Books
These 9 Books Are *So* Good You Won't Leave Your House 'Til You've Finished
Every reader knows the feeling: you sit down to start a brand new book, planning to read one chapter or maybe two...and then suddenly you're on the last page, your foot is asleep, you've been reading all through the night and you're deeply dehydrated. There's something almost magical to reading a book without stopping. You might even be faintly surprised to hit that last page and remember that you do not, in fact, live on the fictional continent of Westeros, Middle-Earth, or Narnia. Here are a few books that you'll want to devour in one sitting, because you just can't put them down.
Everyone has a different reading style, and every reading style is perfectly fine. Some people stick to a few pages a day. Some people cram whole novels in the hours before their morning English class. But whatever your usual style, these books are worth trying in one shot. None of them are so long that you'll be in danger of starving to death. Pack them for a long flight, a lazy afternoon, or a deadly dull family reunion, and find yourself sucked into an entirely different world from beginning to end.
So here are a few books that you can (and should!) read in one fell swoop:
1'Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?' by Mindy Kaling
You'll zip through this book in a couple of hours. It's just so delightful. True, there aren't any intense plot twists to keep you turning the pages, but Kaling's voice is so much fun, and her essays are so hilariously real, that you won't want to put it down. It's all the fun of gossip with your best friend, if your best friend was one of America's foremost comedy writers.
2'And Then There Were None' by Agatha Christie
Alternatively, you could read the ultimate page-turner mystery novel. And Then There Were None is one of the best known murder mysteries ever written, and readers still get stumped. I challenge you not to read this in one sitting, because you're going to need to know what happens next.
3'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe' by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
A story of the burgeoning friendship between two angry, lonely teenage boys doesn't exactly sound like the kind of novel you can't put down. But Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a totally engrossing novel that will have you laughing and crying the whole way through.
4'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' by Shirley Jackson
If creepy books are your jam, drop everything and read We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Just maybe keep the lights on. Horror master Shirley Jackson can build tension like no other. From page one it's clear that something is terribly off about our narrator, Merricat Blackwood, but you'll have to race to the end to find out just what that means for the Blackwood family.
5'We Were Liars' by E. Lockhart
No spoilers, but... this is one of those "race to the plot twist, then scream and hurl your book at the wall in anger and joy" kind of books. We Were Liars is one hell of a suspense novel, set on a private island for only the most beautiful, distinguished families. But the Liars are about to change summers on the island forever.
6'Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood' by Marjane Satrapi
It's pretty hard not to read Persepolis in one sitting. Marjane Satrapi's charming, gut-wrenching memoir of a childhood during wartime is utterly captivating. You'll find yourself at the end before you know and, and then you'll have to run out straight for the sequel, and little Marjane's turbulent teen years.
7'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' by Douglas Adams
Sometimes you just need to sit down and immerse yourself in something very, very silly for several hours straight. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one absurd road trip through the stars, following the destruction of Earth to make way for an interstellar bypass. It's strange, hilarious, and far too short (luckily, there are five novels in this wildly mis-named trilogy).
8'Wishful Drinking' by Carrie Fisher
As you might imagine, Carrie Fisher has a lot to reminisce on in her memoir, Wishful Drinking. From being born to celebrity parents to being cast in Star Wars to struggling with her mental health, Fisher is able to take the most ridiculous and painful of life experiences and give them a wickedly funny twist. This book is hilarious, fascinating, and quite easy to page through in a single afternoon.
9'Station Eleven' by Emily St. John Mandel
Station Eleven is a bit of a slow burn in the beginning, but once you start to piece together the various threads of underlying mystery, you'll be hooked. Set before, during, and after a plague that's wiped out most of humanity, Station Eleven is the story of a ragtag band of traveling actors, trying to survive and unravel several mysteries in the dangerous wilds that used to be midwestern America.
