I’m one of those people who sets themselves a reading target each year, which means I also have a soft spot for a (very) short novel.

I recently devoured Train Dreams, Denis Johnson’s melancholy riff on the American dream, in a single weekend. My copy is just 116 pages, but I can already tell it’s going to live long in my memory. Inspired, I asked ten literary experts to share their favourite novel under 150 pages. From the emotional and tender, to the downright bizarre (78 pages on a man who turns into a breast?) these tiny novels leave a big impression.

Wasps have a bad reputation as pests, stingers and picnic ruiners. So if you’re a wasp-hater you may be celebrating their low numbers this year. But, as a wasp biologist explains, their absence is a cause for concern.

And following Andy Burnham’s speech on social care yesterday, experts question whether he’ll just become the latest prime minister to break his promises on this knotty problem.