I read every chance I possibly get. Multiple books at a time, often just a few pages when I have a couple of minutes to spare. This is not an endorsement of fragmented consumption; it’s just how I sneak in some sustenance at this point in my life. I am delighted that my kids love to read too, so we sometimes all sit down and read together at home. It’s become one of those rituals that grounds us. Not without effort, but we’re all more settled into ourselves after we do.

I find a lot of my reading inspiration from people I follow on Instagram, like my sister @alliearends, @elementstyle, and @brittanychaffee. Other recs come from Substacks by great writers (like Pulling the Thread by Elise Loehnen) and writers who teach writing (highly recommend book(ish) by the brilliant Josh Cook). I look for books that help me see something differently—especially the ones that are quiet, a little strange, or written so beautifully it makes you want to reread a sentence three times.

Today I’m sharing a handful of meaningful reads (around 200 pages or less) that leave you with the quiet sense of, Oh, this is what life is about. They’re lovely books to read this summer, or any time of year, for that matter.

Here are seven short books worth reading this summer.

1. Bluets by Maggie Nelson

Summary: A lyrical meditation on the color blue, grief, desire, and memory.

Why I Love It: It’s a book you don’t read so much as absorb. Her fragments feel like pieces of a mosaic that, together, make something bigger than the sum of their parts. I return to it when I feel too much or not enough. She says what I am sometimes too afraid to admit to myself.

2. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

Summary: Thirty-nine women are imprisoned underground with no explanation. One girl, the youngest of them all, begins to question what else might be possible.

Why I Love It: It’s eerie and haunting and profound. It made me question everything I thought I knew about identity, freedom, and what it means to be human. I read it twice in one week.

3. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Summary: Set in 1980s Ireland, a coal merchant discovers unsettling truths about a local convent and must decide what kind of man he wants to be.

Why I Love It: It’s short, sparse, and deeply moving. The kind of book that leaves you with a lump in your throat and a new understanding of quiet courage.

4. Getting Lost by Annie Ernaux

Summary: A raw and intimate diary chronicling the author’s obsessive affair with a younger man.

Why I Love It: Ernaux doesn’t flinch. The diary is unedited and beautifully written. A portrait of her late 40s, unraveling and itching to self-detonate without apology. She shows you the hunger, the madness, the waiting—and somehow makes it all feel universal.

5. The Most by Jessica Anthony

Summary: A woman refuses to get out of the swimming pool, and in the process, all of the secrets hidden beneath her marriage come out.

Why I Love It: It’s surreal and sharp, with a thread of humor running through the tension. Reads like a short film. Totally unexpected and totally brilliant.

6. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Summary: A shepherd boy sets out on a journey to find treasure and discovers his personal legend along the way.

Why I Love It: It’s simple but powerful. A reminder that the answers are often within us—and that the detours are part of the path.

7. The Cinnamon Shops and Other Stories by Bruno Schulz

Summary: A dreamlike collection of stories set in a mythical version of the author’s hometown, filled with surreal imagery and poetic prose.

Why I Love It: Schulz writes like no one else. His stories feel like memories from another life—strange, rich, and a little bit enchanted.

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Kate Arends

Kate is the founder of Wit & Delight. She is currently learning how to play tennis and is forever testing the boundaries of her creative muscle. Follow her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.