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.
murderbot series is fantastic, I love every single entry in the series so far, and they’re not very long or unnecessarily complicated; you can finish one in a day or two easy.
The first entry is called “All systems red”
The End of Eternity (Asimov) might be short enough for you, and has some interesting ideas about the implications of time travel.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It and its sequel Children of Ruin both explore what it means to be a person and makes you feel empathy for “the other”, beings that get more and more alien as the story moves on. Compared to most of what others mention here it is rather new. But it will become a cult classic, I am certain of that.
That’s a great series. I recommended the first book to everyone I know after reading it. For another amazing story of compassion that circles around from everything from horror, to Kant, to AI intelligence, to religious extremism before it gets there, read The Hyperion Cantos.
Currently half way through the last of the 4 (Rise of Endymion) … fantastic series!
The Martian and Project Hail Mary are some of the best sci-fi-of-tomorrow books I have ever read. Maybe not a single day, but neither are overly long.
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.
And the entire collection is on sale right now.
$18 for all 39 books.
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.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is the most impactful book I’ve ever read. It completely changed my perspective of the system I was born into. A Farewell to Arms is the first book I read that mirrored my inner emotional state, and let me know it was okay for me to feel as I did back then. Both are top-tier books.
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.
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. 😉
Anything by Brandon Sanderson is a pretty safe bet!
Way of Kings blew my mind when I first read it. I loved it so much. I read it again when the last book came out because I couldn’t remember everything that happened, and it’s still an amazing book on the second read. Unfortunately, each of the following books in the series is less enjoyable for me. I didn’t like the Rhythm of War at all. I know a lot of people love it, but it has become something I don’t appreciate at all. I don’t know if I’ll even finish the series, assuming Brandon ever finishes it himself.
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.
I know! Have you been reading the chapters on Reactor Mag?
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.)
Arguably the elder scrolls series has tons of fictional books.
The Lusty Argonian Maid is probably my favorite fictional book.
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.
The discworld collection is currently on humble bundle for cheap if you have an e-reader.
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 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.
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.
