As the end of the year approaches, I’ve heard from many of you who tell me you’re pushing to meet your reading goals for the year: you still have plenty of books to read and not enough time to read them in.
I’m here to help.
Today’s list focuses on 16 short titles you could read in a day, or even in an afternoon. Most of these slim works run right around 200 pages—although, if you really have a ways to go on your reading challenge, several are significantly shorter. These books may be on the small side, but they pack a lot of punch.
In the reading life, quality matters more than quantity. That’s true for these small-but-mighty titles, and it’s also true for your challenge. Whether or not you hit your goal, I hope your reading life has been improved by the effort.
Need more short titles? Check out these 20 life-changing nonfiction books you can read in a day, and these 20 short novels you can read in one day.
I’d love to hear what you’re reading for this category, and what books YOU would add to this list, in the comments section.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Every Heart a Doorway
Heartburn
The Deal of a Lifetime: A Novella
Less
Things Fall Apart
I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Strange Weather in Tokyo
The End of the Affair
Wide Sargasso Sea
Housekeeping
Montana 1948
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Scribe
The Body in the Library
Tell us about some of your favorite short books in comments. What catches your eye on this list, and what would you add to it?Â
P.S. 15 terrific audiobooks you can listen to in 6-ish hours or less, and just for fun, 20 extra-long and totally readable books for your reading challenge.
56 comments
i gave up on my challenge for this year but am hoping that i can hit 2019 hard now that i am back in the swing of reading great books (thanks to your podcast!!).
i had a thought yesterday as i was listening to an ad from last week’s ep: does blinkist count towards books read or no? i guess one makes their own rules (and i lean towards no), but am interested to hear your/others’ opinions!
I have to say no as well. I did go through a lot of books on Blinkist during my free trial, but I don’t think you can count them if what you’re reading is another person’s synopsis. I also think it unfair to judge a book by the synopsis. Having said that, I do believe I was lucky to not spend a lot of time on some of the ones I ‘read’…
I’m on my last challenge book- a classic you’ve been meaning to read. I’m listening to A Christmas Carol read by Tim Curry on Audible and it is wonderful.
Read by Tim Curry! OMG! I don’t do audio generally, but I may have to make an exception for that! I love A Christmas Carol!
It is AMAZING! Tim Curry at his finest! 🙂
This list is amazing! The first book had me hooked. I love Jane Eyre and never knew there was a prequel 🙂 Thanks for this post!
You’ve got me looking at my shelves for short books I’ve loved when I should be working. 🙂 Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and The Ocean at the End of the Lane are both great and under 200 pages. For anyone in the mood for depressing (but quality!) Russian literature, Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground are both very short. John Steinbeck also has some super quick reads; many people are familiar with Of Mice and Men and/or The Pearl, but I really enjoyed The Moon Is Down a few years ago, and it’s just over 100 pages.
I’m realizing that none of these titles are particularly cheery, but maybe not everyone is looking for jolly Christmas reads to finish out the year? 🙂
I loved The Ocean at the End of the Lane! The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico is also short (around 55 pages) but very sad. Makes me cry every time I read it. Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindberg is also short, and I’ve read it a couple times.
Loved THINGS FALL APART. One of the best books. However, I absolutely hated WIDE SARGASSO SEA. I love stories that focus on minor characters of classic stories, and I had been hoping for so much more with this one. Womp, womp.
Excited to see that Backman has a Christmas-y story! Def want to read that. A MAN CALLED OVE made my list of Top 5 Books: http://www.wellreadtart.com/2018/09/18/quick-look-books-powerhouse-books-september-2018/
HEARTBURN sounds fantastic and is going immediately on my TBR list. Who doesn’t love Nora Ephron??
Thanks for the recs!
And if you like audiobooks you can listen to Meryl Streep read Heartburn! Win Win!!!
Oh my goodness, what a perfect combination!! I must track it down and listen!!
Everyone keeps saying this! I never listen to audiobooks, but for this one I may just have to! That combo is too good to resist.
What a great list! I find during the holidays I need some engaging short reads.
Here are some books from my own reading journal, listed from shortest to longest. Several have been featured here on the blog, but many have not:
Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 128 pages
Peter Pan by JM Barrie, 134 pages
I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron, 160 pages
Last Message Received by Emily Trunko, 176 pages
Hatchet by Gary Paulson, 192 pages
Tell Me More: Stories about the 12 hardest things I’m learning to say by Kelly Corrigan, 199 pages
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, 208 pages
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (or any of the Narnia series) by CS Lewis, 208 pages
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan, 224 pages
Curious Incident of a Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon, 226 pages
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo, 240 pages
Gilead by Marilyn Robinson, 247 pages
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson, 256 pages
The Shack by William P Young, 256 pages
Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich, 256 pages
Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler, 256 pages
Bossypants by Tina Fey, 272 pages
Good as Gone by Amy Gentry, 288 pages
Run by Blake Crouch, 288 pages
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett was such a quick, fun, heartwarming read – 120 pages!
Housekeeping is one of my all-time favorites. I could literally read it 10 times in a row. Another short novella that is awesome is Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Backman
Not only my favorite shirt book, it is my very favorite book!
I don’t often reread books but I’ve read Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer four times!! I laugh and cry every time!!
The End We Start From by Megan Hunter is 160 pages and what I used for this category. I read it in one sitting. A poetic dystopian story of a new mother trying to survive a cataclysmic flood. I liked it.
