Posted on 06/03/2026 10:34:42 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
We updated this list as part of the the Best of the Best Books Reading Challenge! Join the challenge now!
Very short novels have a special magic—not least because, not to be morbid, you can simply read more of them before the inevitable heat death of the planet (or similar). I previously wrote about great contemporary novels under 200 pages, but now it is time to turn my attention to my favorite short classics—which represent the quickest and cheapest way, I can tell you in my salesman voice, to become “well-read.”
A few notes: Because the “contemporary” list surveyed novels published since 1970 (inclusive), this list will define “classic” as being originally published before 1970. Yes, these distinctions are somewhat arbitrary, but one has to draw the line somewhere (though I let myself slide on certain translation dates). I did not differentiate between novels and novellas (as Steven Millhauser would tell you, the novella is not a form at all, but merely a length), but let’s be honest with ourselves: “The Dead” is a short story, and so is “The Metamorphosis.” Sorry! I limited myself to one book by each author, valiantly, I should say, because I was tempted to cheat (looking at you Jean Rhys).
Most importantly for our purposes here: lengths vary with editions, sometimes wildly. I did not include a book below unless I could find that it had been published at least once in fewer than 200 pages—which means that some excellent novels, despite coming tantalizingly close to the magic number, had to be left off for want of proof (see Mrs. Dalloway, Black No More, Slaughterhouse-Five, etc. etc. etc.). However, your personal edition might not exactly match the number I have listed here. Don’t worry: it’ll still be short.
Finally, as always: “best” lists are subjective, no ranking is definitive, and I’ve certainly forgotten, or never read, or run out of space for plenty of books and writers here. Therefore, please add on at will in the comments.
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The Call Of The Wild
“The Cincinnati Kid”
Yes! I loved the Classics Illustrated that I read back in the early ‘60s and still have a couple of copies I saved somewhere in my garage.
The Slaughter House Five: Kurt Vonnegut
The Book of the Dunn Cow: Walter Wangren
I’ve got that beat. I used to read Classic Comics to get the gist of “A Tale Of Two Cities”, etc.
Hound of the Baskervilles needs to be off.
Thanks for posting this. I will be pouring over this list to find some more good reads.
do you know if these are on kindle unlimited
This is the list I’ve been looking for, but was too lazy to Google. Thank you for reminding me of what is now available to read and ponder.
It's just too much data, but here is last year and this year:
2025
Faithful (Chronical of 2004 Red Sox season) - Stewart O'Nan, Stephen King
Bible, NKJV - God
Soaring Between Pastors - Tom Harris
Paying the Price (History of Iranian resistance) - L Todd Wood
Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age - Rosaria Butterfield
Tales from the Patriot's Sideline - Michael Felger
Odyssey - Homer
The Evolution Controversy - T Fowler, D Kuebler
Three Days in Moscow - Bret Baier
America's First Dynasty, The Adamses 1735 - 1918 - Richard Brookhiser
Impacting Generations - David Kubal
Backlash - Brad Thor
Bible Prophesy - Essentials - Amir Tsarfati
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - John Le Carré
On Democracies and Death Cults - Douglas Murray
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
2026
The Horse God Built (Secretariat) - Lawrence Scanlan
Seeing the Supernatural - Lee Strobel
Notre Dame de Paris - Victor Hugo
New Testament, NASB - God
America Alone - Mark Steyn
The Abandoned - Paul Gallico
An Unholy Alliance - Michael Youssef
Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beeched Stowe
The Thin Blue Line - Greg Dillon
Berliners - Vesper Stamper
Bookmark
There are some very good titles there.
i highly recommend “O Pioneers!” [& My Antonia], “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, and “Silas Marner” ...
Thanks for this!!!!
Many classics here ... some read, some not, those already read ... hope to re-read some of them again. Great books never have to be relegated to the “one-and-done” list or pile.
Great stuff! Thanks for posting!
Ping for later (PFL).
Read them when the sun goes down!! :)
Also, “The Lost Lady” by Willa Cather. It’s short and is one of her later novels that featured her stripped down to the essentials writing style. Each word and sentence are perfectly chosen.
Ooops. It’s “A Lost Lady.”
No Hemingway??
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