Quick Reads for When Time Is Short (And Your TBR Is Long)

I feel like novellas are really trending lately, and why shouldn’t they? Sometimes readers are busy (rare, but sure, nerds have lives too) and there’s nothing better than a short, bite-sized book to satisfy your reading needs.

I confess that I used to have my doubts about novellas, too. How can an author possibly tell a full story with a third to a half of the normal amount of pages? Well, bookwyrms, I assure you, they absolutely can. In fact, the books I’ve got for you today are absolutely delightful, complete, and still somehow leave you wanting more (in the best possible way).

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is quick reads. These options are great for when you’re low on time or long on TBR, when you feel that itch to read but for some reason you’re also being forced to adult. Don’t worry, there are books for that.

But also, can we take a minute to discuss exactly how unfair it is that adulting doesn’t come with reading breaks? Okay, fair, I’m not great at adulting under the best of circumstances, but you know what would make me at least 25% better at it? If it came with built-in reading breaks to nurture the creative soul and escape from the drudgery of the world for a bit. I mean . . . probably. Either that or I would completely tank the adulting thing in favor of reading nonstop, but you know . . . that’s the risk you take. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Lies of the Ajungo

They say there is no water in the City of Lies. They say there are no heroes in the City of Lies. They say there are no friends beyond the City of Lies. But would you believe what they say in the City of Lies?

In the City of Lies, they cut out your tongue when you turn thirteen, to appease the terrifying Ajungo Empire and make sure it continues sending water. Tutu will be thirteen in three days, but his parched mother won’t last that long. So Tutu goes to his oba and makes a deal: she provides water for his mother, and in exchange he will travel out into the desert and bring back water for the city. Thus begins Tutu’s quest for the salvation of his mother, his city, and himself.

I’m . . . not even sure how to describe this book, honestly. It’s a very hard one to read, but masterfully written all the same. Utomi creates a dystopian world on the edge of collapse, that hinges on a child no one believes can save them. The lies are many, and they are deep. And when you’re reading it, they will hurt. But oh my gosh, the journey is sweet, and I can’t wait to read the companion novella. (Also, fair warning . . . there can be no happy endings built on a foundation of lies. Just keep that in mind.)

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All Systems Red

In a corporate-dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. For their own safety, exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists is conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid–a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, Murderbot wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is, but when a neighboring mission goes dark, it’s up to the scientists and Murderbot to get to the truth.

If you’ve been here for any amount of time, you’ll have heard me talk about Murderbot. And I will continue to do so until everyone has read this series. Because Murderbot deserves it. Murderbot has surely earned his moniker . . . he just can’t remember why. He’s determined to find out, though, which means going off-script and on the run. Murderbot is delightful—sarcastic, introverted, yet surprisingly human for a robot. The last is probably more disconcerting to him than it should be, but I won’t take offense to it on account of humans kind of tend to suck, historically. This series is packed full of characters you will fall in love with, not to mention scenarios that will have Murderbot winning you heart, time and time again. Accidentally. And if I’m honest, they would probably be annoyed to know of it, because emotions are inconvenient. Same, Murderbot. Same.

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Ring Shout

In 1915, The Birth of a Nation cast a spell across America, swelling the Klan’s ranks and drinking deep from the darkest thoughts of white folk. All across the nation they ride, spreading fear and violence among the vulnerable. They plan to bring Hell to Earth. But even Ku Kluxes can die.

Standing in their way is Maryse Boudreaux and her fellow resistance fighters, a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter. Armed with blade, bullet, and bomb, they hunt their hunters and send the Klan’s demons straight to Hell. But something awful’s brewing in Macon, and the war on Hell is about to heat up.

Can Maryse stop the Klan before it ends the world?

This is an incredibly hard book to read. The setting is incredibly dark and not for the feint of heart. I mean . . . kind of duh, since it’s heavily focused around racism? But in general, the trigger warnings on this are a mile long and include body horror and gore. Despite the dark subject, this book is filled with colorful, delightful characters that are sarcastic and more than a little bad-ass. Even though it is absolutely not a world I’d want to live in, this is a well-built, interesting world unlike any other I’ve read. That can be both a good thing and a bad thing, but rest assured, after reading this, I fell in love with Clark’s writing style and will definitely be reading more of their work.

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This Is How You Lose the Time War

Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future.

Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war.

This books is simultaneously romantic and tragic and sweet and sarcastic. All its contradictions are what makes it such a phenomenal read. It’s actually an epistolary, which means it’s told in letters. Up and down the timeline. Like you do when you’re in a time war. This is enemies-to-lovers at its finest, where romance blossoms in taunts and jibes and the idea of one-upping and outsmarting your opponent in a way that leads both to become better for it.

