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Have a lot planned this summer and not a lot of time to do everything? With busy schedules it can be hard to find the time to read. Here are a few bite-size options to fit into the small slivers of time: an afternoon by the pool, a quick plane or road trip, or an evening after a busy day when you just need to wind down (and get out of the heat!). All books below have fewer than 200 pages.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
The world on which Sibling Dex lives, a moon called Panga, is a utopian paradise. Their job is as a tea monk, travelling around to different towns along a pre-determined route in their bicycle-powered wagon that is a combination of living space and tea house. In each town they set up their station and wait for people to come to them, not just for tea, but for advice and counseling. However, Sibling Dex is feeling restless and decides to veer off the path into the forbidden wilderness instead of moving onto the next town. There they encounter someone surprising, a sentient robot named Mosscap. Generations ago, the robots of Panga gained sentience, left their factory lives, and wandered out into the wilderness, never to be seen again, leading the humans to revert to a slower, more agrarian lifestyle. Mosscap is now on a mission to check in with how humanity is doing since the separation and ask the question “What do people need?” The two form an unlikely companionship as they investigate this question, both for humanity as a whole and for Sibling Dex in particular. Great for those who want a cozy and philosophical science fiction story. Also be sure to check out the sequel A Prayer for the Crown-Shy.
Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor
If you want something a little heavier (in theme if not in pages), try this book. A story told entirely through letters between friends Max and Martin. As art dealers, they co-own a gallery in San Francisco before Martin moves home to Germany to scout for European art and open a new branch for the business. In the beginning their friendship is warm and the bonds between their families close. However, as Hitler gains power and Martin climbs the social ladder, the tone of the letters shifts until eventually Martin insists Max stop writing to him because of his Jewish heritage. When Max’s sister in Berlin goes to Martin for protection from Nazi authorities, she is turned away, leading to her death. From there Max pursues revenge against his former friend. Published in 1938, this novel served to expose the Western World to the realities of life under the Nazi regime.
Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor
Fatima lives in a near-future high-tech Ghana when she encounters a mysterious object that falls into her family’s shea tree. She now has a glowing green aura that proves lethal to anything it touches, including Fatima’s family and village. No longer feeling like she can live a normal life, Fatima takes on the name Sankofa and begins a nomadic lifestyle. Everywhere she goes she can turn off technology and end lives simply by being present. She has become a human remote control. This Africanfuturist novella is a blend of science fiction, folklore, and a coming-of-age story.
Galatea by Madeline Miller
In Ovid’s original myth, sculptor Pygmalion creates a statue of his ideal woman and falls in love with it. When Aphrodite grants his wish for a woman like his creation, the statue comes to life. The two marry and have a daughter....and live happily ever after?? In this novella, we see the after, which is far from a beautiful life for the former-statue Galatea. Galatea is trapped in a marriage with a husband who treats her like property and wants a completely submissive, silent, and perfect wife. When Pygmalion becomes furious with her independence, she is sent to a medical ward to strip away her autonomy and send her back into rigid obedience. In order to free herself and the daughter she is worried for, she enacts a desperate plan to free them both. Be sure to check out Miller’s other reimaginings of classic myths The Song of Achilles and Circe.
The Most by Jessica Anthony
On the same day in November 1957 that the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 2 rocket, a housewife in Delaware decides to skip church with her family to instead go for a swim in her apartment’s pool and then refuses to come out, leaving her husband to manage their two sons. Over the course of the next eight hours, their story is told through the perspectives of both sides of the marriage, Kathleen and Virgil, blending present day with flashbacks. Fractures in their marriage are revealed, caused from secrets, infidelities, and the weight of societal expectations.
About the Author
Amanda is a Library Associate at the Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library. She likes to read across many genres but most often literary fiction, often with a little fantastical element. In addition to reading, she also enjoys travel, spending time with family, trying new food, and baseball.