Three Books that Took Me One Day Each to Read

Some options for binge reads the next time you have an extended reading session

When people find out how much I read, the first question is usually, How do you find the time to read so much? The primary answer is that I listen to a lot of audiobooks, because the pace of my life does not allow for long periods of the extended reading of print books. But sometimes I find myself in a position to sit and read a book from cover to cover over the course of a day. This almost always happens while traveling or while on vacation—our kids are old enough now that I can usually read while supervising them doing their own thing.

As summer approaches and you might find yourself traveling, here are three books that were not only so gripping that I didn’t want to put them down, but that are also relatively short (300 pages or less). Even if you can’t finish them in one day, they will still be quick reads!

The Boys by Katie Hafner

As I did in preparation for the trip I’ve been on this week, before a vacation a few years ago I walked through the library shelves and grabbed several books that jumped out to me, knowing nothing about them. I read this book in 2023, and it was one of the first novels I read that incorporated Covid and the ensuing lockdowns as a plot point in the story. It is about a struggling couple, a trip to Italy, and a surprising bike ride.

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

This was a pre-vacation library pick from a different vacation. I picked this one up before a summer beach trip with my mom in 2024. It was the first extended time I was going to be away from my family since our youngest was born in 2020, and I couldn’t wait to sit on the beach and read an entire book in one sitting. This was the first one I read that week, and it was the definition of a page-turner. I don’t usually tend toward the more popular psychological thrillers, because I have often found them disappointing, but I was pleasantly (disturbingly) surprised with this one.

The Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy by Tia Levings

Unlike the other two, I did actually listen to this one on audiobook, but it was still all in one day! I listened to this one last summer on one of the first days all my kids were back at school. I was trying to create a sense of order in our home after a busy summer, so I stuck my eardbuds in and turned this on. I listened all day as I caught up on laundry, decluttered my kids’ rooms, and cleaned the bathrooms. This is a nonfiction memoir about a woman who grew up in fundamentalist churches and ended up in an abusive marriage. Her perspective on her story was fascinating, and the story of how she escaped her marriage was harrowing.

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This week on my trip, I’ve been able to start and finish two books over the course of three days. It wasn’t quite one day each, but the feeling of a good binge read is a special kind of dopamine boost. There’s no prize in finishing a book quickly, and sometimes books deserve to be read slowly and thoughtfully. But some books are begging to be consumed whole! I’d love to know…

• if you’ve ever finished a book in one day or one sitting;

• or if the idea of trying to do so is anathema to you;

• a short book you’d recommend for my next binge read

Happy reading!