Top 10 Tuesday: Books I Read in One Sitting (Or Wanted to)

Welcome to Top 10 Tuesday! This is a weekly challenge hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and this week’s challenge is about books I read in one sitting!

I’ll be honest, I’m really not that fast of a reader, so I don’t often read books in one sitting. The only exceptions are occasionally middle grade books or young adult books, but then only if I’m really interested and if I have an extended period of time to just sit and read. However, there are certainly books that have been so difficult to put down that I wish I could have read them in one sitting! For this list, there’s a mix of middle grade and YA books that I pretty much did read in one sitting, and other adult books that I found ridiculously hard to put down. Without further ado, here are my top 10 books that I really wanted to read in one sitting!

To learn more about a book, click on the photo to find the Goodreads synopsis.

1. “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins

I didn’t actually read any of the books in this series in one sitting (not that I can remember anyway), but I know that I desperately wanted to! I was out of town when I read the first one, so I had other travel-related things to do but any down-time I had was spent reading the first installment of this series! As for the other two, I was in high school at the time I read them so I had to go to school during the day, but as soon as I got home I started reading and only put it down when I had to (dinner, dance class, etc.). They were so hard to put down! Even when I reread them I have a hard time stopping!

2. “The Poet X” by Elizabeth Acevedo

Since it’s written in verse, it’s naturally a quicker read. However, the plot is so interesting and engaging that it makes you not want to stop anyway! I don’t think I quite read this in one sitting, but it was really close. And when I finished, I actually wished I had slowed down to savor the book more as I was reading. It was so good, and one I’ll definitely reread someday.

3. “Ella Enchanted” by Gail Carson Levine

Ella Enchanted was so cute! Much better than the movie (though the movie is a childhood favorite of mine and I still have a special place in my heart for it). I read this one so quickly because I loved the characters and was always happy to get to return to the story and the world in which it takes place! It’s also a middle grade novel, which makes it a pretty quick read.

4. “Nerve” by Jeanne Ryan

So, I actually didn’t love this one. But the plot is engaging enough that I pretty much listened to this audiobook in one sitting! You can find my review HERE.

5. “Concrete Rose” by Angie Thomas

If I remember correctly, I read the first couple chapters of this one leisurely. But then I really got into and read most of the rest of the novel in one sitting and couldn’t put it down. It is truly such a good book! Definitely one of my favorites so far this year. You can find my review HERE!

6. “Other Words for Home” by Jasmine Warga

There were several reasons I read this one as quickly as I did. For one, it’s a novel-in-verse, so even though it’s a fairly long book it goes really fast! It’s also an upper middle grade novel, so that makes it a fast read as well. And finally, I had decided to do this as my next read-aloud with my current class and meant to read it over Winter Break to be familiar with the story, prep vocabulary, etc., but I kind of lost track of time… It was a couple days before the break ended and I knew I needed to get through the book quickly to feel comfortable starting it with my students in the coming week, so I read it in a day! Even with those high-pressure circumstances, it was worth it because this book is incredible! It was the first book I read in 2020 and actually ended up being one of my favorites of the whole year. I highly recommend it!

7. “Ways to Make Sunshine” by Renée Watson

I read this on a cold day in December 2020. It was so cute and a great way to spend an afternoon! You can find my review HERE.

8. “Red Clocks” by Leni Zumas

I remember being surprised by how quickly I read this one! I just found it to be so unique and powerful that it was hard to put down.

9. “Call Me Maybe” by Kara Bastone

This one was so cute!! I couldn’t stop listening to it. I even stayed up late and listened to it in bed before I went to sleep just so I could finish it, which I don’t usually do! I usually read a physical book before bed, and save audiobooks for commutes and chores and what-not. But I had to make an exception for this one!

10. “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie

This is the first audiobook I can remember listening to that I made time to listen to outside of commuting and chores. I definitely didn’t listen to the whole thing in one sitting – most of it I listened to in chunks during my school commutes. However, once I got close to the end, I just couldn’t stop. I had to know who did it! I remember staying in my car listening for a little while after I got home from school, and then when I came inside I just went upstairs, put my headphones in, and paced as I listened to the rest. And I wasn’t disappointed!

Have you read any of these books? What would your top ten be?

Let me know in the comments!