My one issue with fantasy books is what you just mentioned! Authors who can write short stories books that still manage to bring a whole story together deserves recognition :) On the other hand with some of those books, I also wish they were longer because I want to know more haha
Fun fact about 'When Among Crows': in Polish, there's a saying that literally translates to "when among crows, you must caw just like they do" (which means that when you step into a group of people you don't belong with, you should behave the way they behave). I think the English equivalent is "when in Rome, do as the Romans do"? If the book has a lot of Polish references, I guess the title might be one as well :)
In terms of short fantasy, the singing hills saga by Nghi Vo is absolutely sensational. Each book is a standalone following the same archivist-cleric, and each manages to have a full discussion of a topic, and world build, and tell a story in 100-200 pages. Highly recommend
@@ravent3016it’s not super important! I read them in order because they were all available from the library but the author does a good job of telling a complete story in each
Apparently Nghi Vo has a new novella coming out later this year (not part of Singing Hills)! She is feeding us of low attention span. (edit: it's called The City in Glass)
To comeback for Literary Fiction: 1. The English Understand Wool - Helen DeWitt 4:25 2. Giovanni’s Room - James Baldwin 6:00 3. Lemon - Kwon Yeo-sun 7:26 4. Lie With Me - Philippe Besson ⭐️ 8:45 5. Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan ⭐️ 9:28 Science Fiction: 1. All Systems Red - Martha Wells ⭐️ 10:48 2. This is How You Lose The Time War - Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone ⭐️ 12:55 3. What Moves the Dead - T Kingfisher ⭐️ 14:32 Fantasy: 1. Mysteries of Thorn Manor - Margaret Rogerson 18:09 2. That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon - Kimberly Lemming ⭐️ 19:53 3. ThornHedge - T Kingfisher 21:45 4. When Among Crows - Veronica Roth 23:42 5. The Six Deaths of The Saints - Alix E Harrow 25:36
Giovanni's Room, Drunk & saved a Demon, Time War, and MurderBot are all my go-to quick read recs. Knowing we have such similar taste means I HAVE to read the rest of these!
Becky Chambers monk and robot duology-A Psalm for the Wild Built and A Prayer for the Crown Shy. Loved them! Also a fun Sci fi-The Sourge Between Stars. All short books. Pack a punch!
Yes! And The Scourge Between Stars is so amazing for being Brown's first book. If you haven't read To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers I really really recommend reading it, it's like something between TSBS and APFTWB... which sounds impossible but I definitely think it suits
I found the new Brandon Sanderson--"The Frugal Wizard's Guide to Surviving Medieval England." It's really funny, really sad, and really profound all rolled into one. Always a pleasure, Cari!
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop was a great, quick read! Mostly vibes, gentle on plot tbh- but it’s so sweet! Very family focused, and mostly driven by the main character’s desire to better themselves and grow after a devastating breakup… I definitely recommend for a rainy day when you wanna drink tea and enjoy peaceful vibes. 💛 I’m trying so hard to dip my toes into new genres outside of fantasy! This was my first book in lit-fic in a veeerrry long time! Also, currently reading Other Birds! It’s another shortie but I love it so far!
The Six Deaths of the Saint is part of a collection called "Into Shadow" and I would highly recommend Nghi Vo's story, What the Dead Know, which is very vibey and a little spooky. Tamsyn Muir's from that collection, Undercover, was also a favorite, very visual weird.
@@ExLibris-AlysIt's by a mix of authors, the first book is The Garden by Tomi Adeyemi, the second is Persephone by Lev Grossman, then comes the one mentioned by Cari, then four other books. There seems to be seven books in this collection.
I've been so stressed with work, stress where you kinda loose yourself. So this last week that things have calmed down, I've been coming back little by little. Watching and enjoying your videos Cari is an important part of that process, thank you
For super short fantasy and scifi, I highly recommend Binti, The Cybernetic Tea Shop, Finna, Silver in the Wood, and The Singing Hills Cycle. All have helped jumpstart my reading at various points. Great video as always Cari!
normally don't comment but this is my first time checking out your book channel bc i wanted to get back into reading and magically you had just uploaded the exact video i needed. i also lowkey got chills in the beginning bc i loved every book you recommended and i can't wait to read them! thank you for this!!!!
