Complete Reading List - Let’s get to the point. Here are my fall book recommendations:

Key: * Maddie’s Favorite ! Check TW’s

The Clichès (nothing wrong with a good cliche - they’re popular for a reason)

*Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone* by J.K. Rowling
*The Secret History* by Donna Tartt *
*Wuthering Heights* by Emily Brontë
*Twilight* by Stephanie Meyer
*Dune* by Frank Herbert
*Angels and Demons / The Da Vinci Code* by Dan Brown

Old Gothic (who falls from all he knows of bliss / cares little into what abyss)

The Giaour by Lord Byron *
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Call of Cthulu by H.P. Lovecraft
Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

New Gothic (live the same mute, unjust life you have always lived, or tear apart the world itself)

Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
What Moves the Dead / What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs *

Mystery / Thriller (*why do we like mysteries in the fall? is it Halloween? lmk…)*

*Bunny* by Mona Awad *!
*The Silent Patient* by Alex Michaelides
*Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder*
*A Flicker in the Dark* by Stacy Willingham
*Our Wives Under the Sea* by Julia Armfield *
*The Book of Cold Cases / The Sun Down Motel* by Simone St. James

Horror (my personal favorite - I’ll try to pare down the Stephen King)

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez *!
My Throat an Open Grave by Tori Bovalino
A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw
It / Fairy Tale / Pet Semetary by Stephen King !
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward *!
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant !

Fantasy (check TW’s for Star Eater, but don’t count it out)

Star Eater by Kerstin Hall *!
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
One for my Enemy by Olive Blake

Dark Romance (not for everyone, definitely for me. Check all TW’s)

Gothikana by RuNyx !
Neon Gods by Katee Roberts !
Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa !
Never After Series by Emily McIntire !
Corrupt by Penelope Douglas !

Literary Fiction (contemplative stories for a season of change)

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket *
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh !
Rogue by Mona Awad (fairytale retelling)
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides !
The Idiot by Elif Batuman

Non-Fiction (of all sorts - memoirs, stories, essays, etc.)

H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald *!
Wintering by Katherine May
The Premonitions Bureau by Sam Knight
The Dinosaur Artist by Paige Williams
Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell *

The Breakdown - Why I’m Recommending These

I won’t cover them all, simply because nobody wants to read all of that nonsense.

Let’s start with fall themes - certain dynamics and elements that are associated with fall. This is the back-to-school time of year, and hand-in-hand comes dark academia. I’m not sure what was the inception of dark academia. Google says Tumblr, but then we have Weir’s Dead Poets Society which was published in ‘89. Either way, I’m not complaining. This is a sub-genre I eat up.

The Secret History is the ultimate dark academia, fall book. It’s a spiraling story of the death of Bunny, a Greek student at a prestigious arts college. Told from the perspective of the unreliable Richard Papen, this dense 90’s classic had me hooked. If you’ve read it and loved it, I recommend If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio.

Another DA stunner is *Bunny* by Mona Awad. Buckle up for this. It does not go where you think it will, but you’ll enjoy the ride. It’s funny, so original, and thrilling. I adore this one.

Did I mention the author commented on my review?

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children can also be considered DA, but it’s mostly a found-family sci-fi fiction novel that I have re-read more times than I can count. My most recent read was on the plane to Warsaw, Poland and it was perfection. It has found photography, mystery, creepy crumbling houses, and is absolutely perfect for all ages. Angels and Demons and other Dan Brown works also tap into the studious obsession with symbology and puzzle-solving. This one even takes place in Harvard and the Vatican City.

This next one is dark romance and academia, and that’s *Gothikana*. Once again in a crumbling Hogwarts-style castle with strange students and a town that hates them, *Gothikana* is a great fall read with romance, mystery, a touch of magic, and suspense.

With dark academia comes the urge to dive into the classics. Maybe this is because of the school and studious setting. Maybe it’s the thought of large, ornate libraries. But regardless, classic are always coming to the surface in the fall.

*The Giaour* is an all-time favorite of mine. It has some of the most beautiful quotes and language (even some quoted in *Gothikana*). It’s not as well-known as it should be. It’s a love story with betrayal and confessions with such meaningful prose. The story wasn’t nearly as memorable to me as the atmosphere and the feeling I had in my gut when reading it.

These are the quotes I put in my Instagram review...

Wuthering Heights, in all its fantastic fall glory, is the most common fall re-read I see. I even know some who love to read it every year, whether it be fall or winter. A manor in a moor. A mysterious man. Seclusion and obsession. What more could you ask for? Dracula is also divine this time of year. Vampires and spooky creatures are relevant as we near Halloween. Mix it with romance and you have a page turner. Which also applies to Interview With The Vampire, one of my mom’s all-time favorites. This one is exactly what it sounds like, a reporter hearing the life story of a vampire. It’s been aptly described at “hypnotic, shocking, and chillingly sensual.” Does that not scream late autumn? And you have the new Netflix spin to binge when you’re done. And maybe re-read Twilight while you’re at it.

