As Halloween is now a (still very fresh) memory, I thought we could use this opportunity to write a post about autumn reads. We often consider autumn reads to be Halloween reads, though autumn has more to offer than (only) the spooky vibe. Of course, some of the books in the list are Halloween-inspired (because honestly, November is, for me, half Halloween/half Christmas — oops), but some are much more atmospheric. Ready? Let’s discover the list!
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The Pumpkin Spice Café, Laurie Gilmore
This book, as well as the second one in the series (The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore) is one of my favorites for autumn, and I can’t wait for the Christmas book, next in the series, to be published this Christmas season! I love how the author pictures the perfect small-town romance, while beautifully expressing all the beauty of the season at hand. Reading this feels like reading autumn, I have no better word for it.
Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling
Can I say anything more? As much as I am aware that Harry Potter is set all through the school year, I cannot help but consider it an autumn read. Maybe it is the school vibe in it that feels like September, or maybe the fact that Halloween chapters always seem so vivid, but to me, nothing screams autumn more than this series. For sure you know it already, but have you read the books? I have been late in the game when it comes to it, and let me tell you that even if you love the films so much, you will never (ever) get bored discovering the books.
Legends and Lattes, Travis Baldree
For this one as well, I have read both in the series (#2 Bookshop and Bonedust) and loved them! I am not a big fantasy fan, though I love the genre. However, when I heard “cosy fantasy” was a thing, I had to try it. And it has been an incredible experience! I one hundred percent recommend it for either fantasy fans or cosy reads fans, as I really think it manages beautifully to mingle the two vibes.
Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons, Quenby Olson
This book shares the same vibe as the Travis Baldree ones, though maybe it is a little bit more cosy than fantasy. If you enter into it hoping for a big dragon and crazy story, you would probably be disappointed. However, if you want a cute dragon in a Jane Austen-like world (more of a Sense and Sensibility vibe), for sure you will enjoy your read.
The Thursday Murder Club, Richard Osman
I do not know about you, but I feel like every reader has “a thing”. It can be anything, but we all tend to have one trope that we particularly like, and that is quite “odd”. For me, it is reading about 60+ protagonists, and I am so sad there are not so many books involving this point of view. I have a belief that as a society, we tend to silence older people, though I am not sure why exactly. I love it, however, when an author puts themselves in the shoes of older people and share a daily life of them. The Thursday Murder Club is incredible: think of a group of people, in a retirement house, trying to solve cold cases on Thursdays. And then, imagine that there is a case that is actually not that cold… this is how you start quite the adventure, with the Thursday Murder Club.
The Paris Apartment, Lucy Foley
Honestly at that stage, I would say any book by Lucy Foley would do (I have just finished The Guest List and OMG!). She most definitely has a way with telling stories, and there is an extra something to listening to her thrillers in audio. There is each time a full cast of characters, and you can follow their perspectives as the mystery unfolds. Let me tell you that not matter what you think, it is probably 10 times more complex than that…
Mémoires de la Forêt series, Mickael Beun-Arnaud
As far as I am aware, these have not yet been translated into English, but I know some you at least do read French. It is a series of four books in which you follow the adventure of animals. Actually, only one of the four is set in autumns (one book per season), but as was the case for Harry Potter above, I have a feeling that no matter the season, there is an autumn feel to the story. It is technically a book for children, though it is also clearly a book for adults. You follow the adventures of animals facing illness, which is described so poetically that it hurts. I rarely cry for books, but I have cried for each of these. I cannot recommend the beauty of these words enough.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Sangu Mandanna
There is a thing that always gets to me about “cosy witchcraft”. I am pretty sure this is not actually a genre, but whatever: to me, it is. I am currently listening to the Spellshop, and it definitely gives me similar vibes. In this book, we follow the adventures of a witch who plays witches online, while hiding her true nature to everyone. In this world, witches have to stay a secret. However, a demand will drastically change her life… and the ones of others.
This is for my autumnal recommendations. I could actually do fifty of these, but I have wanted to keep the list manageable for those of you who would be interested in all of these. Also, I have wanted to give a few different genres so that you may feel the diversity of the autumn atmosphere I gravitate towards.
Wishing you the best reading sessions,
Camille
The English-speaking Frenchie 