I loved All Systems Red. Murderbot is so relatable and I wish I had a helmet to hide my face behind all the time. Sunglasses unfortunately accentuate my 24/7 pissed off look
Omg, when I saw the title of this video I KNEW there was going to be at least one Claire Keegan book on the list. I also loved Foster and her short stories are amazing as well. I devoured everything she wrote in January to get out of my own terrible reading slump!
CARI I FRICKIN LOVE YOUUU. I was rewatching many of your book videos yesterday and some other channels too, trying to find short books to read and I couldn't find what I wanted. This video was great timing, and I love your taste in books since it's pretty similar to mine.
For a really cute short fantasy rec (definitely under 400 pages), I highly recommend Legends and Lattes because it's just very well written and the perfect little romance coffee shop AU for a nice cup of cocoa on a cold day, which is exactly how I read it! (also queer which is a plus) 😊
i have finally caved after hearing all this praise for sorcery of thorns from you over the years and just ordered it 🤭 it’s been on my want to read list for over three years now, and I FINALLY ORDERED IT
I love this video for its suggestions and I’ve literally added the ones I haven’t read yet to my list, but honestly, Cari, you’ve kind of got me back into reading all lengths of books! 🌻
the six deaths of the saint has seriously not left my mind, like how did she build that world and connection in 30 pages ????? im both so happy i read this when you recced it in december and also mad cause i want more hahaha
I'm starting to feel this, especially with fantasy series. I absolutely love long, epic series, but sometimes it looks like the whole book is just a filler before the last book or the last book is just so weak in comparison to the whole series. Thank you for another great recommendation video. 💖
The Original co-written by Brandon Sanderson and narrated by Julia Whelan!! It only exists via audible audio unfortunately but it is INCREDIBLE!! It’s a sci-fi t really packs a punch.
i love watching your videos with storygraph open in another tab to add each book that sounds interesting to my tbr lol. i'm currently reading The Song of Achilles (i read Circe by the same author earlier this year and really liked it) and The Mountain In the Sea, which have both been very good so far
Just finished “Notes on an Execution” from your recommendation. WONDERFUL READ, had the most productive two days with that book. I was starting to give up on crime fiction or thrillers in all til this book… *chefs kiss
Giovanni's Room is my favorite Baldwin! It's honest and real and FUNNY. I read the whole thing on a plane and found myself chuckling out loud multiple times
so many things were funny and sad at the same time like when he didnt want to sit in the taxi talking about his feelings so he wanted to jump out of the car, but then he realized jumping out of the car would REALLY be sharing his feelings LOL
Queen! You always have spectacular timing! You started me on horror/gothic books when you recommended The Spirit Bares its Teeth and Our Hideous Progeny. I was in a slump after these so these will definitely help!
These recommendations came at the perfect time! Had so many dnfs this month... I also really enjoyed The English Understand Wool from your previous video. Thanks Cari! ❤
My comfort series and the series i read to get out of a slump is Akarnae the medoran chronicles. the way she writes the characters and the humor and slow burn romance as well as literally every aspect is amazing. please read it, i wish that others could experience the joy love and sadness that this series brings! and it just gets better and better!!!
the most recent book i read was giovanni's room and i LOVED it. baldwin has an amazing way to put you in the story. i felt like **I** was giovanni walking in those last pages. it was insane! also i loved this is how you lose the time war (i read it last year) and it was a bit difficult to me because i'm a spanish speaker who taught himself english, so the narration was a bit hard to understand at first but around half i was IN THE ZONE.
lol I love having notifications on for your videos ❤ Anyway, three things: first this video is perfect for me rn bc I just got out of a six month reading slump, second you really inspired me to make book content and I love your channel, and third, I might be little late to the dune conversation, but I personally liked part two better than part one
this is perfect timing. i don't tend to read short books too often, but i've just read four in a row, and i'm having the best luck with them. i just read cursed bread, paradise rot, my husband, and our wives under the sea.
