So you’re looking to read, but you don’t have much time to dedicate to it. Maybe your 2024 New Year’s Resolution was to read more, but you’ve been struggling to achieve this.
Whether it be the fault of dissertations, seminar prep or university sport, second semester always ends up being very busy for us students. Taking into account the above as well as social commitments with friends and uni societies, we are left with very little personal time to relax.
For me, relaxation is almost synonymous with reading, and so I have had to find the perfect reads to fit around a busy schedule so that I can get some much needed down-time.
Therefore, I’m sharing with you below some of the reads I have found useful for those short moments of personal time we get at university. They’re great for dipping in and out of, so you can read in short bursts without forgetting everything by the time you next pick the book up again.
We Have Always Lived In The Castle – Shirley Jackson
Coming in at 214 pages, this book’s staccato style and ample use of dialogue makes it very easy to read. Jackson manages to set a perfectly eerie atmosphere in a way that is both comprehensive and concise, with chapters short enough for you to read two or three in just half an hour. The story is narrated by Merricat Blackwood, who lives isolated from society with her sister Constance and her uncle Julian. Six years ago, a great tragedy killed the rest of their family, the memory of which haunts them to this day…
An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good – Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy
Due to its nature as a short story collection, this book is perfect for a busy semester. Each tale focuses on a new ‘misadventure’ in the life of Maud, an irritable yet impossibly loveable 88-year-old woman. Translated from Swedish, these darkly humorous stories paint a more-than-usually colourful picture of the elderly, as we see just how far Maud will go to protect her peace. I listened to this collection as an audiobook, which can also be a wonderful way to get back into reading for those of us who are pressed for time. This book is available to all members of the University of Sheffield via the library app, Libby.
The Pearl – John Steinbeck
A classic but not a daunting one, this 128-page novella’s beautiful prose is a parable, warning its readers of the dangers of greed. The story focuses on Kino, a native American pearl diver whose life is transformed when he discovers a valuable pearl. Ever since I read it a few years ago, The Pearl has become one of my favourite books, simply because of how evocative the scene-setting is, and the talent that Steinbeck possesses to portray some of the most accurate human reactions and relationships I have seen in literature.
Ella Minnow Pea – Mark Dunn
Subtitled A Novel in Letters, this book had to be on my list because I read it in two hours. The titular character lives on the fictional island of Nollop, named after the inventor of the famous pangram: ‘The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.’ When letters begin to fall from Nollop’s memorial statue, the island’s council bans their use and imposes severe punishments. When each letter falls, Dunn excludes that letter from the novel’s text, exponentially increasing its pace such that this book can be easily read in one sitting. If Dunn’s unique style doesn’t grab you, his comic yet precise portrayal of social control will.
The Metamorphoses – Ovid
Before you reject this suggestion on the basis of it being complex or outdated, hear me out when I say that Ovid’s Metamorphoses is genuinely one of the best short story collections out there. The work comprises over 250 myths, many of which have been the building blocks of culture to come. For example, Pyramus and Thisbe inspired Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and the trials of Perseus were reworked some 2000 years later in Rick Riordan’s best-selling children’s book series Percy Jackson. Ovid’s stories range from around 1-20 pages each, some comic and others tragic; it’s a great book to dip in and out of throughout the semester. However, be sure to read a modern translation, otherwise it could be difficult to follow.
Aristotle And Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe – Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Despite being 390 pages long, this young-adult novel reads easily, featuring the perfect mix of action, dialogue and introspection to keep the book flowing, as well as relatively simple language. It focuses on the friendship between Ari and Dante, two boys who seem completely different on the surface helping each other to discover themselves and their place in the world, both alone and together. This novel is the perfect coming-of-age story, equal parts raw and endearing. If you want more, check out the sequel: Aristotle And Dante Dive Into The Waters Of The World.
The Pig That Wants To Be Eaten: 100 Experiments For The Armchair Philosopher – Julian Baggini
I’m not much of a non-fiction reader, but this book managed to break that streak in me. As suggested by the title, Baggini presents his readers with one hundred distinct thought experiments, each set out in around three pages and designed to get you thinking deeply, even for just ten minutes a day. They’re all explained with modern and relatable context, and with no lofty philosophical jargon to put you off. For example, an experiment for vegetarians: what would be the moral thing to do if a pig were genetically modified to want to be eaten? For every experiment, there is no ‘correct answer’; Baggini simply invites us to think, and perhaps also discuss with friends and family.
