The Best Books to Read During Fall

I know plenty of fellow bibliophiles who love to read beach/summer novels while on the beach during summer. No doubt there are other bibliophiles who are just straight-up seasonal readers like myself, so this one's for you! In no particular order, here is my ever-evolving list of great books to read from late August to late November, with no synopsis, just a blurb about why I included it. Happy Snuggle-Up-and-Read Time!

Books You Might Not Have Heard About

* The Troop by Nick Cutter. This book takes place in the late summer, during a Boy Scout-like camping trip on a small island only reachable by boat, and is only scary because it is SO gross. It is also scary because Cutter has decided that writing horror means exploiting the absolute worst parts of the human condition. This book will definitely make you feel uncomfortable, and do not read while eating, especially pasta.

* The Bucket List by Georgia Clark. Because Fall and the month of October isn't just about being scared, it's also about being aware. A perfect read for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this book is about Lacey, a woman in her 20's who is suddenly faced with almost-certain breast cancer. Her's is a journey like no one would expect, a brilliant peek into the unexpected, and often hidden, emotions that come with a life-changing medical diagnosis.

* Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith. I recommend this book to people and they think I've lost my marbles, but this it is an absolutely fantastic read. The story mixes history and fantasy, gore and drama, and heroism and heartbreak. A perfect book for whenever you find yourself in a remote cabin.

* The Darkest Places: Unsolved Mysteries, True Crimes, and Harrowing Disasters in the Wild by The Editors of Outdoor Magazine. Speaking of finding yourself in a remote cabin, this book is a collection of stories centered around the wilds of the wilderness. I flipped the book open and happened to land on a story about severed feet encased in sneakers washing up on various shores. Not only great for this time of year, this book is also a must-read around the summer campfire.

The Usual Suspects

* The Shining by Stephen King. Full disclosure, I read this book because of that episode of Friends (which is also why I read Little Women), and even though I have read a few more horror books since, and more books overall than Joey Tribbiani, I agree with him that The Shining is the scariest book ever written. It takes place from late Fall to early Spring, the weather a sinister character in its own right. I have recommended this book to people who, naively, thought it was just a book and read a little before bedtime. In the dark. Alone. Then, nope, had to put it down and walk away. This book is a must-read, just don't start reading The Shining without making sure there is plenty of room in the freezer.

* Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. This is the 30-years later sequel to The Shining and it is phenomenal. It is gripping and empowering and a terrifying mix of our legitimate, real-life fears, and the mythical monsters under our bed.

* Pet Sematary by Stephen King. Last King book, I promise, but this book has a bit of a cult following. I found it to be more exhausting than scary, and I refuse to watch the movie simply because of the scene with the toddler (you know what I'm talking about, and no, not where he's eating his mother's face).

* In A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware. I mean, the title alone, right? Set in a remote part of England, in a cabin with no phone service, with a group of people you can't trust, this book is definitely a claustrophobic read for when it gets too cold to leave the house.

* The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. Set on a luxury cruise surrounded by frigid, dark waters, where a woman may or may not have been thrown overboard, this is yet another book you don't want to read without your sweatpants.

* The Lying Game by Ruth Ware. This book alternates between the present heat of the summer, and the fall and biting winter of the characters' teenage school year, and while the book isn't necessarily scary, it is mysterious and uncomfortable.

* The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware. My last Ware book, at least until I read her latest, The Turn of the Key. I've read at least one of her books every year around this time, it must be habit now. Well, there are worse habits to have. Also set in a remote part of England, lets just acknowledge that every book set across the pond feels...damp. The setting and weather of this book, alone, gives you the chills, and it is a definite page-turner, making you never want to crawl out from under your blanket.

* See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt. This book is not set during Fall, but an oppressive and - again - damp, heat. And makes me never want to eat pears ever again. But it is an extremely weird, creepy story, and you'll understand the Lizzie Borden costumes come Halloween.

* The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson. Like the King books I mentioned above, reading this book during this time of the year is like one big no-duh. Haunted house and terrified family and Priest, it's like it's not even Halloween if you've never acknowledged The Amityville Horror.

* World War Z by Max Brooks. Everyone is a cynic these days and no matter the time of year will tell you how the world is headed to Hell in a hand-basket, but not before a good, old-fashioned Zombie apocalypse. Personally, I'll always save stories like these for that special Zombie time of year.

* Final Girls by Riley Sager. This book is scary and should be read during this time of year for the same reason you might feel compelled to watch Scream. More specifically, this book is a lot more like Scream 2, where the gruesome murders of the past should be case-closed and done, but of course they're not.  

Simply Set During Fall

* Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips. This book is intense and gripping and only spans three hours in mid-October with a mother and her young son at the local zoo. The story isn't particularly scary or mysterious in the traditional horror sense, but the imagery of the first 30-pages is enough to paint all the fall imagery.

