Sometimes in our lives as readers we just want a quickie, something with no strings attached, a brief encounter rather than a deep and meaningful relationship; a nice slim volume that we can devour in one sitting with our bookmarks flung carelessly aside knowing they will not be needed, sometimes quick reads are the only thing that will do.
Quick reads are the perfect salve for reading slumps, for those dead times in between busy hours and snatched moments of self indulgence in otherwise busy lives. So if you fancy a short literary break, take a look at these suggestions for a brief encounter with 10 quick reads.
These books are different genres and from different time periods, the only rule we had was, they had to be less than 250 pages in length.
Oh and they had to be good!
Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
Length 179 pages
A wife whose marriage is on the brink of disaster retraces her life with her husband from those early giddy days of a budding romance when they sent each other letters, the return address always the same, The Dept. of Sepculation; on through to marriage, parenthood and the trials and tribulations of married life. Never named, ‘the wife’s’ melancholic memories of her life and the landmarks that have lead to her current situation is beautifully written and although a short story, the tale told will remain with you for a lot longer
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Length 228 pages
The horror of Hitler’s final solution as seen through the eyes of nine year old Bruno is made all the more poignant and distressing as his innocent ignorance of who, and why the people on the other side of the fence are wearing striped pyjamas shines through in this globally successful story of the inhumanity of war. A cup of tea and a box of tissues is all you will need to get through this novel.
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Animal Farm by George Orwell
Length 140 pages
A political allegory that closely follows the unfulfilled promises of the Russian Revolution, Animal Farm follows a revolt by the barnyard stock as they mount a successful coup against their cruel owner and bring in their own, fairer rules for life on the farm.
The trouble is, what is considered to be fair is subjective, and what is fair to those who lead, is not always as fair to those who follow.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
Length 191 pages
Before 9/11 Changez is living the American Dream, a Pakistani immigrant he landed a dream job at an elite valuation firm after finishing top of his class in Princeton, America was his oyster. Then the horror of 9/11 changes everything and suddenly Changez is no longer who he thought he was and his place in New York is no longer what he thought it was. A furious, fast and fabulous read written in a fascinating style; the entire novel is a single person speaking. A literary soliloquy it’s as though you are sitting opposite Changez, and are hostage to his words, only freed to go on your way once he is spent.
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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Length 204 pages
Monty Python meets Arthur C Clarke in this hysterical story of Arthur Dent’s life after Earth. It’s a Thursday morning and Arthur’s life has just been turned upside down, his best friend is an alien, his home planet has been destroyed to make way for an intergalactic highway and all he has is his towel and a book with the slightly scary title ‘Don’t Panic’. A real Laugh Out Loud beginning to a trilogy of five that you will just have to binge read.
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The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
Length 224 pages
A Miss Marple mystery sees the inimitable lady sleuth called to the home of the respectable Bantrys when the body of a stranger, wearing an evening gown and indisputably dead is found in the library. But who is she? How did she get there? And what is the connection with another dead girl, whose charred remains are later discovered in an abandoned quarry? Leave it to Miss Marple, she’ll have the case solved with a page or two to spare.
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The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Thériault
Length 128 pages
Beautiful in its simple complexities this is a love triangle with a difference. Bilodo, is a lonely postman who has taken to stealing the post he is meant to be delivering. Ségolène is a regular letter writer and the recipient and respondent of her letters is master poet Gaston; their letters, have come to Bilodo’s notice and the beautiful Haikus that are the sole content of the letters he pilfers have made him fall in love with Ségolène. After tragedy strikes and Gaston is killed whilst on his way to post his next poem, Bilodo decides to take it upon himself to continue corresponding with Ségolène and he begins to forge Gaston’s haikus but how long will his deception last?
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The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Length 95 pages
One of the earliest American novels to focus upon women’s issues and seen as a piece of landmark feminist literature, this 1899 novel was condemned by the critics of the period and ended Chopin’s literary career. Focussing on the struggles of Edna Pontellier to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South. Fortunately no longer considered subversive, The Awakening is now recognised as a classic example of early feminist writing.
Sky Burial by Xinran
Length 226 pages
Recreating Shu Wen’s remarkable journey in an epic story of love, loss, loyalty and survival as she searches for her husband who had been serving as a doctor in Tibet before going missing, Xinran follows a woman whose extraordinary life story would help unravel the mysteries of the Sky Burial, a ritual whereby the dead are fed to vultures and a tale that had frightened her for years. A portrait of both woman and land shaped and ruled by politics and at the mercy of fate this book is shocking yet ultimately uplifting in its moving tale.
Rape: A Love Story by Joyce Carol Oates
Length 160 pages
It’s just after midnight on the fourth of July and Teena Maguire knows that taking this short cut through Rocky Point Park was a very bad decision, especially as she has her twelve year old daughter with her. Brutally gang raped and left for dead, Teena wishes that they had finished the job and not left her to survive and deal with life known only as a victim of rape with her own identity stripped away from her, Bethie her daughter, although she escaped the attackers, witnessed what was done to her mother and is now also reduced to ‘the daughter of the rape victim’. Humiliated in court, ostracised by her family and friends Teena has no one to turn to until John Dromoor, the first officer on scene decides that Teena deserves better and there is nothing he won’t do to make sure justice is served. Brutal, horrific, but amazingly also a love story this book will leave you winded and aching long after you’ve turned the final page.
There you are, 10 quick reads for you to enjoy, they’ll slip into your bag and still leave room for your essentials and they’re perfect for when you want a gripping read that isn’t going to keep you awake until the early hours.
If there are any that you particularly enjoy don’t forget to share them in the comments section; just remember they need to be less than 250 pages in length.
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