The Best Books to Read When You're Too Tired to Actually Read

You said you'd read more this year. You really meant it. And then you had a child, a job, a body that requires sleep — and suddenly your nightstand book has been on page 47 for three months.

We get it. Here are the best books for people who love reading but are currently operating on fumes.

1. Short Story Collections

No commitment. No cliffhangers you'll forget by morning. Just a complete, satisfying story in 20 minutes. Try George Saunders, Carmen Maria Machado, or literally anything labeled "flash fiction." You're in, you're out, you felt something. Perfect.

2. Essay Collections

Same energy as short stories but somehow even more forgiving. You can read one essay, feel extremely smart, and then fall asleep. David Sedaris, Anne Lamott, and Samantha Irby are patron saints of the tired reader.

3. Graphic Novels

Pictures + words = your brain does less work. This is not a criticism. This is engineering. Saga, Persepolis, Fun Home — all incredible, all very readable at 10:30pm when your eyes are staging a protest.

4. Audiobooks (Yes, They Count)

Folding laundry, driving, standing in the shower longer than necessary — all valid listening environments. If someone tries to tell you audiobooks "don't count," that person has too much energy and cannot be trusted.

5. Rereads

Your brain already knows what happens, so it can relax. Rereading a comfort book when you're exhausted is like wearing your softest sweatshirt. There is no wrong choice here. Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice, that one YA novel you've read six times — go for it.

The Real Secret

Any reading is good reading. Five pages before bed still counts. One chapter on your lunch break still counts. Falling asleep with a book on your face definitely counts.

You're a reader. Tired readers are still readers. Wear the title (and the merch) with pride.

Shop our book lover collection — apparel for the people who have too many books and zero regrets about it.