My Year in Novellas
Today, I’m recounting my year in novellas and participating in Novellas 2025 hosted by Cathy @ 746 Books and Rebecca @ Bookish Beck. I’m reading two novellas in November for #NovNov25, and I read a total of sixteen novellas/short stories in the past year. My favorites of the year are A Carol for Mrs. Dickens and She Came to Slay.
Do you read novellas in November?
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Novellas I’m Reading For #NovNov25
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood
(in progress) Novellas In November 2025 Buddy Read. Longlisted for the Booker Prize.
Marce Catlett by Wendell Berry
The histfic in the beginning was compelling, but my interest waned in the middle as it transformed into nonfiction and grew preachy towards the end. I’m from a farming family, so there is a personal connection. 3 Stars. (first part, 4 stars)
Other Novellas Read From November 1, 2024 Through November 1, 2025:
(in no particular order)
The Bookstore Keepers and The Bookstore Family by Alice Hoffman (short stories)
#3 and #4 in a Series. 3 Stars each.
The Long Dry by Cyan Jones
Bleak Literary Fiction (read for #ReadingWales25). 2 Stars.
Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
Enjoyable Character-driven Fiction. 3.5 Stars.
The Measure of My Days by Georgia Scott-Maxwell
Non Fiction, Memoir. 3 Stars.
The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez (short story)
Forced Proximity Romance. Meh. 2.5 Stars.
She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman
Excellent, Biographical Nonfiction. 5 Stars.
A Carol for Mrs. Dickens by Rebecca Connolly
Interesting Biographical Historical Fiction. 5 Stars.
Lore in Love by Kate Willis (short story)
Sweet, but no plot. 2.5-3 Stars.
I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
Non-Fiction, Essay Collection. Meh. 2 Stars.
Once Upon a Christmas Carol by Melody Carlson
Rediscovering the Joy of Christmas. 4 Stars.
On a Midnight Clear by Tracie Peterson, Karen Witemeyer, and Misty M. Meller (3 novella collection)
A collection of 3 novellas inspired by the Christmas story. 3.5-4 Stars.
Other Novellas/Short Stories
(from previous years)
I greatly enjoy an occasional novella or short story and find that they provide a nice balance and palate cleanser between more dense reads. Sometimes, I simply want to read a complete story in one sitting. A few novellas/short stories I’ve read and enjoyed in the past include:
Sipsworth, The Red Notebook, Worse Wingman Ever, A Christmas Memory, Parnassus on Wheels, Foster, Signal Moon, Small Things Like These, Maureen (spin-off of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry), The Answer is No, Holiday Hideaway, A Vicarage Christmas, Christmas in Briarwood, A Single Rose, The Story of My Life by Helen Keller, The House on Mango Street, Love & Saffron (stretching the definition at 206 pages), And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer, The Deal of a Lifetime, The Redhead By the Side of the Road, The Convenience Store Woman, Our Souls at Night, and 84 Charing Cross Road.
Related: Novellas in November 2024 Wrap-Up
Related: Novellas in November 2023 Wrap-Up
Related: Novellas in November 2022 Wrap-Up
Related: Novellas in November 2021 Wrap Up
QOTD:
Did you participate in Novellas in November?
Do you have a novella rec for me?
Do you have a favorite novella?
Happy Reading Book Buddies!
“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke
“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.” ~Denise J Hughes
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Hmmm not so much but I do have those Hoffman stories downloaded! Sometimes a shorter read is nice
I agree that reading a book in one sitting can be nice!
Thanks for joining us again, Carol. You’re the only other person I know who’s read the Georgia Scott-Maxwell book! I’ve also read the Ephron and Tyler from your selections.
I look forward to NovNov every year! 🌻
I’ve read the first couple of the Hoffman books. Might have another lurking on my Kindle!
Not exactly compelling but easy reading for sure!
I’d have loved to join you with the Seascraper buddy read but am STILL waiting for the library to fulfill my reservation.
Hope you get it soon! 🤞
[…] Related: My Year in Novellas 2025 […]
I do enjoy a novella occasionally. I just picked up Once Upon a Christmas Carol from the library and am on the hold list for a Carol for Mrs. Dickens. My favorite novella collection that I read last year was Mistletoe Season with novellas by Pepper Basham, Sheila Roberts and Kathleen Fuller.
A Carol for Mrs Dickens is my fav novella of the season! Enjoy! Thanks for your rec …I’ll look for it!
I enjoyed The Bookstore Sisters series. 🙂 I haven’t heard of A Carol for Mrs. Dickens. I need to look that one up!
It’s a sweet and inspirational novella! 🎄
I definitely want to read the Harriet Tubman book and A Carol for Mrs. Dickens, but I won’t get to them this month. Great list, Carol.
Save them for next year!
That’s what I’ll probably end up doing, Carol.
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