8 of The Best Short Books To Read For the Rest of Summer

This is a short, fun, easy-to-read play by Oscar Wilde. It’s divided into three acts. The writing and scene are short, crisp, and witty. It was published in 1895 and reflects the thinking and ways of that time, but it is still very relevant. Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax are in love with the suitor of the same name. They’re in love with the name more than their suitors, and the name might not even exist. Chaos ensues, and an old handbag might save the day. In typical Wilde fashion, there are poetic gems and truth bombs scattered all over this short play.

This tiny book really is for everyone. Jason Reynolds uses verse poetry to talk to and about dreamers. As a fellow dreamer, it warmed my heart and spelled out things I really needed to hear. It asks you to believe in your dreams and hold on to them. It also acknowledges how painful and frustrating that process can be. But it shows that there isn’t any one form of dreaming. A dream looks different for everyone, and we all have the luxury of dreaming our own unique dreams. It’s a book that celebrates, supports, and understands what it’s like to strive for something you wish to be true.

This is the story of Esperanza, a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago. We experience her life in a series of lyrical vignettes. It is borrowed from the author’s own experiences. It released in 1984 and still hasn’t lost its relevance. It’s a short classic that’s accessible and beyond beautiful. The book does not use quotation marks, so that’s something to keep in mind before picking it up. It’s assigned reading in countless schools and translated into multiple languages — all for good reason!

This is a memoir of an Indigenous woman growing up on the Seabird Island Indian Reservation in the Pacific Northwest. She survived a turbulent childhood and ended up in the hospital years later with a diagnosis of PTSD and BPD II. She’s given a notebook to write her way out of it, and this book is a wondrous result of those entries. One can go into this book knowing that her memory might not be exact, but she threads together her experiences with raw honesty and beautiful lyricism.

This is one of my favourite poetry chapbooks by one of my absolute favourite poets. It’s queer, romantic, and warm, exploring family, love, and loss. Gibson’s poetry is deeply personal while also feeling universally relatable. Anything I can write about it doesn’t come close to how it makes me feel, so I’ll quote from it instead. Here’s a line from the poem “Daytime, Somewhere” that stands out to me:

“I say, I don’t believe in good people.
I believe in people who are committed to knowing their own wounds intimately.”

In this collection of essays, Sejal Shah explores what it’s like to be a Gujarati child of parents from India and Kenya. Her essays are personal and intimate while offering commentary on race and gender in America. It talks about the battle of holding on to your culture, language, and family in a land that doesn’t actively make space for it. She lets the readers get a look into her marriage and how she builds a life with someone through that commitment. Pick it up to get lost in her life and musings.

This is a unique memoir that explores the relationship of a daughter with her mother. Koh was 15 and living with her parents in California when they moved to Korea for a job. She stays, living with her older brother, and feels abandoned by her mother. Her mother writes her letters that she doesn’t fully grasp until years later when she begins to translate them. It’s a story of love, loss, forgiveness, and reconciliation. It also feels like a celebration of language and an exploration of the generational history that gets us to our present moment. (Trigger warning: eating disorder and suicide)