Top 5 smol books

Ok, so The Girl Who Steals Christmas by C.G. Drews (aka PaperFury) is technically a 15 page short story that is set before The Boy Who Steals Houses. And while I wouldn’t normally count it, this story made me SOB. IN PUBLIC. It was an emotional rollercoaster of wonder and tears.

Also, I really just want to use this opportunity to scream about The Boy Who Steals Houses again. Also, The Kings of Nowhere which you can read on Drews’ Patreon account where The House for Lost Things (the third and final book in the trilogy) will be added very soon!! And everything that Drews writes. Magic.

Opal by Maggie Stiefvater is a short story set after The Raven Cycle, but before The Dreamer Trilogy. It’s actually quite sweet in a slightly terrifying way.

Opal tells the story of Ronan’s… adopted daughter (? trying to figure out how to explain this without spoilers is weird) who makes an appearance in the series. It’s told from her perspective and (from memory) also shows some scenes from the main story itself. Or plot points that were referred to.

Honestly it’s been a while since I read this 38 page story, so I could be wrong…

If you have read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (and everyone should), then you have done yourself a disservice if you haven’t followed it up with How the Marquis Got His Coat Back.

This 64 page short story fills in the blanks for the Marquis that aren’t in the main story itself. You know, because Richard and the Marquis go off in separate directions.

The story itself is good — not amazing. But really, anything that puts me back in the Neverwhere world is top tier for me. Speaking of, I wonder how The Seven Sisters is going…

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell is probably the first ‘entire book’ on this list. Which, at 96 pages long, is quite an accomplishment. And by entire book, I mean it’s not part of another series and the characters don’t turn up anywhere else.

I also remember when this book came out — it was a freebie that bookstores were giving away as part of World Book Day. But only in the UK. I ended up buying my copy from eBay and paying exorbitant postage costs, for it to then be released later as part of Rowell’s tiny short story collection (is it a collection if it’s two stories?!), Almost Midnight.

It’s completely nerdy and it about two people standing in line to watch the newest Star Wars film. It’s also very sweet.

This is probably the most unusual book on this list. Partly because Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is actually a play. But also because it’s one of the books that I studied in school that I genuinely LOVED.

At a teeny 118 pages, and first published in 1966, this story adds to the overarching plot of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Yup, it’s THAT Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. And it’s quite cleverly told in between the other scenes of the original play. There are genuinely points where R&G walk off the stage of Hamlet and could then walk onto a stage of this, with Hamlet (the character) in the very far background.

If you’re a fan of Shakespeare I would highly recommend this. Even for the witty banter alone!