OMG IM SO EARLYYYYY Hi cariiii thank you so much for your videos, when I was having a rough couple of weeks a big thin that kept me from just sleeping the days away were your videos🫶🫶 so thank you lmao
In Cari we trust 🙏 Your recommendations always hit the mark. This is how you lose the time war is one of my favorite book. I bought my own copy so I can write on it 😂 I saw T Kingfisher in one of your wrap ups and I finished Thornhedge a few days ago, loved it too ❤️
I just realized The Six Deaths of the Saint sounds exactly like an anime I'm watching right now called 7th Time Loop. It's about a Duke's daughter who has been reincarnated six times already. On her 7th life she actually gets engaged to the prince who has killed her in her previous life 😂 Super fun! Highly recommend 💖
ohh, fantasy is just not my vibe exactly because of the hundreds and hundreds of pages long book series, so i’m definitely trying my hand on a few of these shorter stories! thank you so much for the recs, as usual ❤
This is right on time, since I’ve just read a short book and was not able to put it down!! It’s ‘A Psalm for the Wild-Built’ by Becky Chambers. Lovely short sci-fi about a monk looking for their purpose and their traveling companion, a robot who has only lived in the wild. I might have highlighted 20% of the book 😂
When you first introduced This is How you Lose the Time War a few years ago, I didn't know I would end up loving it as much as I do. It quickly became one of my all time favourite books. It was very poetic and easy to read. I couldn't put it down. It made me fall in love with reading again. But you do have to know a lot of the references, which I did, so it made a huge difference. Thank you for introducing it back in 2021!
I needed this!! ❤ currently reading beartown and it’s GORGEOUS, but so hard to read 😭😭 I’m dying here and cannot loose pace otherwise I won’t pick up others for months. Knowing what can await me on the other side is a motivator lol ❤️
If your looking for a short sci-fi story, I can recommend To be Taught, if Fortunate by Becky Chambers! It is more of a novella, but explores some fascinating concepts if you're willing to give it a go!
i personally enjoyed the SoT novella more than the book bc i feel like the characters fit into a cosy story more than a plot driven one😭another sign for anyone who didn't rlly enjoy the book to still try the novella!
Not gonna lie, SJ Maas does this to me. I find that her books tend to captivate me for the first 3/4 and by the end I’m like, “come on girl, let’s land this plane already!” 😂 Especially when a lot of what’s going to happen is pretty easy to see coming beforehand. Still enjoy them for what they are, but they do tend to dwindle.
i cannot recommend you read the rest of the murderbot diaries enough! i absolutely devoured the entire series and it COMPLETELY pulled me out of a huge reading slump. also made me realize how much i like stories about robots haha. there's also a very short kind of prequel story (compulsory) which i highly recommend anyone read if they just want to get a taste and see if they like it. loved the novellas and honestly, the novel (network effect) is probably my favorite! okay i'm done now because i could wax poetic about this series forever.
this book doesnt fit into the 200 pages or less (it's 379 pages) but bright star by erin swan is one of the best fantasy books ive ever read. its along the lines of your classic dragon rider story, you can bond with a dragon and you become an unstoppable team, etc. There's magic, elves, a suspicious kingdom, a nice little romance, it's got it all. the plot flows so nicely and the characters are easy to connect with and love. i wish this book was longer and that it was a part of a series, but i will forever love how long the story feels for being in a shorter book. 11/10 i recommend this book so strongly to everyone. ✨
The Egg and Other Stories by Andy Weir is a short story collection that follows a similar plot sequence for each story but got me every time. Very much similar to the show “two sentence horror stories” but not horror. Just an ending sentence that reworks the entire perspective of the story you just read.
I've been really enjoying T. Kingfisher's work and one of the reasons for that is that she mostly writes stand alone fantasies with reasonable amount of pages that subvert cliches and tropes. Highly recommend her books. Also recommend Naomi Novik's Uprooted and Spinning Silver. They are amazingly written fairytale-esq fantasy, also standalones and easy to read through.
The Penric and Desdemona novellas by Lois McMaster Bujold definitely fit into this category! Delicious little morsels packed with plot, charming characters, and unfolding world building. She has a few longer novels set in the same world but in a different time period and region too.
It's definitely possible that you've already read this at some point, but The Outsiders holds up so well. It's one of my favorite books of all time, and it's quite short. Also by S.E Hinton is "That Was Then, This Is Now" both are amazing in their own right and only get better and better by the re-read. (And they're both sub 200 pages)
will always recommend the alchemist for anyone who needs to find motivation or a sense of purpose. it's nothing too profound, but it could change your life if you read it at the right time. it's also super easy to get through and less than 200 pages, so if you don't like it it's not like you wasted that much time. it helped me get through the roughest breakup of my life so i'm always gonna have a soft spot for it.
