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Original poster

Unputdownable, short-ish, not trashy books

184 replies

Europeanbanana · 16/09/2026 14:37

I need books that will grip me so much I won't look at my phone. I don't want anything trashy or too long. Let's under under 350 pages. Any suggestions for really wonderful books that fit the bill?

OP posts:
Pieceofpurplesky · 17/09/2026 22:51

The Grace Years

SorryforyourlossMoveon · 17/09/2026 22:50

SevenKingsMustDie · 16/09/2026 21:11

I see lots of people have suggested this - it’s great!

Alsp, I Who Have Never Known Men by Jaqueline Hartman. Short, but devastatingly powerful - I think about it often.

Show quote history

Reading that currently, loving it.

IthinkIsawahairbrushbackthere · 17/09/2026 22:35

Very short but well worth reading "The Uncommon Reader" by Alan Bennett.

SixtySomething · 17/09/2026 22:29

SuperGinger · 16/09/2026 18:14

Small Things Like These by Clsire Keegan is just wonderful

I thoroughly agree. It really is very short, too.

BoulevardOfBrokenSleep · 17/09/2026 22:29

I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in a day or two - it's not the sort of thing I normally read but i really enjoyed it
It flips back and forward between the story of each husband and the journalist she's telling the story to and it all, kind of... ties up neatly in the end (no spoilers) so it feels short, haven't counted pages

@campingwidow I love Dungeon Crawler Carl 😆discovered the series on audiobook recently but the op did say not trashy and i fear it might be 😥

Stardogchampion · 17/09/2026 22:13

Heart the Lover, Lily King

mamamamamamamamamamachameleon · 17/09/2026 22:07

Where the Crawdads Sing. Totally absorbing!

SharonEllis · 17/09/2026 22:06

Any early Jeannette Winterson - and her autobiography.

ridingfreely · 17/09/2026 22:00

F

hiddeneverythin · 17/09/2026 22:00

Stranger in the family. A thriller

Tedsnan1 · 17/09/2026 21:58

Disgrace by J M Coetzee

TwinklySquid · 17/09/2026 21:56

Maybe an unusual choice- Tender is the Flesh. Gripped me and the ending …

Comtesse · 17/09/2026 21:33

Ohmydears · 17/09/2026 18:59

What a load of lovely suggestions. I’m saving this thread for when I get through my current pile.

Glad someone else said Heartburn. A tiny book that really packs a punch.

Have we had Beloved by Toni Morrison? Less than 350 pages I think and will stay with you forever.

Heartburn is brilliant, completely agree. The tone is perfect. Snappy and moving and v funny.

I loved Happy All The Time by Laurie Colwin. It’s beautifully written, nutty characters, so charming and true. Have read it several times, moves me to tears.

SereneGoose · 17/09/2026 21:32

Deborah Levy
..everything she has written.

VerbenaGirl · 17/09/2026 21:04

I just read 'Two Weeks in September' after Giles Coren mentioned it in a restaurant review. I really did enjoy it.

Mauvish1 · 17/09/2026 21:00

The mermaid and Mrs Hancock --- Imogen Hermes Gowar

Piranesi - Susannah Clarke (you'll either love it or hate it but I adore it)

I second Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

OmegaAlpha · 17/09/2026 20:55

Highly recommend Tessa Hadley, all her books are beautifully written, short, and impossible to put down. The London Train, Late in the Day, The Party, are all good, as are her many short stories

throwaway3749574 · 17/09/2026 20:13

Not sure how many pages as it was on my kindle but didn’t feel long - I recently really enjoyed the Henna Artist.

I did not enjoy “under the lemon tree”

dare I say it, I have found AI quite good at recommending books

AIBU5 · 17/09/2026 20:09

Europeanbanana · 16/09/2026 14:37

I need books that will grip me so much I won't look at my phone. I don't want anything trashy or too long. Let's under under 350 pages. Any suggestions for really wonderful books that fit the bill?

I absolutely loved London falling. It's not short though

ShiraShira · 17/09/2026 19:36

Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Lisamac17 · 17/09/2026 19:33

I who have never known men. Just finished today, short, but thought provoking!

Dollymylove · 17/09/2026 19:29

20 minutes series. Daniel Hurst. You have to read them in order

Ohmydears · 17/09/2026 18:59

What a load of lovely suggestions. I’m saving this thread for when I get through my current pile.

Glad someone else said Heartburn. A tiny book that really packs a punch.

Have we had Beloved by Toni Morrison? Less than 350 pages I think and will stay with you forever.

Smokeywater · 17/09/2026 18:56

I second M S the serial killer
also Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - quirky

Vintique · 17/09/2026 18:51

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite - loved it - it’s marketed as a thriller but it’s not really, it’s a dark and intelligent and very funny take on family ties, society, sexual politics, jealousy, violence, living in Lagos… it’s also brilliantly concise!!