What to Read Next: Books That Feel Bigger Than Their Page Count (In a Good Way)
Issue #359, featuring C. S. Lewis, Rumaan Alam, and Shelley Read
Happy Friday, readers!
As we say every single December, we’ve shockingly and improbably reached the end of yet another year. The most surprising thing this time around is that we’re approaching five years of the COVID era, during which time has felt impossible to measure and think about in any kind of logical way. Regardless of our feelings on the matter, however, time does indeed keep chugging on.
To close out your year and hit your reading goal, you may be looking for shorter books that can be read in just a few days. Today, I have a few titles under 300 pages that all feel bigger than their page count. The stories are crisper and more epic than you’d think. All of them make for good options to finish your 2024 reading on a high note.
Quick programming note: I’m taking next week off and you’ll hear from me again in January. Merry Christmas, everyone!
Go as a River by Shelley Read
Shelley Read’s 2023 debut was a Big Read selection for November that hit all the right notes in terms of both story and style. The narrative is heartbreaking at times — there’s no denying that — but also hopeful and chock-full of big-hearted love.
Tracking the life of Victoria Nash over several decades, Go as a River spends a lot of time exploring the themes of fate and life choices — the small moments that seem inconsequential at the time and end up changing everything.
In the early chapters, Victoria is a young woman on the cusp of her first love. She’s bold, nervous, and plenty stupid about plenty of things. Towards the middle, she’s deep in “the sadness that changes everything” and has to figure out how to build a new life after trauma. In the book’s closing chapters, middle-aged Victoria reckons with her past and learns how to forge ahead.
Set in the rural mountains of Colorado, Read excels at creating a sense of place; it really feels like you’re in the mountains and peach orchards with Victoria. In historical fiction especially, being able to viscerally set the scene can easily mean the difference between memorable and forgettable. Read’s writing was often meditative and even aphoristic, but never didactic.
If you want a short but emotionally impactful book to close the year, Go as a River is a great choice. I have no problem recommending it to just about everyone.
Entitlement by Rumaan Alam
Alam’s Leave the World Behind was one of my favorite reads of 2021. Vaguely apocalyptic, that book’s slow burn, thriller-adjacent story was creepy and smart and fantastically written. Entitlement, published this year, was very similar stylistically, but different enough to be interesting and stand on its own.
Brooke is our first-person narrator. When it’s done well, this type of narration can make a story feel incredibly intimate and alive — Alam certainly nails that part.
She’s young and on the make in New York City, working for a billionaire philanthropist who’s looking for good organizations to give away his money to. As Brooke gets more facetime with the big boss, she slowly becomes more enamored by his wealth, and what that wealth can get you. Simply being so close to so much money changes her.
As the pages go by, the narrative becomes more and more unsettling — more unhinged even. And Brooke becomes more and more aggravating. As readers, we don’t quite know what’s real and what’s in her head; either way, we see a powerful sense of entitlement take root in her psyche. Not surprisingly, it ain’t pretty.
Entitlement is taut and thought-provoking, asking big questions about money, philanthropy, obsession, and what we think we’re owed in life. It’s probably not for everyone, but if you enjoy the kind of novel that sometimes makes you uncomfortable and doesn’t provide easy answers, this one may just hit the right chord for you.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
When I last read C. S. Lewis’s classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I was shocked by how short it was. Our family read-aloud was over in far fewer days than I would have expected based on how big that story was in my memory.
If you’re unfamiliar: the narrative follows four siblings who discover a magical land ruled by the White Witch where “it’s always winter but never Christmas.” That’s about to change, though. The children join Aslan (the great lion) and his army in their attempt to overthrow the forces of evil. Along the way, they discover a lot about themselves and some of the foundational truths of life.
Though it’s a simple children’s story made up from cobbled-together myths, fairy tales, and fables from around the world, it carries a powerful message no matter your age. In the end, love and courage will always win. Period.
If you’ve never read it, now is the time. If you have read it before, give it a re-read. It’s perfect for the holiday season.
Be good to each other and thank you for reading.
-Jeremy
I loved The Narnia books as a youngster. The other two look fascinating. Thanks as always!
Just picked up Go as a River. Looking forward to reading!