10 great books that you can read in a day

24 Aug

Written By Mary Peters-Bourke

We’ve all been there. We’re in a reading slump. We just need one book to jump-start our reading again.

Or we want to read something different yet inspiring. Books we can read in a day.

To help get you out of that slump and inspired, I’ve listed ten great books you can read in a day.

Each is a different genre or theme. From humor to horror, from fairytales to the paranormal.

There’s something for everyone. Probably.

Each book has inspired me. Let’s see if they can do the same for you.

Modern Classic

Written in 1966, The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys is a prequel to the main events of Charlotte Brontës’ Jane Eyre. For the most impact, read this modern classic after the Brontë original.

Classic Novel

Staying with the Brontë family, we have Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë. Young Agnes is determined to support her family financially. But the harsh realities of being a Governess take a toll on her resolve and health.

Humor

Booksellers can get some strange requests. Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell is a collection of those peculiar requests, unusual questions, and overheard conversations.

Cute horror

Yes, this is a genre. If you combine cosmic horror with cute cats, you get Cthulhu Cat by Pandania, a graphic novel that follows an ordinary Japanese student who is about to meet some extraordinary cats.

Translated

Staying in Japan, meet Keiko. At thirty-six, she has never fit in. Her family and friends are pressuring her to get married or get a better job. But Keiko finds purpose in working at her convenience store. Konbini Ningen or Convenience Store Woman is written by Sayaka Murata and translated from Japanese to English by Ginny Tapley Takemori.

Ghost story

Seeking proof of the paranormal, Dr Montague invites several guests to stay for the summer at Hill House. Each has experienced paranormal activity before, but is anyone prepared for what happens next?

The Haunting of Hill House is a gothic psychological horror by Shirley Jackson.

Short-story

If you want more weird stories, you’ve come to the right place. Weird fiction is full of the strange, the uncanny, and the unusual.

"It was not till after the adventurer had been interred that we learned that the man had been married."

Meet The Adventurer’s Wife by Premee Mohamed. You can read it for free at Nightmare Magazine.

You can find this story in the collection She Walks In Shadows and Cthulhu’s Daughters, the same book with different names, both edited by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R. Stiles.

Short-story collection

Sticking with our theme of short stories and the Weird is The King In Yellow by Robert W. Chambers.

In this collection of short stories, the first four are the most famous. Each mention The King in Yellow, a forbidden play that none can read without succumbing to despair or madness.

Essays

The Fire Next Time comprises two essays by renowned author James Baldwin.

In "My Dungeon Shook: Letter to my Nephew on the One-Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation," Baldwin writes to his nephew, comparing him to the men in the family and emphasizing the intrinsic dignity of black people. "Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region of My Mind" discusses Baldwin’s experiences of religion and its impact on Black Americans.

Speeches

No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference is a collection of speeches written by Greta Thunberg about global warming and the climate crisis. It includes the speech “Our House Is on Fire”.