Quick Reads 2025 are short books and great stories by bestselling authors, written in an accessible and easy to read style.
Now entering its 19th year, Quick Reads is a flagship initiative to help new readers access the power of reading and lapsed readers get back into the habit.
The six Quick Reads titles will be available from 23 April 2025 for just £1 in bookshops and are free to borrow from libraries.
A Boy Called Saul by Fiona Cummins
Pan Macmillan
A Boy Called Saul, follows the clever but troubled teenager with a dark past, Saul Anguish. A grim discovery on an island near his home town in Essex leads Saul, and a former police detective, to look back to the past when the pair met two years earlier when a five-year-old was kidnapped by a serial killer, whose evil deeds left scars on them all.
A New Year by Leila Aboulela
Saqi Books
A New Year, follows the story of widow Suad, who moves in with her son’s family in the Scottish countryside, until relations break down with her daughter-in-law as they clash over their different approach to tradition, values, and duty, leaving Suad alone to learn to live as an independent woman.
A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee (abridged)
Penguin Random House
A Rising Man is an abridged version of the first book in the Wyndham detective series. The historical crime novel set in India in 1919 received rave reviews, with Ian Rankin dubbing it ‘A thought provoking rollercoaster’.
The Mind Manual by Dr Alex George (abridged)
Octopus
The Mind Manual: Mental Fitness Tools for Everyone helps readers assess their mental health, complete with a mental health toolkit to help readers thrive.
Learn how to assess your mental health today and understand what’s normal for you. Discover the seven universal truths that everyone should remember, and the mental fitness foundations that will boost you.
The Surprise Visitor by Cathy Bramley
Orion
The Surprise Visitor, follows Claire and Lisa who haven’t seen each other in 25 years, but make their long-distance friendship work with weekly calls. However, both are hiding secrets and maintaining lies. So, when Lisa pays Claire an unexpected visit, their friendship is put to the ultimate test.
Write It All Down by Cathy Rentzenbrink (abridged)
Bluebird
Write It All Down (abridged) is a guide to putting your life on the page. It offers a compendium of advice to help writers discover the pleasure and solace found in writing. The helpful handbook steers the reader through the philosophical and practical challenges of writing, intertwined with reflections and exercises.
