Short Fiction for Busy People

Discover the best short fiction books for busy people! Enjoy captivating stories perfect for quick reads. Find your next favorite book now.

The Metamorphosis and Other Stories Cover
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The Metamorphosis and Other Stories

by Franz Kafka

Superb collection by modern master explores the complexity, anxiety, and futility of modern life. Excellent new English translations of the title story β€” considered by many critics Kafka's most perfect work β€” plus "The Judgment," "In the Penal Colony," "A Country Doctor" and "A Report to an Academy." A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
Awakening Cover
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Awakening

by Kate Chopin

"She grew daring and reckless. Overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out. Where no woman had swum before."
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Cover
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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

by Robert Louis Stevenson

A humane scientist attempts to explore the most loathsome forces of evil behind the doors of his London laboratory
About Time Cover
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About Time

by Jack Finney

Presents twelve short fiction stories about time and time travel set in New York and San Francisco in the 1950s and 60s.
Dubliners Cover
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Dubliners

by James Joyce

Fifteen short stories evoke the character, atmosphere, and people of the Irish city of Dublin at the turn of the century
Of Mice and Men Cover
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Of Mice and Men

by John Steinbeck

A controversial tale of friendship and tragedy during the Great Depression They are an unlikely pair: George is "small and quick and dark of face"; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a "family," clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation. Laborers in California's dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. For George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own. When they land jobs on a ranch in the Salinas Valley, the fulfillment of their dream seems to be within their grasp. But even George cannot guard Lennie from the provocations of a flirtatious woman, nor predict the consequences of Lennie's unswerving obedience to the things George taught him. "A thriller, a gripping tale . . . that you will not set down until it is finished. Steinbeck has touched the quick." β€”The New York Times
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Cover
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

by Frederick Douglass

This book is an autobiographical account by runaway slave Frederick Douglass that chronicles his experiences with his owners and overseers and discusses how slavery affected both slaves and slaveholders.