20 Extraordinary Books You Can Read in One Sitting

You’ve heard of binge watching, but have you ever considered binge reading? Sure, there’s something to be said for parceling a doorstopper novel into tidy, respectable chunks, but beyond that project lies another reading experience entirely: the one-sitting novel.

The one-sitting novel isn’t just something you can read in one afternoon—it’s something you should read in one afternoon. The one-sitting novel is perfectly structured to be consumed as a complete, transporting experience, whether that’s a breakneck ride through a thrilling narrative, or a slow, dreamy fog that envelops your mind as you page through. The best one-sitting novels sweep you off your feet, whisking you away to another world, only to deposit you back on your doorstep a few hours later, dazed and changed, seared in the fire of something new.

For the sake of argument, we capped our choices at 250 pages—just enough to deliver a truly immersive experience, but not so many pages as to bleed over into the next day of reading. From the blisteringly contemporary to the classic, the lighthearted to the weighty, here are our favorite one-sitting novels. Go ahead—get lost in them.