November Novella Wrap-up

We did it! We finished our first challenge...and with a few days to spare. The November Novella Challenge was sponsored by J.T. at www.bibliofreakblog.com . We signed up for Level II, which was to read four novellas during the month of November. We each selected two and read them together. Our four selections were The Mist by Stephen King, Animal Farm by Orson Wells, Murder at Wayne Manor by Duane Swierczynski, and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickins. You can find our reviews by clicking on November Novella Challenge in the labels list.

This was really our first experience with intentionally selecting reading material from this genre, but we found that there are a lot of good ones out there. Miriam-Webster defines a novella as "a story with a compact and pointed plot". Being a fan of "a little less talk and a lot more action" (to quote Elvis), I enjoyed that aspect of these books.

Thanks to J.T. for sponsoring this fun, quick challenge. To see what everyone was reading, visit her blog and read the many reviews.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

I had a couple of friends recommend that I read Animal Farm, although they didn't give me any description at all. When I saw it on a list of novellas, I thought it would make a good choice for the November Novella Challenge. However, I still had no idea what it was about. I don't know what I expected, but I was surprised - in a good way.

Animal Farm was written by George Orwell in 1946, a year after World War II and during the period that Communism was getting a secure hold on Eastern Europe. Orwell was a vocal Socialist, but saw huge differenes between Socialism and Communism.

The animals on the Manor Farm become enlightened and decide that the human owners and employees of the farm are mistreating them. The oldest and wisest of the animals gets them all together and convinces them that all animals everywhere would be better off without humans. The animals conspire to chase the humans off the farm and re-name it Animal Farm. All goes well until the pigs, the smartest of the animals, become tyrants and eventually are indistinguishable from humans.

This book is a satirical look at the flaws of communism. It also seems like a good lesson for any society, especially one which allows its leaders too much control. In the end, the animals were in a much worse situation than they had ever been, but they didn't even realize it because the PR machine of the pigs worked constantly to convince them of how good things were and they believed it, too far-removed and beaten down to question their lies.

The premise of this story can carry over to any government entity that becomes obsessed with its own power and uses it in unhealthy ways, whether it be a school board, county administration or the Federal goveernment. I believe Animal Farm should be required reading for every young adult - maybe it would help a few of them keep their eyes and minds open.

- Reviewed by Dave

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens' classic is our fourth and final installment in the November Novella challenge. (Yes,we still owe you a review of "Animal Farm".) I won't subject you, once again, to my fountain of memories and emotion for this story. (If you really want to know, check out our posts about the movie version or the "Re-reading the Classics" challenge from Read-a-thon.) It's sufficient to say that I've read/listened to this book countless times and enjoy it every time - outdated, confusing language and all. The story and it's moral have been re-told a thousand times, so naturally Dave was familiar with the plot, but had never read the original. Truth be told, I don't think he was all that enthusiastic, but still it was fun to share this timeless book. I will continue to make A Christmas Carol part of my holiday celebration each year.

Batman: Murder at Wayne Manor by Duane Swierczynski

When a construction crew at Wayne Manor discovers a long-buried corpse, all the evidence points to Bruce Wayne's late father, Thomas, as the murderer. Torn between the need to protect his father's honor and his thirst for dispensing justice, Batman sets out to solve this coldest of cases, using police reports, his fathers private journal, maps of Wayne Manor, news clippings, forensic samples and photographs from family albums - all included as removable facsimiles. (Synopsis from Barnes and Noble)

This book was a fun diversion on a recent car trip. The removable "clues" were fun to pass around, study and try to decipher. The story itself was understandably superficial - there just wasn't enough length to include character development, background, etc, but the concept was entertaining. Think of this book as "Encyclopedia Brown" for the whole family (actually, our whole family used to get a kick out of reading the original Encyclopedia Brown together). An enjoyable adventure for readers from upper elementary grades to adult.

This book was part of our November Novella Challenge. (http://bibliofreakblog.com/)

The Mist by Stephen King

November Novella Challenge is underway and we finished our first selection, Stephen King's The Mist, while traveling over the weekend. We had mixed reactions.

A bazaar and unearthly fog moves across a small town in Maine, bringing with it a circus of prehistoric and fantastical creatures which spring out of the mist to devour whatever gets in their road. A group of locals and vacationers are trapped in a supermarket, devising various escape and survival plans.

Like all Stephen King stories, the pace was fast. Only once did we feel him "rabbit trailing" and then only for a couple pages. The background info on the main character, David Drayton, and his feelings of inadequacy as an artist when compared to his famous father may have been pertinent and useful in a full length novel, but in this formula there wasn't time to develop the character that far, so only served to slow things down.

The various cliques that developed among the refugees trapped in the market were an intriguing microcosm of society: the "flat-earthers" who chose to deny that anything was happening, the blood sacrifice group which was willing to sacrifice someone to appease the evil - as long as it wasn't one of them, those who just sat back and allowed others to make all the decisions...

Of course the gore level was too much for me (Tami) but I had to concede that point somewhat on the grounds of "What did you expect from Stephen King? If you don't want gore, don't open the book." However, even the gore was freakishly fascinating in it's originality. No two people were decapitated, dismembered or disemboweled in quite the same manner. Definitely no points off for predictability.

Our biggest complaint was the ending - or lack thereof. King has a tendency to let his readers form their own ideas of what happened to the creatures he creates, and that approach is great - in theory. But we had a serious desire to call Mr. King and ask, "But what about....???"

Starting with a scale of 5 stars for the perfect book, I took off a point for gore and a point for frustrating ending - but then had to give back a half-point because it wasn't like I wasn't warned in advance that there would be blood (I read every King book I could get my hands on in the 70's). So I rated this novella as 3 1/2 stars. Dave - who uses King's Gunslinger series as the gold standard for the 5-star book - only gave it 3 stars. "The measure of a good book is you can't stand to put it down and can't wait to pick it back up. I couldn't wait to get home from work to get to the next chapter of the Gunslinger books, but I didn't have that feeling with this one."

On to the next novella on our challenge list: Animal Farm by George Orwell.

November Novella Selections

We have pinned down three of the four novellas we plan to read for the November Novella Challenge. Dave selected "Animal Farm" by George Orwell and "Mist" by Stephen King. I was originally considering a couple of the new holiday books just in at the library, but since this is a joint effort, decided to spare Dave the holiday sap. My first choice is Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" - one of my favs that I've read many times - and.....something else. I'm having a little difficulty with that final decision. Many of Agatha Christies stories fit into the novella category, so they made the short list, but I also have a couple "interactive" mysteries sitting on the shelf that I've never gotten around to reading and they would be great fun to do together. You know the type - whenever the detective discovers a clue it is contained in the book - an actual letter, newspaper clipping, stamp, etc. Fortunately I still have two weeks left to make the final list. If you haven't signed up for the novella challenge, hop over to http://www.bibliofreakblog.com/ and get the details. Then find someone you love and share your love of reading.

New Challenge

We are joining the November Novella Challenge sponsored by http://www.bibliofreakblog.com/. We have chosen to participate at Level II (4 novellas). Novellas are an overlooked reading option, so selecting the four we want to read is a challenge in itself. Our plan is to each pick two and then read them together. Dave is leaning towards "Animal Farm" by George Orwell and something written by Arthur Conan Doyle. I am eyeing some newer Christmas themed books. We'll put up the final list as soon as we make a decision - or four decisions, as the case may be.

This is a great place to start reading as a couple. You only need to commit to reading one novella to join the challenge - there are prizes! - and meet your goal in one evening. Good date night activity idea.