Short books to knock out your reading challenge

Scribe

by Alyson Hagy

November's Indie Next List #1 Great Read. Morgan McComb of Lawrence, Kansas's Raven Book Store describes it: “Scribe is a novel about dystopian Appalachia following the Civil War, a place ravaged by sickness and divvied up by the brute strength of men and their ability to defeat any invaders. If that doesn't pique your interest, its main character is a complicated woman with a highly valued skill: the ability to write. In the wake of war and widespread fever, she sustains herself by creating paper and ink and writing the most heartbreakingly poetic letters to help others declare their triumphs and sins. After getting a special request from an unusual passerby, she finds herself in danger and must flee the once-beautiful but now brutal farmland she's always called home. Scribe is as deeply imaginative as it is viscerally emotional, and Alyson Hagy's ability to temper darkness with light makes it a spellbinding novel."

The Body in the Library

by Agatha Christie

"The best opening I ever wrote," according to Agatha Christie. From Time: "Professional detectives are no match for elderly spinsters... it is hard not to be impressed." The back cover says, "It’s seven in the morning. The Bantrys wake to find the body of a young woman in their library.She is wearing an evening dress and heavy makeup,which is now smeared across her cheeks. But whois she? How did she get there? And what is theconnection with another dead girl, whose charredremains are later discovered in an abandonedquarry? The respectable Bantrys invite Miss Marpleto solve the mystery . . . before tongues start to wag."

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

by Douglas Adams

How to describe this delightfully absurd science fiction comedy? It's been called a mash-up of <em>Monty Python</em> and Isaac Asimov; Adams himself described the series as "a trilogy in five books." Originally published in 1979, it's both a staple of high school required reading lists and a science fiction classic beloved by readers who don't usually gravitate towards science fiction.

Every Heart a Doorway

by Seanan McGuire

The awards list for this include Winner 2017 Alex Award, 2017 Hugo, 2017 Locus, 2016 Nebula, Nominated 2017 World Fantasy, 2017 British Fantasy, 2016 Tiptree Honor List. NPR calls this "A mini-masterpiece of portal fantasy — a jewel of a book that deserves to be shelved with Lewis Carroll's and C. S. Lewis' classics."

Heartburn

by Nora Ephron

Is it possible to write a sidesplitting novel about the breakup of the perfect marriage? If the writer is Nora Ephron, the answer is a resounding yes. The creator of Sleepless in Seattle reminds us that comedy depends on anguish as surely as a proper gravy depends on flour and butter. Seven months into her pregnancy, Rachel Samstat discovers that her husband, Mark, is in love with another woman. Audie Award Finalist.

The Deal of a Lifetime: A Novella

by Fredrik Backman

From the publisher: "The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Beartown delivers an insightful and poignant holiday novella about a man who sacrificed his family in the single-minded pursuit of success and the courageous little girl fighting for her life who crosses his path. It all begins with a father telling a story to his son on Christmas Eve. But this isn't your typical Christmas story. The father admits to his son that he's taken a life but he won’t say whose—not yet. Written with Fredrik Backman's signature humor, compassion, and 'knack for weaving tales that are believable and fanciful' (St. Louis Post-Dispatch), The Deal of a Lifetime reminds us that life is a fleeting gift, and our only legacy is how we share that gift with those we love."

Less

by Andrew Sean Greer

I loved this so much. This Pulitzer winner manages to be serious and seriously funny. The hero is Arthur Less, who is facing his 50th birthday, his ex-boyfriend of nine year's wedding to another, and his publisher's rejection of his latest manuscript, all at the same time. He decides to hit the road—and on this trip, everything that can go wrong, does. Nonstop puns on the author's name, an arch sense of humor, and an interesting narrative structure keep this book filled with sad things from feeling downcast.

Things Fall Apart

by Chinua Achebe

Amazon's review calls this "a gripping study of the problem of European colonialism in Africa. The story relates the cultural collision that occurs when Christian English missionaries arrive among the Ibos of Nigeria, bringing along their European ways of life and religion. In the novel, the Nigerian Okonkwo recognizes the cultural imperialism of the white men and tries to show his own people how their own society will fall apart if they exchange their own cultural core for that of the English."