I have two more books to go and one of them is an essay so “I’d rather be reading” is a great option!
I have read a few short books this year that I have enjoyed (including your newest book and Less). Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley (graphic novel), Who Will Run the Frog Hospital by Lorrie Moore, and Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. I usually fly through the books in The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman also.
84 Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff — best short novel ever! Read it, then see the movie starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins!
This is an excellent suggestion – I’m so surprised it wasn’t on Anne’s list.
one of my favorites of all time!
This is exactly what I needed to read – I’ll definitely be knocking some of these out before the end of the year. I’m 7 books short of my goal right now and think I can do it.
I also recently read The End We Start From by Megan Hunter which was a very captivating and short dystopian read (160 pages)
Funny, Goodreads just published similar lists as well. thanks, very helpful
How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals,
by Sy Montgomery, is a wonderful book with gorgeous illustrations by Rebecca Green. I read it in an evening.
I loved Heartburn! I don’t know how I missed it when it was published. A poignant, laugh out loud story. I am working on my challenge. I need to get out the list and see how I’ve progressed. Thanks for the reading encouragement.
Thanks so much for this terrific list of short books today, Anne. I know, I know, it’s quality not quantity — but I’m so very close to my goal!?
Yes! A great list 🙂 I would also add The Alchemist (I burned through it in about an hour or so), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (a really readable short-story collection, plus it crosses a classic off the list if you’re looking to do that), and The Thirty-Nine Steps. Good luck, everyone!!
I would like to suggest, Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf.
Yes! I loved this one, too. And a quick read.
One of my favourite books of all time!
I haven’t read any of these yet, so please do not consider this a recommendation! However, here are a few books from my overflowing TBR list, all under 200 pages.
Shakespeare’s Dog by Leon Rooke – yes, told from the dog’s point of view (humour)
Elevation by Stephen King
All books in the Binti trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor
The Curse of the Blue Figurine by John Bellairs (children’s mystery)
Queenpin by Megan Abbott
Nutshell by Ian McEwan
These were easy to find using the Book Buddy app, recommended by a guest in a recent WSIRN podcast. I’ve been slowly entering my unread books, as time permitted. My number is 593 and counting… Egads.
It’s interesting (to me, anyway) that I’ve read only two of these short books (Hitchhiker’s Guide and the Christie, of course) but at least half of the titles on your juicy list of long, long books! What does this say about me??
Yesterday I read Elizabeth Goudge’s I Saw Three Ships during a train journey. It was wonderful, and seasonal. Highly recommended. Lovely illustrations too.
Oh, I adore Elizabeth Goudge! Must find this one!
I read Less for my prizewinner book this year – for my short book I read The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente. Another book I literally read in a day was the Girl Who Drank the Moon – it has become one of my favorites.
Oooh – I didn’t realize Jean Brodie and Heartburn were so short! Both are on my TBR list!
I’ll add a recent release to the list, but warning you it’s not for the emotionally faint of heart….Waiting for Eden by Elliot Ackerman. Excellent.
I have to get my hands on Strange Weather in Tokyo ASAP. This is a great list!
I’m currently reading The Course of Love by Alain de Botton. It is about 230 pages. I’m not sure how I like it yet, but it’s short enough to add to the list.
What a great idea for a list! I am 8 books short this year – don’t think I’ll make it but maybe this will help me get a little bit closer! I had Less on my TBR, so I may just start with that. I have read Heartburn and loved it. Another one I want to try is Colin Firth reading The End of the Affair because Colin Firth reading anything at all…. sigh.
I am coming a little late to this, because I just finished the radio play Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. I simultaneously listened to a recording (the one with Richard Burton in the lead is on YouTube) and read along. It is only 1 1/2 hours and will get that play category – plus a modern classic – off your list!
Great idea, Susan! Thanks for sharing.
My favorite short reads this year were;
Rules for a Knight by Ethan Hawke (175)
Here If You Need Me by Kate Braestrup (211)
The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel (224)
I would thoroughly recommend ‘A Month in the Country’ by J.L. Carr, (85 pages), ‘Gigi’ by Collette (57 pages) and ‘Slaughterhouse 5’ by Kurt Vonnegut (157 pages). The last has no horror or gore in it in spite of its title!
Years ago I read and loved ‘I Heard the Owl Call My Name’ by Margaret Craven (160 pages). This list is great as are all the suggestions. Now where is my tea????
My mum once told me about a movie of the same title. She said it was very sad.
I would add And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman. Make sure you have a box of tissues 🙂
Check out The Point in Time series free with Amazon Prime
All great short reads from top writers!
Great Short Books was published in November 2022. It suggests 58 short novels. My attention span is short these days. However, I’m going to challenge myself to read War and Peace in 2023. The idea of reading a few pages every day throughout the year sounds possible. I’ve already read the first two chapters and am enjoying the writing so far.
Where was this (58 great short books) list published?
Breakfast at Tiffany’s!
Here are a few of my favorite short books:
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (128 pages)
Foster by Claire Keegan (128 pages)
Address Unknown by Kathrine Taylor (96 pages)
Passing by Nella Larsen (176 pages)
Parnassus on Wheels by by Christopher Morley (74 pages)
Love & Saffron by Kim Fay (208 pages)
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie (208 pages)
My book club friend recommended Lee Israel’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me”? It’s only 3 hours on audio, and I really enjoyed it!
I’m just one book away from completing my reading challenge for the year. Your list was mighty helpful, thanks!