Speed reads; the best books to race through in an hour or less
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- Stylist Team
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In celebration of Stylist’s Reclaim Your Lunch Break campaign, we’ve selected eight of the world’s best books that can be read in under an hour.
Soppy: A Love Story by Philippa Rice
112 pages
New for 2015, this touching comic book celebrates the little moments of love – such as sympathising when your partner’s tea goes cold, watching TV together and sharing a quilt – with gentle humour and surprising depth.
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
64 pages
Based on her 2013 TEDx talk of the same name, the best-selling author of Americanah employs her signature witty and observant style as she discusses what it means to be a feminist today.
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
24 pages
This literary masterpiece, first published in 1892, is a semi-autobiographical portrayal of a powerless Victorian wife and her fight for freedom after being imprisoned in one room. Feminism never goes out of fashion.
Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
80 pages
Hailed as a modern classic since 1899, Conrad’s enigmatic short story is as relevant now as it ever was. The inspiration for Apocalypse Now, this countercolonial tale is packed with suspense that will stay with you.
Loggerheads and Other Stories by Jonathan Coe
74 pages
This entertaining collection of seven short stories from the celebrated author is loaded with lovable, if slightly peculiar, characters. If you only have half an hour flick straight to the three stories depicting the history of a family in the Midlands.
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
120 pages
When the Queen chases a rogue corgi into a mobile library parked at Buckingham Palace, she accidentally discovers a selection of novels that change her entire outlook on the world as well as making her question the role she has to carry out. Funny and fresh.
The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
112 pages
Set in Havana, Cuba, this fable about an old man, a young boy and a giant fish scored Hemingway both the Pulitzer and the Nobel Prize for Literature. A dazzling and timeless blend of beauty and grief, this short story is a giant of modern literature.
The Tiny Book Of Tiny Stories, Volume I by Joseph Gordon-Levitt
88 pages
Be inspired by this collection of crowd-funded creative projects compiled by the (500) Days Of Summer star. Just knowing there’s a haven for a generation of new talent will restore your faith in humanity.