Top Ten Books To Read In One Sitting

Sometimes, you don't have time to become immersed in a book for days on end. Real life, gosh darn it, gets in the way. When time is short, you just want to devour a book in a single sitting. These are our favourite novellas and short story collections for a quick read. They won't allow the fabric of your life to crumble while you enjoy them, we promise. Why not tell us about your favourites?

Review of Fup by Jim Dodge General Fiction A full five stars and then some for this little book with a big heart and even bigger belly laugh. Fup is a fairy tale for grown ups and with none of that nasty stuff they put in the fairy tales for children. Buy it, borrow it, steal it. Just don't miss it. Full Review

Review of Revenge of the Lawn by Richard Brautigan Literary Fiction There are 62 short stories in Revenge of the Lawn, some no more than paragraph or two. Yet they're all telling in a very attractive, faux naif kind of way. If you like short stories, if you like your short stories with a little bit of surrealism thrown into the mix and if you like the Beat boys but haven't yet discovered Brautigan, then this is the book for you. It's absolutely lovely. Full Review

Review of Asboville by Danny Rhodes General Fiction Asboville is a great debut novel from Danny Rhodes. It's a real what you see is what you get number, utterly unpretentious, very sympathetic and also very honest. Do read it. Full Review

Review of A Cool Head by Ian Rankin Crime A Quick Read from best-selling crime novelist Ian Rankin delivers an exciting tale of murder, corruption and robbery with some great characters. I read it in an hour and thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely recommended. Full Review

Review of On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan Literary Fiction In a short novella, McEwan manages to fit a record of changing sexual and social mores, an extremely convincing depiction of individuals' inner worlds and a psychological (if not to say physiological) insight so piercing that it gets, almost literally, visceral. Full Review

Review of The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett Literary Fiction A more affectionate satire than you might expect, there are still some wonderful hatchet jobs together with the usual wonderful dialogue and multiple layers of jokes. There is a sharp analysis of the reader and a powerful defence of reading. Marvellous. Full Review

Review of Sulphuric Acid by Amélie Nothomb Literary Fiction Death camp guard Zdena becomes obsessed with the sublime prisoner Pannonique - while the viewing public become ever more intrigued by the show's excesses. Think on where we're headed next time you switch on for your favourite fix of staged reality. Full Review

Review of Red Dog by Louis de Bernieres General Fiction Red Dog is a lovely little piece of modern folklore suitable for adults and younger readers just beginning to find their feet with books for grown ups. It follows its eponymous hero's adventure through Western Australia in a timeless tale of the littlest of lives. Full Review

Review of The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid Literary Fiction Short, taut and piercingly sharp despite elaborate and formal language, this compulsively readable and very skilfully written tale of one man's experience and disillusionment with the American Dream in the wake of 9/11 comes highly recommended. The ambiguous ending is a master-stroke. Full Review

Review of La Grande Therese by Hilary Spurling Biography A slim volume telling the story of a financial scandal which rocked French Society at the end of the nineteenth century makes a riveting read. Highly recommended here at Bookbag. Full Review

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