I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life

by Anne Bogel

Our books shape us, define us, enchant us, and even sometimes infuriate us. Our books are a part of who we are as people, and we can't imagine life without them. I'd Rather Be Reading leads readers to remember the book that first hooked them, the place where they first fell in love with reading, and all of the moments afterward that helped make them the reader they are today.

Target

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

by Muriel Spark

This oft-praised Scottish classic has been on my TBR for ages (and is short enough I could finish it in an afternoon should I make up my mind to do so!) Set in 1930s Edinburgh, the story centers on a nonconformist school teacher who is dismissed after she is betrayed by one of her students. The Guardian calls this "a sublime miracle of wit and brevity," and ranks it #79 on their all-time list of best novels.

Strange Weather in Tokyo

by Hiromi Kawakami

From the publisher: "Tsukiko, thirty-eight, works in an office and lives alone. One night, she happens to meet one of her former high school teachers, "Sensei," in a local bar. Tsukiko had only ever called him "Sensei" ("Teacher"). He is thirty years her senior, retired, and presumably a widower. Their relationship develops from a perfunctory acknowledgment of each other as they eat and drink alone at the bar, to a hesitant intimacy which tilts awkwardly and poignantly into love. As Tsukiko and Sensei grow to know and love one another, time's passing is marked by Kawakami's gentle hints at the changing seasons: from warm sake to chilled beer, from the buds on the trees to the blooming of the cherry blossoms. Strange Weather in Tokyo is a moving, funny, and immersive tale of modern Japan and old-fashioned romance."

The End of the Affair

by Graham Greene

Graham Greene is frequently included in "novels everyone should read" and "best of the century" lists, and I've been meaning to read him for years. But I'd never made it a priority ... until I found out that Colin Firth narrates this version. This short novel might not hold the broader appeal of the other novels on this list, but I found it enjoyable and thought-provoking, and Firth's narration is pitch perfect. If you love Brideshead Revisited, read this immediately.

Wide Sargasso Sea

by Jean Rhys

From the publisher: "Wide Sargasso Sea, a masterpiece of modern fiction, was Jean Rhys’s return to the literary center stage. She had a startling early career and was known for her extraordinary prose and haunting women characters. With Wide Sargasso Sea, her last and best-selling novel, she ingeniously brings into light one of fiction’s most fascinating characters: the madwoman in the attic from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. This mesmerizing work introduces us to Antoinette Cosway, a sensual and protected young woman who is sold into marriage to the prideful Mr. Rochester. Rhys portrays Cosway amidst a society so driven by hatred, so skewed in its sexual relations, that it can literally drive a woman out of her mind."

Housekeeping

by Marilynne Robinson

The first novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gilead. Despite the novel's title, the story is one of loneliness, transience, and loss. Set in the isolated (and imaginary) town of Fingerbone, Idaho, Robinson unfolds the story of two sisters and the stream of temporary caregivers that enter their lives, one after another, after the death of their mother and grandmother.

Montana 1948

by Larry Watson

This book took me by surprise. In this quiet and timely page turner, a man recounts the tumultuous events of his 12th year, back in his small hometown of Bentrock, Montana. The story begins with the death of his beloved Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier; even as a 12-year-old he can see her death is suspicious, and he fears the blame lies at his family's door. I wasn't initially inclined to pick this up, but my husband urged me to read it. I'm glad he did. (Listen to me recommend this to Chelsey and Curtis as a couples read on episode 164 of What Should I Read Next.)

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

by Mohsin Hamid

From the author of Exit West, an entirely different sort of novel, presented in the guise of a conversation: our Pakistani narrator Changez attended Princeton and worked in the U.S. for several years after. Now he's back in his native city of Lahore, telling his story to an American stranger at a café table. This novel made numerous Best Books of the Year lists and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

Short books to knock out your reading challenge

Scribe

The Body in the Library

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

Find your next read with:

100 Book recommendations
for every mood

Short books to knock out your reading challenge

Find your next read with:

100 Book recommendations for every mood

100 Book recommendations
for every mood