20 brilliant books you can read in a single day: a curated list
A literary critic and former Booker Prize judge has compiled a list of 20 short books that can be finished in one sitting, offering tips for immersive summer reading.
A book critic who served as a judge for last year's Booker Prize has published a personal selection of 20 books that can be read in a single day. The list comes in response to research co-authored by the Booker Prizes and the Reading Agency, which found that 35% of readers struggle to finish books.
The selection includes a mix of classics and contemporary works, such as Natasha Brown's 'Assembly', Kathryn Scanlan's 'Kick the Latch', and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's 'One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich'. The critic notes that the list is not comprehensive and omits well-known titles like 'Heart of Darkness' and 'The Great Gatsby'.
Reading a book in one day requires focus—the critic advises putting phones in another room and ignoring the doorbell. The experience of starting and finishing a book in a single day is described as uniquely intense. Other recommendations include James Baldwin's 'Giovanni's Room', Roberto Bolaño's 'By Night in Chile', and Han Kang's 'The Vegetarian', each offering a compelling narrative that demands uninterrupted attention.
The list also features Claire Keegan's 'Small Things Like These', Max Porter's 'Grief Is the Thing with Feathers', and Samanta Schweblin's 'Fever Dream'. These books, ranging from novellas to essay collections, are chosen for their ability to captivate readers from beginning to end within a limited time frame.