Thanks, Cari! I've been wanting to get some shorter books lately, and I'll definitely look into at least a few of these. This might be cheating since I haven't actually read it yet, but a sci-fi novella I have on the shelf and will be reading soon is "To Be Taught, If Fortunate". I love Becky Chambers' other works, and I have high hopes for that one. Maybe you'll enjoy it!
Coming back to comment that I have now read all but two of your recommendations. Amazing recommendations and I look forward to seeing more. Some new favorites were added to my list because of your recs. Subscribing ! ❤
Thank you❤ I've been in a reading slump for months😭 For some reason I decided to start reading dance of thieves even though it's 500 pages to get me out of the slump. It did help yesterday but today I got a terrible headache and couldn't read.😭 Hopefully these short books will be easier to read😅
I've definitely almost DNF so many fantasy books because it became so arduous to finish it due to excessive length. Filler and repeated content is also why I stopped reading Jennifer Armentrout books
Huge fan of Murderbot, What Moves the Dead and Six Deaths of the Saint. For short literary fiction, a couple of my favorites are Passing by Nella Larson and The Ice Palace by Target Vesaas.
I’m sure someone has mentioned it already, but in case not, Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series. They are stand alones, but some of the characters come back in later books.
Sometimes you just need tiny books for temporarily tiny mental capacity.
exactly :')
This. 😂❤
Watches a Caricanread video:
*goes straight to Goodreads to update my longgggg tbr*
My one issue with fantasy books is what you just mentioned! Authors who can write short stories books that still manage to bring a whole story together deserves recognition :) On the other hand with some of those books, I also wish they were longer because I want to know more haha
exactly!
My first book was a novella.
The one complaint I had was that many of the readers didn't want it to end.
yesss so true!! also, that's what im afraid would happened if I read a short book 😣😂
Fun fact about 'When Among Crows': in Polish, there's a saying that literally translates to "when among crows, you must caw just like they do" (which means that when you step into a group of people you don't belong with, you should behave the way they behave). I think the English equivalent is "when in Rome, do as the Romans do"? If the book has a lot of Polish references, I guess the title might be one as well :)
In terms of short fantasy, the singing hills saga by Nghi Vo is absolutely sensational. Each book is a standalone following the same archivist-cleric, and each manages to have a full discussion of a topic, and world build, and tell a story in 100-200 pages. Highly recommend
I also read that the reading order isn't important in the series.
@@ravent3016it’s not super important! I read them in order because they were all available from the library but the author does a good job of telling a complete story in each
Apparently Nghi Vo has a new novella coming out later this year (not part of Singing Hills)! She is feeding us of low attention span. (edit: it's called The City in Glass)
I loved The Empress of Salt and Fortune
To comeback for
Literary Fiction:
1. The English Understand Wool - Helen DeWitt 4:25
2. Giovanni’s Room - James Baldwin 6:00
3. Lemon - Kwon Yeo-sun 7:26
4. Lie With Me - Philippe Besson ⭐️ 8:45
5. Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan ⭐️ 9:28
Science Fiction:
1. All Systems Red - Martha Wells ⭐️ 10:48
2. This is How You Lose The Time War - Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone ⭐️ 12:55
3. What Moves the Dead - T Kingfisher ⭐️ 14:32
Fantasy:
1. Mysteries of Thorn Manor - Margaret Rogerson 18:09
2. That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon - Kimberly Lemming ⭐️ 19:53
3. ThornHedge - T Kingfisher 21:45
4. When Among Crows - Veronica Roth 23:42
5. The Six Deaths of The Saints - Alix E Harrow 25:36
❤❤❤
Giovanni's Room, Drunk & saved a Demon, Time War, and MurderBot are all my go-to quick read recs. Knowing we have such similar taste means I HAVE to read the rest of these!
😍😍😍
I dont see Murderbot getting NEARLY enough love!!!
Becky Chambers monk and robot duology-A Psalm for the Wild Built and A Prayer for the Crown Shy. Loved them! Also a fun Sci fi-The Sourge Between Stars. All short books. Pack a punch!
