It’s time for another adventure in Kate’s 6 Degrees of Separation Meme from her blog, Books Are My Favourite and Best. We are given a book to start with, and from there we free associate six books.
This month Kate has instructed us to start with a novella on our reading list “in recognition of Novellas in November (which I know lots of us participate in).”
First, here’s my definition of a novella: a short work of fiction, up to about 200 pages. (Click here for a longer discussion of the meaning of novella.)
first degree
Earlier this year I reviewed two novellas. The first is Seascraper (176 pages) by Benjamin Wood.
second degree
The second is You Must Remember This (152 pages) by Sean Wilson.
third degree
A novella that I bought on vacation—and that’s still on my TBR shelf—is Departure(s) (176 pages) by Julian Barnes.
fourth degree
And just recently I added another novella to my TBR shelf: The Four Wives and Five Deaths of Richard Milford (176 pages) by Nafissa Thompson-Spires.
fifth degree
Novellas in November is not a holiday that I usually celebrate. Instead, for several years I’ve been reading nonfiction in November to remind myself to mix nonfiction in with all the novels I read. This year I’ll be reading some memoirs by people whose lives have been influenced by their reading. To keep at least a thread of continuity here, I start with such a memoir that’s about the same length as a novella: Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life (208 pages) by Yiyun Li.
sixth degree
My final offering is another memoir (though this one is a little longer): Reading the Waves: A Memoir (224 pages) by Lidia Yuknavitch.
Reading some short works, whether fiction or nonfiction, seems appropriate as the holiday crush sets in. What will you be reading this November?
© 2026 by Mary Daniels Brown
