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23 Brilliant Books That Are Short Enough To Read In A Weekend

Get ready to make some room on your bookshelf.

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We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us which short books everyone should read. Here are some of their recommendations.

We hope you love these book reccomendations! Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of sales from the links on this page.

1. The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

W&N, Jamie Mccarthy / Getty Images

"I suggest The Grownup by Gillian Flynn, who wrote Gone Girl. Only 64 pages, and it's presented as a ghost story — but the twist ending will leave you either weirded out or totally mind-fucked."

Anna Kopsky

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2. Animal Farm by George Orwell

Penguin Classics, Hulton Archive / Getty Images

"It's written in such a simple way, but is one of the most powerful books I've ever read."

rebeccab34

3. The Orange Grove by Larry Tremblay

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"It's one of my favourite books. It is so sensitive, heartfelt and well written. One of the books that open your heart, make you understand people and become a better person yourself."

mayac4ad930825

4. Shopgirl by Steve Martin

Hyperion Books, Evan Agostini / Getty Images

"The prose is beautiful and at less than 200 pages, you can easily finish it in an afternoon."

danielgreym

5. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

Diogenes Verlag AG, Tiziana Fabi / AFP / Getty Images

"It's beautifully written and you can read it in one afternoon. Its story is about life and love (and not only romantic love) finding their way through death and loneliness. It's currently my favourite book!"

leire

6. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Walker Books, Tim P. Whitby / Getty Images

"There was a movie made based on the book, but the book isn't long and is a beautiful, heartbreaking read. So worth it."

meaaagan

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7. All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg

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"I read it in one day because I couldn’t put it down!"

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8. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Fourth Estate, Leigh Vogel / Getty Images

"It's a long essay based on her TEDx talk, and it provides a wonderful, relatable and contemporary perspective on how society can embrace the label of feminism."

ewtex

9. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Six Other Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald

10. Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih

Penguin, Afp / AFP / Getty Images

"I did an English degree and this is the only book (out of hundreds) that I openly recommend. Especially in the political climate, this offers an insight into orientalism and racism from a postcolonial perspective."

victoriar42355ff97

11. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

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"It's an amazing book and is especially great for those who are looking for a creepy story but don't want to read horror."

– Rachel Rentschler via Facebook

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12. The Stranger by Albert Camus

Vintage Books, Afp / AFP / Getty Images

"I know it's a popular 'required reading' book so maybe you've a) already read it or b) know you were supposed to have read it and resent me for suggesting it, but The Stranger by Albert Camus is a must-read for me. It's about a guy who kills another guy on a beach because it was too hot, or so he says. I've read it like five times because it's a readable, interesting existentialist book that's only about 120 pages."

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13. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

HarperCollins Children's Books, Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

"Number the Stars by Lois Lowry is an amazing read. I remember I read it as a kid, and it made me think about the Holocaust and how it affected kids my age back then. Even now, it's still one of my favourite books."

chingparado

14. The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Sun-mi Hwang

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"The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Sun-mi Hwang was the first book that I sat on the couch and read all the way through. And yes, it is actually a 100+ page story told from the perspective of a chicken who starts out on a journey at what seems to be the end of her life."

hannahp4aad0cff9

15. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

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"I'm a quick reader and got through it in just under an hour. It's fun and quirky and so intelligently written!"

– louisapisa

16. Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King

Hodder & Stoughton, Eric Feferberg / AFP / Getty Images

"Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King is one of my new all time favourites and it was so short I read it in two hours. It also makes you think about what you would do with the power to destroy anything you'd like."

t403516055

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17. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Sphere, David Livingston / Getty Images

"This is a thought provoking page turner! Very easy read."

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18. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

Penguin, Mehdi Fedouach / AFP / Getty Images

"This book is fantastic. It is about Japanese 'picture brides' coming to San Francisco. The story follows their experiences as wives, mothers and immigrants in the United States."

elizabethg20

19. All My Friends are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman

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"All My Friends are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman is just such an adorably fun book. You won't be able to put it down, and it's so short you won't have to."

– Lene Torheim Solheim via Facebook

20. The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

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"The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin is a really short, really fast read that is both extremely unsettling and still surprisingly relevant."

katya3

21. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

Penguin Classics, Jenkins / Getty Images

"I had heard about this book a lot before reading it. Unfortunately, most of what I heard painted a very inaccurate picture of what the book was about. It is heartbreaking, but also groundbreaking. I've heard many people describe it as a 'gay story' but I think it would be more accurate to say 'bisexual story' or just 'LGBTQ+ story'. I didn't outwardly cry when I read this, but it definitely left my heart feeling heavy."

–Aeryn La Mar via Facebook

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22. Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Bloomsbury Children's, Neilson Barnard / Getty Images

"It's technically a children's book, but it's well-written and deliciously creepy enough to be appreciated by all ages. If you've only seen the movie, read the book – it's much scarier, and short enough to finish in a matter of hours."

thesixthstation

23. Slade House by David Mitchell

Sceptre, Torsten Silz / AFP / Getty Images

"It's by the guy that wrote Cloud Atlas and it's a creepy, always surprising take on classic haunted house novels. The story has a hypnotically rhythmic structure to it which makes it hard to put down, and if you want to spend more time in the world, it takes place in the same universe as his much larger but AWESOME psychic thriller The Bone Clocks."

– Derik Iverson via Facebook

Note: submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.

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