Yes! And The Scourge Between Stars is so amazing for being Brown's first book. If you haven't read To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers I really really recommend reading it, it's like something between TSBS and APFTWB... which sounds impossible but I definitely think it suits
Agreed regarding fantasy! There are so many books/series that I just absolutely refuse to start because of their length!
some books can be long and be amazing but nowadays i really feel like authors are not being edited down enough :/
Cari girrllll u were on right on TIME. Dune Messiah just put me in a slump...ahhh so much dread. I needed this!
LOL i had kurt read the whole dune series so if im ever curious i just ask him to tell me the story again hahha
@@caricanread THE WHOLE?? all 6?? Ya man has been THROUGH IT, it gets hella weird
I found the new Brandon Sanderson--"The Frugal Wizard's Guide to Surviving Medieval England." It's really funny, really sad, and really profound all rolled into one. Always a pleasure, Cari!
im saving all those secret project books for a rainy day! i read Tress and loved it!!
@@caricanreadwait just so u know i think the sunlit man has cosmere spoilers! but you should be good w the other two :-)
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop was a great, quick read! Mostly vibes, gentle on plot tbh- but it’s so sweet! Very family focused, and mostly driven by the main character’s desire to better themselves and grow after a devastating breakup… I definitely recommend for a rainy day when you wanna drink tea and enjoy peaceful vibes. 💛
I’m trying so hard to dip my toes into new genres outside of fantasy! This was my first book in lit-fic in a veeerrry long time!
Also, currently reading Other Birds! It’s another shortie but I love it so far!
I felt pure joy when you recommended Murderbot and Time War! I love both of them!
The Six Deaths of the Saint is part of a collection called "Into Shadow" and I would highly recommend Nghi Vo's story, What the Dead Know, which is very vibey and a little spooky. Tamsyn Muir's from that collection, Undercover, was also a favorite, very visual weird.
I loved Six Deaths but can’t find any reference to “Into Shadow”. Do you know whether the whole collection is by Alix E Harrow or a mix of authors?
@@ExLibris-AlysIt's by a mix of authors, the first book is The Garden by Tomi Adeyemi, the second is Persephone by Lev Grossman, then comes the one mentioned by Cari, then four other books. There seems to be seven books in this collection.
I've been so stressed with work, stress where you kinda loose yourself. So this last week that things have calmed down, I've been coming back little by little. Watching and enjoying your videos Cari is an important part of that process, thank you
For super short fantasy and scifi, I highly recommend Binti, The Cybernetic Tea Shop, Finna, Silver in the Wood, and The Singing Hills Cycle. All have helped jumpstart my reading at various points. Great video as always Cari!
I was JUST about to search for book recs and then I see this! Cari saves my day again
normally don't comment but this is my first time checking out your book channel bc i wanted to get back into reading and magically you had just uploaded the exact video i needed. i also lowkey got chills in the beginning bc i loved every book you recommended and i can't wait to read them! thank you for this!!!!
I loved All Systems Red. Murderbot is so relatable and I wish I had a helmet to hide my face behind all the time. Sunglasses unfortunately accentuate my 24/7 pissed off look
LOL!
Omg, when I saw the title of this video I KNEW there was going to be at least one Claire Keegan book on the list. I also loved Foster and her short stories are amazing as well. I devoured everything she wrote in January to get out of my own terrible reading slump!
CARI I FRICKIN LOVE YOUUU. I was rewatching many of your book videos yesterday and some other channels too, trying to find short books to read and I couldn't find what I wanted. This video was great timing, and I love your taste in books since it's pretty similar to mine.
For a really cute short fantasy rec (definitely under 400 pages), I highly recommend Legends and Lattes because it's just very well written and the perfect little romance coffee shop AU for a nice cup of cocoa on a cold day, which is exactly how I read it! (also queer which is a plus) 😊
The short storied life of Aj Firky is another short but fantastic read. You’ll feel every type of emotion and you’ll never forgot it !🤩🙌🏻
seconding this!!!
