11 Brilliant Short Books You Can Read in Just One Day!

[@cafeaulivre]

Quick question for you! What’s the shortest book you've ever read that left a big impact? Drop it in the comments below-I'd love to get some new recommendations.

[@Canduish]

for me White Nights actually, great read but I found it to be very strange ...felt too close to home if you know what i mean :))

[@DrGBhas]

Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa --- a slim book with an ocean of warmth and wisdom within it. It makes you wonder what it is to be really alive, even just for a brief moment. And what it is to be a person battling social exile . How can one find meaning in life, despite all the vicissitudes of space and time ?

[@VTimmoni]

The Jigsaw Puzzle Woman. I'm sorry I don't remember the author.

[@cafeaulivre]

@@Canduish I agree, it is a very well done analysis of what it is to be human, to want proximity to other humans and to feel alone when this fails.

[@cafeaulivre]

@@DrGBhas yes, love that one!

[@karinwesterberg9438]

Thanks for all the great recommendations! I love how deceptive short books can be: inside the slim form a whole world or a deep dive can be hidden. Here are some of my favorites: Jamaica Kincaid "Lucy", Tony Morrison "Home", Daphne du Maurier "Rebecca", Shirley Jackson "We Have Always Lived in the Castle", Ursula K. Le Guin "The Word for World is Forest"

[@cafeaulivre]

That’s a list of some excellent recommendations as well!

[@CeeBee781]

Nice list! But is Rebecca a short book? I loved Rebecca but in my mind, it’s a novel of average length

[@sueerwin3873]

Dickens' A Christmas Carol....watch words come to life.

[@cafeaulivre]

Soon again, when Christmas is near 😉

[@sherrirabinowitz4618]

I just read The Little Prince last year, I had never heard of it before, it is a very beautiful story. I think he wrote it at several levels. I love 84 Charing Cross Road, I saw the movie first and fell head over heals in love with it, then I read the book, and now I read it once a year. If you love books, it is a perfect book. I agree with what you said but I would add they share same sense of humor too. It is a big part of their letters. For your question above, I have two. One is fiction and the other is non-fiction. The first is EM Forster's The Machine Stops. I was stunned he wrote a Science Fiction story and it is such a wonderfully written story with a great moral. Blew my mind. The other book is We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, it is really about her life and her life's work trying to help women's causes as the central focus. It is a very touching book and powerful book, it is only 48 pages.

[@cafeaulivre]

Oh, I totally agree on the shared humor. I remember in one of the first letters, where he opened with ‘dear madam’, and she replied ‘I hope that means something else over there that it means here’ 🤣

[@sherrirabinowitz4618]

@@cafeaulivre Yes, I still chuckle everytime I see it.

[@phoebehill953]

Candide. We live in the best of possible worlds when we can stay home and tend our gardens!

[@cafeaulivre]

Then I would also add Elizabeth and her German Garden

[@crowowlraven9971]

I'm mad I didn't think of this

[@GlynnMc82]

Great video end recommendations. Love your enthusiasm 👍

[@cafeaulivre]

Thanks for watching!

[@shisharma]

I recently bought small things like these , its goin to be my first Claire keegan book I'm so excited to read it.

[@cafeaulivre]

Oooh, do let me know your thoughts sometimes when you have finished it! 😊

[@carnub]

Try Foster next. A lovely story about kindness among other things. Also short.

[@shisharma]

@@cafeaulivre I just finished Small Things Like These-my emotions have filed a complaint for being overworked! I'll be giving them a break with a December reread! Absolutely loved it.

[@cafeaulivre]

@@shisharma Love that! #sorrynotsorry :)

[@layalialsudairy9992]

@@carnubmy favorite book this year is foster. I was so touched by it. Now I’m trying to read all Claire Keegan’s books.

[@tarotenhajzer]

My suggestions: - The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing - Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - The Pearl by John Steinbeck - The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway

[@cafeaulivre]

Havn’t read Ethan Frome yet, but I do agree on the others 😋

[@jillwhitneybirk]

Night by Elie Wisel A Room of One’s Own - Virginia Woolf A Month in the Country - JL Carr

[@cafeaulivre]

You had me at Virginia Woolf 😋

[@pattidoyle5102]

I loved Address Unknown, 96 pages

[@cafeaulivre]

That’s a real classic…late 1930ies I believe?

