Put down the tome â there are easier ways to tackle your 2026 reading goal.
Reading shouldnât be stressful, but sometimes that "read more" resolution can â feel like a challenge.
To help jump-start your 2026 reading, especially if you need to get out of a reading slump, weâve got nine suggestions that range from literary fiction to thrillers to poetry. These books are around or under 200 pages and can be read in as little as one sitting.Â
âFosterâ by Claire Keegan
Any of Keeganâs novellas could make âit on this list, including the wintery âSmall Things Like Theseâ (now a film starring Cillian Murphy). In âFoster,â a father drops his young daughter off to live with relatives on a farm for the foreseeable future. During this hot summer in rural Ireland, in a reprieve from her dysfunctional family home, the girl learns care like sheâs never experienced before.
âOpen Waterâ âby Caleb Azumah Nelson
âOpen Waterâ is a love story between two young adults, a photographer and a dancer, who meet in a crowded London pub. Over the next year, theyâll be torn apart and tested, facing fear and violence in a world with preconceived notions about them. âOpen Waterâ is poetic and tender, a touching portrayal of intimacy âbetween artists.
âThe Mistletoe Mysteryâ by Nita Prose
Existing in Proseâs âMolly the Maidâ universe, this bite-sized story is Mollyâs âmost consequential â and personal â mystery yet,â according to the publisher. Celebrating Christmas without her beloved gran is always a challenge, but this year, Mollyâs boyfriend, Juan, intends to make the season bright. But the merriment may not last long, because a âSecret Santa gift exchange is about to reveal some untrustworthy players in Mollyâs inner circle.
âTime is a Motherâ by Ocean Vuong
âTime is a Motherâ is a poetry book from the award-winning author of âOn Earth Weâre Briefly Gorgeous.â Thematically, it serves â as a poignant follow-up to the novel. This collection searches for âlife and meaning after loss, âembodying the paradox of sitting in grief while being determined to survive beyond it,â the publisher describes. I devoured the entire work between subway stops in one afternoon.Â
âI Who Have Never Known Menâ by Jacqueline Harpman
âI Who Have Never Known Menâ has the dystopian and mystery elements âof both âThe Hunger Gamesâ and âThe Handmaidâs Tale.â In this âenigmatic world, 39 women and one young girl are kept in an underground room guarded by armed men. The young girl cannot remember her name or past. The older women have equally foggy memories of how and why they ended up in this place, where intimacy is prohibited and â time has no purpose. Then everything changes.
'Things in Nature Merely Grow' by Yiyun Li
One of our best books of â2025, "Things in Nature Merely Grow" is not a light read, but it's a meaningful one. Li reflects on the losses of her sons James and Vincent to suicide, interrogating lifeâs biggest questions without promising any answers.
âSulaâ by Toni Morrison
In âSula,â two young girls â the daring Sula and the well-mannered Nel â grow up together in small-town Ohio. The pair â share an inextricable bond, tied by a dark secret, even as Sula leaves to travel the country. â But when she returns a decade later, their friendship is tested by change, adulthood, betrayal and Sulaâs wayward ways.Â
âWe Should All Be Feministsâ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
At just 64 pages, this book is a solid nonfiction essay to add to your end-of-the-year TBR. âWe Should All Be â Feministsâ is adapted from the authorâs TEDx talk of the same name.
âThe Vegetarianâ by Han Kang
This contemporary horror novel is from last yearâs recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. âThe Vegetarianâ follows Yeong-hye, a woman tortured by nightmares that cause her to stop eating meat. The aftermath sees her husband, sister and brother-in-law fight for control over her mind and body.Â