Rebecca pairs well with Wuthering Heights - whether you want to read both or have read one and want to get into the other. There’s a haunting in a house with history and betrayal. I won’t say much in the name of spoilers, but these are great fall reads.

If you’re looking for a twist, The Silent Patient will leave you speechless. I can usually tell what the twist will be in a book and can still enjoy finishing it. This one caught me completely off guard. The Book of Cold Cases was also a pleasant surprise. This follows a young woman who blogs true crime and gets the opportunity to interview a suspected killer. It reminded me a bit of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. If you enjoyed TJR’s smash hit, try out BOCC.

In terms of Science Fiction, Our Wives Under the Sea ended up becoming one of my best books of 2023. It completely blew me away. It’s about the return of a marine biologist who was on a submarine for months, and finally comes home. But she’s different. Something is off, and now her wife can’t reach anyone from the company that sent her. It had me gripped from cover to cover. Into the Drowning Deep is another chilling sea mystery with a television film team going out to shoot a mermaid documentary, and the boat washing up covered in blood and the crew gone. Some footage is found, some believing it to be CGI, but company higher-ups knowing it’s not. The sister of a victim sets out, determined to solve this and film her own journey. Oh my goodness, for my maritime horror lovers, this is a must-read.

Back to the Sci-Fi vein, Star Eater was a sci-fi / fantasy book I picked up almost as a joke from my local bookseller (TW). The back cover mentioned something about cannibal nuns, and I just couldn’t help myself. It ended up being quite profound. It really is about nuns who eat their deceased elders, but not in a feast situation. They cut small slivers over the years. The nuns don’t live long. It’s disturbing, but a page turner.

Fantasy beings me to Fourth Wing, which you have undoubtedly heard of by September of 2024. I almost put this with dark academia because it is about a war college / training academy. I’m a sheep when it comes to this book. I liked it. Actually, I loved it. Call me unoriginal, call me basic, I don’t care. This got me out of a reading slump that was months long, and I enjoyed every page of the story. Although the sequel left me a bit disappointed, I’ll never stop recommending it. A Court of Silver Flames, the most recent installment of ACOTAR at the moment, was my favorite (so far) of the entire series. I cried until I was covered in splotches after I finished it. I love the focus on female friendships and support. I love Nesta’s story and witnessing internal battle with her trauma. I thought it was perfection. And yeah, maybe I’m only associating this with fall because the cover is orange. Sue me.

Although not my typical style, sometimes we just want an atmospheric read with little to no plot. Conversations with Friends, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, and The Idiot scratched that itch for me. Most of these have an overarching story, but the beauty is in the internal monologue and musings the author portrays through a character’s thoughts and interactions. I don’t have much to say for these because they speak for themselves. They are restful and calm, unlike the thrilling Halloween-y books we’ve been diving into. They’re a break from madness. Something opposite from textbooks you may be reading at this time of year. They’re something I imagine the characters from the dark academia books reading.

Okay...are you ready to be scared? Same. I am a horror everything lover. I am Stephen King’s biggest fan. Blair Witch is my comfort movie (As Above So Below I also have memorized). So when it comes to horror novels, it takes a strong writer to freak me out. I want something that’s going to make me scared to walk from my bed to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Something to make me look behind me while I’m reading. I don’t recommend these to my mystery/thriller lovers. These are for my horror lovers.

I will always maintain that *The Dangers of Smoking in Bed* has some of the most bone-chilling short stories I have ever read. We have missing kids reappearing and organizing. We have mutated animals and kidnappings, cannibalism and idolatry. After putting this was down, I was deeply unsettled and pleased.

Anything by Stephen King makes for a great fall scare. 11/22/63, It, Pet Semetary, Dark Tower Series, and Fairy Tale are the first to come to mind, but the list never ends. There is a reason he is the king of horror. King has been a popular author in my family since long before I was born. My brother’s obsession with the Dark Tower series, as well as The Stand, Salem’s Lot, and The Dome sparked my own interest. When it comes to scary recommendations, I always love to throw out Stephen King. Not to mention his memoir, which not only has great advice for young or beginner writers, but has it's own horrific elements from when King was hit by a car. It also chronicles his subsequent addictions, and how his wife pulled Carrie out of a garbage can of crumpled paper and jumpstarted his career in doing so. On Writing is a year-round feat.

Non-Fiction fits into fall easily. It’s informative, interesting, and you can hear directly from the author without a persona. H is for Hawk is an award-winning masterpiece about grief and learning. The Premonitions Bureau is a supernatural true story of premonitions and where they come from, or if they exist at all. Wintering is another self-help book about the necessity of resting, and taking a season to be mindful of your schedule.

Lastly, Confessions of a Bookseller is the diary of a bookseller in Scotland. It is pleasant, welcoming, cozy and inviting. It’s simple, easy to read, and once again informative of the life of a bookseller. It was one of the books that got me back into reading, not to mention that the cover is beautiful.

Check out the gallery below for some more recommendations. I’ve really enjoyed putting this together, and although I kept thinking of more titles to read for this season, I’m sure I’ll have an opportunity to talk about them eventually.

Have a great autumn!

Maddie