Reader Mailbag: Books You Read In One Sitting

In our September 2026 newsletter, we asked reader which books they read in one sitting.

Here are the responses:

B: Books that hooked me so bad I only put them down when absolutely necessary for survival. (A few very long books necessitated some actual sleeping time and some time on the job, but other than those exceptions, all books got read during meals, baths, phone conversations, everything.)

A lot of older books appear on this list because being much younger then, it was a lot easier to pull off never-having-to-put-your-book-down-for-anything. And, this list is fairly long because I’m old and have had time to build it up. I’m just glad you didn’t ask for a list of books that would 90% qualify or the list would be book length.

No Exit by Adams

The Day of the Jackal by Forsyth

The Exorcist by Blatty. I suffered the next day for this one as I started reading it at bedtime and by the time I finished it was coming daylight

Gone With the Wind by Mitchell, all those pages defeated in less than 2 days while also working 10 hour days and neglecting everything else

Lonesome Dove by McMurtry, same as Gone With the Wind

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Chabon, same as Gone With the Wind

Shogun by Clavell, same as Gone With the Wind

Eileen by Moshfegh

The Heavenly Table by Pollock – I sure wish he’d write a new book someday soon

Atonement by McEwen

Interview With the Vampire by Rice

The Hunt for Red October by Clancy

Gone Girl by Flynn – wanted to throw this book at the wall after that ending

The Silence of the Lambs by Harris

Catch-22 by Heller

Hot Springs by Hunter

Flowers for Algernon by Keyes

Cujo, Misery, The Shining, Salem’s Lot by King

Intensity by Dean Koontz

Christine: Oh gosh, one sitting. Well, the only one that would fit that bill for real is Nancy Drew’s The Secret of the Old Clock – only because I read it while waiting in a library and thought it would be fun to reread a childhood book that I had loved. The closest I have ever come with reading a book in almost one sitting (it was a couple) was Kristin Hannah’s The Nightengale – it was sooooo good that when my brother called me to ask me to meet up with some of them for dinner I passed because I just could not put the book down and had to finish it.

Chris: Two writers seem to have the ability to write books that absolutely pull me in and don’t let me go until I’ve finished the book. The first one is Blake Crouch, starting with ‘Dark Matter.’ The book’s twists and turns are practically hypnotic. The other writer is Grace Gibson who writes, among other sub-genres, Pride and Prejudice variations. You would think that a variation of a famous book would not be able to mesmerize a reader so much that they stay up all night reading, right? Well, in my case, you’d be wrong. The first book of hers that I read was ‘The Winter of our Discontent’ and I was surprised that I couldn’t stop reading once I started. Thank goodness the books that hooked me weren’t as long as ‘War and Peace!’

Donna: It has been many, many years, but the one book that I read in one day was “The Shining.” I started at 8:00 am and kept going, even holding the book and reading while stirring dinner. So far, it has been the only novel that I have ever done that feat.

Mark: My two biggest memories on your topic were when I was in high school.

We went to a cottage on a lake to visit family friends and I discovered The Godfather by Mario Puzo on a shelf. The only thing I remember about that weekend is reading it everywhere, on the dock, in the boat, in bed, on the couch, etc. I even got to keep the paperback at the end of the weekend which I own to this day.

The next one was QBVII by Leon Uris – a riveting court case drama. I purchased the book at Coles in the Fairview Mall Toronto. About half way through I discovered the book was bound incorrectly and there were multiple pages missing. I remember my cry of agony and explaining to my parents the issue and that we need to go back NOW to replace. I guess I was convincing as they did not argue. I got it replaced and finished it that day. A great read by the way!

David F: I nominate “I Will Find You” by Harlan Coben. Not quite ONE sitting, but I got it from the Library on Friday and was finished on Sunday. Almost missed a Yankee game. Man is in prison for murdering his 3-year old son (he says he didn’t do it). Book goes on with many twists and turns. Compelling. I believe is was on Netflix, but I prefer BOOKS.

Debbi C: I’ve read a lot of books in 2 days, but the only one I can remember reading in one sitting is the last Harry Potter book.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.

Deb N: GOD’S COUNTRY William Kent Kruger’s latest. I’ve read the entire series and this IMHO is the best one yet. Probably because it’s Cork-centric. Highly recommend!

Deba W: T. J. Newman’s Falling. I love when this happens but it doesn’t happen often. I may be physically sitting in my living room but I’m not really there. With this book, I’m on this plane with them, not wanting to die, just like the passengers! This one HAD to be read in one sitting as each chapter leaves you hanging so you have to go on. And the characters seem so real. I fell in love with them and desperately wanted everyone to survive.

