty on my shelves to choose from this year, so it’s just a matter of deciding which ones!
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Great to hear it Lisa! Look forward to seeing your choices.
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Definitely planning to join in!
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Excellent!
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I’m definitely in for the buddy read, I haven’t read anything yet by Claire Keegan and a film too, hooray!
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Oh you are in for a treat with Foster, it’s a real beauty of a book.
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I’m looking forward to it, I’ve got a good few lined up and hoping to combine with non-fiction November as usual – also doing AusReading Month but not sure any of mine for that are short enough.
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I have a couple that will fit in with AusReading Month and am hoping to get a German one as well for translation week.
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I’ve realised that Beyond the Rabbit-Proof Fence covers all three!!
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I have a copy of it too! Definitely going to tick a few boxes with that one 🙂
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I’m in, of course! I have a two stack permanent novella pile these days, so plenty to choose from. Yay!
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Excellent Annabel, look forward to seeing what you choose!
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Glad you’re doing this again, as I do love a novella and I’m sure I have tons unread!!
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Great stuff, I have so many I could probably do another five years of Novellas in November 🙂
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Yep, I’m in! I already have a selection to dip into, but we’ll see how we go!
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Excellent! Look forward to seeing what you choose.
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I’ve had a quick dig-around and come up with these possibilities – all fairly ambitious for me, and of course I reserve the right to change my mind!
Short Classics: ‘Good Morning Midnight’ (Jean Rhys) OR ‘Orlando’ (Virginia Woolf)
Novellas in Translation: ‘Strait is the Gate’ (André Gide) OR ‘By Night in Chile’ (Roberto Bolaño) OR ‘Chronicle of a Death Foretold’ (Gabriel García Márquez).
Short Non-Fiction: ‘We the People’ (Timothy Garton Ash) OR ‘The Viceroy of Ouidah’ (Bruce Chatwin).
Contemporary Novellas: ‘The Lost Daughter’ (Elena Ferrante) OR ‘Ghost Wall’ (Sarah Moss).
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Nice choices Chris! I loved Ghost Wall, I think it’s stunning and it’s been a long time since I’ve read Chronicle of a Death Foretold, but I was a massive Garcia Marquez fan in my twenties.
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I stalled on Ghost Wall a year or so ago but the fact I hung on to it suggested I wasn’t really ready to give up on it.
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Oh I left a comment and it’s disappeared. I have a good number of novellas saved up to do, and looking forward to it!
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Excellent! I do love Novellas in November,
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I think I might attempt this challenge this year if I can come up with some novellas.
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HI Misty, that would be great! You can read Foster online if you’d like to take part, or last year’s round-up post has lots of inspiration for titles.
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Excellent choice of group read, though I feel like I should catch up on Small Things Like These first! And thank you for making my birth year the cut off for “contemporary” 😉
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I actually think that Foster is a much better book than Small Things, but was delighted to see it make the Booker shortlist last night.
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I’ll be joining in. I have plenty to choose from but I’ll let my mood dictate my choices closer to the time. I’m hopeless at sticking to a predetermined list.
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Excellent! Look forward to seeing what you read.
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Lovely idea! And so kind.. short books 🤗 I won’t join the full challenge but I read (and loved) Foster without getting to a review so this seems like the perfect incentive to go back to it and put some thoughts in writing
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Would love to hear what you thought of it, I think it’s perfect.
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I missed out on 20 books of summer but looking forward to this. I’ve been leaning towards shorter books all year so this should be perfect!
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It’s always a great month, a much easier to read a couple of novellas rather than 20 books!
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I love me some good novellas… I hope I’ll have some to include in this challenge this year.
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Excellent Davida, hope you can join in, it’s always a great month.
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You know… I’m going to be in the UK late this month… I always buy books while I’m there so… maybe I’ll concentrate on getting a few novellas! Easier to pack, right?
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I have Foster on my TBR pile, so that is perfect that it is the buddy read for this year. I’m in!
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Looking forward to this, as always! I like that the group read along is available online.
I’ve been having trouble with commenting while on my phone lately, but I think I’ve got it figured out. This is the test!
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Your test is working! Glad to hear you will be joining in!
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I’ve just trawled my LibraryThing and found I have 10 unread novellas, 6 contemporary, 3 non fiction. No rules means I can have a non fiction work as a classic, right? 😉 Let’s see if I can knock some more off my To Read pile!
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You are bound to find something good in that stack! And yes, the categories can definitely overlap 😊
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My announcement post is up with some of the ones I’ve read this year–including some in translation if anyone is searching.
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Thanks Lisa!
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Talk about serendipity! I saw a copy of Foster when I was in London and I bought a copy so aside from having a few other novellas to read, I will be reading this one during November as well.
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Excellent! It’s a very short read Davida, but very powerful.
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Small Things was also a short read and very powerful. I’m sorry it didn’t win the Booker Prize! But now I’m a Keegan fan!
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I’m going to sort through my TBR bookcase, yes, bookcase, as soon as I get home. Claire Keegan is my new favorite author, by the way.
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Great James, hope you find something to join in with.
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