Another week, another Top Ten Tuesday, a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. This time I’m talking about books to read in a day. These are books that are very short or very easy to read so you can finish them in just hours. Without further ado, here they are with their number of pages (although they vary according to each edition) and a little description:
1. The Driver’s Seat by Muriel Spark
Number of pages: 128
What is it about? It’s very hard to explain this book and I don’t want to spoil it so I’ll just say it’s about a very strange woman that suddenly leaves one day for a trip and things just get weirder and weirder. It’s such an unsettling and intriguing read that you won’t want to stop until you figure out what’s going on with the main character. The dialogues reminded me of absurdist plays. A very different kind of book.
2. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Number of pages: 201
What is it about? A classic of philosophy/fantasy/horror about a man who wakes up one day to find he has turned into a huge insect and has to come to terms with how that will affect his life and his relationship with his family. It’s the most famous work of Kafka and probably the easiest to read. It will definitely make you think.
3. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Number of pages: 162
What is it about? A girl enters a mysterious door on her new home and discovers a parallel world where her parents are attentive and loving and everything seems better, but things soon turn a twisted turn. You probably know the story after watching the film, but let me tell you that the book is a different experience. Both book and film are amazing, but getting to read Neil Gaiman’s writing first hand is great. It is beautiful and the fantasy world and characters he builds are creepy, magical, and intriguing.
4. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Number of pages: 89
What is it about? Alice travels down a rabbit hole and finds herself in a fantasy world of strange people and creatures. Even if you’ve seen any of the film adaptations or read a retelling, reading the original classic is still very interesting. This is a story that has been told over and over again through the years, so there’s definitely something special about it.
5. The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Number of pages: 96
What is it about? Kino is a poor man that collects pearls for sale, until one day he finds the most perfect pearl of all which he is sure will end his life’s hardships. This is a tale of good vs. evil, greed and family. I have to reread this because I might think differently of it now as I talked here, but when I first read it, 6 or 7 years ago, I loved it and I always end up thinking about it.
6. Like water to chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Number of pages: 224
What is it about? Magical realism, recipes and doomed love! Tita, as the youngest daughter of a Mexican household, has to follow the tradition and can never marry, but live to serve and help her mother. Then Pedro comes along and things get… complicated. It’s a bittersweet tale and that’s a completely intentional pun, because this book is filled with Tita’s incredibly magical cooking.
7. The Giver by Lois Lowry
Number of pages: 224
What is it about? A dystopian classic. A community lives in perfect order as everyone is given a role and a family to live prosperous but colorless lives. Then Jonas is chosen as the new Receiver of Memories and learns about what the Community is suppressing. If you’ve seen the film, the book will not have an impact on you. I went into this book knowing nothing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
8. Bone by Yrsa Daley-Ward
Number of pages: 136
What is it about? A poignant, beautiful, and provocative poetry collection that deals with many different topics, such as feminism, sexuality, and mental illness, and that is especially dedicated to women of color.
9. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Number of pages: 182
What is it about? A mystery classic about sixteen people that come together for the reading of Samuel W. Westing’s will, his last game they must now play. Although I found it predictable, that might have been because I had read many many Agatha Christie novels before I picked this one up. Still, it was fun and really easy to read.
10. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Number of pages: 202
What is it about? A group of kids are left stranded on an island to fend for themselves. It discusses the nature of evil, a debate that I adore. You might roll your eyes if you were ever told to read this one at school and hate me for bringing it up, but I actually enjoyed it! I had to read this for college and on a Sunday I checked the schedule and saw it was due the next day. I read it non-stop for 8 hours, only to find out that I had read the schedule wrong and it was for next week. But hey, I started writing my essay sooner than expected, so that’a plus.
Chapter Adventures 
Also: Never never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher. There are three books in the trilogy, all of them very short (two are about 150 pages and the last one is 96 pages long). This is one hell of an addictive trilogy – you won’t be able to put the books down. Full of mystery and “what is going on here?!” moments. I love it (:
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Love this list! The Giver is a great pick. I recently read A Streetcar Named Desire in one day and it was excellent!
