I often have people tell me,
"I don't have time to read."
If you are one of those people,
this is the list for you.
All of these books are
books you can finish in one night.
(Note: A great resource for short books is
David Major and John Major's guide, 100 One-Night Reads.
I chose, for this Top Ten,
books that were not listed in that guide.)
We Sinners: A Novel
by Hanna Pylvainen
The vexations and consolations of religion.
A Room With a View
by E. M. Forster
Relationships.
Plus Italy.
The Principles of Uncertainty
by Maira Kalman
I love Maira Kalman.
She writes children's picture books,
but The Principles of Uncertainty is not one of these.
Though you might call it a grownup picture book.
South of the Border,
West of the Sun
by Haruki Murakami
How many pages is Murakami's 1Q84?
A million pages?
And what does it mean? Nothing, really.
And everything.
I suggest you try South of the Border instead
and get your nothing-and-everything in
one sustained night of reading.
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life
by Amy Krause Rosenthal
Rosenthal mostly writes children's picture books,
which are surprising and delightful
(you really must read her Little Pea if you haven't)
but this is a gentle story of a small life
that we grownups can finish off in an evening.
The Importance of Being Earnest
by Oscar Wilde
For the sake of full disclosure,
I must tell you that this is not a real book,
but a play,
but don't let that put you off.
It's Oscar Wilde, after all,
and it's full of delightful clever-ness and fun.
Not Quite What I Was Planning:
Six-Word Memoirs
by Famous & Obscure Writers
A great challenge:
tell the story of your life
in just six words.
You will finish this book in an hour
and spend the rest of the evening
trying to work on your own six-word life story.
How to Be Perfect
by Ron Padgett
It's poetry, but give it a chance.
It's fabulous.
Read these.
You can read one of these books in one evening.
I promise you will not be sorry.
Do you have other suggestions for short books for me?
Please share them.
Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.
What a fantastic list idea! I haven't read any of these, but definitely that Marukami book is where I'll start with his readings - you're right IQ84 is daunting!
ReplyDeleteI am not a person who likes to read long books, but I love short ones.
DeleteSometimes a short book is just what I need to get back over a hump of mediocre books which cause my desire to read to go down. I haven't read any of these, but recently I read Deadlocked 1 (review Here) and Deadlocked 2 (review Here) which were incredibly fast gruesome reads for the Halloween holiday. And I highly enjoyed them!
ReplyDeleteNew follower!
Check out my TTT
Holly @ Words Fueled by Love
You are right!
DeleteGreat idea for a list, I love Oscar Wilde!
ReplyDeleteThis Oscar Wilde play was one of the best things I've ever read.
DeleteI love a one-night read. I've been saving the Maira Kalman for when I really need to read and love something, because I trust that I will. I really really loved And the Pursuit of Happiness. My recent favorite one sitting reads: John Green, The Fault in Our Stars and David Levithan, The Lover's Dictionary.
ReplyDeleteYes, these are great choices!
DeleteGreat list! The Importance of Being Earnest is one of my all-time favorites.
ReplyDeleteMy Top Ten Favorite Fictional Families: http://wp.me/p2zoUo-fo
Must be off to check out your post.
DeleteReally good idea for a list. It is good to have some easy reads for when there is too much going on and you just need to fit in some time for reading just to chill.
ReplyDeleteYes, especially at this time of the year.
DeleteI'd add 84 Charing Cross Road, that's an easy evening read.
ReplyDeleteYes, that one is in the Major brothers' book. Great choice for those of us who love to read.
Deletewhat a great list and I saw some classics in there
ReplyDeleteYes, lots of goodies.
DeleteSea of Ink by Richard Weihe, or pretty much anything by Peirene press who specialise in short literary works that can be read in a couple of hours.
ReplyDeleteOff to add this to my wishlist. Thank you!
DeleteGreat list and great suggestions, thank you for sharing. I saw a movie about The Importance of Being Earnest and loved it :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
Such a funny play.
DeleteI do love your Top Ten lists, they're always so intriguing. The only one I've read here is The Importance of Being Earnest, perfect inclusion. Wilde is fabulous. I'm a ponderously slow reader, and so I always prefer short reads too.
ReplyDeleteI don't read slow (wish I did!) but I am always impatient to move on to the next book.
DeleteI didn't know that We Sinners is a one-night read! I just took it off my tbr list. A good book that's a short read is The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Natasha. I'm off to add it to my tbr right now.
DeleteI love Oscar Wilde! I took a seminar on him in college and it as one of the best courses I took.
ReplyDeleteLucky you!
DeleteShorter books make you feel so accomplished, don't they? Thanks for the suggestions!
ReplyDeleteYes. Confidence builders.
DeleteThat was a very nice post. Being in research I often have people telling me that they don't understand how do I have time to read after the lab and the articles I have to read. This will be my suggestion from now one, short yet substantial books. On the other hand...I loved 1Q84 :)
ReplyDelete