Top 5 Tuesday #13: Books Under 300 Pages

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm.

This week’s topic:

Top 5 books under 300 pages

These aren’t exactly my top books. I chose books I really enjoyed reading/learning from that aren’t comics/graphic novels but are under 300 pages.

Madness: A Bipolar Life by Marya Hornbacher

299 pages

Madness is Hornbacher’s autobiography about her struggle with bipolar disorder, ultra-rapid-cycle type 1, which is hard to treat. It’s a great read and a very informative one, but it was a difficult read too. I was hooked the entire time I read, but Hornbacher is very descriptive in her writing, so I often felt uncomfortable and had to take breaks from the book. This one could potentially be triggering for some, so be mindful that it discusses substance abuse, eating disorder, and self-harm as well as other topics.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

291 pages

It’s been a while since I’ve read this one, but it’s one of my favorite books about writing. It’s part memoir and part writing guide. We get a bit about King’s life and how he got into writing, his process and such, but he also shares writing tips and encouragement, and I think he includes exercises as well. It’s a great one to read (if you haven’t already) especially if you’re interested in becoming a writer.

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

288 pages

Trevor Noah is a South African comedian and host of the Daily Show, an American satirical news program. Born a Crime is his autobiography about growing up in post-apartheid South Africa. However, Noah was born during apartheid, which prevented relationships between Whites and Blacks, hence the title Born a Crime. It’s a great read, informative and sometimes hilarious. I’d love to reread it by listening to the audio book.

When Hitler Took Cocaine and Lenin Lost His Brain: History’s Unknown Chapters by Giles Milton

261 pages

This is one of the quirkiest history books I’ve ever read. It focuses on uncommon topics, like Hitler’s cocaine habit, a dog that advanced to the level of sergeant through combat in the U.S. Army (the only dog to do so), the dude who declared himself emperor of the U.S. back in the 1860s, and a Japanese soldier who kept conducting guerilla raids in the Philippine jungles 29 years after World War II had ended. That and much more. I really enjoyed reading this, and apparently the author has another book out that’s like this one. I need to read it too.

The Face: A Time Code by Ruth Ozeki

144 pages

This is the first in an interesting series of books called the Face, in which authors write a short memoir about their face. In A Time Code, Ozeki stares in a mirror for three hours straight and writes down her thoughts and observations and the time at which she had them. It’s an exercise I’ve been meaning to do since reading this book but have yet to. It’s a very interesting read that I encourage you all to try.

That’s it for me.

Let me know if you’ve read any of these.

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