If your reading habits have been gathering dust lately, you might not be alone. Sometimes the brain just doesn’t have space for 600-page dramas or dense literary experiments, and that’s totally fine…no pressure. What you need is a low-stakes book: something you can pick up, enjoy, and put down without guilt.
These five fiction reads are easy to fall into, yet rich enough to remind you why you love reading in the first place. We have calm, short stories; funny campus drama; and dark thrillers. Here’s your cure for the slump.
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1. A Thousand Years of Good Prayers by Yiyun Li
If you feel like your slump is happening because you can’t commit to a long plot, this one’s for you. Yiyun Li’s debut collection (2005) is made up of short, moving stories about Chinese and Chinese-American lives caught between cultures, politics, and generations.
Each story stands on its own, so you can finish one, take a break, and come back without losing the plot. The writing is tender and exacting, and Li’s worlds stretch from Beijing’s busy streets to lonely corners of Chicago.
Why this will work is that you’re done with a full story in under 20 pages. No cliffhangers, no “wait, who’s this character again?” Just beautifully written, bite-sized fiction that slowly pulls you back into reading.
2. The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow
A servant girl is spared by the Saint of War, only to become the kingdom’s fiercest warrior. But every victory comes at a cost, and the question becomes how many times will she have to die to fulfil her destiny?
This novella is short, lyrical, and slightly mysterious at first, but once it clicks, it hits hard.
Harrow packs heartbreak, magic, and moral weight into under 40 pages. Not kidding, under 40 pages. I’m still amazed by such an otherworldly ability.
The book is quick and emotionally rich. You’ll finish it in one sitting and still think about it hours later. If you ask me, that’s the kind of momentum a slump needs.
3. Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl by Joya Goffney
Monique, a preacher’s daughter, struggles to meet the expectations of her church, her ex-boyfriend, and her own body. When a medical condition derails her attempts at intimacy, she teams up with an unlikely duo, a church girl and a self-proclaimed bad boy, to figure herself out.
It’s warm, funny, and very YA: friendship, self-discovery, and a happy ending that doesn’t feel forced.
This should work because it’s a pure comfort read. The pacing is light, the characters are easy to root for, and it reminds you that reading can feel like a chat with a friend.
4. Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola
Set in a British university’s African-Caribbean Society, Honey and Spice follows Kiki Banjo, a radio host, love cynic, and accidental kisser of the guy she just called a “wasteman” on air. What follows is a fake relationship that evolves into something real, marked by sharp banter, late-night conversations, and chemistry that leaps off the page.
Even if you haven’t read it yet, the buzz is real. A few people call it hilarious and heartwarming, and Bolu Babalola’s dialogue has a rhythm that makes every page fun to read.
It’s flirty, funny, and full of heart, like a rom-com for people who forgot books could make them smile. If you’re heavy on romance novels, try this one if you haven’t.
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5. The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison
If your idea of “relaxing” leans dark, this one delivers. The Butterfly Garden is a chilling thriller about a serial kidnapper known as “The Gardener,” who traps young women in an underground garden and tattoos wings on their backs.
The story unfolds through interviews with Maya, one of the survivors, whose sharp and unpredictable narration keeps you hooked.
For all its horror, the novel’s strength lies in the friendships between the girls, their humour, loyalty, and resilience amid the trauma.
The book is horrifying but deeply human. You’ll keep turning pages, partly out of fear and partly out of admiration for the women who survive.
There’s no one right way to fall back into reading. Sometimes it takes a short story that ends too soon, sometimes a YA romance that makes you grin. The point is to pick something that feels doable. You need a book that reminds you that reading is meant to be joy, not homework.
