As the year slowly comes to end, you might be struggling to meet your reading goal, or you may be in a serious reading block. Fear not! These four short reads will be sure to get you out of your rut and help you meet your 2022 reading goal.
Convenience Store Woman By Sayaka Murata
Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman follows a 36-year-old Tokyo woman named Keiko Furukura, who has never truly fit in anywhere and struggles with human interaction. Keiko struggles with navigating what society deems normal until she begins working at a convenience store called “Smile Mart.” Keiko learns how to be normal and finds serenity and a purpose in working at the convenience store. This book deals with navigating the world as an atypical person trying to conform as best as one can. The book was published in 2016 and it is only 163 pages long.
Pet By Akwaeke Emezi
Akwaeke Emezi’s Pet follows the story of Jam and her best friend, Redemption, who live in a utopian world where Monsters are believed to be extinct; that is, of course, until a creature named Pet emerges from Jam’s mother’s painting. Jam has to fight to protect her best friend and find the truth. The book is a critique on Utopias and takes place in a world where everyone is told there are no more monsters. The monsters in the book are euphemisms for racism, transphobia, abuse etc. This book is not only intriguing in itself, but it is also thought-provoking. Akwaeke Emezi asks the question “How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?” This interesting read was published in 2019 and is only 209 pages long.
The Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka
Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is bizarre, surprising, and a gut wrench all at once. The story follows Gregor Samsa, a salesman who is the primary breadwinner in his household. Gregor wakes up one day as a giant insect and has to grapple with the fact that his family views him as a burden now. The Metamorphosis is gut-wrenchingly beautiful yet absurdly comical and explores the raw feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and isolation. It was published in 1915 and is only 100 words!
On Earth We Were Briefly Gorgeous By Ocean Vuong
“I am thinking of beauty again, how some things are hunted because we have deemed them beautiful. If, relative to the history of our planet, an individual life is so short, a blink, as they say, then to be gorgeous, even from the day you’re born to the day you die, is to be gorgeous only briefly.” Ocean Vuong’s beautifully written prose is captivating and will surely keep you hooked. The book is a coming-of-age story and a letter from a son to a mother who can’t read. The book’s protagonist, Little Dog, dives into the past and takes the reader on a journey, building up to an unforgettable revelation. The book explores themes of race, gender, nationality, and what makes a family. This book was published in 2019, and it’s only 255 pages long.