* The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn. This book is definitely a mysterious page-turner that is set during early fall; that perfect time of year when dusk comes earlier than we'd like, playing tricks with our eyes and our minds. But this book is also heartbreaking and emotional and takes you on a roller coaster you might not have expected.

* The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent. Set during the span of the cold, winter months, you can never go wrong with reading about the Salem Witch Trials during the darkest months of the year. Simply placing yourself in the shoes of these people, and knowing that they are real, is enough to scare you more than any witch could.

* Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark. This is a hefty, complicated book - both figuratively and literally - as books around competing magicians tend to be, a la The Night Circus. But this long and imaginative read would be the perfect book to get you into the hibernating spirit.

* The Revenant by Michael Punke. I love a good true story, especially ones about surviving in the wild. Left for dead after a brutal bear attack, this book is tense and bitter and cold and exhausting. It will definitely make you thankful for your cozy bed and nearby hospital. 

* One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus. This book can be read at any time, but since we seem to put extra focus on Native Americans - and often stereo typically so - during this time of year, this is a great read to really get into and understand the lives of a group of Native Americans, and a snippet of the interactions between them, White people, and the government. Also check out the sequel, The Vengeance of Mothers.

Or, ya know, read whatever you want. 😊

The Bucket List by Georgia Clark

I've noticed that I have an interesting habit when it comes to the books that I end up finding absolutely amazing and how I select them at the library. The last few phenomenal books, I've picked them up off the shelf, read the synopsis, briefly considered adding it to my stack, before ultimately putting it back for next time. After two or three rounds of this, I finally bite the bullet and take the book home, and usually wind up utterly blown away. The Bucket List by Georgia Clark is...brilliant. It is witty and fun, heart-warming and heart-breaking, sexy and hilarious. I laughed-out-loud with, literally, every turn of the page, and found several moments where tears sprang to my eyes. I'm not usually on the yay-women! bandwagon, but this is a book every woman can appreciate, for so many, many reasons.

Lacey Whitman is a brash up-and-comer on the New York fashion scene, 25-years old and not afraid of a little hard work. Assuming it's nothing, and just another box Lacey wants to get ticked off, she requests the testing for the BCRA1 gene mutation only to find out that she's positive. With an almost-certainty that she will get cancer at some point in her life, Lacey is faced with deciding on years of close surveillance or mastectomy. While trying to choose, Lacey and her friends realize just how connected our boobs are to our sexuality, and even relationships, so they create a Boob Bucket List; everything she's ever wanted to do with her boobs before they get lopped off or turn into ticking time bombs.

To start, this book is phenomenally written. It is deep and profound, yet sharp and funny. Clark has her pulse on the cultural polarities, while also creating something deeply soulful and real. And each element to the story, each character, adds a component to the book that everyone can appreciate or relate to. I have none of the medical issues that Lacey is faced with, but this book resonated with me in ways I didn't expect.

At times, you love and empathize with Lacey, and at times you think she's a selfish bitch, because she is all of us; she is all of us women wrapped up in a colorfully likable character who is faced with a most undesirable decision with equally life-altering consequences. She is trying to navigate the tumultuous roads of friendships, relationships, family, and career, while stumbling into the stereotypical woman-pitfall of needing to be everything to everyone and a burden on no one. What on the surface is campy, fluffy chick-lit, actually touches on so many topics, especially those important to women, including our sexuality. 

Clark expertly makes the distinction between being in control of our sexuality and it being controlled for us, as Lacey discovers that, as she sits in the driver's seat of sex-ed, it ignites other, more fierce powers within her, giving her confidence in the areas of her life not ruled by libido. Clark also brilliantly showcases the fine line between caring for ourselves and when that self-care turns selfish and starts to harm others. And this is a fantastic read for a time in our culture when we're trying to find the socially acceptable balance between sex and power, and grasp how the two relate, compliment, and confuse one another. What Clark offers up in The Bucket List is charming and charismatic and covers the wide spectrum of emotions as Lacey goes through it all - fear, indecision, lust, romance, rejection, loss, anger, heartbreak, and happiness, all with a wry, infectious humor that really makes you believe laughter is the best medicine.

The Bucket List also gave me a new appreciation for boobs and a deeper understanding of just how involved they are in our lives and those we choose to bring close to us. They are our sexual antennas, our pregnancy beacons, and worshiped by many. I encourage anyone with an interest in good books, relatable characters, and laughing through the tears of the curve-balls of life to read this book. I encourage people who have the gene mutation, breast cancer, or know people from either to read this book. 

I laughed, I cried, and I am so glad that - after three tries - I finally checked it out. Let's hear it for the ladies! (And get those checked out, too.)