We all know what December is about. Christmas and completing your reading challenge. You’re probably behind, like me, and in search of a solution. I’d say the easiest route is short books or at least fast-paced ones. I curated three books by genre to hopefully help us achieve our reading goal.
Thriller
The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
144 pages
A talented photographer and devoted feminist, Joanna Eberhart, moves with her family to the idyllic suburban town of Stepford, Connecticut. She quickly notices the local wives are disturbingly beautiful, submissive, and solely obsessed with domestic perfection, lacking any personal ambition or independent thought. As her own independent-minded friends suddenly transform into these docile homemakers after their husbands join the mysterious Men's Association, Joanna realizes something is wrong.
Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne M. Valente
103 pages
Sophia lives a perfect life with her perfect husband in the exclusive community of Arcadia Gardens, a place where everything is flawless and safe. Despite the perfection, Sophia can't shake a growing unease about her husband's frequent absences, the suspicious rules of the community, and the dark, strange objects she begins to find hidden in her otherwise immaculate home.
FOE by Iain Reid
261 pages
Junior and Hen live a quiet, isolated life on their farm in the near future. Their routine is shattered when a stranger arrives with an unsettling proposition: Junior has been selected for a long-term space mission. The most disturbing part is the arrangement made for Hen in his absence—she won't be left alone.
Romance
Luck of the Draw by Kate Clayborn
320 pages
Zoe Ferris, a former corporate lawyer burdened by guilt, wants to atone for a past professional injustice against the grieving O'Leary family after winning the lottery. She seeks out the surviving son, Aiden O'Leary, who not only rejects her apology but instead demands she act as his fake fiancée to help him secure a bid on a beloved campground property.
An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi
248 pages
Shadi, a Muslim Iranian-American teenager, is overwhelmed by personal grief and loneliness: her brother is dead, her father is dying, her mother is withdrawn, and her best friend has abandoned her. While navigating the increasing Islamophobia and political tension of the time, Shadi tries to keep her head down and manage her family's crumbling world, all while attempting to reclaim her right to happiness.
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
304 pages
Nora Hamilton, a screenwriter for a romance TV channel, decides to turn the emotional collapse of her marriage into her most authentic script yet. To her surprise, the script is picked up by Hollywood, and the movie is set to film at her house, starring former "Sexiest Man Alive" Leo Vance as her estranged husband.
Fantasy
White Is For Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
245 pages
Miranda Silver returns to her family's ancient, labyrinthine house in Dover, England, following the tragic death of her mother. Miranda struggles with pica, an unusual eating disorder, and finds herself increasingly bound to the sentient, malevolent house, which holds generational influence over the Silver women.
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
256 pages
Atl, a descendant of an ancient indigenous vampire clan, is on the run after her family is wiped out by a rival, powerful narco-vampire cartel. She is desperate to find a way out of the city.She crosses paths with Domingo, a lonely, vampire-obsessed street kid who is mesmerized by her and offers to help her escape. As they form an unlikely alliance, they must evade both the ruthless vampire clan hunting Atl and the human cops and crime bosses closing in around them.
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Yo
260 pages
Jordan, a wealthy, queer, Asian-American adoptee, navigates the decadent jazz age and the secretive world of old money, forbidden magic, and dark family secrets in 1920s New York City. This novel is a magical realism retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.
Contemporary
Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin
154 pages
Set in the desolate, cold coastal town of Sokcho, South Korea, near the border with the North, the story centers on a young, unnamed French-Korean woman working at a run-down guesthouse. Her monotonous life is disrupted by the arrival of an unexpected guest: Yan Kerrand, an enigmatic French cartoonist seeking inspiration in the bleak, off-season landscape.
Sandwich by Catherine Newman
229 pages
We’re following Rocky (Rachel), a wife and mother, during her family's annual summer vacation on Cape Cod. She finds herself in the "sandwich generation," navigating the complex demands of her aging parents and her grown children.