[@layalialsudairy9992]

Thank you for the review, I will probably read on earth we are briefly gorgeous . It sounds interesting . Here is a list of short books I’ve read and gave 5 stars: 1. Foster by Claire Keegan (62 pages) 2. Small things like these by Claire Keegan (81 pages) 3. I who Have Never Known Men by Jaqueline Harpman ( 208 pages) 4. The Employees by Olga Raven ( 208 pages) 5. We have always live in the castle by Shirley Jackson (148 pages) 6. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (150 pages) 7. The Lost daughter by Elena Ferrante (140 pages) 8. An Elderly Lady is up to no good by Helene Tursten ( 178 pages) 9. The house on Mango street by Sandra Cisneros( 110 pages ) 10. People like them by Samira Sedira ( 192 pages) 11. The night guest by Hildur Knutsdottir ( 208 pages)

[@cafeaulivre]

Excellent list (and I don’t just say that because you included a Belgian author 😋). Foster is definitely my next Keegan!

[@philstrand]

I read Foster by Claire Keegan, then spent the next few days reading everything she has published. Keegan is a genius. Both Foster and Small Things Like These are masterpieces of short fiction. Some of my favorite novellas: Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan Foster by Claire Keegan Heaven by Mieko Kawakami Train Dreams by Denis Johnson Clear by Carys Davies Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen The Sandman by E.T.A. Hoffmann The Turn of the Screw by Henry James The Beckoning Fair One by Oliver Onions The novella is so well-suited to a stripped-down psychological study of the human experience...especially the darker side of that balance.

[@cafeaulivre]

Very true, but the novella also shows great skill: it takes a really good writer to say so much in so few words. Foster is definitely my next Keegan.

[@pwcinla]

Of your choices, Giovanni's Room, I couldn't get into but want to give it another try. Animal Farm is also on my list...along with The Stranger (Camus), The Comfort of Strangers and The Cement Garden (both by Ian McEwan), The Mezzanine (Nicholson Baker), Concrete Island (J.G. Ballard), The Crying of Lot 49 (Pynchon), The Blue Fox (Sjón). If we're allowed to go a tad over 200 pages, I'd include Roadside Picnic (Strugatsky Brothers), Disgrace (Coetzee), Fight Club (Palahniuk) and The Music of Chance (Auster).

[@cafeaulivre]

A great list…the first time I read the Stranger was in high school, in French, and I hated it. Reread it many years later and now I love it!

[@aiscahill]

Some excellent suggestions on here, but also quite a few I haven’t heard of. I’ll be kept busy ☺️

[@cafeaulivre]

#sorrynotsorry 😋

[@ColonelFredPuntridge]

FLATLAND by Edwin Abbott THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE by Robert Louis Stevenson And The libretto of Wagner’s short opera DAS RHEINGOLD (which is more Tolkien-esque than Tolkien)

[@perkinsdearborn4693]

Man in the Holocene by Max Frisch. I enjoyed how so much was given in such a brief book. I read it in college when most of the book assignments were 300+ pages long.

[@cafeaulivre]

I’ll have to check that one out, because I havn’t read it yet myself. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@jamgart6880]

My favourite quick reads are.. Letters to a young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke The Crucible by Arthur Miller Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose The Little Prince (of course😊) A Room of Ones Own. By Virginia Woolf Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck Heaven and Hell by Jon Kalman Stefansson (little bit longer at about 200 pages) Thanks for the recommendations! There’s a few I want to add to my list now 😊

[@cafeaulivre]

That’s an excellent list! I think the only ones I havn’t read yet are Twelve Angry Men and Heaven and Hell 👌

[@jamgart6880]

@@cafeaulivre Heaven and Hell is an Icelandic story. I recently read it (a few weeks ago) right before reading John Williams Stoner. I can’t separate them as one being better than the other. They are both equally my favourite reads of this year and maybe ever! 😁 I think it’s because Heaven and Hell is similar to Stoner in the quietness and depth of the main character. I think of it often.

[@cafeaulivre]

Similar to Stoner…consider me intrigued 😋

[@janinetozer]

I would add A Christmas Carol, maybe Of Mice and Men and Fahrenheit 451n to the list. I also enjoyed The Old Man and the Sea which kept me company when I was alone for a time so I read it twice. Mike says The Great Gatsby and my young grandson is LOVING Green Eggs and Ham!. There's one nagging at the back of my brain but I cannot think what it is so will have to come back to it. Out of your list, I would love to read the Claire Keegan book and you have spoken before of Giovanni's Room. I have only read 2 on the list. Expect you know which two already.

[@cafeaulivre]

I think you would love Small Things Like These…and it is a great place to start with Claire Keegan. It does give a good idea of her writing. Absolutely love Fahrenheit 451, as well as Of Mice and Men. And even Old Man and the Sea, I think all three of them featured in a short classics video I once did. As for Green Eggs and Ham, strangely enough, Dr Seuss is not really a big thing on our side of the pond. Hardly anyone knows his books.

[@janinetozer]

@@cafeaulivre I think I have Antarctica here by her - same woman?

