5 Short Books to Read in a Day
Looking for a quick, captivating read to polish off before the year ends? We’ve selected five critically acclaimed books that pack a mighty word–for-word punch. From a Booker-shortlisted Buenos Aires murder mystery set in a single day, to a tense Icelandic thriller guaranteed to keep you wide awake at night, or a Japanese countercultural icon’s stylish descent into the 1970s Tokyo night, these slim picks will cap your year off with a bang.
5 books
Named one of the Best Thrillers of 2024 by The New York Times
Sarah Lyall
The Night Guest
Hildur KnútsdóttirAn Icelandic woman’s unrelenting exhaustion has no explanation—until her watch logs 40,000 steps in her sleep. Each night brings new injuries and darker, more unsettling questions: what happens when her eyes close, and why does no one believe her? With “sharp prose, short chapters, and tense mysteries,” this Reykjavík-set thriller hurtles toward a haunting finale that will stay with you long after the last page.
Sarah LyallHardcover, 2024
$19.99Member price:$9.99 + Free shipping50% off your first book
This critically-acclaimed murder mystery unfolds over a single day in Buenos Aires
National Book Critics Circle & Petina Gappah
Elena Knows
Claudia PiñeiroThis “short and stylish” murder mystery from the third most translated Argentinian author after heavyweights Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize, with The New York Times hailing “a piercing commentary on mother-daughter relationships, the indignity of bureaucracy, the burdens of caregiving and the impositions of religious dogma on women."
National Book Critics Circle & Petina GappahPaperback, 2021
$16.95Member price:$8.48 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Get hooked on one of the most provocative and popular speculative fiction series of our time
Andrew Revkin 🌎 ✍🏼 🪕 ☮️ & Jeff VanderMeer
Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy: Annihilation; Authority; Acceptance
Jeff VanderMeerWhat better way to break out of a reading rut than by diving into a series? This single-volume hardcover collects the first three books of the Southern Reach Trilogy, kicking off with Annihilation—a quick, gripping read that pulls you right in. Hailed by Stephen King and a bestseller since its release 10 years ago, the trilogy recently received a surprise fourth volume to wrap up the series—so there’s even more to look forward to!
Andrew Revkin 🌎 ✍🏼 🪕 ☮️ & Jeff VanderMeerHardcover, 2014
$36.00Member price:$18.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book
The first novel from the Japanese iconic writer and actor, whose brilliant, enigmatic life was cut short in 1986, now finally published in English
Thu-Huong Ha & Library Science
Set My Heart on Fire
Izumi SuzukiPlunge into the gritty Tokyo club scene of the ’70s, where a young woman's turbulent love life unfolds to a soundtrack of psychedelic rock with this sharp, seductive novel that’s “gritty, sexy, and wholly rock 'n' roll” according to The Millions—a raw dive into desire, missteps, and music that captures this countercultural darling’s unmistakable edge.
Thu-Huong Ha & Library SciencePaperback, 2024
$19.95Member price:$9.98 + Free shipping50% off your first book
A stylish and inventive take on storytelling from a museum insider turned bestselling author
One Woman Show
Christine CoulsonA "lovely, smart, fun, and very funny" novel told through museum wall labels, from a writer who spent 25 years working at New York’s famed Metropolitan Museum of Art. "If you love art and museums as well as brilliant and fun novels, this is one for you. I read it in one sitting... It's a zinger," raved Airmail.
Paperback, 2024
$17.99Member price:$8.99 + Free shipping50% off your first book