Since you might not have time for a Moby Dick right now, or ever, we took the liberty of curating a short list of short reads you can pick up and put down as you please. No textbooks here鈥搕his is recreational reading. and can offer a needed escape from the stress and grind of a long shift or week.

Of course, there鈥檚 a whole universe of books out there, but here are just a few staff picks:聽

Humor: The Portable Dorothy Parker

If you鈥檙e a lover of quips and don鈥檛 know of her, might be your go-to for a little snark and a smile. She was an author, poet and above all, humorist, who managed to flourish within what was, in her time, a true boys鈥� club of authors. Her wit rivaled that of Oscar Wilde and she wrote everything from iconic quotes to full novels. One of our favorites: 鈥淚鈥檇 rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.鈥� (She said it, not us.)

Poetry: Haiku

You might already be familiar with this form of poem. Haikus are both meditative and digestible, originally a convention out of Japan but now written in many languages. Plus, even the word 鈥淗aiku鈥� is soothing. Here鈥檚 one by :

From time to time

The clouds give rest

To the moon beholders

If you鈥檙e up for it, you might even write a few of your own from time to time. After all, it鈥檚 just seventeen syllables.

History & Science: Delancey Place

Delancey Place is a nonprofit website that you can visit (or subscribe to their daily email, or both) that puts out an excerpt every day. You never know what you鈥檒l get鈥搃t could be a few paragraphs from an autobiography, or a scientifically based extrapolation on the lives of birds, or an historical obscurity you鈥檇 probably never stumble across on your own (a fascinating sample read to whet your palate: )

So when you get a break from reading charts and studies and whatever other 鈥渞equired reading鈥� might come your way, find something amusing, entertaining, or enlightening.

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