So far in 2026, I’ve been fortunate enough to visit lots of new destinations abroad, both for work and for leisure. I keep joking to my friends that I’ve had an extended Eurosummer, zipping around Porto, Lisbon and Vienna, to name a few spots on my travel list this year. When it comes to flights, many travellers may think of this as dead time where you can’t do much but listen to music or podcasts (if you’ve remembered to download episodes and/or playlists). But for me, being on a flight is the perfect time to read.
The lack of wi-fi and general phone signal means those distractions that plague so many of us have been forcibly removed and we can actually concentrate on the pages in a book. It’s the perfect time and place to tick something off your TBR pile and transport yourself from one imaginary world to another as you travel to your destination.
And that’s where the beauty of a shorter read comes in. There are plenty of books, ranging from novellas and memoirs to short stories and essay collections to get stuck into on a flight. So, here are seven of my favourites that you can easily fit in your hand luggage and finish by the time the plane’s wheels hit the tarmac.
Convenience Store Woman, Sayaka Murata
This international bestseller comes in at 163 pages (I’m sneaking it in because it’s that good), and it truly packs a punch. Convenience Store Woman is a witty and sharp novel that follows a woman named Keiko who has never felt like she fit in anywhere. To appease her family’s worries, she takes a job at a newly opened convenience store, and it’s here that Keiko finds peace and purpose. But pressure mounts on Keiko to find a more fulfilling path in life – a career, a husband, kids – but she’s happiest as a convenience store worker.
