It turns out that my 3 Perfect Books to Read in an Afternoon is one of my most popular posts in the last year, so I wanted to share more! There seems to be more free time in the summer, or more time with natural light, at least. We take more time off of work, things go on hiatus until the fall, and we can just fit more in. So, it is time to take more advantage of that time and read! These are the 4 best books to read in an evening, and have an excuse to curl up.
These books are all fairly short, as you could read them in an evening (or afternoon or morning). However, they aren’t short stories, or novellas- there is enough to really sink your teeth in for four or five hours. I’ve included books across a few different genres, so there is something for everyone. Now, it is time to get reading…
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened, Allie Brosh
This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative–like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it–but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:
Pictures
Words
Stories about things that happened to me
Stories about things that happened to other people because of me
Eight billion dollars*
Stories about dogs
The secret to eternal happiness**These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!
If you have had a terrible day, week, month, or year, and just want something to make you laugh, look no further. Hyperbole and a Half the book version of Brosh’s blog of the same name. There are a few blog posts in the book, but most are new stories, and all of them are hilarious. This is one of a handful of books that has actually made me laugh until I cried, a rare feat. Not all of the stories are laugh-out-loud funny, a few are more serious, but overall, you are in for laughing. And a lot of it. (That counts as an ab workout, right?…) Also, if you happen to be of an age that would remember the beauty of Microsoft Paint pictures, you will have quite soft spot for her illustrations.
At the Drop of a Hat, Jenn McKinlay
Cousins Scarlett Parker and Vivian Tremont’s fashionable London hat shop, Mim’s Whims, is visited by a new customer bearing an old hat box. Ariana Jackson is getting married and wants to restore her mother’s bridal hat and veil for the occasion. The elegant item was made by Scarlett and Vivian’s grandmother over thirty years ago, so Viv is delighted to take the job.
When Scarlett goes to Ariana’s office to consult about the restoration cost, she finds her outside, standing over her boss’s dead body. Though Ariana claims to know nothing about his demise, the investigation unveils a motive for murder. Now, with the bride-to-be in custody and the wedding on hold, Scarlett and Viv must find the real killer before Ariana’s future is boxed up for good.
This is one of my favourite cozy mystery series! It is the third book in the series, but like all cozies, you don’t need to read them in order. Scarlett and Vivian are cousins in London, running their late grandmother’s millinery shop. Although it is a murder mystery, there is no blood or gore, so no ick-factor. Jenn McKinlay has several different cozy series, so she definitely knows what she is doing. The Hat Shop Mysteries are certainly her best series, though. The characters (both leading and supporting) are full fleshed out, the setting is spectacular, and in spite of it being a cozy, there are twists that you don’t see coming. You can read this in an evening, and feel like you’ve worked your brain just the right amount solving it!
Londonopolis: A Curious History of London, Martin Latham
Which tube station once housed the Elgin Marbles? What lies behind a Piccadilly doorway that helped Darwin launch his theory of evolution? And who named the Natural History Museum’s long-tailed dinosaur Mr. Whippy? Londonopolis celebrates all the weird and the wonderful things that make London so magical, and whisks you down the rabbit hole into the warren of backstreets, landmarks, cemeteries, palaces, markets, museums, and secret gardens of the great metropolis. Meet the characters who populate the city, from cockneys to royalty, and peel back layers of time to uncover stories that grow curiouser and curiouser as they go along.
If you have ever been to London and wondered what was the history behind it, or even just wanted to go to London, this book is for you. Like any particularly old city, there is a story behind every street name, every old house, museum, park, and back garden. And while it sometimes seems straightforward, in London it is anything but. Latham does a wonderful job of tying familiar places with unfamiliar history. You come away knowing more, no matter how much you know about London. And let’s be honest, London is fascinating enough on it’s own, and certainly worth an evening of weird and wonderful history.
The Little Lady Agency, Hester Browne
When sweet, naive Melissa seeks a job with her old Home Economics teacher she is halfway through the interview before it dawns on her that Mrs McKinnon isn’t interested in her cookery skills, but is in fact running an escort agency. Melissa panics, but she needs the cash – and what harm can providing lonely men with stimulating conversation over dinner do? More exciting still, she’ll get to wear a disguise…Enter her alter ego: Honey. As flirty and feminine as a Bond girl, as confident and sexy as Mary Poppins in silk stockings, Honey brings out a side to Melissa she never knew she had. A side that will get her into hot water, (and out of it) and that she’ll never want to lose…
If I didn’t include at least one piece of chick-lit, would you even have known it was me? Hester Browne is in my top three authors, and I have yet to read one of her books that I don’t love. They are beefier books, for chick lit, but nothing that takes ages to get through. Melissa is a fun and lovable protagonist, and you will be routing for her (and the agency). I also enjoy that Browne’s books usually make you laugh. Not in a crying laughter kind of way, but in a clever, appreciating sort of way. And The Little Lady Agency is helpfully a series, meaning that you can read the next few if you find yourself with a few more evenings free.
What are your books to read in an evening? Leave your recommendations in the comments!
Cheers,
The Historian
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