Great reads under 200 pages. Mostly. BF_STATIC.timequeue.push(function () if (BF_STATIC.bf_test_mode) localStorage.setItem(‘posted_date’, 1409659977); ); BF_STATIC.timequeue.push(function () document.getElementById(“update_posted_time_3430001″).innerHTML = “posted on ” + UI.dateFormat.get_formatted_date(1409659977); ); 
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1. Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
Granta / BuzzFeed
Dept. of Speculation, a series of short dispatches from the front line of a marriage, is by turns hilarious and heartbreaking, and often both in the same sentence.
Anna James @acaseforbooks Follow
Good grief Dept. of Speculation is good. Beautifully, heartbreakingly, profoundly good.
2. Animal Farm by George Orwell
Penguin / BuzzFeed
Orwell’s classic allegory is as sharp and biting as when it was first published nearly 70 years ago, and just as relevant. Well worth a reread.
3. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Penguin / BuzzFeed
A gripping tale of murder most foul on the estate of the Blackwood family, Shirley Jackson’s final novel is the kind of book you’ll want everyone to read just so you can talk about it.
Juliet Mushens @mushenska Follow
Still thinking about We Have Always Lived in the Castle – what a clever book. Want to discuss it with someone!
4. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
Penguin / BuzzFeed
A book about cultural identity as much as politics, The Reluctant Fundamentalist follows a Princeton-educated Pakistani as his life in America collapses post 9/11.
5. Heartburn by Nora Ephron
Virago / BuzzFeed
In Nora Ephron’s hilarious novel, based on the breakdown of her second marriage, group therapy and infidelity share the page with recipes for pot roast.
6. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Tor / BuzzFeed
If Monty Python had done science fiction it might have been like this. At once supremely silly, laugh-out-loud hilarious, and as British as dead-parrot jokes.
7. Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore
Vintage / BuzzFeed
A woman in a loveless marriage recounts a childhood friendship in this beautifully crafted tale of innocence and growing up.
Paige Occeñola @ohnopaige Follow
There"s a tenderness to Who Will Run the Frog Hospital that is equal parts remorse and remembrance (poignant?). Overall a great novel.
8. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Penguin / BuzzFeed
Achebe’s classic novel follows Okonkwo, a man who finds himself at odds with society and history amid the changing cultural landscape in Nigeria. 209 pages.
9. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Melville House / BuzzFeed
The story of a woman trapped in her marriage was condemned when first published in 1899, ending Chopin’s career, but is now rightly recognised as a classic.
Lucy Caldwell @beingvarious Follow
Reading and loving Kate Chopin"s The Awakening. “Even as a child she had lived her own small life all within herself.”
10. Shopgirl by Steve Martin
Hyperion / BuzzFeed
An exploration of loneliness, softened by Martin’s witty observations and dry humour, Shopgirl follows the titular character as she navigates life in Los Angeles.
11. The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
Harper Collins / BuzzFeed
Classic Christie, classic Marple. When the body of a young woman is discovered in the library at Gossington Hall, the hunt is on to find out whodunnit.
12. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Ballentine / BuzzFeed
In a future America, books are outlawed and “firemen” burn any that are found. One of Bradbury’s best.
13. The Giver by Lois Lowry
Houghton Mifflin / BuzzFeed
Explores similar themes to Fahrenheit 451, but written for young adults. Don’t let the recent film adaptation put you off.
14. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Knopf / BuzzFeed
An examination of life and the narratives we construct for ourselves that won the 2011 Man Booker Prize.
Caitlin @Caitlinellen__ Follow
"The sense of an ending" by Julian Barnes is the best book I have ever, ever read. Read it in a few hours, could not put it down
15. Sula by Toni Morrison
Knopf / BuzzFeed
Sula follows the contrasting lives of two girls growing up in a poor, black Ohio neighbourhood, and the different paths they choose.
16. The Dig by Cynan Jones
Granta / BuzzFeed
A sparse, dark, brutal novella about a Welsh farmer struggling to make a living from his sheep, and an unnamed man digging up badgers to bait.
