Staff Picks: Short & Sweet Titles

Tue, 10/04/2022 - 9:05am by emjane

Where are the short books for grownups? They can be tough to come by, but there are some really good ones out there! At 212 pages or less, these books don’t ask too much of your time, but give you plenty to think about! Though “sweet” might not be the first word you’d use to describe them (except for The Uncommon Reader which is decidedly sweet!), sitting down with any of these titles is a real treat!

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (120 pages) | Request Now

It all starts when the Queen of England chases her dogs into a city of Windsor bookmobile. Not intending to leave with anything but her canines, but recognizing it would hurt the feelings of the librarian if she didn’t check out a book, the Queen picks a title on a whim (from an author she had named a Dame!). Since she has the book, she may as well read it before it’s due, and then, well, she should probably get another one, and all of a sudden, she’s inadvertently ignited a passion for reading that’s starting to impact her royal responsibilities. The Uncommon Reader is a delightful snack of a book from beginning to end. Plus, though she’s never referred to as Queen Elizabeth II, given the book Queen’s penchant for corgis, and the cover art, you can bet she’s who Bennett expects you to picture.

Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades (209 pages) | Request Now

Told from the perspectives of young women of color in Queens, Brown Girls follows the children of immigrants from a myriad of backgrounds. These teen girls wrangle with the often-dueling nature of their Americanness and their family culture, their friendships, and the identity searching (and finding) that comes with adolescence and young adulthood. Though not actually written in verse, Brown Girls has the taut, image-filled language of poetry. You could put a lot of effort in figuring out which character's perspective each chapter is written from, or let the language and stories wash over you, like I did. This is Andreades’ debut novel – I’ll be eager to see what she comes out with next!

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan (211 pages) | Request Now

The cover of The Lover’s Dictionary, with its heart-shaped script dotted by small red hearts, makes it seem like the reader is in for a cutesy story. Rather, Levithan’s chronicle of the lifespan of a romantic relationship via dictionary entries mostly steers clear of twee. Because the story is told alphabetically by short anecdotes and images tied to a word (such as “bolster,” “flux,” and “offshoot”) the reader is popcorned nonlinearly through various points in the relationship. Early on – in the entry for “arrears” – it becomes clear that the relationship is rockier than earlier “A” entries would lead one to believe. The drive to get more information as entries bop between happier and harder times, combined with the shortness of each individual entry, makes it easy to sit and finish this book in one sitting.

Joan Is Okay by Weike Wang (212 pages) | Request Now

Joan, the neuro-atypical title character, defines herself by her dedication to her job as an ICU physician. Immigrating to the U.S. to give Joan and her brother more opportunities, Joan’s parents returned to China after their grown children settled. But when Joan receives a phone call that her father has unexpectedly passed away, her steady, data-driven medical life gets jostled out of predictability. Joan Is Okay does an excellent job steering clear of “neuro-diverse character’s life would be improved if they find true love,” or “change their quirks to be more like everyone else” tropes. One warning – though much of it feels like an escapist read, the book is set in 2019-2020. Joan is an ICU doctor, and the Covid-19 pandemic does come into play.