This is the first year that Novellas in November ran as an official blogger challenge. Cathy and I have been bowled over by the level of response: as of the time of this writing, 30 bloggers have taken part, publishing a total of 89 posts. (I’ve collected all the links on this master post.) Thank you all for being so engaged and helping to spread the love of short books!
We’re already thinking about how to adapt things for next year if we host #NovNov again.
A few specific books were reviewed more than once: The Swallowed Man by Edward Carey, The Spare Room by Helen Garner, and Train Dreams by Denis Johnson.
Three different novellas by Georges Simenon featured, and two by Hubert Mingarelli.
Other novellas discussed more than once were Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan, and Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton.
Aside from the above, here are other frequently mentioned authors who tend(ed) to write short books perfect for Novellas in November: James Baldwin, J.L. Carr, Penelope Fitzgerald, Jean Rhys, Muriel Spark, John Steinbeck, Nathanael West, and Jacqueline Woodson.
Along with Charco Press and Peirene Press, two more UK publishers whose books lend themselves to this challenge are And Other Stories and Fairlight Books. (If you have more ideas of authors and publishers, let me know and I’ll update these sections.)
And here’s my statistics for 2020:
Total number of novellas read this month: 16 (the same as 2019; vs. 26 in 2018)
Favorites: Dear Ijeawele by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (nonfiction); La Symphonie Pastorale by André Gide & Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan (in translation); The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris
Bookish Beck = Rebecca Foster. American transplant to England. Freelance proofreader and book reviewer.
Bookish Beck 
[…] can check out Rebecca’s wrap up post here and once again thanks to everyone who has taken […]
LikeLike
It’s been SUCH good fun – I never thought we’d get anywhere near 85 posts. I now have a massive list that I want to read next year 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
I was so impressed by the turn-out!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve only read two, and while I enjoyed Cath Barton’s In the Sweep of the Bay my favourite is Bruce Chatwin’s Utz. Thanks for linking my reviews and also for co-hosting — I look forward to next year’s fest!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much for taking part! It’s never too early to start thinking about novellas to read next year 🙂 I’ve only read On the Black Hill by Chatwin, which I loved. I need to read more of his stuff.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I so enjoyed joining in, some highlights for me were A Girl Returned by Donatella di, A Month in the Country by J L Carr and Surfacing by Margaret Atwood.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for your reviews, Ali! I’m glad you enjoyed the Carr, and your reread of the Atwood.
LikeLike
I loved taking part! Thank you for hosting #novnov, Rebecca! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for your contributions!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe my favourite was Sam Sevlon’s The Lonely Londoners. We both fetched up in Londo at about the same time – he as part of the Windrush generation, me as a small girl from rural Yorkshire. In our different ways’, we were probably equally bemused. I loved this books strong voice and sense of place and the seamless way in which he ‘transcribed’ the patois of the protagonists. I found it an engaging read.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So glad you found it worthwhile.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for hosting! I didn’t join in much, but thoroughly enjoyed it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s tough to fit in all the November challenges! Creative multitasking is a must.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for hosting this event! I didn’t have time to read as many novellas as I wished but I enjoyed taking part to this event.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for joining us!
LikeLike
Glad you enjoyed such a good response!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it was a great success considering it was its first official year 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve still got three in my stacks — The Factory, Binti, and Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) — and still vaguely hope that I’ll read them by the end of the year. Sometimes there are entire days around the holidays that turn out to be good reading days and I have the feeling that might be even more true this year! Congrats on so many great reads and all your organizing and enthusiasm, you and Cathy both.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s been fun, and only slightly overwhelming at times. I was so pleased to see people take the challenge to heart.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for hosting, I enjoyed taking part with my two non-fiction contributions (and I bought a fiction novella, too …)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for joining!
LikeLiked by 1 person
[…] Last year, our first of hosting Novellas in November as an official blogger challenge, we had 89 posts by 30 bloggers. This year, Cathy and I have been simply blown away by the level of participation: as of this afternoon, our count is that 48 bloggers have taken part, publishing a total of 198 posts covering nearly 250 books. We’ve done our best to keep up with the posts, which we’ve each been collecting as links on the opening master post. (Here’s mine.) […]
LikeLike