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If you’ve been trying to read more but just haven’t been able to get back in the habit, you may want to start small. Or, better yet, start short. Choosing short titles is one of a few easy ways to start reading more books. Not all novels need to be 600 pages long. In fact, some of the most timeless, beloved books are seriously brief. “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, many books in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series, and “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee are all classic reads under 300 pages.
Sometimes, it’s nice to just start and finish a book over one weekend without feeling like reading more pages is an assignment that looms over you. Generally, shorter books also mean quicker finishes, which will obviously help you feel more productive as you work toward your reading goal.
Jenna Bush Hager’s Read with Jenna Book Club seems to have a knack for selecting short and sweet reads that deliver just as much (maybe even more) emotional impact and depth as a lengthy books and series. With strong female-driven stories that take the time to explore complex romantic and familial relationships, these concise picks prove not every book has to be long to be effective.
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
At just 110 pages, “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros is the shortest read on this list, and no, it didn’t just make the list because of its length. Perhaps one of the most iconic books that remains on many educational reading lists for various age groups, the book continues to be recognized for its literary significance and powerful portrayal of one’s identity and culture. Rather than a traditional narrative, the author opted to write the book through a series of short and poetic vignettes.
In a clip from the 2013 PBS documentary “Makers: Women Who Make America,” Cisneros explained that the book was heavily influenced by the childhood shame she felt about the neighborhood she was raised in and the poverty her family struggled with. She added that the main character of the book, Esperanza Cordero, started as a “voice from myself, but the book changed, and she became my students, and she became many women. Not just my story.”
Cordero, a young girl growing up in the bustling city of Chicago, longs for nothing more than to rise beyond the limitations of the environment in which she was born. The story follows her as she shares her journey with readers and reflects on her experiences, community, and the art of re-inventing herself for a future she shapes on her own terms.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
One of the best banned books and a favorite recommendation among the #BookTok community, “The Bluest Eye” emerged out of author Toni Morrison’s desire for a story she wanted to read but couldn’t find. In a 1988 interview, Morrison admitted that while “The Bluest Eye” had “a strong taste of [her] own life” and pieces from the lives of other people she had encountered, she most enjoyed writing the completely fictional parts of the story.
As a five-star reviewer wrote on Amazon, “I read this book because it was banned. I was looking to see why it was given that sentence. What I found was a story that reflected something that was neither black or white but struggle in an awful world…The Bluest Eye should be read by everyone. You will learn the power of words.”
Told through the perspective of character Claudia MacTeer, “The Bluest Eye” weaves the story of Pecola Breedlove, a girl living in Lorain, Ohio. At just 11-years-old, Pecola has endured more hardships — from abuse to poverty and neglect — than most adults. Feeling lonesome and unloved, she believes her ugliness makes her unworthy and convinces herself she needs blue eyes to completely change her life. What follows is a tragic tale of a young girl who loses her sense of self. Through this story, Morrison portrays how racism and beauty standards can impact and deeply harm even the youngest souls.
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
While “Leave the World Behind” by Rumaan Alam may be the Read with Jenna Book Club’s lowest rated pick, if you enjoyed the movie, it may be worth giving the book a try. After all, it’s a quick read at only 253 pages. It was also good enough to make Barack Obama’s 2021 summer reading list and to be selected as best book of the year by multiple major publications such as NPR, InStyle, and The LA Times. Many readers who gave the book a five-star rating commend how intricately the book explores race, class divisions, and the meaning of privilege.
The story revolves around a family feeling distant from one another while trying to enjoy the vacation home they’ve rented. An elderly couple surprises them and says they own the home and have come here with nowhere else to go amid a mysterious city-wide blackout. All communications with the outside world are cut off, and the two very different families, who are complete strangers to one another, must stay together in the home. As uncertainty grows, tension between the families rises, and they begin to question whether they can even trust each other. With no clear answers and little to no control, they must juggle finding answers to the unknown threat lurking outside and dealing with their prejudices, fears, and dark secrets.
Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes
“Evvie Drake Starts Over” is NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour host Linda Holmes’ debut novel. During a TODAY show interview, Holmes told Bush Hager that she knew she always wanted to write a book but had put the dream aside for a long time. One day, she decided to announce it as her New Year’s resolution to keep herself accountable and actually see it through. And, she did!
Holmes’ debut novel seems to have resonated with many readers. As a Goodreads reviewer wrote, “Wow, I devoured this book. I started during work (don’t judge) and rushed home to finish it in evening. There was something about it that just resonated with me…I loved every one of these characters. They were complex and broken and so so real. They dealt with the hand life gave them the same as so many of us would do: bravely one day, in denial the next, taking two steps forward and one step back.”
After character Evvie Drake unexpectedly becomes a widow, she withdraws from the world and keeps to herself in an empty home in Maine. When Dean Tenney, a former Major League Baseball pitcher, arrives in town hoping to get away from his own problems, their worlds collide. The two end up under the same roof with the promise to not pry into each other’s pasts, but over time, they may realize healing doesn’t always mean you have to avoid the past at all costs.
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
A successor to “Homegoing,” Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel, “Transcendent Kingdom” was Gyasi’s first attempt at writing from a first-person perspective. In a Hazlitt interview, the author described it as a challenging experience. Regarding main character Gifty’s perspective, Gyasi explained, “I think of Gifty as an unreliable narrator in many respects. I think she’s a character that is often saying something that is not necessarily in line with her actions…Because she won’t look at [her situation] directly, I, as the writer, had to find other ways to allow us to see it.”
When Gifty isn’t busy trying to complete her neuroscience PhD program at Stanford University, she’s trying to hold down the fort for her family after losing her all-star athlete brother to an opioid overdose. Her mother has fallen deep into her depression and barely speaks a word, and Gifty can’t blame her, unable to imagine the pain of losing a child. Gifty pours herself into her research, hoping that science has the answers she and her former faith don’t about grief. Through Gifty’s story, Gyasi explores the dark places mental illness can take a person, the complexity of belief, and how a family can move forward after tragedy.