Get personalized recommendations and earn points toward a free book!
Before you go...
Check Out
The Bestselling Books of All Time
See the List
The ReadDown

15 Short Books For Busy People

So you think you don’t have time to read? Do you want to read one book in a day? These books are quick, powerful reads packed into 250 pages or less.
  1. 1
    Home Book Cover Picture
    Home Book Cover Picture

    Home

    by Toni Morrison

    pages: 160
    Home Book Cover Picture
    Home Book Cover Picture

    Buy now from your favorite retailer:

  2. 2
    Animal Farm Book Cover Picture
    Animal Farm Book Cover Picture

    Animal Farm

    by George Orwell

    pages: 176
    Animal Farm Book Cover Picture
    Animal Farm Book Cover Picture

    Buy now from your favorite retailer:

  3. 3
    Drown Book Cover Picture
    Drown Book Cover Picture

    Drown

    by Junot Díaz

    pages: 240
    Drown Book Cover Picture
    Drown Book Cover Picture

    Buy now from your favorite retailer:

  4. 4
    In the Café of Lost Youth Book Cover Picture
    In the Café of Lost Youth Book Cover Picture

    In the Café of Lost Youth

    by Patrick Modiano

    pages: 128
    In the Café of Lost Youth Book Cover Picture
    In the Café of Lost Youth Book Cover Picture

    Buy now from your favorite retailer:

  5. 5
    Memories of My Melancholy Whores Book Cover Picture
    Memories of My Melancholy Whores Book Cover Picture

    Memories of My Melancholy Whores

    by Gabriel García Márquez

    pages: 128
    Memories of My Melancholy Whores Book Cover Picture
    Memories of My Melancholy Whores Book Cover Picture

    Buy now from your favorite retailer:

  6. 6
    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Book Cover Picture
    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Book Cover Picture

    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

    by Robert Louis Stevenson

    pages: 224
    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Book Cover Picture
    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Book Cover Picture

    Buy now from your favorite retailer:

  7. 7
    The Stranger Book Cover Picture
    The Stranger Book Cover Picture

    The Stranger

    by Albert Camus

    pages: 152
    The Stranger Book Cover Picture
    The Stranger Book Cover Picture

    Buy now from your favorite retailer:

  8. 8
    We Have Always Lived in the Castle Book Cover Picture
    We Have Always Lived in the Castle Book Cover Picture

    We Have Always Lived in the Castle

    by Shirley Jackson

    pages: 160
    We Have Always Lived in the Castle Book Cover Picture
    We Have Always Lived in the Castle Book Cover Picture

    Buy now from your favorite retailer:

  9. 9
    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Book Cover Picture
    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Book Cover Picture

    The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

    by Douglas Adams

    pages: 208
    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Book Cover Picture
    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Book Cover Picture

    Buy now from your favorite retailer:

  10. 10
    Amsterdam Book Cover Picture
    Amsterdam Book Cover Picture

    Amsterdam

    by Ian McEwan

    pages: 208
    Amsterdam Book Cover Picture
    Amsterdam Book Cover Picture

    Buy now from your favorite retailer:

  11. 11
    The Outsiders Book Cover Picture
    The Outsiders Book Cover Picture

    The Outsiders

    by S. E. Hinton

    pages: 160
    The Outsiders Book Cover Picture
    The Outsiders Book Cover Picture

    Buy now from your favorite retailer:

  12. 12
    Breakfast at Tiffany's Book Cover Picture
    Breakfast at Tiffany's Book Cover Picture

    Breakfast at Tiffany’s

    by Truman Capote

    pages: 176
    Breakfast at Tiffany's Book Cover Picture
    Breakfast at Tiffany's Book Cover Picture

    Buy now from your favorite retailer:

  13. 13
    Giovanni's Room Book Cover Picture
    Giovanni's Room Book Cover Picture

    Giovanni’s Room

    by James Baldwin

    pages: 200
    Giovanni's Room Book Cover Picture
    Giovanni's Room Book Cover Picture

    Buy now from your favorite retailer:

Find other titles in

Fiction Classics Literary Fiction

Related Lists:

Back to Top

Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

Brightly

Raise kids who love to read
TASTE img

TASTE

An online magazine for today’s home cook

LitFlash

The eBooks you want at the lowest prices

Read it Forward

Read it first. Pass it on!