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Every Heart A Doorway

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere… else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced… they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.

While I will confess that my love of this series has cooled slightly with the later books, I still have so much love for the main crew of the Wayward Children series. The entire series has a premise that is both cliche and unique at the same time, where children enter doorways into worlds that are perfectly suited to them and just what they need. But sometimes what they need isn’t always good for them. It’s a very fine distinction. The main crew of this series is a group of kids as unique as their individual worlds, just trying to survive in this one. Which is ironic, if you know where some of them have been. Obviously, I’m a huge fan of squads (and this one is great), but my favorite part of this series is seeing the many different worlds and learning how each character came to belong to their door.

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What Moves the Dead

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruravia.

What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.

Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.

This book helped my team get second place in jeopardy last week, since reading this will absolutely teach you things you never knew you needed to know about mushrooms, like the fact that they have gills. This is a retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher, which I’ve never actually read, and I don’t think you need to. Perhaps you’ll get more out of the book if you do, but I followed it just fine without any previous knowledge. Kingfisher is one of my favorite authors, and I will read just about anything they write, so it’s probably no surprise to find their work on this list. Kingfisher is a master of creepy atmospheres and spooky paranormal vibes that give you goosebumps. Even though I figured out what was happening early on, it’s really about the journey in getting there that makes this novella so delightful. Even with all its strange body horror (which . . . warning, if that’s not your thing).

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Mysteries of Thorn Manor

Elisabeth Scrivener is finally settling into her new life with sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn. Now that their demon companion Silas has returned, so has scrutiny from nosy reporters hungry for gossip about the city’s most powerful sorcerer and the librarian who stole his heart. But something strange is afoot at Thorn Manor: the estate’s wards, which are meant to keep their home safe, are acting up and forcibly trapping the Manor’s occupants inside. Surely it must be a coincidence that this happened just as Nathaniel and Elisabeth started getting closer to one another…

With no access to the outside world, Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas – along with their new maid Mercy – will have to work together to discover the source of the magic behind the malfunctioning wards before they’re due to host the city’s Midwinter Ball. Not an easy task when the house is filled with unexpected secrets, and all Elisabeth can think about is kissing Nathaniel in peace. But when it becomes clear that the house, influenced by the magic of Nathaniel’s ancestors, requires a price for its obedience, Elisabeth and Nathaniel will have to lean on their connection like never before to set things right.

If you just find that you haven’t gotten your fill of the Thorn household, have no fear! While you absolutely need to have read Sorcery of Thorns before reading this prequel novella in order for it to really make sense, this is every bit the cozy, humorous, slice-of-life that I needed to dive back into that world just for a moment. Because I could never get enough of this squad. All I can really say about this is that everything’s gone wrong, and it’s all magic’s fault. Which i feel is a very Elisabeth thing to say, but in this case, she’d be right.

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This Winter

A very special Heartstopper story set over a challenging holiday season…

Reuniting Tori Spring, her little brother Charlie, and Charlie’s boyfriend Nick, this novella sees the Spring siblings brave a particularly difficult festive season.

Speaking of not being able to get enough of something . . . Nick and Charlie! If you haven’t binge-read and/or binge-watched Heartstopper yet . . . do it. Then read this. I don’t think this stands on its own without having knowledge of the rest of the series, but it’s the perfect little cozy holiday read. This novella deals with some pretty heavy topics like eating disorders and mental health, so be prepared. Despite that, it’s a heartwarming story of sibling love and coming together for the holidays. Plus, it’s always nice, in general, to dive back into Nick and Charlie’s world. It’s a bit like a warm hug.

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A Monster Calls

An unflinching, darkly funny, and deeply moving story of a boy, his seriously ill mother, and an unexpected monstrous visitor.

At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting – he’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It’s ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth.

From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd – whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself – Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.

I absolutely had to include this book, even though reading it will absolutely destroy your soul. You have been warned. I wasn’t. (Neither was my mother, when I handed it to her, because turnabout is fair play.) Patrick Ness touches on aaaall the important human emotions in this book, which will leave you wondering who the real monster is . . . or if monsters exist at all. Because at the end of the day, we’re all just doing our best with the hand we’ve been dealt. I love the almost dark fairy tale-esque way the story is told, coming together little by little. My favorite part is definitely the moral dilemmas the monster poses, which seem to have simple solutions at first . . . except that nothing in life is simple. Not even identifying monsters.

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Moonrise

Seventeen-year-old Joe hasn’t seen his brother in ten years. Ed didn’t walk out on the family, not exactly. It’s something more brutal.