We Are The Brennans by Tracey Lange
288 pages
The Brennan family's tight-knit Irish Catholic world in New York is disrupted when Sunday Brennan, the only daughter, returns home after five years away following a drunk driving accident. Her sudden return brings up unanswered questions about why she abruptly left her family and fiancé, forcing the entire family to confront the long-held secrets that have fractured them.
Historical fiction
Foster by Claire Keegan
90 pages
An unnamed, young girl from an impoverished, overcrowded family in rural Ireland is sent by her father to live with distant, childless relatives, the Kinsellas, on their farm for a summer. In the Kinsellas' quiet, orderly home, she experiences a newfound sense of warmth and affection. As she slowly begins to blossom in their presence, she also becomes aware of secrets hanging over the household.
Rizzio by Denise Mina
128 pages
A fast-paced retelling of the brutal and politically charged 16th-century assassination of David Rizzio, the private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots, at Holyrood Palace.
The Tower by Flora Carr
272 pages
In 1567, the recently deposed Mary, Queen of Scots, is imprisoned by rebel lords in the remote Lochleven Castle, confined to a tower with only a few loyal female attendants. The novel focuses on the intimate, intense relationships between these four women as they navigate their captivity and secretly plot a daring escape to reclaim Mary's crown.
Science Fiction
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
152 pages
A self-aware security unit, Murderbot, prefers watching soap operas and avoiding human interaction but must reluctantly hide its identity and capability when its current planetary survey mission encounters trouble. This cynical, highly competent SecUnit must then protect its assigned human clients while secretly trying to figure out who or what is trying to sabotage the expedition.
The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin
189 pages
A logging colony from Earth invades the planet Athshe, attempting to exploit the local resources and subjugate the peaceful, gentle native humanoids who communicate and dream through shared consciousness. This aggressive colonial expansion forces the indigenous Athsheans, led by the revolutionary Selver, to abandon their non-violent ways and mount a brutal resistance to defend their culture and sacred forests.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
151 pages
Feeling a sense of deep, directionless longing, Sibling Dex, a traveling tea monk, ventures into the uncharted wilderness of their moon in search of purpose. There, they have a chance encounter with Mosscap, a curious robot who has emerged from centuries of isolation with one vital question for humanity: « In a world where people have what they want, does having more matter? »
Classics
We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson
152 pages
The isolated Blackwood sisters live with their frail Uncle Julian in their ancestral manor, shunned by the nearby village after a family tragedy. Their highly structured, strange but peaceful existence is threatened when the charming, manipulative cousin Charles arrives, intending to take control of the family's house and fortune.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
277 pages
A cynical and sensitive teenager named Holden Caulfield recounts the events of a few days after being expelled from his prep school. He wanders New York City, grappling with feelings of alienation, judging the "phoniness" of the adult world, and trying to preserve the innocence of childhood.
Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu
108 pages
A young woman named Laura, living in a secluded castle in Styria, takes in the beautiful and mysterious Carmilla after a carriage accident nearby. Their intense, ambiguous friendship develops as a wave of illness and death sweeps the local villages, leading to unsettling events.
Nonfiction
Ways of Seeing by John Berger
176 pages
This book explores how we see and interpret images, arguing that the meaning of art has been drastically altered by the invention of the camera and the rise of mass reproduction.
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
242 pages
Morgan Housel argues that doing well with money has less to do with intelligence or knowledge and far more to do with behavior and psychology. Through a series of short stories, the book explores the unconventional ways people think about finance, stressing that personal experiences shape all our decisions about wealth, greed, and happiness.
What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon
197 pages
A collection of essays that critically examines the history, systemic issues, and cultural narratives surrounding fatness, diet culture, and body oppression.
I hope you’ll complete your reading challenge. Personally, I’m still determined and quite delusional! 9 books to go.
For more book recommendations, visit my dedicated section.
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