I started reading last year, mostly productivity stuff, but now I’m really looking to jump into fiction to unwind after a long week of uni, studying, and work. I need something to help me relax during the weekends without feeling like I’m working.
I’d love some recommendations for books that are short enough to finish in a day but still hit hard and are totally worth it. No specific genre preferences right now. I’m open to whatever. Looking forward to seeing what you guys suggest. Thank you very much in advance.
I have just the book for you!.. Ah, finish in a day, nevermind.
Someone else already suggested it, but I would second Terry Pratchett. Even though most of the books are standalone, I recommend start with the Colour of Magic and follow publication order.
Another vote for Pratchett! I’m an economics fan, and making money happened to be my introduction, but there are far more common onramps.
My personal suggestion for getting a feel of Pratchett’s writing these days is monstrous regiment - technically in the discworld series, but it’s very standalone, so you get the flavor of the writing with little of the need for additional context.
Best? Hard to say. But favorite?
Galactic Pot-Healer by Philip K. Dick. It’s quite short, like many of his books, and you could absolutely knock it out in a day.
Roadside Picnic. it’s a story of unmanaged survivors guilt, in an increasingly desperate and accurately depicted Soviet dystopia, where the players hustle and vie for mediocre survival even in an exceptionally bizarre, hostile, and literally alien environment, just as they would in any other terrestrial conflict zone.
There’s a good reason it spawned an epic film and 4 outstanding games so far
I don’t know…I read a lot of good books often.
I guess you could say my options are booked.
I’ve never read a fictional book. They don’t exist. hurhurhur
But seriously, I did kind of enjoy reading the Manifold series (Origin, Space, Time) by Stephen Baxter way back when. If you’re a quick reader, I reckon you could probably zip through one of the novels in a day.
And I’d recommend reading at least a couple in order to get to know the characters, because then you could pick up the short story anthology set in the same multiverse (Phase Space), where for some you’d only need half an hour.
(Baxter has a bunch of other books and short stories - the Xeelee Sequence springs to mind - but I never got around to those, so have no idea how long the novels are, or whether they’re any good.)
I know they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but The Stormlight Archive books speak to me like no other books ever have. They’re a huge time investment, but they’re all about the journey, not the destination. 😉
One of the few series that I love for making me want to be a better person, then hate it because that’s hard, then love it all over again because it’s worth it.
I’ve really enjoyed everything in the Cosmere, but Stormlight is a step above the rest. Last book in this era is out soon. I can’t wait.
Basically most Terry Pratchett books really. Some will take more than a day, but it’s like a mix of Lord of the Rings and Monty Python. Whimsical and silly with some good moments that make you think.
I would recommend checking out audio books as a medium for reading. It allows you to increase the speed to whatever works for you, so 2x for me, and listen to a lot more in a day. It also frees you to listen at any times you have nothing cognitive happening, so dishes, washing, cleaning, etc.
As for single day books, the first book of the Bobiverse series by Dennis E Taylor. I loved the whole series including the recently released 5th book and the first is only 9.5 hours at normal speed, so about 4.75 at double speed.
Also All Systems Red is the first book in the Murderbot series by Martha Wells. The perspective of a SecUnit, a type of sentient cyborg, which has hacked its own programming and removed its limiters so it can act freely. This means no guard rails, no rules, no limits, which results in lots of TV shows being watched and avoiding humans. It is snarky, fun, and interesting. It comes in at 3.5 hours normal time, so 1.75 at double speed.
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers easily can be finished in a day.
Then Murderbot series by Martha Wells. They are fun, yet insightful and novellas. Easily finished in a day too.
Do androids dream of electric sheep by Philip K. Dick. It’s the basis for the blade runner movie. Short, easy to read.
Blood Meridian is critically acclaimed and you could read it in a day. I only got around to reading it last winter despite my “litbro” friends recommending it for years. It’s very violent but the prose style is really unique and original. The plot is kind of Moby Dick-esque where it examines mankind’s place in nature (mixed with a fair amount of Heart of Darkness).
Actually Heart of Darkness is extremely worth reading and it is probably less of an ordeal. Maybe start with that if you haven’t read it. Conrad spoke like 5 languages and English was the ~3rd he learned so he has a very interesting prose style.
Fahrenheit 451, really awesome dystopia that predicted a lot of things in our modern era
Yes, everytime 1984 comes up I think of Fahrenheit which is much, much closer to the western world.
“Short enough to finish in a day” seems pretty tough for me, but maybe I read slowly.
Short story books are good for casual reading in short sessions. Robot Dreams by Asimov, or Welcome to the Monkey House by Vonnegut. I used to carry each of those around and read a short story while waiting at a restaurant or at the DMV or whatever.
I really liked Altered Carbon. Approachable sci fi with drugs, violence, sex, politics, and of course high tech ideas like flying cars, AI hotels, digital consciousness.
