Auckland Council Libraries: Short and satisfying reads

Short and satisfying reads

​We know life gets busy and it can be hard to find time to settle in with a long read. Explore this list of short (under 250 pages) and satisfying reads, curated by our reading engagement specialists.

Every heart a doorway

Seanan McGuire

Book

Children disappear from Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, tumbling down rabbit holes and old wells. Emerging in a fantasy world, they struggle to find their way home. The first entry in the award-winning Wayward Children fantasy series.

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Elevation

Stephen King

Book

Scott has been losing weight due to an illness. As he battles to regain his health while helping the gay married couple who live next door to launch a restaurant, his affliction and the town’s annual foot race brings out the best in the townsfolk.

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Goodbye, vitamin

Rachel Khong

Book

A funny and tender debut novel about a family dealing with dementia. Ruth is turning thirty and her life is falling apart. At Christmas, her mother begs her to stay and help her for a year. This is the wry, beautifully observed diary of that year.

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The Department of Sensitive Crimes

Alexander McCall Smith

Book

Malmo Police department's detectives take their job very seriously. Lead detective Ulf prioritises his work above even his dog's mental health. Things are complicated by a series of violent crimes and a new romance.

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Redhead by the side of the road

Anne Tyler

Book

Micah, a creature of habit, leads a steady life. But one day his routines are blown apart when his woman friend (he refuses to call anyone in her late thirties a 'girlfriend') faces eviction, and a teenager shows up claiming to be his son.

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The reader on the 6.27

Jean-Paul Didierlaurent

Book

Guylain leads a dull and solitary life. He hates his job and his only company at home is a goldfish. On the train one morning he finds a USB containing the diary of a young woman. While reading it, he finds himself falling in love with its author.

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Leonard and Hungry Paul

Rónán Hession

Book

The story of two quiet friends who see the world differently and are trying to find their place in the world. It is about those uncelebrated people who have the ability to change the world through their appreciation of all that is special in life.

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Exit west

Mohsin Hamid

Book

In a city swollen by refugees but still mostly at peace, Saeed and Nadia share a cup of coffee. Before too long, the time will come for Nadia and Saeed to leave their homeland. When the streets are no longer safe and all options are exhausted.

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Our souls at night

Kent Haruf

Book

Widower Louis is initially thrown when the widowed Addie suggests they spend time together, in bed, to stave off loneliness. They are soon exchanging the confidences and memories of lives now empty of family, and their hopes for the imminent future.

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Charlie Savage

Roddy Doyle

Book

Meet Charlie Savage, a middle-aged Dubliner with an indefatigable wife, an exasperated daughter and a drinking buddy who's just realised that he's been a woman all along...

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An elderly lady is up to no good

Helene Tursten

Book

Maud is an 88-year-old Swedish woman with no family, no friends, and no qualms about a little murder. She learned early in life that good things can come from tragedy. When a dead body is found in her apartment, will Maud finally become a suspect?

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Auckland Council Libraries:Book list Recommended reading lists about different topics and genres to help you find new books to read.