I’m a huge fan of short books. On this blog and on Book Riot, I’ve featured lists of short books under 250 pages perfect for readathons, single-day reads, or getting on track with your reading challenge goal. But in this article, I’m going to meld those quick reads with one of my favorite groups to work with: book clubs. Yep! That’s right. I’ve never met a book club that doesn’t like intermixing shorter books with longer ones. So, book clubs… this is my gift to you. In this article, I’m going to feature fast book club reads and highlight some of the best short book club book suggestions.
I started and ran a book club a few years ago and know that the best books to open up discussion don’t have to be huge.
Let’s be honest: when you’re in a book club and the next selection is short, we all breathe a sigh of relief. (I’m looking at you, readers who skim through the book the night before.)
For this list of short book club books, I focused on recent-ish releases (from 2018—present, except for one 2017 book) and tried to give you a mix of buzzy books, award-winners, underrated or overlooked books, and diverse books. With one exception, the majority of each of these book club selection ideas are under 250 pages and the many of them (7 out of 10) are under 220 pages. With stories as good and discussion worthy as these, your book club can pick books everyone will be able to read and enjoy.
An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten (2018)
For your book club if: Your group is open to reading mysteries, likes short stories, and love a strong female character with questionable morals.
Page count: 184 pages
An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good…what a fire cracker! This collection of short stories by Sweden’s late Helene Tursten introduces readers to Maud, an 88-year-old curmudgeon capable of murder. At her age, Maud has zero f**ks to give and is determined to eliminate anything—or anybody—unpleasant or inconvenient. This powerful collection is laced with a dark wit but also raises questions about gender, violence, and ageism.
How to read it: Purchase An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Elevation by Stephen King (2018)
For your book club if: You want a really short book (it’s 146 pages but formatted in a tiny book), like small-town settings, and are cool with a bit of magical realism.
Page count: 160 pages
The master of small-town tales is at it again! Stephen King’s novella, Elevation is a tender call for unity in our turbulent modern era. Elevation is set in Castle Rock, a frequent King setting, a quiet Maine community where Scott Carey has noticed something odd; he keeps losing weight, rapidly, despite there being no medical cause. At the same time, new neighbors are causing friction among the long-time residents. Blending magical elements with a realist story, King’s carefully crafted book is small on pages but big on heart.
How to read it: Purchase Elevation on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
The Friend by Sigrid Nunez (2018)
For your book club if: You have dog lovers in your club, you want to read more award-winners, and you love reading about themes like friendship, grief, and #MeToo feminism.
Page count: 224 pages
Oh, gosh… I loved Sigrid Nunez’s novel, The Friend. This tender yet fierce novel tells the story of an unnamed female writer, our narrator, who is suddenly left in charge of her best friend’s dog when he takes his life. The writer is initially opposed… she’s more of a cat person, and, besides, she can’t keep a dog in her tiny NYC apartment. But as we know, the more you try to shut love out of your heart, the harder it gets. This little novel is also notable because it deals with similar issues to the #MeToo movement. Our heroine’s best friend was a white male author and professor back who was facing his own irrelevancy in a shifting world. Meanwhile, we get a peek into the very gendered, classicist New York publishing world.
If I might brag for a sec, I seem to have a streak going with reading what ends up being the National Book Award winner for Fiction. I read The Friend when it was under-the-radar, then it won the 2018 prize. Last year, I read Susan Choi’s masterful, twisty Trust Exercise, and then it won the 2019 prize! Go figure, out of all the books! So writers, if you want to win the NBA, send me your book: sarahsdaviswrites(at)gmail(dot)com.
How to read it: Purchase The Friend on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
The Girl Who Reads on the Métro by Christine Féret-Fleury (2019)
For your book club if: You’re looking for something light and bookish, perhaps after having a few heavy reads in a row, or maybe you’re thinking about reading more books in translation
Page count: 192 pages
The Girl Who Reads on the Métro is a wonderfully whimsical French book in translation. I loved reading this one. The pages seemed to turn themselves! This quirky, irreverent story follows Juliette, a bookish office worker who longs for something more. One day, she discovers an underworld operation pairing people with books in a sort of pay-it-forward style gesture of sharing goodwill and good books. But when she’s asked to deepen her involvement with the group, Juliette feels conflicted. The Girl Who Reads on the Métro is packed with lovely little moments celebrating reading and readers. It’s a feel-good read your book club will love.
How to read it: Purchase The Girl Who Reads on the Métro on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry (2019)
For your book club if: You like to keep up with best books of the year lists, wouldn’t mind an international setting, and love books that raise existential questions.
