09. A book that can be read in a day

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

In honor of Leap Year, we are taking a moment to recognize those books that are un-put-down-able, books that are short and sweet, and books that keep you reading in bed for hours. Spend the extra day this year curled up with a book that can be finished in a day!

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Suggestions:
Modern Mrs. Darcy Fiction Reads
Modern Mrs. Darcy Nonfiction Reads
Buzzfeed Novels Under 200 Pages
BookBub's 100 Books to Read in a Day Sorted by Genre
Goodreads One-Day-Reads Shelf
Book Riot's 100 Best Novellas
Book Scrolling's 54 Best Short Books
NPR's 100 Best Graphic Novels

ATY Group Listopia

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Optional Questions
1. What are you reading for this category?
2. Why did you pick this book? Did you read it in one day?

[ladymurmur]

Tor.com has been publishing some fantastic and varied novellas in the past few years. Chances are that I'll look for one of these that I've not read yet for my "can be read in a day" title.

[Chinook]

I haven’t slotted anything in for this - anything under 200 pgs is possible, but with two kids, around 100 is considerably more likely, so I’ll also be looking either at novellas or graphic novels, probably.

[Steve]

I've made a list of all my books under 240 pages because I feel like that's manageable for me for a long, lazy weekend day. But, I'll probably just use this as an excuse to re-read The Great Gatsby or Of Mice and Men!

[Chinook]

I highly recommend The Only Harmless Great Thing and any of the Murderbot novellas.

[Ellie]

I'll be using a Tor novella or graphic novel for this one. I've pencilled in Heartstopper: Volume Three because the timing's about right but if I get to it earlier I have lots of options.

[Pam]

I plan to read Twenty Four Hours in the Life of a Woman & The Royal Game by Stefan Zweig. It's just over 200 pages and the title is perfect for this prompt.

[Nadine in NY]

The last time I had a challenge category like this, I checked out these two books from the library:
Hex Hall
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

They were both fun YA books that were easily read in one day. So maybe I'll read the sequel to one of those, or pick up a fluffy contemporary romance by one of my favorite authors: Jackie Lau or Jill Shalvis

[Dana]

I plan to read this novella, The Summer I Saw You.

[MaryAnn (EmilyD1037)]

My choice for this prompt is bk. 2 of the Night Trilogy Dawn by Elie Wiesel. I will be reading the other two for
#37 and #38. It should be short enough for a winter read.

[Lauren]

I really like to read light novels, most of which I can read in a day, so I think I'll be reading Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, Vol. 10 since I'll be reading that when it comes out next year regardless if I use it for a prompt or not.

[Entropia]

It's kinda difficult for me to plan for this prompt, because I don't know how much free time I will have in February, so I put in spreadsheet 100 pages and below books.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Entropia, just a note that this prompt is for a book that could be read in a day, not one that has to be read in a day. I know if I have a good, easy Saturday I could read a 250 page book, so I kept my page limit under that, even though I probably will take multiple days to read this one.

[Rachel]

I don't know specifically which book I'm choosing yet, but I'm probably picking a graphic novel for this one. I can usually finish those in a couple of hours.

[dalex]

One way to look at this prompt is to think about a whole day. So, how many pages could you read in 24 hours if you didn't have to sleep, work, attend to personal needs, be present for the people in your life, etc.?

I read an average of 50 pages per hour so I could theoretically read a 1200 page book in a 24 hour period! That's quite different than a novella of 120 pages.

[Ellie]

From my experience of doing 24 hour readathons, my reading speed slows down a lot after about 12 hours. Most books I probably could read in a day if I put my mind to it and had nothing else to do, but I'm going to interpret this as an average day.

[Ron]

Sorry to make it so easy, but xxxHolic, Vol. 3. It's a manga and I've read the first two volumes. I do alphabet-soup challenges as an overlay to the ATY and it is hard to find titles that start with X. Got lucky with the xxxHolic series, and don't judge but I'm getting attached to the hot witch who is the main character.

[Angie]

I will probably do Artificial Condition for this, but if I'm feeling really stressed, I might do a Dr. Seuss book. :)

[Marie]

Since it's a book you can read in a day, rather than a book you will read in a day, I'm not going for something short.

