Welcome to The Sixty-Minute Book Club, a short stories book group created to help busy readers rediscover their love of the written word.
Each month, we’ll be reading a short story that takes no more than sixty minutes to read, perfect for even the most hectic of schedules.
At the end of each month, we’ll come together to discuss the story via an entirely optional virtual meeting (also sixty minutes).
Can’t make the live discussion? No problem, there will be weekly prompts or additional tidbits to read via the subscriber chat so everyone can share their thoughts on our shared story.
What we’ll read together
These stories are a mix of stone-cold classics and personal favourites I’m itching to revisit, along with a few I’ve not yet read myself.
January - ‘The Lottery’, by Shirley Jackson (~15–20 minutes)
February - ‘The Swimmer’, by John Cheever (~30–40 minutes)
March - ‘Story of your Life’, by Ted Chiang (~1–1.5 hours: yes, it’s the only one which breaks the sixty-minute rule, but it’s been on my list for years)
April - ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (~25–30 minutes)
May - ‘The Apple Tree’, by Daphne Du Maurier (~45–60 minutes)
June - ‘Recitatif’, by Toni Morrison (~25–35 minutes)
July - ‘The Garden Party’, by Katherine Mansfield (~20–30 minutes)
August - ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’, by Roald Dahl (~10–15 minutes)
September - ‘Bloodchild’, by Octavia E. Butler (~25–30 minutes)
October - ‘A Small, Good Thing’, by Raymond Carver (~35–45 minutes)
November - ‘A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings’, by Gabriel García Márquez (~20–25 minutes)
December - ‘The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle’, by Arthur Conan Doyle (~25–30 minutes)
Most of these are parts of published short story collections, but you can also find many of them on blogs or in publications like The New Yorker, or via your local public library.
The twelve stories span time, place and genre, and I’m certain there will be at least one new favourite on the list waiting for you.
So, will you join me?
If you’re up for reading some classic short stories in 2025, hit the button to subscribe.
Please note, this will also sign you up for my weekly blog Scrambled Eggs, home of the Sixty-Minute Book Club. If you wish to receive book club alerts and emails only, you can toggle on/off via the manage your subscription page.
Similarly, if you are a regular Scrambled Eggs reader and don’t want to be involved, you can head to the same page and simply toggle off of the ‘book club’ option.
FAQs
What to expect?
The Sixty-Minute Book Club is open to all subscribers, free and paid, with the caveat that this is not my full-time job, and expectations should be managed accordingly! 😅I’m doing this for fun and my own personal accountability, not to start a small business. Think ‘chatting about stories with your friends at the local caff’ vibes over ‘Oprah’s book club’.
That said, I will run to the following schedule to keep myself on track:
First week of the month: A general post will go out about the story we are reading this month.
Final week of the month: I’ll run a sixty-minute Zoom to facilitate discussion for each story. The time for each of these will generally be late afternoon on Central EU time and they will run for sixty minutes. Date + Time will be announced in the first week’s post, and updated afterwards on this page.
Weekly: I’ll post prompts and related content via the chat, and would love to hear your own readings or background info here or via comments on my posts.
We’ll have almost one calendar month to read each story. All except the Ted Chiang one will take sixty minutes max to read (based on average reading times). Of course, if you need longer, or tend to get distracted (just me?) that’s fine, just take the time you need. If you hate a story or just can’t finish it, no biggie. Life happens, we move on!
Why short stories?
Short stories often get overlooked in traditional book clubs, but their brilliance partly lies in their brevity. Their authors must distill everything—plot, emotion, and meaning—into just a handful of pages. When it works, they’re unforgettable.
My favourite short stories have surprised, scared, or stayed with me through the years more than other novels I’ve read. Because of this, I’d love to introduce them to others.
I am by no means an expert, just a curious reader, and am keen to learn from others as much as share tidbits I’ve explored on these stories over the years.
Why a book club?
My 2024 resolution was to read War & Peace, via Simon Haisell’s incredible slow read book club, and I’ve enjoyed almost every day of it.
This constant connection with the written word, as well as the thoughts of others alongside you reading it, reminded me of all my favourite parts of university reading, and inspired me to read more short stories in 2025.
And what better way to stay accountable than opening it up into a group effort?
Why am I doing this?
Because, selfishly, I want to read more in 2025!
Once upon a time I was an English Lit student, my specialism being Victorian Literature. This didn’t just mean books, but the giant, doorstopper, tome-y sorts, with the majority being between 500 and 800 pages.
Then I graduated, and real life hit (for the first time, but not the last). I became your classic commuter reader, inhaling 300 page novels on the Bakerloo line in thirty-minute increments. Then I started working in a remote-first job and, somehow, reading for pleasure fell to the bottom of the pile.
Over the past six months a few different pursuits have brought short stories back into my life, and reminded me how much they’ve enabled me to feel connected to my love of reading, even when I’ve been hard-pressed to find time.
This coming year, I’d like to do all that here via my existing blog Scrambled Eggs. As a place where multiple topics come to live together, I’ve purposefully chosen short stories which span time, place and genre.
If you’d like to read more about me, head to my About page.
The Sixty-Minute Book Club owes huge thanks to Simon Haisell, Bonnie Garvin, and Bernardo Paz for inspiration and creating spaces for writerly community and support.
My eye caught Octavia E Butler and that brought me in.
I'm in too! Fantastic idea. Thanks x