Hello and welcome my name is Starlah and
this video is part 2 of my short book
recommendations videos. If you have not
yet seen the first part of this I will
have it linked so please go watch it. But
essentially I'm just doing two short
book recommendation videos the first one
was for books between 200 and 300 pages
and this one is going to be for books
under 200 pages. And as I specified in
that first video specifically prose
novels so not graphic novels, not manga,
not comics, no books in verse or poetry
or anything like that. Let's jump right
into it. First and foremost I gotta
recommend my fav I actually think that I
didn't recommend one of his in my other
short book recommendation videos and
like I mean I'm fine but like I'm
surprised. I gave a few recommendations
in my intro to fantasy recommendations
video but here I'm gonna be very
specific I am going to specifically
recommend The Ocean at the End of the
Lane by Neil Gaiman. I have a few
editions. This one is an illustrated one
so it's significantly longer. I'm basing
it off of kind of like the regular one I
guess. This one is 181 pages. And in only
a hundred and eighty-one pages is one of
my favorite books. This story takes place
in Sussex, England where a middle-aged
man returns home for a funeral. And
although the house that he lived in as a
child is gone, the farm at the end of the
road is still there. The man is drawn to
it,
remembering the little girl that he knew
as a child, Letti Hempstock, and her
remarkable mother and grandmother. This
man hasn't thought of Lettie in years but
when he sits on a bench by the pond,
behind that farm, at the end of the lane,
a pond that Lettie once claimed to be an
ocean, memories of the past come rushing
back. This story feels like being in a
lucid dream in the best kind of way. This
story is incredible, it's very Gaiman
it's dark, it's beautiful, it's haunting,
it's kind of creepy, it's very whimsical.
The story has kind of an overarching
theme
or question that asks 'what is it exactly
that makes us all human?' which i think is
a common theme or question in a lot of
Neil Gaiman books. Another common theme
in the story - a common theme in a lot of
Neil Gaiman books - is the power of
stories. There is a theme of darkness in
this, inside a person and out. Neil Gaiman
has just incredible prose, like a master
storyteller for sure. Now I-I-I feel like
no Gaiman isn't necessarily an author
for everyone which is fine [it's not fine] But I think
that if you're a fan of beautifully,
creepy stuff, of a very haunting,
whimsical and for this one specifically
a little bit of nonsensical magic, then
you will very much enjoy it. You can see
on my copy here like around the edges is
like peeling almost. I've read this copy
so many times. Next, I want to recommend
The Skin I'm In by Sharon G. Flake. In
this story our main character, Malika, at
her school there is a new teacher named
Miss Sanders who has vitiligo - I think is
how that's pronounced - At her school
Malika is constantly bullied by the
other students for her dark skin and her
handmade clothes. Miss Saunders is a very
tough and intelligent and self-assured
individual that throughout the story
often serves as kind of like a mirror to
Malika's self-esteem. Her low self-esteem
as well as the needed assistance that
Malika kind of needs to stand up for
herself and to be proud of herself and
be happy with the skin that she is in.
This is a beautiful, quick, powerful story.
I think it is generally geared towards
younger readers but it's a story that
anybody can read. The story deals with
bullying, with grief, with low self esteem,
with self love, it's a lot but it is
amazing and it's incredibly powerful
it's raw, it's real, it's just it's so
good. It is 176 pages and I gave it five
stars. My next recommendation is going to
be Passing by Nella Larsen. This story
follows Irene Redfield, a light
skinned woman who is living fairly
comfortably with her husband who is a
physician. They live comfortably in a
townhome in Harlem. And one day Irene
encounters a childhood friend named
Claire Kendry. Claire, who is also a
light-skinned, beautiful, charming woman.
Irene soon learns that back in their
childhood
after Claire's father died, she
actually left their black community in
Chicago and began passing for white.
Hiding her true identity from everyone
including her current racist white
husband. From there, Claire begins
inserting herself into Irene's life.
Causing Irene a lot of anxiety as she
worries about the consequences of
Claire's actions. And as Claire begins
spending more time with black people in
the black community, her desire to kind
of once again be a part of it threatens
everything and everybody. Also the story
takes place in the 1920s - I'm not sure if
I said that initially - but in the 1920s,
in New York. This book also came out I
believe in the 20s or 30s initially.
There are a lot of powerful themes in
this story. For a story that is only a
hundred and twenty-two pages. At the
heart of the story it's about two
mixed-raced women who took two very
different paths in racial identity and
marriage. But the story deals with more
than that. This story also deals with
repressed sexual desires, it deals with
love, it deals with post-colonial legacy.
This is a psychological story. It's
something that really makes you think. I
really, really enjoyed it. As I said this
is a classic that was initially
published in like the late 20s, early 30s
and it's something that I only learned
about earlier this year. So, I wanted to
talk about again because I really
enjoyed it and I don't know if many
people know about it, so here it is! It's
good. Next, I want to recommend A House At
the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman,
a horror, thriller-y, suspenseful, mystery
story. This book is only a 116 pages. This
book is very nonsensical, it's very
suspenseful. It's got
a bit of thrilling magical realism. Like
UGH this book's a trip! We follow two
teenagers who are going on this perfect
date. Canoeing across a chain of lakes
with a cooler full of sandwiches and
beer. Now I don't know whose idea of a
perfect date it is to go out in the
middle of a lake with a guy you just met
but mmmmmm not me. While out on the lake
though our two teenagers see something
below the water. It has two stories, it
has a garden, and it's front doors are
wide open. This is a suspenseful read,
100%. It's-it's got a really creepy
atmosphere. And if you like, like some
really weird creepy stuff without really
much of an explanation, you will really
enjoy this. I did end up giving this 4
stars though, because even though, as
short as this is, there is a bit of a
drag kind of in the middle of the story.
But it's really not much, it was still
overall really good and I definitely
recommend it. And lastly, I want to
recommend one of these shortest books
that I have ever read and one of the
best, I'm Afraid of Men by Vivek Shreya.
This is an essay or like a collection of
really small essays, where Vivek Shreya
writes - with raw honesty - all of her
reasons for being afraid of men.
Throughout her life, she has endured acts
of cruelty and aggression. She discusses
the damage that has been done not only
on herself but on society, that is caused
by homophobia and transphobia and
misogyny. In this Vivek Shreya builds an
entire case on why we need to redefine
masculinity and gender as a whole. Truly,
truly an amazing, a compelling, a
thought-provoking great read. This is
only 96 pages long and if you can see I
put about, approximately 96 tabs in it.
This was emotional and painful but it
kind of has like a layer of humor on it
that makes it a little bit easier to
read. Vivek Shreya is a trans artist and
writer and a teacher of creative writing.
I absolutely love this and I absolutely
need to read more by her. Of course I
gave this 5 stars. Short books can be
so much fun. As I said in the first part,
it always impresses me so much when a
story can be so impactful, so emotional
in only so many pages. Also as I said in
the first video, I know that as the year is
coming to an end, we are all working on
meeting all of our reading goals so if
you still have a quantity goal that you
are trying to reach, I hope that these
really short recommendations will assist
you. Not only do I think you can read
them very quickly but all of them are
definitely worth your time. As I asked in
all of my recommendations videos, please
do not hesitate to comment down below
any other recommendations you would like
to hear from me. Thank you so very much
for watching this video, this two-part
videos if you watch both of them. I
really hope you enjoyed them, if you did
please give this video a thumbs up,
subscribe if you are not and I will see you
soon in the next one, Good Bye!
Look how short all of these are, like I can
so easily fit all of them in one hand. I
think Priory (Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon) is even bigger than these.
