Short Books You Should Read

Are you looking for short books you could read in an afternoon? Books that will make you keep reading until you finish it? Here are some great short books which have twists and turns you never thought would happen!

1. If I Stay – Gayle Forman

Although this book was made into a movie, this is still a great book to read on a lazy day. If I stay is about a family who seemed great, end up having a snow day where there isn’t much snow. The family decides to take a trip up to see some family friends and everything goes down hill from there. You see Mia hall try to pick up the pieces and wander if she is worth living. 

2. We Were Lies – E. Lockhart

If you buy this book, you won’t put it down until the end. E. Lockhart takes us to a family island where Cadence lives her life in the summer with 5 cousins and a cute family friend. You’ll endure pain as Cadence and Gat figure out their love for each other. You’ll see the strength of family and how one accident can change the whole perspective. Join Cadence and the crew in a fast yet suspenseful read of a family you never knew was to blame.

3. The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath

A journal of a college girl who has just won a job a magazine and goes to New York finds herself sick and unable to be herself anymore. Through a long road of disappointments Esther feels herself falling into a heavy depression and begins the real story of her electro-shock therapy to help her relieve her problems. Short books like this one can have a huge impact on the reader and open their eyes to depression is the 1980’s when doctors thought they were helping. 

4. Just Mercy – Bryan Stevenson

A novel full of love and lost hope when the author tells about his time fighting for innocent people who were put on death row. This story shows the reader how the court system worked in the 1980’s and how any black man could have been pinned for a murder they didn’t commit. Short books like this are what rethink the way the justice system should be handled and how obedience can save someones life on the inside. 

5.Waiting For Eden – Elliot Ackerman

Placed after a man is hospitalized after the war, faces years of laying in a hospital bed without talking or moving. Narrated by his best friend who died in the attack they both were in, this is one of those short books which just get you where it hurts. Life for this marine was not easy and this book will take you through those moments with his best friend by your side. 

6. Home – Toni Morrison

Frank has come back from the war to find his sister is in trouble. Set in the 1950s, this story is full of recognition and the understanding of his past. Frank sets on a journey through Georgia and encounters situations which will lead him to his sister. By the time he reaches his beloved sister he comes full circle with what he truly needs in life and how to get his life back to normal with Cee by his side and to be home. 

7. We Have Always Lived In The Castle – Shirley Jackson

The story of a family who has always lived in the same house, unravels into a mystery of who killed their father and how the two girls who life in the house share two different perspectives. Mary Katherine Blackwood is a preteen who believes something bad is going to happen because of their father’s death. Mary is suspicious of her cousin but Julian beliefs he is only here to help them. When her cousin shows up to take over the house, the perfect storm comes and everything becomes haywire. 

8. Shopgirl – Steve Martin

A Vermont native finds herself in Beverly Hills working fin a sales job, finds herself in a lovely relationship and life until she meets Ray who is very much older than her and can offer her anything. The reader will see first hand what happens to Mirabelle as she juggles a good relationship and that of a man who may not be ready for a commitment. If you are looking for short books, this would be the shortest of the bunch, but pack a lot of fun material within them.

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9. Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury

Imagine a world where books are banned and if a certain firefighter finds them within your house, he will not only burn the book, but your house as well. Guy Montag is a pretty boring person who has a wife that sits on the couch watching her shows. When Guy meets a woman who shows him there was a period in time where books were for exploring new worlds that were not just on the television. He starts to question everything he has ever been taught throughout his life.

10. The Sense Of An Ending – Julian Barnes

Tony is a middle-aged man who seemed to have everything he could have wanted; a great job with benefits, an ex-wife he has a platonic relationship who has started a new family for herself, and a daughter. This is all until he is visited by those of his past who make him rethink his past experiences and where he is in this world. This mystery novel is great to read on one rainy afternoon! 

11. If You’re Not Yet Like Me – Edan Lepucki

One of short books in this list, a mother tells a story to her unborn child about how she started a relationship with a man who was unemployed and didn’t dress very well. With twists and turns this story is all about love in a dark comical sense.  

Have you read any of these short books? Which ones are your favorite? Tell us in the comments below!

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