Jenny M: When I was a teenager and my brain worked much more quickly than it does now, my new English teacher told us we were going to read The Illiad. So, I went home and read it. It turned out that the class was only going to read an excerpt (and take a semester to do it). So I went home and read The Odyssey and then spent the rest of the semester in the library.
Now that I read so much slower it is rare for me to read a book in one sitting. Recently I read The Traveler by Joseph Eckert that you had recommended. Earlier in the year I spent an enjoyable evening reading Candle Island, a middle grade novel by Lauren Wolk.
I have always kept a diary of the books I read but never before considered noting down how long I spent reading them.

Jessica U: Hi. I think the only book I read in one sitting was The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King. But when I finished it, I wanted to throw it at the wall. That book is the reason why I don’t do that anymore.

Kat: i was sick at home , didnt go to school, and read day of the dolphin all in one day!

Kelly: When I read that question, I immediately remembered the Christmas when I was in sixth grade and Mom’s sister bought me the complete Chronicles of Narnia as a present. I finished all seven books before school started again. My mother also gave me a book for Christmas: The Princess and The Goblin. That also was consumed before school started. I am pretty sure I ate meals with my family during that time, but could not say for sure.

Kenicia: It’s been rare for me as an adult to find books I couldn’t put down. As a kid, I had lots of books I would read in one sitting, but not so much now. I can’t think of a particular book, but I was introduced to Patricia Wentworth a few years ago, and I basically charged my way through her Miss Silver series. I couldn’t believe I had lived so long without being aware of the author or the series.

My mom and I listened to them on audio together. (I read some to my mom when no audio book was available.) We tried to listen to one CD an evening, but when we would reach the next-to-last disc, it would usually be a 2-CD night. We had to know the ending-we couldn’t wait another day.

Linda: My latest nonstop read was Better the Devil, the DCI Logan series by J.D. Kirk. I had it in my library for over a week but couldn’t start it due to other commitments. So, when a time slot opened up, there was no stopping! I love this series!

Pat: Probably the last book I read in one sitting was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in 2005. Even though an adult, I had loved the series and would preorder each new book. For this book, it was being released the same Saturday I was headed up north for a week at a rented cottage. I can’t remember if I picked it up on Friday at midnight or very early Saturday morning. I read all day once I got to the cottage in the middle of the afternoon. I did sleep that night and read the next day until I was finished in mid-afternoon There was a teenage girl in one of the other cottages who was dying to read it, so I passed it over to her. I remember my eyes were red because Dumbledore had died in the book, but I couldn’t tell her.
Also, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in 2003. My daughter was in Glasgow Scotland, so she had a five-hour head start. But she had to work part of the day, whereas I just sat on my porch reading. I beat her by a few hours.

I have read many other books on a compressed timeline but do force myself to take more breaks.

L. T.: Martin Walker’s “BRUNO CHIEF OF POLICE/DEATH IN THE DORDOGNE
was one of many. There are about 25 books in the series. I’ve read them
all once, “most” of them in one sitting, and I’ve started the series over.
I learned after the “second one sitting” of his next book, THE DARK VINEYARD,
to be careful before starting another.
I had to make sure that I had nothing planned for the very near future. I have
read several of his books in one sitting. I love his descriptions, the food he
cooks (yes, I have the cookbook and have tried several recipes), the friends
he has, the village he lives in – it’s all so real, I can’t wait to get there!!

Sue: Read in one sitting
There’s only one that comes to mind — Gone With The Wind. I’m a fast reader.
I started it in the evening –I had to be between age 16 and 20 — and stayed up all night, reading under the sheets to keep the light contained. I remember pretending to be asleep when my Mom looked in, and the closed my bedroom door — so as not to wake me.
I remember thinking that it was incredible that I finished it.

Other than that, since that’s now over 60 years ago (82nd birthday Aug 31, ’26), memories have dimmed. But I still love the story, and have watched the movie several times.

Teresa:
The book that I read in one sitting was The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel. This was back in the mid-80’s. I was watching TV one night and happened to flip the station to a show that had Ms Auel on it about this book. The story in that show (I think it was 20/20.) was about that book, and how she wrote it. I got the book from our college library and read it that night. I couldn’t put it down.
I had twins that had to go to daycare, and I had classes and work the next day, but I had to finish the book. Since then, I have read all the books in that series. It was so awesome!
Thanks so much!
Teresa Clontz

Mary: For me, it was Amityville Horror. Picked it up on the way home from work. Plans were to clean the house that night.

Put a frozen dinner in the oven and thought I’d just start the book.

Never did clean. Finished the book that night and slept with the lights on!