10 short books you can read in a day 📖

we're gonna pretend like i didn't drop every  single book hello everyone my name is hannah   and welcome to this video before we get any  further into the video i do want to let you   all know that today's video is being brought to  you by squarespace squarespace is a platform to   help you build your brand or your online business  it's an all-in-one space for you to engage with   your audience create a website sell your products  or any other type of content that you create so   again thanks to squarespace for sponsoring this  video and we'll get more into them later in the   video one of my biggest recommendations if you  are trying to get into reading or if you've been   in a reading slump for a really long time and  you want to get yourself out of it is to read   short books because sometimes the satisfaction  of completing a book can motivate you to continue   reading and so today i thought i would give  you all some recommendations of some of my   favorite short books to help you get your reading  momentum back and to hopefully help you accomplish   all of your reading goals for the year all of  these books are under 250 pages so they are   definitely very short and some of them are even  under 200 pages you can read them very quickly   some of these i've read in just an hour or so but  you can easily read all of these within a day i   have a very wide range of genre and category here  so i think there will be a little bit of something   for everyone so without any further ado let's  get into all of my short book recommendations   the first book i have to recommend here is a  classic that i read very recently and has now   become probably my all-time favorite classic book  and that is none other than the picture of dorian   gray i think the length of this book will vary  depending on which edition you get but my copy   is 239 pages it's very short it's not long at all  and the story is like very easy to get through   it's not super dense or anything so you can fly  through this one i'm fairly certain at this point   most people know what the picture of dorian gray  is about but for anyone who doesn't know because i   didn't know before i read it because i never read  the summary of any book before i read it i will   give you a brief synopsis this is a like gothic  horror novel set in the late 1800s and it follows   around these like british aristocrats would you  call them aristocrats they're very wealthy and it   revolves around this portrait that one of our main  characters paints of the character dorian gray and   it's all about beauty and his own obsession with  his beauty everyone else's infatuation with his   beauty so it's very much like a social commentary  and like a philosophical take on the concept of   beauty and how we value that in society and it's  just so good again i'm sure plenty of people know   what this book is about i did not know what it  was about before i started reading it and so i was   pleasantly surprised i really really enjoyed this  it was such a quick read it was very entertaining   to me the plot was very engrossing i was very  invested in what was going to happen next and so   it was a page turner for me i loved the characters  i loved the themes and motifs that were discussed   in here as well so it was all around just such a  fun reading experience and definitely motivated   me to continue reading plus again super short  book you'll get through it really quickly and   i could not recommend it more again probably like  my favorite classic now it's hard to say but like   it's a kind of a tie between this some jane austen  and like rebecca but this is definitely up there   all right next up i have one of my favorite  books of all time and i think a book that could   be considered a modern classic i'm pretty sure  this is considered a modern classic at this point   but that is none other than the perks of being  a wallflower by stephen chbosky this book had   such like a profound impact on me circa 2012 when  i first read it what year was i in sophomore year   of high school that's when i read this book  this book is only 213 pages so very very short   very quick read the entire book if you haven't  read it is just composed of letters it's just our   main character charlie writing letters to someone  who's just a dressed friend so it's a very quick   read because at times it's a little bit like  stream of consciousness since it is charlie just   kind of getting his thoughts and his emotions out  even though there are times where he is describing   like a um experience that he had or an event  or something that happened sometimes it really   just feels like you're in his head so for me at  least personally those books go by really quickly   of course like i already said this is a very  well-known and well-loved book at this point   um so i feel like most people know what it's about  but if you happen to not know what it's about it   is about this boy named charlie in his freshman  year of high school and he's kind of a loner and   an outcast he doesn't really have any friends but  he ends up becoming friends with this group of   seniors and he finally realizes what it's like  to have friends and to have like that kind of   community and that love and it's about his own  trauma and the things that he's experienced in   his life i would put a heavy content warning on  this book for suicide and csa so just be aware   of that before you read the book but it's one  of my favorite books of all time it has stayed   one of my favorite books of all time since i read  it when i was in high school and i just love this   story so if you're looking for something that's  very emotional that will very likely make you cry   but it's also a very quick read i highly recommend  the perks of being a wallflower alright next up   we have another book that i read very recently  a lot of these books are actually a few books   that i read pretty recently because i've been  reading a lot of short books lately i've just   really been enjoying the short books i feel like  books that are very concise and to the point   and can convey an entire story in like 200 or so  pages they're always so impactful the writing is   typically really poignant and i like stuff like  that so that's why i've been reading a lot of   short books lately so that's partially why i was  inspired to make this video um but back to the   point the next book on this list is convenience  store woman by sayaka morata this book follows the   story of this 30-something woman who is unmarried  and has no career or like social aspirations in   life she just works at a convenience store and  she's very much content to continue working at   her convenience store it is only 163 pages so  very very short under 200 pages i read this in   like two hours but i loved it this book is very  much like a critique of capitalist society and how   capitalism puts these pressures on us to conform  to what it expects of us and what it wants us to   accomplish for it and how we live in a society  