The 52 Book Club: 2026 Challenge discussion

6. Under 200 pages

Last year we had a prompt for a book over 500 pages. This year, we want you to find a book under 200 pages.

** What about e-books? If I change the size on my reader, I change the page count. Does it still count?
We get asked this question a lot with prompts like this. As always, this is your challenge! As long as you feel the book meets the “under 200 pages criteria” then it counts!

** What if I’m listening to an audiobook? How can I find the page count?
Goodreads is an excellent spot to find page counts. We recommend starting there!

** What if my copy has more than 200 pages but another edition of the same book is under 200?
As long as one of the book’s editions is under 200 pages, it counts for this prompt. You can read this book in any edition or format and it will still count toward the prompt.

** I’m reading a book that’s over 300 pages long but it’s broken into three different novellas. Does that count?
You can definitely count one of the novellas for this prompt, as long as it’s under 200 pages!


Click here for our Goodreads List of suggestions

The Fake by Zoe Whittall

The picture of Dorian Gray or The old man and the sea

Gold Dust by Ibrahim Al-Koni

Are you There God? It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume

Fathers and Sons by Emmy Ellis

The Colorado Kid by Stephen King

Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist

The Soul of a Woman by Isabel Allende

The Legend of Korra: Patterns in Time is 81 pages

A spindle splintered by Alix E. Harrow or the Beast within by Serena Valentino

Edit READ a spindle splintered in Jan

The Mysterious Affairs at Styles by Agatha Christie

Small Things Like These would work.

Also We Should All Be Feminists
Night, Day, & Dawn (all by Elie Wiesel)

I read Your Daddy Likes It by Alexa Riley! 112 pages.

Elevation by S. King

The Collectors by Philip Pullman

I read The Vegetarian by Han Kang - 188 pages

Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

Maybe Not: A Novella by Colleen Hoover.
150 pages

The prophecy

Yesterday I finished THE LOTTERY by Shirley Jackson. 1*

I’m planning on reading Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury

If anyone loves fantasy, I STRONGLY recommend The Emperor's Soul . It is THE best fantasy novella in my opinion, with great world building in a tiny space and a very compelling protagonist. I am planning on re-reading it for this prompt, but I highly recommend it to others.

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

The Ni'ihau Incident by Allan Beekman is the true story of a Japanese fighter pilot, who while trying to return to his ship after the Pearl Harbor attack, crash-landed on the American territory of Niihau, Hawaii, and terrorized its residents. I found the Hawaiian people’s reaction to the pilot’s problems to be very moving. The author also reveals the racism practiced against 1st or 2nd generation Japanese during that period.

Night by Elie Wiesel

I read The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

I listened to Snatched by Karin Slaughter - 73 pages. I am currently working through the Will Trent Series and this Novella fit perfectly in for this challenge.

I read Fahrenheit 451 I really don’t recommend it. Read it because it’s quite apt. Fits the #6 prompt and is apparently classic. Not for me I’m afraid. Glad it’s done, didn’t enjoy it at all.

Gifts, Glamping & Glocks (Campers & Criminals #29) by Tonya Kappes

Just finished Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. It was different but enjoyable.

I’ve changed mine to The Alchemist after the goodreads recommendations it revived last year!

The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Packs a punch for a short book

L'œil du loup (Daniel Pennar)

Assume the Worst by Carl Hiaasen

1922 by Stephen King

- Silk by Alessandro Baricco (japanese and french atmosphere)
- The Dead Lake by Hamid Ismailov
- She Who Was No More by Boileau & Narcejac
- Chéri by Colette

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs.

I read Kill Joy by Holly Jackson

Animal Farm by George Orwell

I read The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo, 121 pages and 4 stars

What Moves The Dead by T Kingfisher
A five star read and only 158 pages.

I think I am going to read The House on Mango Street for this prompt. It is a title I have seen on a lot of reading lists but have never read myself.

Finished reading "Hellblazer: Pandemonium". A John Constantine story set in the Iraq War. Dark, political, confronting, mysterious, gripping, upsetting.

I've read The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West. It was absolutely amazing. I could have alternatively used this book for the "Sends You Down A Rabbit Hole" prompt, as I have found looking into her life and other works really interesting

A Walk in the Words

I read All Hallows Eve by Richard Laymon, just scraped in with 199 pages.

Excellent short story if you want something horror/thriller type

Have I Told You This Already by Lauren Graham

Could also use it for the comedian prompt as well.

The Ghostly Grounds: Murder and Breakfast by Sophie Love is 195 pages, but it only took me a couple of hours to read.

I tried my first short story for this prompt: My Evil Mother