10 books under 300 pages that can be finished on a lazy weekend!
Like many other college students, my schedule is packed. It can be hard to find time to do anything, especially hobbies. Back before my freshman year I used to easily crank out 400-600 pages of literature, but with 15 credits and work, it has become more of a challenge.
These past few months I have been compiling a list of short reads that can be easily read within a few days. The books range from all types of genres, spanning from comedy to horror.
1. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
At only 272 pages, Before the Coffee Gets Cold manages to explore the themes of regret, missed opportunity, and the importance of the present. The story follows four customers who visit a time traveling cafe and engage in memories and people from the past. I love this book because it is not only fast but a truly heartwarming story with meaning.
2. The Stranger by Albert Camus
When looking at all of the shorter books I’ve read, The Stranger definitely makes the top ten list. Personally, I am a sucker for clever authors with clever ways of telling stories. The Stranger tells the story of Meursault, a murderer with a dismissal of life and no emotion. This book’s absurdity and unique format make it hard to put down. At under 150 pages, The Stranger is perfect for horror/thriller fans with small amounts of free time.
3. One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
One Italian Summer is a tear-jerking story that shows how life proceeds after loss. The book follows Katy, a thirty year old woman from Los Angeles, as she takes a trip that she was initially supposed to take with her late mother. At 288 pages, One Italian Summer will make you feel all the feels all while gaining a new perspective on what it means to lose the ones you love most.
4. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart is a narrative that follows Africa’s encounter with Europe as the continent gets colonized. The story is told through one man’s resistance to the [discreditness ] of his Igbo traditions and culture. I usually am not a fan of historical fiction but I found this book hard to look away from as the plot and characters forced me to keep flipping.
5. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
For all my science fiction fans looking for a weekend read I introduce: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In this light-hearted tale, Arthur Dent wakes up to his home being demolished and Earth shortly follows. Readers follow Dent as he navigates through the alien-filled universe with a towel, a fish, and a book. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy plays with both time and physics in only 208 pages and successfully contributes to a greater questioning of life and the universe.
6. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Small Things Like These takes place in a small Irish town where coal merchant, Bill Furlong, lives and works. On one of the busiest days of the season, Furlong makes a discovery that forces him to confront his past and unveil the secrets of the church-controlled town. Small Things Like These only has around 130 pages and is another must-read for historical fiction fans.
7. The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
In The Swimmers, a group of community pool regulars don’t know each other outside of their swim lanes. When a crack in the pool shuts it down, the routine of these swimmers is abruptly interrupted. Without this pool, the swimmers are shunned into a world of unknowingness and discomfort. This 192 page book is a story of mother and daughter relationships and loss.
8. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Another must-read for horror fans, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a short novel with twists that will keep readers wanting to know what happens next. The story is about an isolated (potentially) murderous family and the events that occur when a cousin visits the castle. At only 160 pages, the story manages to keep readers on the edge of their seats.
9. Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri
Tokyo Ueno Station follows the story of Kazu, a homeless ghost who haunts Tokyo Ueno Station. Kazu’s life is tied together by the coincidences of the Imperial family and is shaped by modern Japanese history. In only 192 pages, the story follows how life’s unfairness and inequality spiral into a ghostly fate.
10. Passing by Nella Larsen
Married to a racist man, light-skinned Clare Kennedy has disconnected from her past to maintain her “white” identity. After attending African American-centric events throughout Harlem, Kennedy begins to long for her black identity that she abandoned. Throughout the novel Kennedy is forced to commit her decision to pass for white in a way that is both symbolic and tragic. In a little over 150 pages, Larsen tells a story of uncertainty in terms of identity.
Again, it can be challenging to engage in the things you love to do as a busy college student. With these short reads, being able to sit and finish a small novel over the course of a weekend may allow you to read with a higher frequency. And who doesn’t want to add a few more books to their library?