i have finally caved after hearing all this praise for sorcery of thorns from you over the years and just ordered it 🤭 it’s been on my want to read list for over three years now, and I FINALLY ORDERED IT
I love this video for its suggestions and I’ve literally added the ones I haven’t read yet to my list, but honestly, Cari, you’ve kind of got me back into reading all lengths of books! 🌻
:'''''''')
the six deaths of the saint has seriously not left my mind, like how did she build that world and connection in 30 pages ????? im both so happy i read this when you recced it in december and also mad cause i want more hahaha
I'm starting to feel this, especially with fantasy series. I absolutely love long, epic series, but sometimes it looks like the whole book is just a filler before the last book or the last book is just so weak in comparison to the whole series. Thank you for another great recommendation video. 💖
The Original co-written by Brandon Sanderson and narrated by Julia Whelan!! It only exists via audible audio unfortunately but it is INCREDIBLE!! It’s a sci-fi t really packs a punch.
so not only did I get some amazing recs but this video also got me so excited!! I can't wait for the plot summary continuation 💜💜
i love watching your videos with storygraph open in another tab to add each book that sounds interesting to my tbr lol. i'm currently reading The Song of Achilles (i read Circe by the same author earlier this year and really liked it) and The Mountain In the Sea, which have both been very good so far
Madeline Miller also has a short novel called Galatea and I highly recommend it!!
You will absolutely love the crap out of song of Achilles
What moves the dead is fantastic! I read both that and the fall of the house of usher and i really like the direction she took it
It feels like you've been battling with construction sounds in your videos for years 😭😭 The struggle is never ending
Same with me, I lived in Germany for 4 years and my neighbours did drilling and hammering for 4 year straight 🙃
The Prison Healer trilogy got me into a BAAAAAAD reading slump (cause it was SOOOOO GOOOOOOD) so I needed this. THANK YOU
I love the Wayward Children series! The books are short and this world (or should I say worlds?) is just marvelous to be in ❤️
im so jealous of your small things like these cover , Claire is a new fav of mine also!
Just finished “Notes on an Execution” from your recommendation. WONDERFUL READ, had the most productive two days with that book. I was starting to give up on crime fiction or thrillers in all til this book… *chefs kiss
Giovanni's Room is my favorite Baldwin! It's honest and real and FUNNY. I read the whole thing on a plane and found myself chuckling out loud multiple times
like its humour is not the first trait I would name but it added another layer that really, really sold it for me
so many things were funny and sad at the same time like when he didnt want to sit in the taxi talking about his feelings so he wanted to jump out of the car, but then he realized jumping out of the car would REALLY be sharing his feelings LOL
AHHHH PERFECT VIDEO i was just searching up good short books 🤍✨
I loved sorcery of thorns. I’m glad she’s decided to give us more.
Small Things Like These ended me! I read it two times in a row and Im so suprised its not more famous!!! Amazing book, thanks for the rec!
The Six Deaths of the Saint is so so incredible - 30 pages that actually changed my brain and broke my heart
Queen! You always have spectacular timing!
You started me on horror/gothic books when you recommended The Spirit Bares its Teeth and Our Hideous Progeny.
I was in a slump after these so these will definitely help!
These recommendations came at the perfect time! Had so many dnfs this month...
I also really enjoyed The English Understand Wool from your previous video. Thanks Cari! ❤
My comfort series and the series i read to get out of a slump is Akarnae the medoran chronicles. the way she writes the characters and the humor and slow burn romance as well as literally every aspect is amazing. please read it, i wish that others could experience the joy love and sadness that this series brings! and it just gets better and better!!!
Needed this. I started the year so strong reading 14 books in January, and I haven’t read a single book since
the most recent book i read was giovanni's room and i LOVED it. baldwin has an amazing way to put you in the story. i felt like **I** was giovanni walking in those last pages. it was insane! also i loved this is how you lose the time war (i read it last year) and it was a bit difficult to me because i'm a spanish speaker who taught himself english, so the narration was a bit hard to understand at first but around half i was IN THE ZONE.
lol I love having notifications on for your videos ❤
Anyway, three things: first this video is perfect for me rn bc I just got out of a six month reading slump, second you really inspired me to make book content and I love your channel, and third, I might be little late to the dune conversation, but I personally liked part two better than part one
omg thank you :') hope one of these nudges you out of the slump!!
the six deaths of the saint was HAUNTING. I read it on a single bus ride to work, and it's still with me.
this is perfect timing. i don't tend to read short books too often, but i've just read four in a row, and i'm having the best luck with them. i just read cursed bread, paradise rot, my husband, and our wives under the sea.
