Put down the tome — there are easier ways to tackle your 2026 reading goal.
Reading shouldn’t be stressful, but sometimes that "read more" resolution can feel like a challenge.
To help jump-start your 2026 reading, especially if you need to get out of a reading slump, we’ve 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.
‘Foster’ by Claire Keegan
Any of Keegan’s novellas could make it on this list, including the wintery “Small Things Like These” (now a film starring Cillian Murphy). In “Foster,” 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 she’s never experienced before.
‘Open Water’ by Caleb Azumah Nelson
“Open Water” is a love story between two young adults, a photographer and a dancer, who meet in a crowded London pub. Over the next year, they’ll be torn apart and tested, facing fear and violence in a world with preconceived notions about them. “Open Water” is poetic and tender, a touching portrayal of intimacy between artists.
‘The Mistletoe Mystery’ by Nita Prose
Existing in Prose’s “Molly the Maid” universe, this bite-sized story is Molly’s “most consequential — and personal — mystery yet,” according to the publisher. Celebrating Christmas without her beloved gran is always a challenge, but this year, Molly’s boyfriend, Juan, intends to make the season bright. But the merriment may not last long, because a Secret Santa gift exchange is about to reveal some untrustworthy players in Molly’s inner circle.
‘Time is a Mother’ by Ocean Vuong
“Time is a Mother” is a poetry book from the award-winning author of “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.” Thematically, it serves as a poignant follow-up to the novel. This collection searches for life and meaning after loss, “embodying the paradox of sitting in grief while being determined to survive beyond it,” the publisher describes. I devoured the entire work between subway stops in one afternoon.
‘I Who Have Never Known Men’ by Jacqueline Harpman
“I Who Have Never Known Men” has the dystopian and mystery elements of both “The Hunger Games” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.” In this enigmatic 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 time has no purpose. Then everything changes.
'Things in Nature Merely Grow' by Yiyun Li
One of our best books of 2025, "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 life’s biggest questions without promising any answers.
‘Sula’ by Toni Morrison
In “Sula,” two young girls — the daring Sula and the well-mannered Nel — grow up together in small-town Ohio. The pair share an inextricable bond, tied by a dark secret, even as Sula leaves to travel the country. But when she returns a decade later, their friendship is tested by change, adulthood, betrayal and Sula’s wayward ways.
‘We Should All Be Feminists’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
At just 64 pages, this book is a solid nonfiction essay to add to your end-of-the-year TBR. “We Should All Be Feminists” is adapted from the author’s TEDx talk of the same name.
‘The Vegetarian’ by Han Kang
This contemporary horror novel is from last year’s recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. “The Vegetarian” 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.