that's structured in a way that wants us to   conform to these social norms and it follows the  story of somebody who does not necessarily fit   those norms and has no desire to fit into any  of those norms and i loved it it's very funny   i think that it's very thought provoking at first  when i read it i wasn't like super super into it   but then a few days after i'd read it i was still  thinking about it so it was constantly on my mind   and i feel like it's something i would read again  because i liked it that much i really really   enjoyed this book i highly recommend it um this is  translated from japanese and a couple of the other   books on this list will also be translated as well  i've been super into translated books recently it   just they're so good and i'm tired of only reading  western literature so i would like to read other   things too but yeah truly can't recommend this  enough it's super fast paced book you'll finish it   very quickly and i just love the discussion that  this book has and the questions that it brings up   i found it to be incredibly relatable um but also  just very enjoyable next up is a y contemporary   that i read several years ago and really loved  back then and i just haven't talked about it   recently and i remembered that it's a very short  book so it's a good one to recommend for this   video because this book is excellent and that's  dear martin by nick stone this book is only 210   pages so again another super short one but this  follows the story of this boy named justice who   is 18 years old he's like headed to an ivy league  college and then one day he becomes a victim of   racial profiling so he ends up writing letters to  martin luther king jr and he's trying to like work   through his own emotions and his own um thoughts  and experiences as a black teen boy and it's   just such a good story if you haven't been able to  tell from a couple of the other books on this list   i really love books that are in the format of  letters i just think that that's such a unique   and very personal way of telling a story and i  really like books that are like that and this   is one of those books for sure besides the fact  that it is really well written and i just like   the concept of the story in general i just love  the fact that it's composed of letters so yeah   highly highly recommend dear martin obviously it  discusses really important social topics about   racism police brutality and what it's like to live  as a black teen boy in the u.s it's really well   written and incredibly emotional so yeah if you're  looking for something along these lines something   that covers social issues as well highly recommend  dear martin this is a great ya novel all right   next up i have a non-fiction book that i have  talked about in a recent video but i will talk   about it again here because i love this book and  i will recommend it any chance i get and that is   ace by angela chen this is a nonfiction book  about pretty much exactly what the title says what   asexuality reveals about desire society and the  meaning of sex it's incredible i have recommended   this to like everyone in my life and i'm trying to  get like everybody to read it i got my mom to read   it i got my sister to read it i'm gonna try and  get everyone to read it because i think everyone   should it is also a super short book so maybe that  will motivate some more people to pick it up it's   188 pages i think it's very very short it's not  going to take you a long time to read it's also   not super dense um so it's not like difficult to  get through despite the fact that it's non-fiction   and i just think this book does such an  incredible job of discussing asexuality in a very   approachable way with really accessible language  and um in a way that it's just meant for everyone   and anyone to pick up and read if they are  curious about asexuality whether it's questioning   themselves or if they know somebody in their life  who is ace or if you just want to know more about   something you don't know about if non-fiction is  your thing even if non-fiction isn't your thing   i feel like anyone would benefit from reading  this and i also just think it's an enjoyable read   alright next up we have another book that i read  very recently and i've talked about very recently   but it's short and it's great so i'm gonna  recommend it in this video again you can deal with   me repeating books because i can only read so much  so if i recommend some of the same books multiple   times across multiple videos it's because i like  them and i really want you to read them but this   book is before the coffee gets called by toshikazu  kawaguchi this is another translated book it's   translated from japanese and it follows the story  of this coffee shop that can transport you back in   time and we follow around these few characters  who are all somehow connected to one another   and each of them for their own reasons wants to  travel back in time the book is only 213 pages so   very very short a super quick read i read this  easily in like a couple hours but it is such   a beautiful beautiful story i absolutely adored  it i loved the relationships that were explored   in this story i thought that it did such a  beautiful job of covering multiple different   types of relationships and i loved each individual  story but what i loved the most was how they all   connected to one another i just thought it was so  well done it was very emotional but also very like   peaceful and happy this book didn't really make  me cry but it did make me like emotional and tug   at my heartstrings so if you want something like  that something that's not overwhelming in terms of   emotion something that probably won't make you sob  your eyes out but will definitely make you feel   um i highly highly recommend checking out before  the coffee gets cold i'm very excited to read   the sequel there's like a sequel to this which has  more stories about the coffee shop so i've already   ordered that i'm already going to read it because  i loved this that much all right next up we have a   book that i have been recommending for several  years now and i will continue to recommend it   because it's incredible um and that book is none  other than her body and other parties by carmen   maria machado this is one of my favorite books of  all time and i love it it's so good this book is   245 pages so it's a bit longer than some of the  other ones that i've recommended so far but again   still not very long anything that's under 250  pages to me is a short book if it's like above   that it's starting to get longer once we hit 300  i'm like okay that's not necessarily long but it's   not short but under 250 is pretty short to me and  this one is pretty short it is also a collection   of short stories so technically if you didn't  want to read all of the stories you don't have to   because they're not related to one another um you  could just pick up a couple of the stories in here   and they're just all so so good carmen marie  machado is easily