It’s the start of a new semester meaning less time to read for personal enjoyment and more time going to classes and being active on campus. Here are five short books that won’t take up most of your busy time, but will help reach your reading goals. 

“Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller (139 pages)

“Death of a Salesman” is a tragic stage play that follows Willy Loman, an aging salesman who can’t keep up with the younger generation taking over the industry. He knows he is slowly being pushed out, but tries to ignore it.

Loman has always tried his best to fit into the American Dream, but fails to accept the fact that he will never attain it, ultimately leading to his downfall. 

This play also focuses on the “picture perfect” family stereotype with Willy being a successful businessman and his two sons, Happy and Biff, following in his footsteps, or so it seems.

“Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng (388 pages)

Shaker Heights is the perfect, progressive neighborhood that houses the best families and schools, so when Mia and Pearl, a mother-daughter duo that disregard the status quo move in, chaos ensues. 

As Mia and Pearl get closer to members of the Richardson family, Elena Richardson uses her journalistic skills to dig up Mia’s background to figure out who she really is and why she is disrupting their Shaker Heights lifestyle.

This domestic fiction novel was also turned into a Hulu original series, so feel free to check it out if you have the time. 

“The Universe of Us” by Lang Leav (240 pages)

“The Universe of Us” is a poetry collection that covers celestial themes of stars, planets and constellations and how those give the same emotions and thoughts to love and relationships. 

Leav covers universal emotions so well that there are sure to be some poems that will allow anyone to connect with them, no matter their situation. 

“Conversations with Friends” by Sally Rooney (336 pages)

Frances and Bobbi are two best friends who stumble upon a poetry performance one night where they run into a well-known photographer and strike up a friendship, as they are drawn into her world. 

Frances meets the photographer’s husband Nick and they start harmless flirting until it turns into more. This literary fiction novel explores the danger of youth, lust and the messiness of female friendships. 

“My Policeman” by Bethan Roberts (304 pages)

“My Policeman,” a literary fiction novel, starts in 1950s Brighton where Marion first meets Tom who teaches her how to swim and how to love. Fast forward to when Tom meets Patrick, a museum curator, who opens Tom’s eyes to the world of art and travel.

It is the time period where it’s safer for Tom to marry Marion, but meet Patrick in secret. Marion and Patrick both share Tom for a while until one of them breaks and all their lives are ruined. 

This novel is based on the relationship novelist E.M. Forester had with a policeman. This novel  is also set to be a major motion picture starring Harry Styles and Emma Corrin, so check this one out in time to watch the movie.