Daisy Jones & the Six
Taylor Jenkins Reid
A 1970s rock band told as interview transcripts. It reads like a conversation and moves very quickly.
All moods
Reading slump
When nothing sticks, the answer is rarely a worthy classic. These books have short chapters, strong hooks and easy-to-follow stories, so you can finish a chapter on the first sitting and the habit comes back. Unlike a list of short books, these are picked for momentum, not length.
Books to start with
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Taylor Jenkins Reid
An aging Hollywood star finally tells her story. Glamorous, with short chapters and secrets.
Convenience Store Woman
Sayaka Murata
A short, odd, funny novel about a woman who is happiest at work in a convenience store. Done in an afternoon.
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline
A treasure hunt through a virtual world full of 1980s pop culture. Brisk, and plotted like a game.
The Girl on the Train
Paula Hawkins
A commuter watches a stranger's house every day and gets pulled into a disappearance. Short sections, constant twists.
Anxious People
Fredrik Backman
A failed bank robber takes a group of apartment-viewers hostage. Funny, humane and told in quick, jumpy chapters.
How to choose
Match the book to what your attention can handle right now. For the quickest start, try Convenience Store Woman, a short, deadpan novel, or Ready Player One, a brisk treasure hunt built from one challenge after another (readers disagree about its prose, so give it a chapter). Daisy Jones & the Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo are easy to dip into, the first as interview fragments and the second as one long interview. Both deal with heavier themes, including addiction and abuse.
For suspense, The Girl on the Train is a psychological thriller with an unreliable narrator, and it deals with alcoholism and abuse. Anxious People is warm and funny, though a suicide sits at its emotional core. Pick whichever you are most curious about, and drop it freely if a chapter doesn't pull you in. The goal is momentum, not finishing.
Want something more personal?
Tell Bookworm what you liked and what you didn't, and get a short list chosen for you.
Get picks tailored to youMore moods like this
- Short & easyShort doesn't mean slight.
- Laugh out loudFunny is hard to get right on the page, and it is a matter of taste, so this list mixes styles: comic fantasy, a diary, a Victorian boat trip, two sharp memoirs and a fairy tale with its tongue in its cheek.
- New to readingIf you haven't picked up a book in a while, start with something that moves.