We are less than a month away from 2022 (yuck, eww, how is this possible?) and many of us are still trying to reach certain reading goals. When I feel like I am falling behind, I usually like to pick up a few light and short reads to help myself get back on track. So for today’s post, I am sharing ten short books that you can pick up right now to help you reach your 2021 goals before the year is over. All of these are under 300 pages and can be read in a day or two. These are some of my favorite reads that I’ve picked up over the last few years and I highly recommend them all. Covers are linked to Goodreads.
1. Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar
The Gist: middle grade, novel-in-verse, 256 pages, deals with immigration and detention centers
2. Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda
The Gist: graphic novel, dark fantasy, six volumes currently out, 200 pages or less per volume, female-centered, sapphic
3. Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Gist: SMG’s debut, underrated gem, music and magical realism, 272 pages
4. Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann
The Gist: college-age YA, biromantic ace lead, so many swoons, 281 pages
5. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
The Gist: sapphic sci-fi, gorgeous writing, tender love letters, 201 pages
6. The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho
The Gist: novella, wuxia fantasy, delightfully funny + charming, queer, 160 pages
7. Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
The Gist: short-story collection, haunting, explores female autonomy, horror, 248 pages
8. Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones
The Gist: novella, horror, shocking, slasher fans rejoice, 136-page rollercoaster
9. Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
The Gist: horror novella, haunted houses, tension, Japanese folklore, 128 pages
10. The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste
The Gist: middle grade fantasy, Caribbean folklore, surprisingly eerie, father-daughter bonds, 240 pages
Have you read any of these? What are some short books that you would recommend to others if they are trying to reach their end of the year goals?
A Kernel of Nonsense 
Martita, I Remember You/Martita, te recuerdo By Sandra Cisneros. It’s 128 pages in English and about the same in Spanish. An epistolary style novella.
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What an interesting sounding title!
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I need to get to Nothing But Blackened Teeth asap. Great list!
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It is a MUST!
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Great list! I really need to read This is How You Lose the Time War and I’m not sure why I haven’t yet lol 🙈 I also *love* Monstress and need to catch up on Vols 5 & 6!
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This Is How You Lose the Time War is magnificent. Monstress is amazing, I have to read the latest release myself.
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Great post, I love Let’s Talk About Love and need to catch up on the Monstress series
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Both are so great!
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I’d recommend The Wayward Children series, I’m on book 2!
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Ooh, that’s a good one! I’ve only read the first two books but they are great.
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I really should check some of these out, it’s taking me forever to read a book right now so short books would be ideal!
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Sometimes you just need a little break from your current read in order to get through it.
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I haven’t actually read any of these, but Signal to Noise and the Time War book are both on my list of priority reading! There are so many great novellas and short novellas to choose from. I really enjoyed the Murderbot novellas, among others.
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Both are fantastic reads! Murderbot novellas sound very interesting.
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Loved this post! 🥰 It’s perfect for getting in some short books before the end of the year! I have heard such good things about This Is How You Lose the Time War but haven’t had the time yet to pick it up.
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Thank you! This Is How You Lose the Time War is incredible. I have never read a book like it. I hope you get a chance to read it.
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I have not read any of these, but thank you for the suggestions! I’m always a big fan of graphic novels to get more books in too!
Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
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Yes, graphic novels always help when I’m feeling slumpy as well.
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Great suggestions! I loved The Jumbies and I always find MG novels great for a quick, fun easy read.
I’m, trying to work up the courage to check my goals this year, but I’ve been in such a messy mood since summer I’m sure I’ve fallen short on all of them.
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The Jumbies was so good! Remember to be gentle with yourself when you check your goals ❤
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Great list! I love reading shorter books or graphic novels when I am falling behind on reading goals. I have quite a few of these on my TBR and some that I need to check out. It’s nice having a list of shorter books on hand.
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Thank you! Yes, both of these are great when you are falling behind or feeling slumpy.
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