10 short books to read on National Read a Book Day
National Read a Book Day — Sunday, Sept. 6 — is a full 24 hours where bibliophiles are allowed to shun any other nagging obligation and dwell entirely between the pages.
Obviously, this national observance could be interpreted as “a day in which it is encouraged to read from a book.” But the truly ambitious might see it as “a day in which to read an entire book.”
If you have decided on the latter, here are 10 suggestions of novels and novellas each under 200 pages that even the most leisurely readers should be able to hammer out.
“Mrs. Dalloway” (1925), Virginia Woolf
The titular Mrs. Dalloway wanders around London preparing for a party. That’s largely the plot of this novel that helped shape writing in the 20th century. Woolf was one of the early pioneers of stream-of-consciousness writing. In the course of 108 pages (depending on the print), Woolf dives into the thoughts of 20 different characters and touches on themes from women’s issues to queerness to war trauma. Whether or not you’ll be happy with the ending depends on if you can accept Dalloway’s ultimate decision on what makes for a happy ending.
“Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions” (1884), Edwin Abbott Abbott
Schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott was a scholar of math, but this book is less about understanding theorems and more about learning to open one’s mind to new ideas. Well, that and satirizing nearly every facet of Victorian society. In a two-dimensional plane, a square comically explains the odd rules of class that exist when all you can see in anyone else is a line segment.
“We Have Always Lived in the Castle” (1962), Shirley Jackson
Shirley Jackson is best known for her disturbing short story “The Lottery” and slightly less for her disturbing novel “The Haunting of Hill House.” In “We Have Always Lived in the Castle,” her final book, Jackson sticks with her trademark sense of unease, telling the story of an isolated family who suffered a mysterious tragedy that hangs over the remaining members.
“Tao Te Ching” (4th century BCE), Lao Tzu
Do you feel like you can never find the time to dwell
on the truly profound and find inner peace? Then pick up a book that starts with the premise that language can never truly encapsulate such ideas and go from there. Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu’s Taoist masterpiece is a brief 81 verses on
the nature of wisdom, humanity and nature itself. Since you have a whole day, feel free to read this one at your own contemplative pace.
“The Souls of Black Folk” (1903), W.E.B. Du Bois
The early 20th century saw the rise of a number of African American thinkers and writers pleading many of the same cases that are still leading to civil unrest today. Over the course of 14 essays, sociologist and activist Du Bois lays out his
arguments for a strong Black identity, arguing against the prevailing white supremacy and even taking on some of his Black contemporaries. It remains such a relevant and foundational text that even when releasing a revised edition 50 years after the initial publication, Du Bois could only identify six changes he wanted to make.
“The Old Man and the Sea” (1952), Ernest Hemingway
An aging fisherman fights a big fish. With a plot like that, it’s no wonder this classic also comes in at less than 130 pages. Hemingway’s final book earned him a Pulitzer Prize and was the final straw in getting him the Nobel Prize in Literature. Of course, there’s more to it than simple fishing. The book details fears and concerns of growing older and the struggle to prove one’s worth.
“The Screwtape Letters” (1942), C.S. Lewis
Written during the horror of World War II, theologian Lewis approached the subject of Christian spirituality with wit and humor. The novel consists of 31 letters written by a demon in Hell to his nephew who lives on the shoulder of an English man, trying to turn him away from salvation. Though the specific purpose of the book was to renew the common man’s faith, readers don’t need religion to thoroughly enjoy Lewis’ observations about life.
“The Stranger” (1942), Albert Camus
While C.S. Lewis was trying to shore up the faiths of war-weary Europeans, French philosopher Albert Camus was giving the world the declaration that “[n]othing, nothing mattered.” If you skipped reading this in high school, the narrator Mersault is an indifferent man who is judged more for not crying at his mother’s funeral than for murdering a man on the beach. The story sets out to prove that the meaningless is all the meaning there is.
“Citizen: An American Lyric” (2014), Claudia Rankine
This epic poem combines a number of different media and writing styles to challenge America’s treatment of Black citizens. Claudia Rankine takes on the world point blank, writing about incidents such as the murder of Trayvon Martin, Hurrican Katrina, the censure of Serena Williams and other modern moments of racial division.
“Sleep Donation” (2014), Karen Russell
The U.S. is beset by a plague of unrest. No, this wasn’t a prediction about 2020 specifically, but a high-concept novella in which a corps of volunteers donates sleep to those who need it. Miami author Karen Russell is known for blending the real with the surreal and finding metaphors in strange places, so expect a strange journey.