This year I read Jane Harper's The Dry in one day. The sequel, Force of Nature, is a little bit shorter, so logically I should be able to read that in a day too.

The time I take to read a book doesn't necessarily correspond to it's length, it's more usually related to the style of writing. God's Own Country and Lethal White both took me four days to read this year, but Lethal White is over three times as long.

If anyone's looking for recommendations for this prompt, I'd definitely suggest A Monster Calls. It's over 200 pages, so I can't add it to the Listopia, but I read it easily in less than a day, and I think it's better for being read in one go.

[SadieReadsAgain]

I'm going on page count for this, because I rarely get to read more than 50 or so pages a day (unless it's a readathon!). So I'm sticking to under 200, and on my physical/Kindle shelves (if the GR page counts are right) I have:

#MeToo: Essays About How and Why This Happened, What It Means and How to Make Sure it Never Happens
Another Time, Another Place
Convenience Store Woman
Harriet Said...
I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman
Night
Sexing the Cherry
The Yellow Wallpaper

[Marie (UK)]

I wasn't thinking of anything too short either - it depends on the book - but 400-500 pages is doable for me in a day. I will be avoiding non fiction bit otherwise almost anything could work

[molly]

I read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry and I did in fact finish it in a day!

[Sabrina]

if you're feeling ambitious it could be fun to read The Sun Is Also a Star in a day, since the book itself takes place over a 24 hour period. I read it this year and absolutely loved it!

[Serendipity]

I read Breath Eyes Memory by Edwidge Danticat, a powerful look at the legacy of sexual abuse and the complicated nature of mother-daughter relationships. It’s set partly in Haiti.

[MN]

I read Agatha Christie, After the Funeral: a detective story in which Poirot comes to the rescue again - full of plausible red herrings, with a satisfying conclusion.

[Pamela, Arciform Mod]

Marie wrote: "Since it's a book you can read in a day, rather than a book you will read in a day, I'm not going for something short.

This year I read Jane Harper's The Dry in on..."

I'm with you on this- some of those books on the list are pretty heavy reads. But a book well written that moves you can read in a day regardless of length- for me it's the ones that engross me so much that I walk around reading it and don't put it down tll I'm done

[Amber]

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read Every Heart a Doorway

2. Why did you pick this book? Did you read it in one day?
I picked it because I'd been wanting to read this series and this was a short book that I thought would fulfill the prompt. I almost read it in a day and I could have if life hadn't decided to get in my way. I finished it the second day.

[Maple]

For this prompt, I read Pop Art I was so delighted with this choice and enjoyed it thoroughly.

I would also recommend The Lady Astronaut of Mars

[Stacey]

I completed this prompt a little early this year as I am expecting my first child end of February and I'm also expecting to find finishing a book in a day quite impossible, as I spend my time caring for my little one.

For this prompt I read Difficult Women as it is a book of short stories that I had heard was quite good and I knew would keep me engaged! I did manage to finish it in one day as I picked a day I knew I could devote the time to the book. Thoroughly enjoyed this one!

[Sherri]

I read Girl,Woman,Other by Bernardine Evaristo for this Prompt. Also Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata translated byGinny Tapley would work for this prompt. It is only 163 pages.

[Bec]

I read M is for Autism which was a short book and very easy to read. I probably read it under an hour. I found this whilst searching for books about autism. It was written from the perspective of a 13 year old girl with autism and as I have a daughter with autism I found it very enlightening.

[Chelsey]

1. What are you reading for this category?

I finished this tonight!

2. Why did you pick this book? Did you read it in one day
I was actually using this for my binary opposites, as I am doing one with fall in the title and one with rise in the title. I finished it in one day, so I moved it here since I know that I actually completed the task.

[Alison]

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read The Travelling Cat Chronicles for this prompt

2. Why did you pick this book?
I was looking at the recommendations and the title caught my eye! It also fulfills a 2020 Popsugar prompt (Advanced prompt #5...a book set in Japan, host of the 2020 Olympics).
Did you read it in one day?
No, I took 2 days to read it

[Katelyn]

I read Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters which was 208 pages but most pages only had a few sentences on them. It was a very fast read and an enjoyable story. Highly recommend!

[Karen]

I read The Sense of an Ending for this prompt.

