Turn Up the Heat Inspo for Read a Book with a Number in Its Title

09 July 2026

As we swing into week three of Turn Up the Heat, the libraries’ annual winter reading challenge for adults, you might be wondering what to choose for a title which includes a number. Here’s a few terrific reads that might whet your appetite.

Thriller writer Ruth Ware has been dubbed the “queen of just one more chapter” and has a couple of books to her credit that might suit this challenge. In Zero Days, a security expert goes on the run when the police finger her for her husband’s murder. Not knowing who she can trust, she becomes a fugitive but has a few savvy skills up her sleeve that might save her. This is an edge of your seat read with a good twisty finish.

If you like to choose a meatier read when doing book challenges, the Booker Prize winning Life of Pi by Yann Martel might suit. This classic novel follows young shipwreck survivor Pi Patel, stuck on a lifeboat for months with a tiger and an orangutan. This is one of those stories that can be interpreted in different ways and is a philosophical read that also explores the importance of storytelling.

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty is an engrossing story that explores ideas around free will and fatalism, love and grief. It all begins on a short flight when a clairvoyant predicts how the passengers around her will die and when. This is disturbing for some and good news for others and the plot follows a group of people who have drawn the short straw, as well as the back story of the clairvoyant herself. When some of the predictions begin to come true, the tension mounts, rushing the reader on to a satisfying ending.

If you like a good dystopian novel, Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel certainly fits the bill. After a devastating epidemic, the world is transformed and civilisation as we know it comes to an end. The story follows a famous actor, a band of travelling players and a dangerous prophet with connected characters from before and after. This is a spell-binding novel that looks at fame and art and relationships amid the devastation.

You might remember the best-selling memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy. Half His Age is the author’s first novel, and follows Waldo, a seventeen-year-old whose emotions are boiling over with desire, rage and hurt. She develops a yearning for her creative writing teacher Mr Korgy and  doesn’t quite know why. Is it just that she wants to be seen, to be loved?

And if you’re running out of time, the novella Three Days in June by Anne Tyler is a delightful story told with Tyler’s trademark wry humour. On the eve of her daughter’s wedding, everything seems to be going wrong for Gail. She loses her job; her ex-husband turns up on her doorstep with an elderly cat and needing somewhere to stay; and she learns something about her future son-in-law she’d rather not know. This sparks a reflection on her own marriage and makes for a memorable three days for Gail.

If you still need a bit more inspo, there are handy reading lists at the library or online. Happy reading and good luck!

Posted by JAM

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