It’s almost time for Novellas in November, hosted by Cathy of 746 Books and Rebecca of Bookish Beck.
There are no categories this year, although participants are invited to start the month with a My Year in Novellas retrospective looking at any novellas read since last NovNov, and finish it with a New to My TBR list based on the novellas that others have tempted them with over the course of the month.
There are also two buddy reads this year – Seascraper by Benjamin Wood and Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde. I have bought Seascraper in readiness, and will reserve Sister Outsider at my library.
Anyway, this is what I am choosing from (sorted according to the #NovNov categories from previous years):
Short Classics
The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers (163pp)
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton (99pp)
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger (199pp)
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (112pp)
Lady Susan by Jane Austen (180pp)
Cheri by Colette (122pp)
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (129pp)
Novellas in Translation
The Black Lake by Hella S. Haasse (Dutch, 116pp)
The Book of Everything by Guus Kuijer (Dutch, 112pp)
All Dogs Are Blue by Rodrigo de Souza Leão (Brazilian, 125pp)
Bright by Duanwad Pimwana (Thai, 191pp)
Siblings by Brigitte Reimann (German, 133pp)
People With No Charisma by Jente Posthuma (Dutch, 162pp)
Eurotrash by Christian Kracht (German, 190pp)
Imminence by Mariana Dimópulos (Spanish, 176pp)
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa (Japanese, 160pp)
The Details by Ia Genberg (Swedish, 155pp)
Beloved by Empar Moliner (Spanish, 166pp)
The Pigeon by Patrick Süskind (German, 115pp)
Days at Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa (Japanese, 170pp)
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (Japanese, 163pp)
Short nonfiction
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis (76pp)
My Two Elaines by Martin J. Schreiber (126pp)
Hooked by Rita Felski (199pp – more tiny print!)
Intervals by Marianne Brooker (192pp)
The Book of Malcolm by Fraser Sutherland (200pp)
On Mother by Sarah Ferguson (128pp)
The Underachiever’s Manifesto by Ray Bennett (96pp)
Shame by Annie Ernaux (86pp)
Eggs in Purgatory by Genanne Walsh (55pp)
Trophy Lives by Philippa Snow (104pp)
How a Book is Born by Keith Gessen (53pp)
I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron (139pp)
300 Arguments by Sarah Manguso (104pp)
Not Waving, Drowning by Sarah Krasnostein (153pp)
Consent by Jill Ciment (148pp)
The Slicks by Maggie Nelson (56pp)
On Grief by Jennifer Senior (78pp)
The Good Death Through Time by Cailin Mahar (195pp)
A Truce That is Not Peace by Miriam Toews (180pp)
Notes to John by Joan Didion (202pp)
Contemporary novellas
We the Animals by Justin Torres (128pp)
Eve in Hollywood by Amor Towles (91pp)
Audition by Katie Kitamua (197pp)
Brother by David Chariandy (192pp)
Nostalgia Has Ruined My Life by Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle (76pp)
This is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill (97pp)
You Must Remember This by Sean Wilson (169pp)
Come Rain or Come Shine by Kazuo Ishiguro (78pp)
Flotsam by Meike Ziervogel (128pp)
Two Women Walk into a Bar by Cheryl Strayed (31pp)
Murmurations by Carol Lefevre (108pp)
Swim by Avi Duckor-Jones (172pp)
The Stepdaughter by Caroline Blackwood (104pp)
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood (166pp)
The Children’s Bach by Helen Garner (160pp)
Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter (114pp)
Three Days in June by Anne Tyler (176pp)
Of course, no intention of reading all of these, but two or three each week should be manageable. Where to start?
Good grief, I’m just starting to recover from hosting #ShortStorySeptember, I haven’t even thought about what to read for #novNov.
I do have a middle-ish pile leftover from last year that I didn’t get round to…
😀 I always keep detailed lists for these challenges, so it’s quick to put together a plan.
Note though, that I still have one review to write for Short Story September, so I’m not that organised!
Ha ha, I’m not going to add any more, I’ve already had a complaint that there’s too many!