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Ohh I forgot to add plays, that’s a great idea, thanks for bringing that up! I really enjoyed reading A Streetcar Named Desire too 😀
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I would recommend Bird Box by Josh Malerman. My TTT
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I read and loved Bird Box! But it took me a two or three days to actually finish it. I think I’m a slow reader 😛
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I think I read it in 2 hours? I pretty much started reading and just could not put it down. LOL. I’m glad you loved it 🙂 Lets see, another one day book. *ponder* Fahrenheit 451?
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I can’t remember how long it took me to read Fahrenheit 451, but it must have been a few days. I really didn’t like that one! 😦
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That’s unfortunate 😦
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My Girl by Jack Jordan. I read it in under two hours.
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Ohh thank you! I added it to my TBR, it sounds really intriguing.
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Awesome hope you like it!
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I’ve never read The Westing Game and it sounds kind of fun! I also really liked that cover 😀
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It is fun! I hope you pick it up 🙂
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Thanks for this list! I’ve been reading long books lately, would be a nice break to read something short and sweet 🙂
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It’s great to read short books in between longer ones, I hope you pick one up 🙂
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Coraline can be read in one breath really hehehe. So happy to see a Neil Gaiman book on your list. Happy reading! http://www.curious-daisy.com/top-ten-tuesday/ten-booktubers-you-should-follow/
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Right? 🙂 I’ll be sure to check your list now!
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Fun idea! Sometimes you need a quick read, so this is perfect.
My TTT: http://www.anovelglimpse.com/2016/06/28/top-ten-tuesday-freebie-top-ten-books-that-broke-my-heart-a-little/
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Yes, I usually start reading shorter books when I realize I’m behind my reading challenge on Goodreads haha
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Lol. That’s a great plan!
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Very interesting picks! Love that they aren’t all contemporary.
But I do have to say, “Ugh! I HATE Lord of the Flies! I had to read it in high school.”
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Thank you! Hahaha I understand, I’m sorry you had to see it here 😛
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The Metamorphosis has been on my list for such a long time. Need to read that 🙂 and The Peal too!
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Oh please do! I really loved those two back when I read them.
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I hated reading LOTF in school! I found it really dull but I’m glad you enjoyed it.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2016/06/28/top-ten-tuesday-63/
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Hahah, I totally get it, I loved discussing it, but the writing was not my favorite by far 😛
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I had no idea Like Water to Chocolate was that short.
I want to read Lord of the Flies the most though…
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It is, I read it in two days because of school work, but if you have the time it is a one day book.
Really?! Yaay, I don’t feel bad for adding it to the list now haha
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As someone with a super short attention span I absolutely love this topic! I live for short books, haha. The only ones of these I’ve read are Alice in Wonderland and Coraline. Alice is one of my all time favourites, but I think I wasn’t in the right mood for Coraline so I want to reread it. The Giver has been on my shelf forever so I need to get to that. I just added Metamorphosis, Bone and The Westing Game to my TBR!
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Yaay, I’m glad you added some to your TBR 😀 I think you are going to enjoy Bone (and hopefully the rest too)
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Some how I forgot that Alice was so short! 🙂
Check out my TTT.
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Coraline is so fun! You could even follow up the few hours of reading it with watching the film too.
Cheers,
Joey via. thoughts and afterthoughts.
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That’s actually a pretty good idea! Bummer it didn’t occur to me at the time!
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Great list! I’ve read The Giver and loooved it
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I’m glad you liked it! The Giver was a nice little book, it’s definitely the best (and my favorite) of the quartet.
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Ah yes! Mine too
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Great Choices! I would have Webb’s ‘The Graduate,’ Fitzgerald’s ‘This Side of Paradise,’ as well as Larsen’s ‘Passing,’ Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ and Hemingway’s ‘The Old Man and The Sea’ on my list
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Thanks! I can’t believe I didn’t add Animal Farm here, it’s one of me favorites. As for The Graduate and The Old Man and The Sea, I didn’t like them at all so they took me more than a day haha. But they are rather short, so they do fit. I haven’t read This Side of Paradise and Passing, so thanks for the recs!
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