So Many Books. So Little Time: A Conversation About Great Short Novels
Hybrid event (in-person and online via Zoom)
So much to read. So little time. Why not try a great short novel?
During the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, author Kenneth C. Davis traded doom-scrolling the headlines for the joy of reading great short fiction—not as an escape but as an antidote. He found insight, inspiration, and instruction in the balm of reading. Inspired by Giovanni Boccaccio, who wrote The Decameron—one hundred brief tales he called novellas—in the midst of Florence’s Black Death, Davis embraced the idea that short is beautiful. Scouring his own bookshelves, then the New York Public Library once it reopened for “Grab and Go,” and later his local bookstore, Davis read more than 50 great short novels—a diverse selection of novellas all approximately 200 pages or less. Spanning centuries and genres, from Voltaire’s Candide in 1759 to Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys in 2019, Davis’s reading and research form the basis of his new book: Great Short Books: A Year of Reading — Briefly.
“A short novel is like a great first date,” Davis writes in the book’s introduction. “It can be extremely pleasant, even exciting, and memorable. Ideally, you leave wanting more. It can lead to greater possibilities. But there is no long-term commitment.”
The New York Public Library chose Great Short Books: A Year of Reading — Briefly as its “Book of the Day” on January 1, 2023. And an early reviewer in Publishers Weekly wrote, “Davis’s conversational tone makes him a great guide to these literary aperitifs. This is sure to leave book lovers with something new to add to their lists.”
Time: 6:30 — 7:30pm EDT
Free!
