Good Short Books
Good Books Under 200 Pages
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Killed in a tragic accident, Eddie, an elderly man who believes that he had an uninspired life, awakens in the afterlife, where he discovers that heaven consists of having five people explain the meaning of one's life.
The Actual by Saul Bellow
In this wise and dazzling work of fiction, Nobel laureate Saul Bellow writes comically and tragically about the tenacity of first love. Harry moves back to Chicago from the Far East and runs across a former love.
The Stranger by Albert Camus
An ordinary man is unwittingly caught up in a senseless murder in Algeria.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
The tale of a fun-loving, amoral playgirl in New York City is accompanied by "House of Flowers," "A Diamond Guitar" and "A Christmas Memory.”
The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Two short novels of human savagery in Africa and the conflicting loyalties of a ship's officer depict man's potential for good and evil.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
A fable about undauntingly following one's dreams, listening to one's heart and reading life's omens features dialogue between a boy and an unnamed being.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Sijie Dai
During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, two boys are sent to the country for re-education, where their lives take an unexpected turn when they meet the beautiful daughter of a local tailor and stumble upon a forbidden stash of Western literature.
Bleachers by John Grisham
Presents a novel about high school football in a small Texas town, a place in which football has become a religion.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Tells the story of an old fisherman's struggle against natural obstacles that hinder the catch of a huge marlin.
Local Girls by Alice Hoffman
An anthology of interconnected short stories captures the lives and destinies of the Samuelsons, a family struggling with tragedy and divorce, in a series of portraits that chronicle Gretel Samuelson's journey through betrayal, grief, conflicting loyalties, friendship and loss.
Washington Square by Henry James
Rejected by the man she loves when he discovers that her father will disinherit her if they marry, Catherine Sloper again meets Morris Townsend after the death of her forbidding and domineering parent.
Epiphany by Paul McCusker
A Christmas novella about Richard Lee, a father who dies, but is allowed to watch his family come to terms with his death and their lives before entering heaven.
Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
In this contemporary morality play, a woman's death has major consequences for three men, all former lovers of the woman.
Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates
A journey into the mind of a paroled sex offender named Quentin P. draws a meticulous portrait of cold calculation and dark obsession. Winner of the 1996 Bram Stoker Award.
Shopgirl by Steve Martin
Mirabelle is the shopgirl who sells gloves at Neiman Marcus. She meets Ray Porter, a wealthy businessman twice her age. Together they embark on a relationship and try to decipher the language of love.
Animal Farm: a Fairy Tale by George Orwell
A satire on totalitarianism in which farm animals overthrow their human owner and set up their own government.
A Dish Taken Cold by Anne Perry (Mystery)
Just days before the French Revolution, a young woman's baby dies while in the care of a friend, and she learns the true meaning of revenge.
Bachelor Brothers’ Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson
The story is about a quiet and absurd inn, the eccentric fraternal twins who own it, and some of the patrons who stay there. Hector and Virgil are the kindly hosts at a rustic retreat on a beautiful island in British Columbia. The bed and breakfast is the perfect refuge for guests who find that the ratio of books available to time available to read them is terribly skewed.
Push by Sapphire
A courageous and determined young teacher opens up a new world of hope and redemption for 16-year-old Precious Jones, an abused young African-American girl living in Harlem who was raped and left pregnant by her father. A gritty novel about hope and redemption.
The Prime of Miss Brodie by Muriel Spark
The critically acclaimed story of an independent-minded Scottish schoolteacher returns in a new edition.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The tragic story of two itinerant ranch hands on the run – one is the lifelong companion to the other, a developmentally disabled man.
Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
The legendary love story, the bestselling hardcover novel of all time, and the major motion picture starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. This is the story of Robert Kincaid, the photographer and free spirit searching for the covered bridges of Madison County, and Francesca Johnson, the farm wife waiting for fulfillment of a girlhood dream. It shows readers what it is to love and be loved so intensely that life is never the same again.
Montana 1948 by Larry Watson
The events of that cataclysmic summer permanently alter 12-year-old David’s understanding of his family: his father, a small-town sheriff; his remarkably strong mother; David’s uncle Frank, a war hero and respected doctor; and the Hayden’s’ Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier, whose revelations turn the family‘s life upside down as she relates how Frank has been molesting his female Indian patients. As their story unravels around David, he learns that truth is not what one believes it to be, that power is abused, and that sometimes one has to choose between family loyalty and justice.
Easier to Kill by Valerie Wilson Wesley (Mystery)
New Jersey African-American private investigator Tamara Hayle delves into the secret, unglamorous past of a popular female radio talk show host to find out which of her friends and enemies is determined to drag her off her pretty perch.
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
A New England farmer must choose between his duty to care for his invalid wife and his love for her cousin.
The Importance of Being Ernest and other Plays by Oscar Wilde
Wilde's witty and buoyant comedy of manners, filled with some of literature's most famous epigrams, reprinted from an authoritative British edition. Considered Wilde's most perfect work.