[@cafeaulivre]

Yes, the difference being that Antarctica are short stories, while Small Things Like These is a novella, a single story.

[@LivingDeadEnby]

'The Silence of the Sea' by Vercors was a short book that left a very big impact on me. I was surprised how much it captivated me, even though hardly anything actually happens.

[@cafeaulivre]

Another one for my TBR it seems!

[@tyghe_bright]

So many wonderful recommendations. I'll add recommendations for The Willows by Algernon Blackwood, any of the Sherlock "novels"--which are short novellas, The Angel of History --- a book of poetry by Carolyn Forche, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins GIlman, Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson, and Ebola 76 by Amir Tag Elsir.

[@cafeaulivre]

I read all of the Holmes stories, as well as The Yellow Wallpaper (which I absolutely love). Havn’t read the others just yet.

[@BookishAdventuresInWellbeing]

Claire Keegan is my fav short book author by far.

[@cafeaulivre]

Definitely !

[@ev3261]

I've recently read "moi qui n'ai pas connu les hommes" ("I who have not known men", I think is the translated name) by Jacqueline Harpman, and was just amazed how I have never heard about this author in the past. The book was very original and thought provoking.

[@cafeaulivre]

Don’t feel bad: the author is Belgian and I’m quite certain not even half of my fellow countrymen know her 😬

[@AngelGabrielish]

The Pearl is quite short but hits way above its weight.

[@GenWivern2]

Pleased to see Invisible Cities made the list. Two suggestions, one obvious, the other less so. "Heart of Darkness" still bugs me after multiple re-reads, so well done to Mr Conrad. Umberto Eco's "Postscript to 'The Name of the Rose'" actually changed the way I approach books that are new to me, and it's only 80 pages or so.

[@cafeaulivre]

Ooh, I never read that postscript and it sure sounds like something I would definitely enjoy! Thanks for the recommendation!

[@carnub]

The Stranger / The Outsider by Albert Camus. Finally the Cure song made sense to me! A short and easy read, but shocking at the same time. Worth a reread after a bit of a think between. Foster by Claire Keegan is wonderful too, but loved Small things like these. A month in the country by JL Carr set in an English village after the First World War. Another lovely story on kindness as well as some hidden unspoken things.

[@cafeaulivre]

Foster is probably my next Keegan, and yes, A Month In The Country is an absolute gem as well. Loved that one!

[@glendaw5221]

I’m so glad 84 Charing Cross Road is on your list. It is my all time favorite book and I read it every couple of years.

[@cafeaulivre]

Again one of these books I don’t see many people talk about on bookish social media and that’s such a shame! I just love their friendship!

[@janinetozer]

Ooo I have just remembered the book I was thinking of - Tokyo Express by Seichō Matsumoto. What a gem!

[@cafeaulivre]

I don’t know that one…I’ll look into it for sure! Thanks! ☺️

[@susiesky1]

Hola! Thanks for the great list! Many are on my TBR list & I’ll put the rest on. I love the movie version of 84 Charing Cross Rd & have a copy of the book. I’m a Chekhov fan & always recommend his short stories & novellas, esp The Steppe & The Duel. A much more recent novella read for me & a new fav is Train Dreams by Denis Johnson. It’s historical fiction that starts in early 20th century & takes place in northern Idaho. Main character is very unusual man who works as a lumber jack for a railroad & many other things. It’s hard to describe but really great! Thanks again!! 😊

[@cafeaulivre]

I agree, Chekhov is a master of the short story, mentioned him in my Russian lit video last week. Can’t say I know Train Dreams but I’m definitely going to check it out. Thank you for the recommendation!

[@susiesky1]

@@cafeaulivre You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy it. 😊

[@MB-hc9tk]

I’ve read 7 books out of the list of books and I can safely say I agree wholeheartedly with these recommendations ! ❤ they’re amazing little books , the ones I haven’t got to I’m adding immediately to my tbr. Small things like these has brought awareness to something that happened, I think even more so than when what happened at Tuam made international news! The last one of those places closed more recently than most people would even realise - 1996. Looking forward to seeing it on screen, which will be soon! The trailer for it is out now. Ok so off the top of my head small book that pack a big punch recommendations : Address Unknown- Katherine Kressman Taylor, Mrs Caliban - Rachel Ingalls, Marzahn mon amour -Katja oskamp , a month in the country- J L Carr , hearts keys and puppetry -Neil gaiman , why you should read children’s books even though you are so old and wise - Katherine Rundell (more of an essay ) I got a short book in the post that was in one of your previous recommendations : the fire next time by James Baldwin so looking forward to that too! My apologies this comment is longer than I expected it to be but an update : I finally read Dracula 🎉😂

[@MB-hc9tk]

Just thought of another small story that was good - The transformation by Mary Shelly ❤

