I want to start reading the Church Fathers

Some time ago I noticed a fascinating trend in lay people, who want to get into patristics but they never know where to start. All too often, they look for recommendations and are directed to large, imposing, conspicuous text. The most (dare I use this word?) notorious of these has to be City of God, by St. Augustine. One of the largest tomes I've seen, yet an astonishing amount of people think this is the perfect work to start off with. It's great breadth, predictably, leads to a fast burn-out. The reader no longer has interest in the Church Father text, or they may claim they do, but now viewing them all in the same light, they find the time necessary to read them in to be too great(with the idea that the greater the length, the greater the importance, and more destructively, the shorter the text, the less relevant they must be).

Granted, virtually everything a Church Father has written will be edifying at least to some degree, even seemingly irrelevant personal letters written between friends. This list is not intended to be the end-all-be-all of text that a Catholic must read, but writings that can be read more easily because of their length, but with the great and subtle thought that characterizes patristic thought.

Most of these writings can be found in various places. Here are some locations to look for alternates:
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/
https://www.ccel.org/fathers.html
http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/

This list is only vaguely sorted in chronological order.

The Epistle of Barnabas
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0124.htm

The Seven Epistles of Ignatius of Antioch
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0104.htm  Ephesians
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0105.htm  Magnesians
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0106.htm  Trallians
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0107.htm  Romans
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0108.htm  Philadelphians
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0109.htm  Smyrnaeans
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0110.htm  to Polycarp

The Martyrdom of Ignatius
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0123.htm

Polycarp's letter to the Philippians
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/polycarp.html
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0136.htm

The Martyrdom of Polycarp
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicene_Christian_Library/The_Martyrdom_of_Polycarp
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0102.htm

Epistle to Diognetus
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.iii.i.html
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0101.htm

The Didache
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0714.htm

The Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1010.htm

Two apologies of Justin Martyr
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0126.htm
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0127.htm

Clement of Alexandria - The Instructor
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/clement-instructor-book1.html
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/clement-instructor-book2.html
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/clement-instructor-book3.html
(This is somewhat of a long entry, which goes against the aim of this collection)

Who is the Rich Man that Shall be saved?
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/clement-richman.html

Ireanaeus
Against Heresies
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103.htm (directory to each part)
(Another long entry to read in it's entirety, which is why I prepared select readings below)
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103103.htm On scripture
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103110.htm Unity of the faith of the Church
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103201.htm Defense of Monotheism
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103303.htm On the necessity of apostolic succession and Rome
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103304.htm The Truth is found alone in the Catholic Church

Another location in long format:
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/irenaeus-book1.html
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/irenaeus-book2.html
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/irenaeus-book3.html
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/irenaeus-book4.html
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/irenaeus-book5.html

Tertullian
Prescription Against Heretics
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0311.htm
On Baptism
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0321.htm
Antidote to the Scorpians Sting
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0318.htm
Against Praxeas
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0317.htm
On Idoltry
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0302.htm

St. Cyprian of Carthage
On the Unity of the Church
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/050701.htm
https://archive.org/details/TheUnityOfTheChurchByStCyprianOfCarthage (Another scource)
Letter to Pope Cornelius / Against the Heretics
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/050654.htm
Cyprian's Answer to Cornelius, Concerning the Crimes of Novatus
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/050648.htm
To Cornelius in Exile, Concerning His Confession
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/050656.htm
On Baptism of Infants
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/050658.htm

St. Ephrem the Syrian
Just read everything he ever wrote. But barring that:
http://a.co/1MQOuis for his hymns, very cheap
Homily on Our Lord
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3706.htm
On the Sinful Woman
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3708.htm
Homily on Admonition and Repentance
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3707.htm

St. Basil the Great of Caesarea
Of the Holy Spirit
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3203.htm
The Hexaemeron
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3201.htm (looks long but isn't)

St. Ambrose
Concerning Repentance
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3406.htm (not as long as it looks)
Exposition of the Christian Faith
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3404.htm (directory, long)

St. Augustine
Against the Fundamental Epistle of Manichaeus
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1405.htm
Letter to Generosus
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1102053.htm

St. John Chrysostom
Homily on St. Ignatius
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1905.htm
Homily on John
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/240188.htm
Correspondence with Pope Innocent I
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1918.htm

(This is another of the fathers who were so prolific it's almost impossible to pick something short from them, to the point it might be more prudent to just leave such fathers out of a list like this)

St. Cyril of Jerusalem
On Heresies
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310106.htm
On the Holy Ghost
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310116.htm

St. Jerome
The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3007.htm
The Dialogue Against the Luciferians
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3005.htm
The Life of Malchus, the Captive Monk
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3006.htm
The Life of Paulus the First Hermit
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3008.htm
To Pope Damasus
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3001015.htm

St. Optatus of Mileviso
http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/optatus_01_book1.htm  Book 1
http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/optatus_02_book2.htm  Book 2

Pope St. Leo I
To the Bishops of the Province of Vienne. In the matter of Hilary, Bishop of Arles.
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3604010.htm
Leo, bishop of the City of Rome, to Anastasius, bishop of Thessalonica.
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3604014.htm

The Letters of Theodoret
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2707.htm
They are actually all pretty short. You can read them all in a few hours, if that.