OMG IM SO EARLYYYYY
Hi cariiii thank you so much for your videos, when I was having a rough couple of weeks a big thin that kept me from just sleeping the days away were your videos🫶🫶 so thank you lmao
In Cari we trust 🙏 Your recommendations always hit the mark. This is how you lose the time war is one of my favorite book. I bought my own copy so I can write on it 😂 I saw T Kingfisher in one of your wrap ups and I finished Thornhedge a few days ago, loved it too ❤️
I just realized The Six Deaths of the Saint sounds exactly like an anime I'm watching right now called 7th Time Loop. It's about a Duke's daughter who has been reincarnated six times already. On her 7th life she actually gets engaged to the prince who has killed her in her previous life 😂 Super fun! Highly recommend 💖
I’m a slow reader and all these 400+ page books are quite intimidating for me 😭 I’ll definitely look into all these recs!
ohh, fantasy is just not my vibe exactly because of the hundreds and hundreds of pages long book series, so i’m definitely trying my hand on a few of these shorter stories! thank you so much for the recs, as usual ❤
Oh you succinctly described my issue with finding good literary fiction!
Ring Shout by P. Djelil Clark and The Deep by Rivers Solomon are both shorter books that hit hard for me
How to lose the time war was conceptually difficult to picture the world but such beautiful yearning
Your timing is impeccable
omfg this is literally the exact thing i needed, how does she do it
yesssssss!
Claire Keegan is literally soooo good
This is right on time, since I’ve just read a short book and was not able to put it down!! It’s ‘A Psalm for the Wild-Built’ by Becky Chambers. Lovely short sci-fi about a monk looking for their purpose and their traveling companion, a robot who has only lived in the wild. I might have highlighted 20% of the book 😂
I loved this one, too!
When you first introduced This is How you Lose the Time War a few years ago, I didn't know I would end up loving it as much as I do. It quickly became one of my all time favourite books. It was very poetic and easy to read. I couldn't put it down. It made me fall in love with reading again. But you do have to know a lot of the references, which I did, so it made a huge difference. Thank you for introducing it back in 2021!
I needed this!! ❤ currently reading beartown and it’s GORGEOUS, but so hard to read 😭😭 I’m dying here and cannot loose pace otherwise I won’t pick up others for months. Knowing what can await me on the other side is a motivator lol ❤️
i love short books so thanks for the video 🤩
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If your looking for a short sci-fi story, I can recommend To be Taught, if Fortunate by Becky Chambers! It is more of a novella, but explores some fascinating concepts if you're willing to give it a go!
It's an oldie, but have you read The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman? I remember really loving it when it came out and it's very short
In my T.Kingfisher phase and loving all of it. Nettle and Bone has been my favourite so far.
🙏🙏🙏
I read the 6 Deaths of the Saint on your recommendation and my mind was blown. Truly incredible!
i personally enjoyed the SoT novella more than the book bc i feel like the characters fit into a cosy story more than a plot driven one😭another sign for anyone who didn't rlly enjoy the book to still try the novella!
adding them in my "want to read" list in GoodReads right away!
"that time i got drunk ..." remind me of "blasphemy!" asdasdfasdf the smutty and funny , a combo i never thought i'll enjoy lol
Not gonna lie, SJ Maas does this to me. I find that her books tend to captivate me for the first 3/4 and by the end I’m like, “come on girl, let’s land this plane already!” 😂 Especially when a lot of what’s going to happen is pretty easy to see coming beforehand. Still enjoy them for what they are, but they do tend to dwindle.
i cannot recommend you read the rest of the murderbot diaries enough! i absolutely devoured the entire series and it COMPLETELY pulled me out of a huge reading slump. also made me realize how much i like stories about robots haha. there's also a very short kind of prequel story (compulsory) which i highly recommend anyone read if they just want to get a taste and see if they like it. loved the novellas and honestly, the novel (network effect) is probably my favorite! okay i'm done now because i could wax poetic about this series forever.
this book doesnt fit into the 200 pages or less (it's 379 pages) but bright star by erin swan is one of the best fantasy books ive ever read. its along the lines of your classic dragon rider story, you can bond with a dragon and you become an unstoppable team, etc. There's magic, elves, a suspicious kingdom, a nice little romance, it's got it all. the plot flows so nicely and the characters are easy to connect with and love. i wish this book was longer and that it was a part of a series, but i will forever love how long the story feels for being in a shorter book. 11/10 i recommend this book so strongly to everyone. ✨
I always enjoy your videos so much :D
The Egg and Other Stories by Andy Weir is a short story collection that follows a similar plot sequence for each story but got me every time. Very much similar to the show “two sentence horror stories” but not horror. Just an ending sentence that reworks the entire perspective of the story you just read.
