2019 Reading Challenge: A Novella

Sometimes life gets busy and it's hard to sit down and read a book. We get it. That happens to the best of us. Our suggestion when you're having trouble finding time to do your favorite past time? Try a novella! No one said you always have to be reading a 500-page book. It's like the books you normally read, but in a bite-sized format (under 200 pages!).

Here are some novellas that may be small in size, but big in story:

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka 
Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning  to discover that he has turned into a gigantic insect and must deal with the depression over his new physical alteration, as well as the rejection of his family.

The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing

Amid the turbulent atmosphere of the late 1960s, Harriet and David Lovatt manage to keep their family safe--until the birth of their fifth child, who is abnormally strong, demanding, even violent

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

A scientist invents a time machine and uses it to travel to the year 802,701 A.D., where he discovers the childlike Eloi and the hideous underground Morlocks.

The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami

In a fantastical illustrated short novel, three people imprisoned in a nightmarish library plot their escape.

Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson

August reunites with a beloved old friend who challenges her to reconcile past inconsistencies and come to terms with the difficulties that forced her to grow up too quickly.

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

Kitchen juxtaposes two tales about mothers, love, tragedy, and the power of the kitchen and home in the lives of a pair of free-spirited young women in contemporary Japan. 

My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

After an appendix operation puts her in the hospital, New York writer Lucy Barton reconnects with her estranged mother as the pair reminisce about the past.

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

A senior-aged widow and widower forge a loving bond over shared loneliness and respective histories, provoking local gossip and the disapproval of their grown children.

Shopgirl by Steven Martin

Working as as salesgirl, Mirabelle embarks on a love affair with a wealthy, lonely businessman she meets at the store, and together they struggle to understand the meaning of love.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Arsenic has killed of members of the Blackwood family, and there may be more deaths to come.

Want to participate in Dover Public Library's 2019 Reading Challenge? Download the form here!