15 Short Books For Busy People

Shirley Jackson’s beloved gothic tale of a peculiar girl named Merricat Blackwood and her family’s dark secret. Page count: 160

It’s an ordinary Thursday morning for Arthur Dent…until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly after to make way for a new hyperspace express route, and Arthur’s best friend has just announced that he’s an alien. After that, things get much, much worse… Page count: 320

Notes on Grief is an exquisite work of meditation, remembrance, and hope, written in the wake of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s beloved father’s death in the summer of 2020. It is a book for this moment—a work readers will treasure and share now more than ever—and yet will prove durable and timeless, an indispensable addition to Adichie’s canon. Page count: 80

The Founding Fathers tried to protect us from the threat they knew, the tyranny that overcame ancient democracy. Today, our political order faces new threats and we are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. On Tyranny is a call to arms and a guide to resistance, with invaluable ideas for how we can preserve our freedoms in the uncertain years to come. Page count: 128

John Kenney is back with a collection that tackles the hilarity of life in the office. From waiting in line for the printer and revising spreadsheet after spreadsheet, to lukewarm coffee, office politics, and the daily patterns of your most annoying—and lovable—coworkers, Kenney masterfully captures the warmth and humor of working the “9 to 5” in today’s modern era. Page count: 112

In this blazingly smart and voracious debut, an artist turned stay-at-home mom becomes convinced she’s turning into a dog. An outrageously original novel of ideas about art, power, and womanhood wrapped in a satirical fairy tale, Nightbitch will make you want to howl in laughter and recognition. And you should. You should howl as much as you want. Page count: 256

Mariana Enriquez has been critically lauded for her unconventional and sociopolitical stories of the macabre. Written with a resounding tenderness toward those in pain, in fear, and in limbo, The Dangers of Smoking in Bed is Enriquez at her most sophisticated, and most chilling. Page count: 208

A surreal, devastating story of a homeless ghost who haunts one of Tokyo’s busiest train stations. A powerful masterwork from one of Japan’s most brilliant outsider writers, Tokyo Ueno Station is a book for our times and a look into a marginalized existence in a shiny global megapolis. Page count: 192

The first book in the Nanette Hayes Mystery series introduces us to jazz-loving, street busker Nanette, whose love life leads her into some very hot water. Page count: 192

The sweeping, unforgettable story of an interracial couple in 1990s New York City who are determined to protect their love against all odds—a reimagining of Romeo and Juliet. Page count: 192

Millions of visitors each year enjoy Glacier National Park, but for one visitor, it was simply “Too cold for me!” Another saw the mind-boggling vistas of Bryce Canyon as “Too spiky!” Based on the wildly popular Instagram account, Subpar Parks celebrates the incredible beauty and variety of America’s national parks juxtaposed with the clueless and hilarious one-star reviews posted by visitors. Page count: 224

A marvelous new novel from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri about a woman questioning her place in the world, wavering between stasis and movement, between the need to belong and the refusal to form lasting ties. Page count: 176

In this collection of personal essays, the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood reveals stories about life, love, and working as a woman in Hollywood. This book is like a cozy night in, catching up with your best friend, laughing and swapping stories, and—of course—talking as fast as you can. Page count: 240

Designed to help us better understand ourselves and dial down the everyday worries getting in our way, these thoughtful and beautifully illustrated journal pages are a safe space for reflection, self-acceptance, and the freedom to move forward with more clarity and joy. Page count: 128