Best Short Books: The 60 BEST Fast Reads (100 Pages or Less)

Looking for the best short books of all time?

You’re in the right place!

Here’s what you’ll find on this page…

How Long Is a Short Book?

For the sake of these short book recommendations:

• Short NONFICTION books are books with 114 pages or less; and
• Short FICTION books are books with 104 pages or less.

Why these numbers?

“Fast reads”, for me, are any books an average reader can finish in under 2 hours.

Based on average reading speeds and average number of words per page for each genre, that comes out at books of 114 pages or less for nonfiction and books of 104 pages or less for fiction.

Want the hard science? see this short article on how long it takes to read 100 pages of a book.

Is it a perfect solution? No.

But it’s based on robust science and well established norms so it’s good enough for me!

Why These Best Short Books and Not Others?

Why these best short books and not others? The short books below are the top picks from my huge database of the top books of all time, ranked by a combination of Goodreads rating, number of Goodreads reviews and first publication date. The aim is to surface what’s most loved, what’s most popular and what’s proven timelessly relevant.

Think something’s missing? Email me and I’ll add it to the next round of updates. I honestly love hearing from you so please, do get in touch!

The 30 Best Short NONFICTION Books of All Time

Here are the best 30 short nonfiction books of all time (114 pages or less, including biographies) from my database…

NOTE: Some of these books, especially the philosophical dialogues are HARD. You might read them in under 2 hours but you will need MUCH longer to really understand them.

Fortunately, one of the first parts to reading any book well is to read it right though, without stopping, cover-to-cover – so these books still qualify for our list.

Books 1-10: The Top 10 Best Short Nonfiction Books

The top 10 best short nonfiction books of all time are…

1. Meditations – Marcus Aurelius (FREE Summary)

A deeply humbling and thought-provoking insight into the stoic mindset of one of history’s greatest leaders and thinkers – by Roman emperor, philosopher and example to us all, Marcus Aurelius.

Published 180 // 99 pages // Rated 4.2 over 156,000 reviews on Goodreads

2. On the Shortness of Life – Seneca

Published -49 // 106 pages // Rated 4.2 over 23,700 reviews on Goodreads

3. The Handbook – Epictetus

Published 125 // 35 pages // Rated 4.2 over 17,100 reviews on Goodreads

4. We Should All Be Feminists – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Published 1929 // 64 pages // Rated 4.4 over 216,400 reviews on Goodreads

5. As a Man Thinketh – James Allen (FREE Summary)

THE #1 ranking, uplifting, pocket-sized pep-talk on the power and importance of changing your thoughts as the cornerstone to changing your life – by philosopher and prolific self-help author, James Allen.

Published 1902 // 34 pages // Rated 4.3 over 68,100 reviews on Goodreads

6. Fragments – Heraclitus

Published -500 // 97 pages // Rated 4.2 over 6,000 reviews on Goodreads

7. Letters to a Young Poet – Rainer Maria Rilke

Published 1929 // 80 pages // Rated 4.3 over 60,500 reviews on Goodreads

8. The Law – Frédéric Bastiat

Published 1849 // 61 pages // Rated 4.4 over 11,400 reviews on Goodreads

9. A Room of One’s Own – Virginia Woolf

Published 1929 // 112 pages // Rated 4.2 over 141,900 reviews on Goodreads

10. The Elements of Style – William Strunk Jr. (FREE Summary)

A short, prescriptive classic filled with good advice on writing great (American) English while omitting needless words – by professor and author William Strunk Jr.

Published 1918 // 105 pages // Rated 4.1 over 82,600 reviews on Goodreads

Books 11-30: 20 Great Short Nonfiction Books to Read Next

Here are the next 20 best short nonfiction books from my database…

The 30 Best Short FICTION Books of All Time

Here are the best 30 short fiction books of all time (104 pages or less, excluding books of poetry and plays) from my database…

NOTE: I’ve also excluded children’s books from this list. For more of those, check out this list of the 30 best children’s books of all time.

Books 1-10: The Top 10 Best Short Fiction Books

The top 10 best short fiction books of all time are…

1. A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens

Published 1843 // 104 pages // Rated 4.1 over 572,000 reviews on Goodreads

2. The Tell-Tale Heart – Edgar Allan Poe

Published 1843 // 48 pages // Rated 4.2 over 65,800 reviews on Goodreads

3. Notes from the Underground – Fyodor Dostoevsky

Published 1864 // 96 pages // Rated 4.2 over 101,400 reviews on Goodreads

4. The Overcoat – Nikolai Gogol

Published 1842 // 57 pages // Rated 4.2 over 31,300 reviews on Goodreads

5. The Yellow Wall-Paper – Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Published 1892 // 64 pages // Rated 4.1 over 114,600 reviews on Goodreads

6. The Death of Ivan Ilych – Leo Tolstoy

Published 1886 // 86 pages // Rated 4.1 over 81,500 reviews on Goodreads

7. White Nights – Fyodor Dostoevsky

Published 1848 // 82 pages // Rated 4.0 over 66,000 reviews on Goodreads

8. Siddhartha – Hermann Hesse

Published 1922 // 81 pages // Rated 4.0 over 640,000 reviews on Goodreads

9. The Fall of the House of Usher – Edgar Allan Poe

Published 1839 // 36 pages // Rated 4.0 over 38,800 reviews on Goodreads

10. The Time Machine – H.G. Wells

Published 1895 // 80 pages // Rated 3.9 over 453,900 reviews on Goodreads

Books 11-30: 20 Great Short Fiction Books to Read Next

Here are the next 20 best short fiction books from my database…

More Book Recommendations

Enjoyed this list of the best short books of all time? Here’s a breakdown of all the book lists and book recommendations on the site…

More Best Books of All Time (by Type)

These are some lists of overall best books to read...

More Best Nonfiction Books (by Topic)

These are some lists of best nonfiction books to read...

More Best Fiction Books (by Genre)

These are some lists of best fiction books to read...

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Arthur Worsley
I founded TAoL to discover and share the best wisdom on how to live long and prosper. Before that I studied Psychology, Philosophy & Physiology at Oxford and consulted at McKinsey. Still curious? Learn more or take my FREE productivity quiz.