quick reads a.k.a. lifelines?

[Susie]

i'm trying to have some backups in my roster of books that are super engaging and quick to read, but are ALSO worthwhile (ie, not Twilight). i'd love to have lots of ideas for this in my back pocket along the way to keep up momentum.

here are a few of my suggestions:

City of Thieves
Cannery Row
Cruddy
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Book Thief
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Catcher in the Rye (and really, anything by JD Salinger)
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz (and really, anything by Fitzgerald)
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Stranger
Never Let Me Go
The Poisonwood Bible

& many of those well-read, all-ages series like Harry Potter, the Golden Compass and Narnia.

your recommendations? i'll try to come back and add to this list as i find/remember more

[L.E.]

so...sort of like palate cleansers between the more complex or lengthy stuff? you've already got two of my faves in your list with The Book Thief and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

how about:
Watership Down
I am the Messenger
The Great Gatsby
Lord of the Flies
Pattern Recognition
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (or any Christie)
The Hunger Games
About a Boy
Alias Grace
Interpreter of Maladies
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

i feel like i'm missing some obvious ones, though

[Kwoomac]

Will Grayson, Will Grayson?

[Susie]

Lauren wrote: "so...sort of like palate cleansers between the more complex or lengthy stuff?..."

exactly! the pickled ginger between different maki. love your suggestions -- and already jealous of the people who can read the hunger games trilogy for an easy 3. since re-reads aren't allowed, i only have a few options from your list, but dammit, i will read them! if you think of any more, please come back & share!

by the way, i also would recommend:

I Capture the Castle
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
& i'm sure i will think of a few more.

- - -

thanks for the suggestion, too, Kwoomac! I'll check that one out!

[jenn]

I echo a bunch of these, and am planning to read some graphic novels this year, which tend to be quick but super engaging. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic and Castle Waiting, in addition to the ones mentioned, are two favorites.

A few others, all short but good:
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Cement Garden
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Member of the Wedding
Cold Comfort Farm
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
The Moviegoer
Black Water

[L.E.]

yes! I Capture the Castle and Cold Comfort Farm! I'm jealous of anyone who gets to read these for the first time!

I feel like any book by John Green should only count once, Kwoomac. You know, since they're mostly the same story. but i did so love that Tiny Cooper, didn't I?

How about:
Case Histories
The Weird Sisters
Carrie
Captain Corelli's Mandolin

ggrrrr...this used to be easier...

[Kwoomac]

That is cold !I did read in his blog that he was working some things out that he didn't like about "Alaska" when he wrote Paper Towns. I haven't read that or Will Grayson, Will Graysonyet so can't really decide if he has only one cast of characters.

ReI Capture the Castle, I discovererd this book while working at a bookstore. we didn't have it in stock, so I ordered like a million copies and recommended it to every person who came into the store. I love finding hidden gems.

[L.E.]

I am very cold. Having read "Alaska," "Paper Towns," "An Abundance of Katherines," and "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" - the only one that's really different in WG, WG, but he co-wrote that. So, you know, there was no road trip.

Man, I'm so bitter.

I still pre-ordered The Fault in Our Stars, so take whatever I say with a grain of salt.

[Angela]

The serial versions of The Green Mile (Stephen King) were nice and quick, and hard to put down! You can find the complete set or read them individually as life-lines!

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Mile-Comp...

[Camilla]

I've recently read and enjoyed two books by Per Pettersonand enjoyed them both, am hunting out more to read, in the meantime I recommend:
Out Stealing Horses
To Siberia
I also enjoy Tove Jansson's novels and short stories:
The Summer Book
The True Deceiver
Fair Play
A Winter Book: Selected Stories by Tove Jansson
As well as all her Moomins books obviously.

[Roopsi]

Here are some from me:

Middlesex
The Marriage Plot
Geek Love
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War
Burning Your Boats: The Collected Short Stories
Haroun and the Sea of Stories
Straight Man
Their Eyes Were Watching God
The Buddha of Suburbia
Anita and Me
The Farming of Bones
Passing
The Inheritance of Loss

[Jon]

Kwoomac wrote: "Will Grayson, Will Grayson?"

