Short Novels You Can Read in a Day
We all have those small errands to run from time to time that take up more time (and effort) than we either want or expect. Maybe it’s a visit to the doctor, a long bus commute to work, or that seemingly endless line at the post office.
In these inevitable times of queue-induced despair, it’s tempting to pull out your smartphone and waste some time catching up on Instagram or Facebook. And hey, no judgement here; we’ve all been there. No matter how long it takes, the time never seems quite long enough to really do anything.
But that’s exactly why we’ve compiled the following list of books to carry for just these occasions—books that are short enough to finish in one day, one sitting, or even one very long line. Download them from the Kindle store, read them online for free at Project Gutenberg, or (our favorite method) carry the old-fashioned paper copy any time you’ve got some pesky errands to run.
20 Short Novels* to Read in a Day
In no particular order, here are some recommendations for short novels to read in a day.
1. Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
The work that inspired Audrey Hepburn’s career-making performance as Holly Golightly in the movie of the same name.
2. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
A dark humor novella that is quintessentially Pynchon, including a woman named Oedipa and a long, secret conflict between two enemy postal services. The novella has inspired a wealth of pop culture references, from Radiohead’s W.A.S.T.E. to “Mad Men.”
3. Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A short novel that explores many of Garcia Marquez‘s recurring themes, including:
- Solitude/loneliness
- The circular nature of time
- Political and social upheaval
- Love
4. Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates
Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1993, Black Water explores deep political and societal issues through the tragedy of one young woman.
5. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Often considered one of the most essential American stories, Of Mice and Men explores the idea of the American Dream through two migrant workers’ experiences.
6. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
A staple on every U.S. public school reading list, Fahrenheit 451 is worth reading again as an adult for its vision of dystopia and themes of censorship, ignorance, and personal choice.
7. Home by Toni Morrison
Morrison’s shortest novel explores the human experience from a pair of siblings in Georgia to a newly returned Korean War veteran.
8. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize, this novella explores memory and nostalgia.
9. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
An exploration of the brutality of the Belgian occupation of the colonial African Congo. The novel’s primary character, Kurtz, has some interesting parallels to the judge in one of our favorite Cormac McCarthy novels, Blood Meridian.
10. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Told as a flashback, this story delves into a mysterious accident in a fictional Massachusetts town.
11. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Often considered a children’s book, The Call of the Wild is an adventure-filled tale of sled dogs in the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush. (If you love this classic adventure story, check out our full-text Call of the Wild book poster!)
12. Animal Farm by George Orwell
An essential work of political satire that remains as relevant today as ever.
13. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
A story that everyone knows, even if you’ve never read it. Filled with ghosts, regret, and redemption, the original tale is worth reading (like nearly all of Dickens’ work, in our opinion).
14. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
One of the longer selections on this list, Things Fall Apart is a tragic and poignant look into the effect of colonialism on African heritage, culture, and people. Importantly, this work is written by an African man.
15. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Though short in terms of sheer number of words, As I Lay Dying is no easy read. It is, however, well worth the effort, as it beautifully displays Faulkner’s incredible mastery of the English language.
16. Orlando by Virginia Woolf
Written by one of England’s most masterful modernist writers, this is an early and important work by that explored gender fluidity and women’s issues.
17. Venice in Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
One of the earliest published expressions of the sadomasochistic fetishes, which actually took its name from the author.
18. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
Despite its short length, this work was nominated for the Booker Prize in 2007 and tells the story of a newly married couple in 1962.
19. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
Classic detective fiction from the early master of the American crime and detective genre. (Side note: Did you know that Christie herself once went missing in a mysterious incident worthy of her own writing?)
20. Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut
A classic Vonnegut work that combines his characteristically simple language, illustrations, and sarcastic sense of humor to tell a dark story of World War II and the brutality of human existence.
*Novels Vs. Novellas
We should mention that there’s some ongoing debate over what exactly constitutes a “novel” versus a “novella.” In a rather vague definition, a novella is defined as:
“any story that is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel”
In practical publishing terms, a novella has traditionally fallen between 20,000 and 50,000 words, while a novel is somewhere well north of that figure.
This may seem like a petty distinction, especially as the concept of a “novel” has expanded far beyond the traditional type-set, house-published manuscript of XYZ-number-of-words. But it has real-world implications for authors, as many prizes and publishing norms are based on the genre of writing.
For example, Julian Barnes‘ The Sense of an Ending won the Pulitzer Prize despite being coming in at only 150 pages, leading many to ask whether the work is a short novel (which qualifies for the prize) or a novella (which wouldn’t).
The distinction between a short novel and a novella also has an impact on aspiring authors, as many publishers are hesitant to publish a “novella,” especially from a first-time author.
So, all this to say that we aren’t entering into the debate of what constitutes a novel vs. a short novel vs. a novella vs. a short story. In our list, we included works that are considered novellas as well as works that have been confidently placed in the short novel category.
For further reading, check out a few of our awesome sources here:
Which of your favorite short novels, novellas, or short stories did we miss? Let us know!
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Photo credit to Brittany Stevens via Flickr.
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