Ed’s locked up — on death row.

Now his execution date has been set, and the clock is ticking. Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with his brother, no matter what other people think … and no matter whether Ed committed the crime. But did he? And does it matter, in the end?

This poignant, timely, heartbreaking novel asks big questions: What value do you place on life? What can you forgive? And just how do you say goodbye?

At 400 pages, this may seem like an odd choice for a quick read, but it’s a heartfelt novel-in-verse that absolutely will fly by faster than you expect. Also, it will absolutely break your heart. This book delves into a seldom-asked question: what happens to the families of criminals? How do these families rectify the person they know and love with the person they’re told committed a terrible act? At it’s heart, this is a book about family, love, and forgiveness that definitely deserves more attention than it gets.

Novellas I Want to Read

I can’t possibly have read all the books (not even all the novellas). But I don’t think that should stop you from adding them to your TBR, because misery loves company. So here are a few quick reads that are on my TBR that I’m hoping to get to soon! If you’ve read any of these that you feel I need to pick up ASAP, let me know!

A Psalm for the Wild-Built

Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend.

Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of “what do people need?” is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers’ series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?

To be honest, I know absolutely nothing about this novella except that Becky Chambers is an author that is constantly recommended to me. Sometimes, not knowing about a book is the best way to pick it up. No expectations going in. I do love the titles of the novellas in this series, and I’m curious to learn more about them!

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The Tusks of Extinction

When you bring back a long-extinct species, there’s more to success than the DNA.

Moscow has resurrected the mammoth, but someone must teach them how to be mammoths, or they are doomed to die out, again.

The late Dr. Damira Khismatullina, the world’s foremost expert in elephant behavior, is called in to help. While she was murdered a year ago, her digitized consciousness is uploaded into the brain of a mammoth.

Can she help the magnificent creatures fend off poachers long enough for their species to take hold?

And will she ever discover the real reason they were brought back?

Listen, I learned at the ripe old age of four that bringing extinct creatures back to life is a terrible idea thanks to Jurassic Park. I also learned, at that same age, that I have an innate curiosity in it and, if given the chance, absolutely would bring these things back, despite knowing what would happen. I said I learned what would happen, not that it dissuaded me in any way. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ So I will always and forever pick up the books about the super smart scientists doing the really dumb things because . . . well . . . if you could, why the heck wouldn’t you?!

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The Princess Saves Herself in This One

A poetry collection divided into four different parts: the princess, the damsel, the queen, & you. the princess, the damsel, & the queen piece together the life of the author in three stages, while you serves as a note to the reader & all of humankind. Explores life & all of its love, loss, grief, healing, empowerment, & inspirations.

To be honest, this one crossed my radar forever ago and then I completely forgot about it until I came across it at a book sale a couple months ago. I’m super curious about the formatting of this book and how it’s put together to tell a story. Not sure it’ll be my thing, but I definitely want to give it a try!

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The Ballad of Black Tom

People move to New York looking for magic and nothing will convince them it isn’t there.

Charles Thomas Tester hustles to put food on the table, keep the roof over his father’s head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook. He knows what magic a suit can cast, the invisibility a guitar case can provide, and the curse written on his skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their cops. But when he delivers an occult tome to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, Tom opens a door to a deeper realm of magic, and earns the attention of things best left sleeping.

A storm that might swallow the world is building in Brooklyn. Will Black Tom live to see it break?

Everything about this book sounds absolutely amazing. Not to mention I’ve heard great things about Victor LaValle’s work in general. I heard about this one from another blogger, who had read and enjoyed this. I’m a little ashamed to say it’s been sitting on my shelf for probably two years now, even though I’m pretty sure I’m going to enjoy it.

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The Black God’s Drums

Creeper, a scrappy young teen, is done living on the streets of New Orleans. Instead, she wants to soar, and her sights are set on securing passage aboard the smuggler airship Midnight Robber. Her ticket: earning Captain Ann-Marie’s trust using a secret about a kidnapped Haitian scientist and a mysterious weapon he calls The Black God’s Drums.

But Creeper keeps another secret close to heart–Oya, the African orisha of the wind and storms, who speaks inside her head and grants her divine powers. And Oya has her own priorities concerning Creeper and Ann-Marie…

I did say above that I wanted to read more of Clark’s work . . . remember? Including this! This has actually been on my radar since shortly after it came out, so I’m not entirely sure why I haven’t read it yet. Probably some moral failing on my part. But alas, here we are. What can I say? We’ve already established that Clark is an amazing author. Combine that with the mention of Orisha, which is a pantheon I can’t resist reading about, and this book was always destined to end up on my TBR.

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