I need to read this, like asap.

[Jenne]

Old-school page-turners:

The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis
The Brothers K by David James Duncan
Replay by Ken Grimwood
Time and Again by Jack Finney
Shogun by James Clavell
Memoirs of an Invisible Man by HF Saint
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin
Anything by Peter O'Donnell (the Modesty Blaise series) or his pseudonym Madeleine Brent (incredibly addictive gothic novels)
Anything by Nevil Shute or Ira Levin

More recent:

The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki
Bee Season by Myla Goldberg
No One Thinks of Greenland by John Griesemer
Lives of the Monster Dogs by Kirsten Bakis
Becoming Alien by Rebecca Ore
Leaps of Faith by Rachel Kranz
The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood
Remainder by Tom McCarthy
The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead
Set This House in Order by Matt Ruff

Nonfiction:

A Massive Swelling: Celebrity Reexamined as a Grotesque Crippling Disease and Other Cultural Revelations by Cintra Wilson
Word Freaks by Stefan Fatsis
Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl
Positively 5th Street by James McManus

[Jenne]

Two more:
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey

[Beth Anne]

Graphic novels for the win here. I love Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie
Century Girl: 100 Years in the Life of Doris Eaton Travis, Last Living Star of the Ziegfeld Follies
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomicand many others. They count as books, yes, and they come with pictures as a bonus.
Bannock Beans and Black Tea: Memories of a Prince Edward Island Childhood in the Great Depression and The Facts of Winter are also great.

[Selina]

I'm likely to read quite a few graphic novels, as I have a stack to review for the British Fantasy Society.

Of the GN mentioned I'd also highly recommend Persepolis, Castle Waiting & Fun Home.

Plus
Finder by Carla Speed McNeil
If you fancy reading some classic books in GN form then Self Made Hero do a good range.

[Lilly]

these are great suggestions- we're working on a "lifesavers" post to get you through the tough times. we have 50 weeks to go, lots of time for more ideas- please keep them coming!

[Melanie]

I recently finished "Role Models" by John Waters. It was a quick and entertaining read! (very raunchy, though, in case you wanna keep it clean)

[Camilla]

Oh that's one I want to read Melanie!

[jenn]

Role Models is SO good!

Other collections of essays and short stories I've enjoyed that are fairly quick:
Naked Pictures of Famous People
Mental
Who I Was Supposed to Be: Short Stories
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

[James]

Some Sci-Fi that's under 300 pages.

Fight Club
Starship Troopers
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Slaughterhouse Five
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

[Lilly]

oh, these are great, thank you everyone!

[Camilla]

I just read The Year of the Harein super quick time- really recommend it for a fast read. Am now hooked on Scandinavian fiction it seems- any recommendations for some would be great.

[Samantha]

I just finished The Curfew and LOVED it! It's a super quickie.

[Maurene]

I am so behind so this is so helpful, everyone! Here are some suggestions from me, some may be on the obvious side:

A Mix of Lit/Guilty Pleasures/Nonfic:

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Ms. Hempel Chronicles by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger
Saturday by Ian McEwan
Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Felding
Who Will Run the Frog Hospital by Lorrie Moore
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Graphic Novels:
Daisy Cutter series by Kazu Kibuishi
any of the Flight anthologies edited by Kibuishi, too
Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol
Koko Be Good by Jen Wang
(full disclosure, all these graphic novelists are my friends, but i would never recommend a bad book for ANY reason!)

[Lilly]

ooh, i'm excited to dive into your list, love your taste. i had been trying to decide which Lorrie Moore book to read :)

[Mary-Anne]

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling. I have never seen an episode of The Office, but I throughly enjoyed this book as its more about her life's perceptions and experiences than work accomplishments. Very funny!