There was no real reason why I chose this book, other than that it was short (150 pages), and I have had it lying around for a while without reading it. Despite its short length, I did not read it in one day.

[Jill]

What are you reading for this category?
A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines

Why did you pick this book? Did you read it in one day?
I didn't originally pick this book. I had chosen a much shorter book, but I read this and was so engrossed in it , that I did finish it in a day

[Sarah]

I read A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold. It's a middle years book about a little boy on the autism spectrum whose mom brings home a skunk kid. It's very sweet.

I teach grade 6 and we do a big novel project every year. I like to read 5-6 new books to add to my "recommended by the teacher" slide show. This is the first new book of this year.

[Kathy]

I read Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith, quiet introspective novel about the stories of our lives. It could have been read in one day but I took 2 days.

[Donna]

Bec wrote: "I read M is for Autism which was a short book and very easy to read. I probably read it under an hour. I found this whilst searching for books about autism. It was written from the ..."

Thanks for the recommendation! I have an 11 year old grandchild with autism, so I just ordered a copy of this book for this week. I had chosen The Grownup by Gillian Flynn and then realized I have already read it!

[Shelley]

What are you reading for this category?
Binti

Why did you pick this book? Did you read it in one day?
It's one of the shortest books I have on my list (98 pages), so I knew that I could finish it in one sitting, which I did. I had wanted to read it because so many people hold it up as an exemplary piece of contemporary sci-fi. Unfortunately I did not like that. Most of it was excellent, except for one major plot point which made me want to throw the book across the room. Pity.

[Angela]

What are you reading for this category?
Toffle Towers: Fully Booked, by Tim Harris



Why did you pick this book? Did you read it in one day?
It’s a children’s book and they are quite easy to read. I read it in a few hours.

[Matthias]

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read The Embassy of Cambodia by Zadie Smith.
2. Why did you pick this book? Did you read it in one day?
This was another of my Zadie reads. It is not long (70 pages in the published book, but it was originally published in another format). I did read it in a day (and have gone back and read it twice now).

[Errlee]

I have been reading so slowly lately and it is very rare for me to read a book in a day, so this might be only aspirational for me rather than actual. Debating between Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss; All Systems Red by Martha Wells; or the second Binti novella since I read the first one last year.

[Pamela, Arciform Mod]

1. What are you reading for this category? Normal People
2. Why did you pick this book? Did you read it in one day?
I picked it because I heard good buzz about it. I read a little more than half in a Sunday morning lying in bed and could have done it in one day, but read the second part in little snippets. I do love the books where you cancel your life and just read through the whole day.

[Aimee]

1. What are you reading for this category?
The Emperor's Soul

2. Why did you pick this book? Did you read it in one day?
I finished Elantris and it left me with a desire for more Brandon Sanderson (yeah, apparently a 650 page book wasn't enough) and I knew The Emperor's Soul was set on the same planet as Elantris (although you don't have to have read Elantris in order to read TES). And yes I did read it in one day; the story is fact-paced which made it hard to put down.

[Steven]

I read Foe by JM Coetzee. I wasn't planning on it. It was going to be my book for the first prompt. But, I started reading it in the morning, had an easy day at work, which gave me lots of time to read, and finished it by the time I got home.

I took the challenge as I had to read it in the day, so when I in fact finished it in the day, it basically became my choice for that prompt.

[Sarah]

I went for a stroll through my library and picked The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor Lavalle.
It's only 140 pages so should be a quick read for me.

[Sara]

1. What are you reading for this category?
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
2. Why did you pick this book? Did you read it in one day?
Have been wanting to read it for a long time and finally got it from the library. I did read it in one day--because who would want to put it down in the middle?

[Frances]

I read And the Ocean Was Our Sky. I picked it because it is a retelling of Moby-Dick; or, the Whale, but much, much shorter. I did read the book in less than 24 hours, but started it late one day and finished the next.

Moby Dick is my favorite book. I have read it about six times, and plan on reading it again this year. Call me Ishmeal.

[MaryAnn (EmilyD1037)]

1. What are you reading for this category?
2. Why did you pick this book? Did you read it in one day?

I read A Year By the Sea by Joan Anderson. It took me about 8 hours, I think. It is a 5 star read for me. I have been wanting to reread it for some time and picked it up when I couldn't go to sleep.