Whether you want to get out of a reading rut or are craving a literary distraction from your phone, the best novellas are the kind of stories you can devour in a day. These shortform books are perfect for our age of distraction, where attention span’s are shorter and many feel overwhelmed at the thought of a 600-page tome.
Shorter books – I’m talking 200 pages and less – can not only save you on hand luggage space, but can also help you get closer to completing your 2025 Goodreads challenge. I’ve read 34 books so far this year and many have been novellas which I’ve whiled away a Sunday afternoon with.
I’m not alone in my new-found love of shorter stories. Earlier this year, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s lesser-known book White Nights surprisingly went viral on TikTok. The themes of isolation and loneliness seemed to strike a chord among Gen Z – and so did its 80 page length.
A recent study, commissioned by the charity the Reading Agency, reported that more than a third of UK adults have given up reading for pleasure. Among the cited distractions, social media, lack of time and difficulty focusing scored most highly.
So, are novella’s the solution? They can be read in just a couple of hours, so fit into busy schedules, and the writing is expertly done to keep you gripped in a short amount of time. If you’re looking for some happy relief between doom-scrolling, I’ve rounded up my favourite short books I’ve read so far in 2025 – all are less than 200 pages and can be enjoyed in a single afternoon.
‘Small Things Like These’ by Claire Keegan, published by Faber & Faber: £9.59, Amazon.co.uk
Set in the 1980s, Claire Keegan’s quiet but deeply moving novella offers a snapshot of The Magdalene Laundries in Ireland. It follows Bill Furlong, a kind, duteous father who works as a coal and timber merchant. The weeks leading up to Christmas are always his busiest as he does his rounds in the small town, providing families and businesses with coal.
When he attends the local Church, he discovers a starving young woman in the shed where the coal’s kept. A series of icy encounters with the nun’s leads him to believe she might not be the only one suffering at the hands of Church. In just 128 pages, Keegan deftly paints a portrait of both human evil and compassion. Recounting one unassuming man’s stand against the Church, it’s haunting yet hopeful. I finished it in one short afternoon, but have been reflecting on it for far longer.
'Perfection' by Vincenzo Latronico, published by Fitzcarraldo Editions: £10.59, Amazon.co.uk
Sophie Hughes’ translation of Vincenzo Latronico’s Italian novella Perfection is a hilariously deadpan account of an expat couple, Anna and Tom, living in Berlin as digital nomads. The book opens with an artful description of their Neukölln flat that’s full of house plants, tasteful Scandi-style furniture and zeitgeisty records from the likes of Radiohead on display. Their social media is similarly curated, from posts attending gallery openings with arty friends to attempts at cooking and cultured city breaks.
The author paints a soulless picture of projected taste, with the couple’s lives embodying the gentrification of the city. Despite busy social lives, successful careers, financial stability and possession of all the “right” trendy objects, the couple are suffering from ennui with true happiness always slightly out of reach. Cue a move to Lisbon, then Sicily to find some kind of meaning. Despite the author’s matter-of-fact writing, his sociological observations shine through in this sharp, thought-provoking 120 page book.
'Hunchback' by Saou Ichikawa, published by Penguin: £8.51, Amazon.co.uk
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa won Japan’s most prestigious literary prize and was longlisted for the International Booker. Translated by Polly Barton – who translated last year’s hit novel Butter (£8.49, Amazon.co.uk) – this slender novel covers several heavy topics, from pornography to life with a disability, class and wealth. The protagonist, Shaka, has myotubular myopathy, a neuromuscular disorder that causes weak muscles and breathing problems.
Living in a care home founded by her well-off parents, Shaka has almost no contact with the outside world except studying for an online degree and writing anonymous erotic fiction and Tweets on the side. Longing for the sexual freedom she’s never had, an opportunity arises when a male care worker discovers her online identity and hints at his financial struggles. The author also has myotubular myopathy, which gives the book particular insight. Bold, thought-provoking and profound, all in just 112 pages.
'Universality' by Natasha Brown, published by Faber & Faber: £11.85, Amazon.co.uk
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Natasha Brown’s new book, Universality, explores similar themes to her critically acclaimed debut Assembly (£8.99, Amazon.co.uk). The short novel – just 156 pages – opens with a viral longlead expose written by down-on-her-luck freelance journalist Hannah. The whodunit-style piece investigates a gold bar used as a weapon in a brutal attack on a Yorkshire farm. Connecting the dots between an amoral banker landlord, a divisive newspaper columnist and a radical faction of anti-government activists, Hannah conducts a deep dive into the identity of the attacker.
Well-structured, the second half challenges Hannah’s account and questions what we can take at face value. Detailing the aftermath of the viral long read (from think pieces to potential lucrative screenplay adaptations), this witty social satire explores the power of language, power and the complexities of truth. It’s just been longlisted for the Booker Prize 2025.
‘The Cost of Living’ by Deborah Levy, published by Penguin: £8.99, Amazon.co.uk
I recently reread second instalment of Deborah Levy’s “living autobiography” series, and stand by it being the best. At 208 pages, it’s ever so slightly longer than a novella, but still easily read in one day. Exploring the challenges and costs of self-reinvention after her divorce, it’s a meditation on what it is to be a modern woman. After the breakdown of her marriage, she moved with her two young daughters to a flat in North London and attempted to make a new home.
Coinciding with work success (her book Hot Milk had been shortlisted for the Booker Prize), she engages with Simone de Beauvoir’s critiques of being a wife and mother in The Second Sex. At the age of 50, cast adrift from the traditional marriage unit, she looks back on decades of habitual family-making, while, as a single mother, going it alone with a screwdriver or dealing with a lavatory that won’t flush. Levy writes profoundly on the female struggle of balancing work success with family duties.
For more book recommendations, I’ve rounded up the best new releases for 2025
