No time? Short books.

Low commitment books.

With respect to these books, I’ll keep this short.

I consider short books great palette cleansers, a concise way to get yourself out of a reading rut and dip into a new author or genre without the commitment of 400+ words. It was tough for me to just pick two, so I’ll revisit and add to this list later on.

Earlier

Lemon by Kwon Yeo-Sun

The premise of this was so good, I bought it immediately; in what becomes known as the High School Beauty Murder, Kim Hae-on is murdered in 2002 and the case goes cold. But this story follows the women left behind and the disconcerting mood that runs throughout made it an easy, enjoyable read.

Now

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

I’m ashamed to say I had no idea this book was based on the author’s real life experience in a psychiatric hospital in the ‘60s. I always thought it was a work of fiction, not a memoir. But Kaysen’s look back at her time in the facility is engrossing, and full of insightful observations about mental health, womanhood and adolescence. The women she encounters and the people who come in and out of the story are fascinating, as are her real patients notes she sprinkles throughout.

Kaysen spoke to Vanity Fair and The Cut this year in honour of the book turning 30 and I highly recommend the read if, like me, you become obsessed with the memoir.

Later

The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada

I’ve read amazing things about Oyamada’s work and being only 116 pages, this seems like an easy investment. Set against the backdrop of an ever-growing factory, there’s said to be a lot of meaningless work and unnerving elements to this story, so I’m sold.

I’m also super keen to read her other works, Weasels in the Attic and The Hole.

Enjoy!