Books

11 Fast Reads

11 Fast Reads You'll Only Need A Day To Finish
Kirkus Reviews
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Originally posted on Kirkus.

You can read any of the books on this week’s list in a day. Novels, nonfiction and a few young adult titles, they tell their stories briskly and memorably. And don’t take up too much of your time!

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11 Fast Reads
'Agostino' by Alberto Moravia, translated by Michael F. Moore(01 of11)
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"Perceptive and razor-sharp insights into the agony of adolescence."Originally published in 1945, this novel about the loss of innocence shines in a new translation.Read full book review.
'What We See When We Read' by Peter Mendelsund(02 of11)
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"Mendelsund amply attains his goal to produce a quirky, fresh and altogether delightful meditation on the miraculous act of reading."An artist investigates how we make meaning from words on a page.Read full book review.
'The Hunting Gun' by Yasushi Inoue, translated by Michael Emmerich(03 of11)
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"This slight but elegant and moving novella is a lovely introduction to a prolific Japanese writer (1907-1991) largely unknown in the West."Inoue's first book, published in Japan in 1949, recounts a tragic love triangle from the different perspectives of those affected.Read full book review.
'A Cup of Water Under My Bed: A Memoir' by Daisy Hernández(04 of11)
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"Personal storytelling at its most authentic and heartfelt."A journalist's account of growing up between cultures and learning to embrace both her ethnic and bisexual identities.Read full book review.
'Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling' by Lucy Frank(05 of11)
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"Riveting, humanizing and real. (Verse fiction. 13-17)"Using innovative page design, Frank crafts an unflinching look at illness.Read full book review.
'100 Essays I Don't Have Time to Write: On Umbrellas and Sword Fights, Parades and Dogs, Fire Alarms, Children, and Theater' by Sarah Ruhl(06 of11)
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"Ruhl's musings may remind readers of Lydia Davis' aphoristic short stories: fresh, piquant and slyly irreverent."An acclaimed playwright reflects on her art and craft.Read full book review.
'Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty' by Christine Heppermann(07 of11)
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"Full of razors that cut—and razors to cut off shackles: a must. (author's note, index of first lines, index of photographs) (Poetry. 13-17)"A slim volume sharp as knives.Read full book review.
'Preparing the Ghost: An Essay Concerning the Giant Squid and Its First Photographer' by Matthew Gavin Frank(08 of11)
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"Fantastical, atmospherically moody and Poe-like in its laudanum-fueled dreaminess."An investigation of our first encounters with the giant squid, a creature "more bizarre than anything appearing in Star Wars."Read full book review.
'Dear Committee Members' by Julie Schumacher(09 of11)
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"Truth is stranger than fiction in this acid satire of the academic doldrums."A disgruntled English professor pours out his hopes, affections and frustrations in an interconnected series of recommendation letters.Read full book review.
'The Children Act' by Ian McEwan(10 of11)
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"McEwan, always a smart, engaging writer, here takes more than one familiar situation and creates at every turn something new and emotionally rewarding in a way he hasn't done so well since On Chesil Beach (2007)."In the late summer of 2012, a British judge faces a complex case while dealing with her husband's infidelity in this thoughtful, well-wrought novel.Read full book review.
'This One Summer' by Mariko Tamaki, Jillian Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki(11 of11)
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"Keenly observed and gorgeously illustrated—a triumph. (Graphic novel. 13 & up)"A summer of family drama, secrets and change in a small beach town.Read full book review.

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