Reading a book is one of the simplest and most beautiful ways to spend your time, especially now our lives demand so many hours with eyes locked to a screen. When your to-do list is as long as your arm, taking time out to read a truly feel-good book can be luxurious! That's why we've trawled the best of Amazon and Waterstones for our favourite books to enjoy between Friday night and Sunday evening.
From titles by Toni Morrison to Adam Kay and Naoise Dolan — we've picked our top 10 with the aim of recommending you quick, easy, and satisfying reads. Whether they're short novels by famous authors you worried you'd never surmount, or new release debuts by talked about young writers, there should be something for everyone here.
For those after a quick look, here is our Top 5:
For a more in-depth look at the comprehensive top 10 selection, make sure to read on to learn more about the different types of books to read in a weekend available and understand how our ranking was determined.
This article's chosen EC site price listings are reflective of its publishing date.
Image | 1 ![]() Frances Cha | 2 Deborah Feldman | 3 ![]() Naoise Dolan | 4 ![]() Toni Morrison | 5 ![]() Adam Kay | 6 ![]() Lucy Atkins | 7 ![]() Carrie Fisher | 8 ![]() Sayaka Murata | 9 ![]() Patrick Suskind | 10 ![]() Andre Aciman |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | If I Had Your Face | Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots | Exciting Times | The Bluest Eye | This Is Going to Hurt | Magpie Lane | Postcards From the Edge | Convenience Store Woman | Perfume | Find Me |
Features | A Much-Talked About Debut Novel Exploring Contemporary Seoul | A Fascinating Memoir Exploring Life as a Hasidic Jew in New York | The One Everyone's Been Talking About | A Must-Read Novel from a Nobel Prize Winning Author | Multi-Million Selling Diaries of a Junior Doctor | A Compulsive and Gasp-Heavy Thriller | Carrie Fisher's Wry Fictionalised Memoir | A Deadpan Ode to Rejecting Social Expectations | A Dark, Sensory Tale Set in 18th Century Paris | Bestselling Return to the Characters From Call Me By Your Name |
Price | £7.37 | £4.99 | £3.84 | £6.99 | £7.19 | £13.29 | £8.99 | £6.99 | £6.99 | £7.25 |
Fiction or Non-Fiction | Fiction | Non-fiction | Fiction | Fiction | Non-Fiction | Fiction | Fiction | Fiction | Fiction | Fiction |
Publication Date | 2020 | 2012 | 2020 | 1999 | 2017 | 2020 | 1987 | 2016 | 1985 | 2019 |
Genre | Modern literary fiction | Modern memoir | Modern literary fiction | Classic literary fiction | Modern medical memoir | Modern crime thriller | Modern fictionalised memoir | Modern literary fiction | Classic literary fiction | Modern literary fiction |
Formats Available | Paperback, eBook, audiobook | Paperback, eBook, audiobook | Paperback, hardcover, eBook, audiobook | Paperback, hardcover, eBook, CD | Paperback, eBook, audiobook | Paperback, hardcover, eBook | Paperback, hardcover, eBook | Paperback, eBook, audiobook | Paperback, hardcover, eBook | Paperback, eBook |
Number of Pages | 288 | 272 | 288 | 224 | 256 | 368 | 240 | 160 | 272 | 272 |
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Let's start with the basics. Think about what you fancy reading this weekend; something based in fact or an adventure of imagination? Obviously, both are great, but there are some distinct differences.
Often works of fiction can take longer to digest and may be more descriptively dense, meaning they tend to be suited to reading over an entire weekend with no other big commitments, or even a week or more.
Non-fiction, on the other hand, sticks to the facts and is usually less descriptive, so they're usually able to be dipped in and out of. We've done our best to find quickly digestible books of both kinds in our ranking.
Our recommendations include new release books along with a few older novels that have gained a reputation and are well on their way to 'classic' status. Getting to know a classic can be a worthwhile way to spend your weekend, as can reading a book that's at the cutting edge of our cultural moment.
Decide while shopping whether you'd like to find a beloved book from a world-renowned author or to sample some newer writing, perhaps even a debut from a younger writer. The choice is yours!