Page count: 272 pages
Underrated novelist Kevin Barry might have finally broken into the mainstream with Night Boat to Tangier, which was named one of the 10 best books of 2019 by The New York Times, about as high an honor you can get outside a literary award. This quick read takes place in a long night at a ferry terminal in a Spanish port. Two close friends and business associates— Maurice Hearne and Charlie Redmond—await a reunion with Maurice’s daughter, Dilly. Both men are in the drug business trade, and their long night of reflection on their younger days, losses, regrets, and joys sustain them through the emotional vigil, for Maurice’s relationship with Dilly is fraught. Barry’s novel has been compared to Samuel Beckett’s famous tragicomic play Waiting for Godot and for good reason. Both feature characters in a state of stasis and anticipation for what may never come to pass.
How to read it: Purchase Night Boat to Tangier on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson (2019)
For your book club if: You enjoy diverse authors and character-driven family sagas.
Page count: 208 pages
In this novel by National Book Award nominated author Jacqueline Woodson, a family gathers around for the 15th birthday party for Melody, a child who was conceived in an accidental conception between two teens. Through lyrical voices in rotating perspectives, Melody’s family reflects on how her remarkable birth has changed their lives—for most of them, in a positive way. Red at the Bone made my best books of 2019 list.
How to read it: Purchase Red at the Bone on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Run Me to Earth by Paul Yoon (2020)
For your book club if: You like buzzy books, historical fiction, diverse reads, and literary fiction with characters so real you feel you know them.
Page count: 272 pages
At 272 pages, Run Me to Earth is the tied for the longest book on this list. However, like the other books, this novel comes formatted in a tiny paperback, so it really feels like you’re reading twice as many pages as you really are in a standard size. In this compelling, take-your-breath-away novel, you’ll meet three orphans—Alisak, Prany, and Noi—trying to make it in a turbulent 1960’s Laos. Run Me to Earth traces their interwoven stories and strong connection across decades.
Run Me to Earth has already gathered much critical acclaim since its publication date of January 2020. In a starred review, Kirkus praised it as: “Another masterpiece in miniature about the unpredictable directions a life can take.” The book review aggregator Book Marks rates Run Me to Earth as a “Rave” hit, with 8 Rave reviews and 6 Positive reviews. In other words, I predict this tiny novel will be a slow burn throughout the year, gathering buzz all the way to awards season. And just think, you could knock this one out in book club and look all trendy.
How to read it: Purchase Run Me to Earth on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Waiting for Eden by Elliott Ackerman (2018)
For your book club if: You enjoy debating ethical questions, have a strong stomach for tragedy, and don’t mind a little magical realism.
Page count: 144 pages
This absolutely gut-wrenching and remarkable novel by National Book Award finalist Elliot Ackerman took my breath away. In Waiting for Eden, Ackerman, a Veteran himself, tells the intertwined stories of three tragic individuals: Eden, a soldier who was badly burned in Iraq and now tries to recover in a VA hospital back home; Mary, his young wife trying to raise their young daughter; and the unnamed narrator, a soldier friend of Eden’s who died in the same explosion that marred Eden.
How to read it: Purchase Waiting for Eden on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour (2017)
For your book club if: You already include YA picks or are looking to get started with them and you enjoy diverse and queer reads.
Page count: 240 pages
Looking to start reading YA? Not sure where to start? We Are Okay is the perfect place to begin your YA journey… or one-off experiment. Nina LaCour’s novel won the Printz Award, the highest honor any YA book can get, and it’s not hard to understand why. A brief novel that nonetheless packs a big emotional punch, We Are Okay follows Marin, who left her old world in California behind when she fled a tragic death and tried to start over at college in the Northeast. Now it’s winter, and Marin has convinced the school to let her stay through break so she can avoid everything at home… until her best friend shows up for a visit and throws Marin off her guard. I loved this book for its poetic feel and deftly plotted story; there are mysteries that Marin will slowly unfurl until you learn the shocking truth of what led her to suddenly walk away from everything.
How to read it: Purchase We Are Okay on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
Weather by Jenny Offill (2020)
For your book club if: You enjoy zeitgeist-y books that encapsulate modern times, buzzy books that get a lot of acclaim, and don’t mind a bit of a downer.
By the way, check out my discussion question guide for Weather!
Page count: 224 pages
From Jenny Offill, the author of the wildly popular Dept. of Speculation, comes Weather, her astonishing follow up. This literary novel is written in short segments: micro-scenes, stray observations, jokes, stream of consciousness, and other sources. Our narrator is Lizzie, a New York City-based, middle-aged librarian working at the library of the school where she was once a grad student before she dropped out. Lizzie is concerned with prepping for upcoming changes in our world, from climate change to her own aging. At the same time, Lizzie grapples with how best to protect her husband and son from these imminent shifts.