I've been really enjoying T. Kingfisher's work and one of the reasons for that is that she mostly writes stand alone fantasies with reasonable amount of pages that subvert cliches and tropes. Highly recommend her books. Also recommend Naomi Novik's Uprooted and Spinning Silver. They are amazingly written fairytale-esq fantasy, also standalones and easy to read through.
What moves the dead was awesome. I listened to it and they did a great job reading it out. Creepy but satisfying 😌
For your consideration; In The House In The Dark Of The Woods by Laird Hunt and Melmoth by Sarah Perry (both short but no less wonderful)
thank you!!
I think that's the sign i needed to FINALLY read giovanni's room
yes you do!!
Fully rushing to Libby right this instant for the Sorcery of Thorns novella! I had no idea it existed 😍
The Penric and Desdemona novellas by Lois McMaster Bujold definitely fit into this category! Delicious little morsels packed with plot, charming characters, and unfolding world building. She has a few longer novels set in the same world but in a different time period and region too.
Lie with me is the best book I read last year. So compact and yet so powerful.
babe wake up cari posted!!
good mooorning!
It's definitely possible that you've already read this at some point, but The Outsiders holds up so well. It's one of my favorite books of all time, and it's quite short. Also by S.E Hinton is "That Was Then, This Is Now" both are amazing in their own right and only get better and better by the re-read.
(And they're both sub 200 pages)
The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson is a short thriller & Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger… I found these back in December 😂
will always recommend the alchemist for anyone who needs to find motivation or a sense of purpose. it's nothing too profound, but it could change your life if you read it at the right time. it's also super easy to get through and less than 200 pages, so if you don't like it it's not like you wasted that much time. it helped me get through the roughest breakup of my life so i'm always gonna have a soft spot for it.
Your videos always spot on 💞it really reminds me how books can make tough days easier 💞🔥I’ve been reading a lot cuz of you
yessss that makes me so happy!
Omg I needed this so much thank you Cari
Adding a few of these to my tbr! Binti trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor is one of my faves. Very short books but great story!
Thanks, Cari! I've been wanting to get some shorter books lately, and I'll definitely look into at least a few of these.
This might be cheating since I haven't actually read it yet, but a sci-fi novella I have on the shelf and will be reading soon is "To Be Taught, If Fortunate". I love Becky Chambers' other works, and I have high hopes for that one. Maybe you'll enjoy it!
one of my biggest bookish pet peeves is long ass fantasy novels in long ass series; you can either have a 500+ book or 6 books in a series, not BOTH
Coming back to comment that I have now read all but two of your recommendations. Amazing recommendations and I look forward to seeing more. Some new favorites were added to my list because of your recs. Subscribing ! ❤
Thank you❤
I've been in a reading slump for months😭
For some reason I decided to start reading dance of thieves even though it's 500 pages to get me out of the slump. It did help yesterday but today I got a terrible headache and couldn't read.😭
Hopefully these short books will be easier to read😅
I've definitely almost DNF so many fantasy books because it became so arduous to finish it due to excessive length. Filler and repeated content is also why I stopped reading Jennifer Armentrout books
Huge fan of Murderbot, What Moves the Dead and Six Deaths of the Saint. For short literary fiction, a couple of my favorites are Passing by Nella Larson and The Ice Palace by Target Vesaas.
Yay I love these videos, they are quite helpful ❤❤ I hope you all have a lovely month also!
same to you ❤❤❤
@@caricanread 🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽
"That time I got drunk and yeeted a love potion at a werewolf" was so great, pure silly fun ❤
I’m sure someone has mentioned it already, but in case not, Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series. They are stand alones, but some of the characters come back in later books.
Your shirt is 🔥🔥 love your vids as always
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