one of my favorite authors   of all time i will literally read anything  she writes this book has some like sci-fi   horror comedy feminist critique like i i don't  even know how to describe it it has a little bit   of everything and i'm wearing a green ribbon in  my hair and there's a green ribbon on the cover   of this because there's a story about a woman  with like a green ribbon tied around her neck   which is one of my favorite stories in this  entire book it's so good so yes i highly highly   recommend this if you're looking for a short story  collection that spans across several genres that's   just probably unlike most things you've ever read  but will definitely capture your attention and   keep you reading this book is excellent and i  think everyone should read it it's wonderful um   cannot recommend enough cannot recommend carmen  marie machado enough i could also recommend   her memoir as well in the dream house that's  also pretty short it's like 200 something pages   so would recommend that as well but for this  video for the sake of this i am going with her   body and other parties because it's been a bit  since i've talked about it so yes if you want a   short short story collection that's so hard to say  um then definitely this would be my recommendation   all right and then next up we have another  book that i have talked about countless   times at this point so i'm not going to spend  too much more time talking about it because   i've mentioned it so many times on my channel  at this point um but i love it so that's why   and it's very short and that's none other than  on earth were briefly gorgeous by ocean vong   if you want a sad book about the like immigrant  child experience that's incredibly poetic   beautifully written just beautifully beautifully  written that again is in the format of a letter   can you tell that i have a type i really have  a time i'm really noticing that with this video   then this is your book this book is incredible it  is so good i will read everything that ocean vong   writes he is a master of prose and poetry this  is very short it's like 242 pages i think yes 242   pages so again under 250 pages you can read this  very quickly and if you want to feel seen as the   child of immigrants this book will definitely do  that for you at least it did for me before we get   into the last couple of books i want to once again  thank squarespace for sponsoring this video like   i mentioned squarespace is a platform for you to  create your own website engage with your community   grow your business some of my favorite features  that squarespace has are the blogging tools i've   actually considered starting up like a blog or  like a newsletter or something recently and i feel   like using squarespace would make that super easy  because you can share photos stories videos all   kinds of updates and you can schedule your posts  as well so it's very easy to use and along with   that another feature they have are email campaigns  and so if you wanted to start up a newsletter you   can completely customize it and use their email  campaigns and there's a feature that allows you to   connect all your social media accounts so that all  of your social media accounts and posts and stuff   can be directly translated onto your website  as well so if you're interested in trying out   squarespace for yourself go to squarespace.com  for a free trial and once you're ready to launch   go to squarespace.comclockworkreader to get 10 off  of your first purchase of a website or domain i'll   leave that link and code in my description box  so be sure to check it out there but again thank   you to squarespace for sponsoring this video and  without any further ado let's get into the last   few books i have on this list all right and then  last up i have um two quick recommendations you   can honestly pick up either of these and this is  also kind of just a general recommendation as well   but that is to pick up poetry books because poetry  books are typically really short and you can read   them really quickly but these two are some of my  favorites by one of my favorite poets um and that   is love and misadventure and lullabies by long lev  i love long love poetry as you can see these like   super old tabs in the top i've been reading these  since i was in high school i've had these since   my senior year of high school and i was obsessed  with these back then and i still love them now i   love her poetry i think she's such a good writer  i wouldn't call her style very like instagram   poetry i would call it more like tumblr poetry  because i feel like that's where she derived from   um but yes highly highly recommend these these are  both under 250 pages i think love and misadventure   is even shorter lullabies is 231 pages and  love and misadventure is 155 pages so again   both under 250 pages both very short both very  quick to get through personally my favorite is um   lullaby's as you can see there are like a ton  of super old tabs in the top of this and it's   all like fading and stuff because i've had it  forever um but yes highly recommend either of   these or any of her other poetry books honestly  so yeah these are just two more very fast reads   that you can get through very quickly but there  you all have it that is it for my list of short   book recommendations for you i hope that you found  this list somewhat helpful and there were some   new books to you and um maybe this motivated you  to pick up some more short books because i really   love short books i feel like a lot of the time  people think that if you're reading a book with   200 or fewer pages then it's not really a book but  some of these books are honestly some of the best   books i've ever read and if you can truly tell  a full complete story in like under 200 pages i   think you've done your job and it 100 still counts  as a book like it's a completed book they wouldn't   publish it if it wasn't a completed book but yes  i love a good short book i do also love long books   so if you are interested in some recommendations  of very long books like 500 plus page books   let me know in the comments down below and i can  definitely make that as well or if there are any   other specific type of book recommendations that  you would like please feel free to share them   with me and i will try my best to round up all  my recommendations for you in a future video if   you'd like to follow me on any of my social media  i am at clockwork underscore reads on pretty much   every single platform also all the links are in  the description box as always but thank you all   so much for watching this video i hope you enjoyed  and i will see you very soon in my next video bye you

Channel: A Clockwork Reader

Views: 388,939

Keywords: book recommendations, booktube, books to read, short book recommendations, short books to read, reading recommendations, book haul, books you have to read, a clockwork reader, reading

Id: 5_T9-h9I20Y

Length: 17min 9sec (1029 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 23 2022