Still disappointed that Seascraper wasn’t on the Booker shortlist. I also loved The Details. Weirdly, Brother has been one of my most visited posts over the years. Looking forward to seeing your picks.
I’ve had Brother in my reading stack for so long – maybe this is the year!
The two Morisaki Bookshop books are lovely. I’ve been saving the latest Anne Tyler for this reading challenge (Three Days in June), and I just bought a few Muriel Sparks books that are less than 200 pages, so I’ll be reading at least two for this.
I have seen the Morisaki books reviewed by so many bloggers – seems enjoyed by all, so looking forward to the one I have.
Ha very haha, I broke my wrist on Sunday so novellas are perfect if they will stay open. I have read all the Japanese novellas this year as I could get my hands on them. Morisaki Bookshop x 2, Butter, Diary of a Void, Convenience Store Woman (5*), Before the Coffee Gets Cold, What You are Looking For is in the Library. Then Carys Davies’ Clear of course – gorgeous. If you haven’t read her work, please do, 140-160 pages of the tautest writing.
To read – Audition has just arrived at 196pp. In anticipation of Seascraper, I read his first book The Bellwether Revivals as I grew up in Cambridge (give it a 3). Western Lane by Chetna Maroo is waiting as is another Japanese one (sequel to Coffee), Before We Forget Kindness. I love the idea of some Edith Wharton and Henry James. A new Cynan Jones would be the cherry on the cake for a Welsh twist. And I have Elizabeth Jolley’s The Well as a tie-over from Short Story September. Pob lwc and thanks for hosting
I LOVED Clear (in my top books of last year – superb).
Thanks for the reminder about Audition – I have an e-book so don’t think I’d registered that it was a novella. Have now added it to my list (I have really enjoyed her other books).
Clear won the Wales Book of the Year this year. Carys grew up in Llangollen (North Wales for a change, not all grit comes out of the Valleys!). I first saw West recommended in a Christmas list in the Big Issue mag that supports homeless people, and have been a fan of hers ever since. West would be an excellent pick for NovNov (it’s about the Big American Out West not Wales) as would Caradog Prichard’s One Moonlit Night about growing up in Bethesda by the slate quarries.
Try this curious introduction:
https://youtu.be/OJyAzgqeu3M
Menna Gallie, respected Welsh literary lady translated OMN first in 1973 but it is very South Walian
Pretty well all Carys’ work is novella or short story, try West as well
Lots of books i want to look into here. Enjoy your reading
We’ll all do what we do every year – add to our book shelves! 😀
I thought The Member of the Wedding was excellent, I’m actually amazed to see it’s less than 200 pages, it packs the punch of a much longer read!
Good to know! Each year I struggle to get to the classics – might put in more of an effort on that front this year.
What a great set of options! I really enjoyed the Posthuma, and I’ve read six of your nonfiction selections. I can already see my ailing year statistics recovering.
I really enjoyed Posthuma’s last book (I might have read it for NovNov last year??). And yes, this list NEVER seems to get any shorter.
Holy mackerel!
A few to get through… 😀
I just recently read Frannie and Zooey! I’ve also read The Details and Audition, I enjoyed them both a lot.
Great lists Kate, of which I’ve read a few. I loved The Details when I read it and I am lining up Siblings for my own pile. This is Pleasure was also a hit for me and in my opinion, you can never go wrong with McCullers!
There is a good list of novellas to choose from. I am no familiar with any of the modern ones, but I have read a couple of the classic ones.
Ethan Frome, A Room of One’s Own, Lady Susan, The Yellow Wallpaper. I liked all of them, but had a little bit of problem with VW. I probably have to re-read it to grasp it completely. The wallpaper is a short, easy read, with psychological tones. I loved Lady Susan. It felt fresh and was typical Austen with sharp descriptions of society, already here in her first book, which was not published until after her death. It is a letter novella. I also loved Ethan Frome and his sad life.
Last year I sat down with a list and requested books from the library. I read the ones which arrived by mid November. I read some old classics and some modern ones, both good and bad. This year I am being more picky, I think. (I hope.) Have fun! I hope you read some good ones!
Love that stack of pinks & greens!
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