[@cafeaulivre]

Never apologise for something you’re passionate about! 😋 Thanks for all these recs, I’m definitely going to look into them, but first things first: what did you think about Dracula? 😊

[@MB-hc9tk]

@@cafeaulivre I thought it was really great everything I could have imagined it to be ! I’ll try type what I thought without any spoilers ( I thought the female characters at times were completely hilarious- in that I don’t know if they would of actually spoke like that at the time or if bram just made them sound a bit pathetic because thats how men viewed them at the time 🤔) and I thought the journey back to a certain place was a bit drawn out other than that i had a great time being totally immersed in the world of vampires. One thing stood out to me was brams description of Dracula , I’ve never saw him portrayed with a moustache before and he said he had one twice!

[@cafeaulivre]

It’s true: we all have a certain image in our head of how Dracula looks like, mostly influenced by film and tv and it’s never with a moustache 🤣

[@MB-hc9tk]

@@cafeaulivre 🤣🤣 nope never but now I feel he definitely should have one - if the next Dracula doesn’t have a moustache 🥸 I’m going to write a strongly worded letter to the producers! 😂

[@monicai.3034]

Glad you loved Small things like these. Great read, indeed, especially that is inspired from Irish history true facts. I also recommend Chess story by Stefan Zweig. Also The Awakening by Kate Chopin and by Garcia Marquez, the book called Of Love and Other Demons. Short books but great ones! 📚💫

[@cafeaulivre]

I’ll definitely need to look into Chess Story, a lot of people are recommending that one 😊

[@TerryJ950]

I just finished reading a very short book called Chess Story by Stefan Zweig. This book was devastating and will definitely get your heart pounding. The writing is brilliant.

[@cafeaulivre]

I took a look at it just now, color me intrigued! Thank you for the recommendation!

[@nedludd7622]

​@@cafeaulivreAnother popular one by Zweig is "Amok".

[@dagmoon]

I love the enthusiasm in your videos. Makes me want to add everything I haven't read to my TBR. Let me do the same for you (ha): My recommendations are Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor (hey, it's letters, and the last one is a zinger!), The Red Pony by John Steinbeck (certainly not a kid's book), and for something completely different, so strange but funny the quirky Icelandic novel, Under the Glacier by Halldor Laxness.

[@cafeaulivre]

I don’t know any of these books, so I guess these are my homework now 😋 Thanks for the recommendations!

[@GeorgiaVard]

My favorite short book of all times is Oscar and the Lady in Pink by Eric Emmanuel Schmitt…. I adored Oscar 😢❤❤❤

[@cafeaulivre]

I must honestly admit I have not read that one yet…well, that’s the good thing about short books: it can easily be rectified 😋

[@GeorgiaVard]

@@cafeaulivre it’s not a happy book… but Oscar’s short life and short story is everything🥹🥹🥹….

[@cafeaulivre]

Higher up the TBR it goes 😋

[@marianacaffaro]

“Foster “ C. Keegan, “Siddhartha” H Hesse, “Fahrenheit 451” Bradbury, “The lady and the unicorn” T Chevalier

[@cafeaulivre]

Foster is my next Keegan, without a doubt! I will blame you guys if my best books I read this year-video in December is full of her books 🤣

[@milxir6222]

hi! cool videos! just wondering, are u a lit grad/professor or just someone with a thorough interest in reading?

[@cafeaulivre]

Both 😋 I used to be both an English and A Dutch language teacher, specialising in literature. I don’t teach anymore now, but I still read just about everything that I can.

[@nedludd7622]

Steinbeck "Tortilla Flats" and "Cannery Row". For more depressing but wonderful, stories by Frenchman Maupassant and Austrian Stefan Zweig.

[@cafeaulivre]

You had me at ‘depressing but wonderful’! 😊

[@techidna-h9t]

Cold Enough For Snow by Jessica Au and The Death of Ivan Ilyich.

[@cafeaulivre]

Ivan Ilyich is a great little book, talked about it in my Russian literature video, but I don’t think I know Cold Enough For Snow. More homework for me! 😋 Thanks for the recommendation!

[@crowowlraven9971]

Things Fall Apart

[@constancecampbell4610]

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a short book that had me in its grip. I read it in less than 24 hours. 👍

[@cafeaulivre]

I know it but actually never read it before. Might have to bump that one up higher up on the TBR 😊

[@constancecampbell4610]

@@cafeaulivre Oh, yes. Let us know how you like it.

[@cafeaulivre]

I will! ☺️

[@ReadingIDEAS.-uz9xk]

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Best wishes.

[@Bigbopper01]

The lessons of history, by will and Ariel Durant.

[@cafeaulivre]

Ooooh, I don’t often get non-fiction recommendations, thanks!