Among our picks you'll find a few different genres we think are best suited to weekend reading. Crime thrillers, for instance, are natural page-turners, with plot twists abounding from chapter to chapter. The very nature of a thriller keeps you intrigued to know where the story will go next, meaning you're likely to finish it quicker!
Other genres that can be easily enjoyed in a weekend are laid-back literary fiction and memoirs. Celebrity autobiographies are a good choice as they tend to be heavy on action and light on gratuitous adjectives!
Likewise, diary-style memoirs and real-life stories of struggle and survival in different walks of life are also great for a couple of days of reading. They not only offer page-turning action and plenty of interesting characters, but they allow you to immerse yourself in an extraordinary perspective or situation.
Looking for a book guaranteed to raise your heart rate? Check out the Best Thriller Books!
Take a look at which formats the book is available in — paperbacks are lightweight and convenient to hold when reading. They are also much more flexible and comfortable when you're tearing (not literally!) through its pages on the settee.
Unfortunately, sometimes new releases only come out in hardcover versions, which are slightly more expensive than paperback versions. But how else are you going to join the debate on some of the most talked-about debut writing of the year?
Another benefit of hardback books is the fact they make beautiful gifts, look great on your shelves or coffee table and are likely to stay in good condition for longer.
Looking for a place to display your ever-expanding book collection? Here are the Best Bookcases!
For many devoted book lovers, the thought of a digital version is utter sacrilege — but if you're short on storage space or want to take your book outside or on a weekend trip — you may want to see if your chosen title can be downloaded to your eReader.
Sadly this style of reading doesn't free you from the stresses of the screen, but it does avoid the bookworm's dilemma of a to-read pile that expands from the living room shelf to the bathroom! For those who are often on the go and like to listen to stories via headphones, many books now come in audiobook or CD format too.
The daily commute is the perfect time to squeeze in some reading — check out the Best eReaders!
This ranking has been compiled by the writing team at mybest UK via careful evaluation of the points made in the buying guide and thorough research of each product and comparing multiple verified customer reviews across the EC sites used.
£7.37
Fiction or Non-Fiction | Fiction |
---|---|
Publication Date | 2020 |
Genre | Modern literary fiction |
Formats Available | Paperback, eBook, audiobook |
Number of Pages | 288 |
£4.99
Fiction or Non-Fiction | Non-fiction |
---|---|
Publication Date | 2012 |
Genre | Modern memoir |
Formats Available | Paperback, eBook, audiobook |
Number of Pages | 272 |
£3.84
Fiction or Non-Fiction | Fiction |
---|---|
Publication Date | 2020 |
Genre | Modern literary fiction |
Formats Available | Paperback, hardcover, eBook, audiobook |
Number of Pages | 288 |
£6.99
Fiction or Non-Fiction | Fiction |
---|---|
Publication Date | 1999 |
Genre | Classic literary fiction |
Formats Available | Paperback, hardcover, eBook, CD |
Number of Pages | 224 |
£7.19
Fiction or Non-Fiction | Non-Fiction |
---|---|
Publication Date | 2017 |
Genre | Modern medical memoir |
Formats Available | Paperback, eBook, audiobook |
Number of Pages | 256 |
£13.29
Fiction or Non-Fiction | Fiction |
---|---|
Publication Date | 2020 |
Genre | Modern crime thriller |
Formats Available | Paperback, hardcover, eBook |
Number of Pages | 368 |
£8.99
Fiction or Non-Fiction | Fiction |
---|---|
Publication Date | 1987 |
Genre | Modern fictionalised memoir |
Formats Available | Paperback, hardcover, eBook |
Number of Pages | 240 |
£6.99
Fiction or Non-Fiction | Fiction |
---|---|
Publication Date | 2016 |
Genre | Modern literary fiction |
Formats Available | Paperback, eBook, audiobook |
Number of Pages | 160 |
£6.99
Fiction or Non-Fiction | Fiction |
---|---|
Publication Date | 1985 |
Genre | Classic literary fiction |
Formats Available | Paperback, hardcover, eBook |
Number of Pages | 272 |
£7.25
Fiction or Non-Fiction | Fiction |
---|---|
Publication Date | 2019 |
Genre | Modern literary fiction |
Formats Available | Paperback, eBook |
Number of Pages | 272 |
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