Scott Pack @meandmybigmouth Follow
So I read The Dig by Cynan Jones yesterday. An intense poem of a novel. Quite wonderful writing. Do check it out if you can.
17. How to Get Into the Twin Palms by Karolina Waclawiak
Two Dollar Radio / BuzzFeed
An absurd, delightful novel about a Polish immigrant in Los Angeles who schemes to reinvent herself in order to gain access to the Twin Palms nightclub.
18. Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
Vintage / BuzzFeed
Two friends plot the downfall of a politician in this Booker-winning novella.
19. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Penguin / BuzzFeed
Although frequently challenged for its depiction of gang violence and youth drinking, The Outsiders is in fact a classic morality tale wrapped up in ’60s street gang culture.
20. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Simon & Schuster / BuzzFeed
This story of an ageing, down-on-his luck fisherman fighting to reel in the catch of a lifetime won Papa a Pulitzer. Some love it, some don’t. A must-read either way.
21. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Farrar Straus Giroux / BuzzFeed
This multi-award-winning young-adult novel deals with the trauma caused by rape, and the difficulty victims often have in reporting and talking about sexual assault.
Nikki @Nikkayme I read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson when I was 14. It changed my life and made me see beyond the safety of my world. #yasaves
22. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Scribner’s
Nick Carraway encounters reclusive billionaire Jay Gatsby at a party. Jazz ensues. You may already know the story, but like one of Gatsby’s lavish soirées, Fitzgerald’s sparkling prose warrants revisiting.
23. Rape: A Love Story by Joyce Carol Oates
Carroll & Graf / BuzzFeed
The aftermath of a gang rape on a young mother is explored in a searing indictment of rape culture and the lack of justice, care, and understanding for victims.
Dan Therriault @dantherriault Follow
Finished “Rape, a love story” by Joyce Carol Oates. A punch to the gut. When you get your breath back, you realize, you needed that punch.
24. The Quiet American by Graham Greene
Vintage
A seasoned English journalist in Vietnam watches as a young American turns good intentions into bad policy and bloodshed in this powerful anti-war allegory.
25. The Passion by Jeanette Winterson
Vintage / BuzzFeed
A fantastical, lyrical love story set during the Napoleonic Wars.
Helena Fitzgerald @helfitzgerald Follow
finished "the passion." made a noise. stared helplessly into space. turned back to the first page and am now reading it again. #winterson
26. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
Scribner / BuzzFeed
The classic fable of a seagull who wants more. Unwilling to conform to the norms of his flock, Jonathan goes in search of a higher purpose to life.
27. Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson
Cape Poetry / BuzzFeed
A novel in verse, Autobiography of Red gives voice to a minor character in Greek mythology, updating his story to the present day. There are those who love it and those who haven’t read it. Be the former.
Michele Filgate @readandbreathe Follow
My mind is completely blown after reading Anne Carson"s AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF RED for the 1st time. Her sentences are tattooed on my brain.
28. The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker
Vintage / BuzzFeed
A stream-of-consciousness journey into the mind of a man on his lunch break.
Alexis C. Madrigal @alexismadrigal Follow
Rereading The Mezzanine for the 3rd time — it explains so much about our times. Anyone know how to contact Nicholson Baker?
29. At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom by Amy Hempel
Harper Perennial / BuzzFeed
A collection of 16 utterly compelling, gorgeously crafted short stories.
30. Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
Farrar, Strauss and Giroux / BuzzFeed
A horror novel following the 12th expedition into the uncharted Area X. Any guesses what happened to the previous 11 expeditions? Nope, weirder than that.
Colm Linnane @Librarydotcolm Follow
Also really enjoyed Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer, imagine Iain M Banks scripted Lost as a Tarkovsky homage.
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46 Brilliant Short Novels You Can Read In A Day
achebe, books, douglas adams, novella, novellas, orwell, penguin, reading, short reads, the giver
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