Reading is one of my favorite past times, and I especially love an autumn book! I love picking up a book; new, or read many times, and disappearing between its pages. When fall starts to roll in, the crispness and smell of the fall leaves makes me long for some good cozy autumn books. Books with mystery, emotion, and intrigue.
Since becoming a mom, I have found myself needing to continue reading. It is so important that as we care for the people in our homes, we remember to care for ourselves. I recently heard that analogy of putting on your own oxygen mask first, and there are times that reading feels like that for me. It can be so life-giving to pick up a book and delve into the story. I often read books on my phone with our public library’s app. I am currently nursing and that is the perfect time to get some reading in!
Why is reading a perfect hobby for moms?
- Like all hobbies, doing something we enjoy helps us to maintain our sanity! Moms are people too, and we need to feed our souls as well as our family’s.
- It is inexpensive! With everything costing more in our economy it can be tough as a stay at home mom to justify spending much money on a hobby. With the accessibility of public libraries, consignment stores, and online used bookstores, you can read books fairly inexpensively!
- It does not require a dedicated space in your home. Between household essentials, toys, and laundry, space can be at a premium in our homes! Finding space for a hobby like painting or sewing that require a lot of materials can be difficult. Books do not take up much space and can be brought from room to room!
Now what should you read…?
While it is never a “bad” time to read a certain book, it is sometimes fun to match the theme of our book with the season we are in. Summer is a great time for beach stories, winter for stories about snow and Christmas. Autumn is perfect for a cozy read, with just a touch of intrigue or mystery! Some of the books on this list are classics, some more modern, but all make me think of autumn. Curling up in an armchair with an autumn book, a blanket, a cup of tea, and maybe a slice of apple pie, sounds like a perfect afternoon to me.
I have broken this list into four categories: thrillers, mysteries, adventures, and what I call “slow but intense”. That way you can choose based on your current fall mood! I hope you pick up one or more of these and enjoy all the cozy feelings!
Thrillers
- Dracula by Bram Stoker: The original vampire book. I read this book for the first time this year! It was not at all what I expected from various film adaptations I’d seen, or modern ideas about vampires. Stoker really dives into the nature of evil and our role in fighting it and protecting those we love. It was detailed, gripping, and a classic fight of good versus evil. I expected it to be a more challenging read, given the time period it was written in, but found it surprisingly easy to read.
- The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova: This book has been a favorite of mine for a long time! It branches off from the story of Dracula, but in a modern setting. I love the high-speed adventure style the story takes. It features travel around the world, and a desperate search for Dracula. Lovers of adventure, history, or archeology books will enjoy it!
- Edgar Allen Poe: Okay, so these are creepy stories! Some of his go too far for me, (hello heart beating in the walls), but some are just the right amount. If you enjoy creepy or scary books, then these are for you! A few I’d recommend would be: The Raven (technically a poem, but still a classic), The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado and The Pit and the Pendulum. My husband and I actually read one short story on Halloween a few years back because we couldn’t decide on a movie to watch. If you have older teenagers, or you and your husband enjoy reading, this could be a good autumn book to read around a fire!
Mysteries
- Halloween Party by Agatha Christie: A few families get together for a children’s Halloween party and chaos and murder ensue! Agatha Christie was such an amazing writer! I have read a few of her books, and always enjoy them! I rarely guess correctly who did it, but I enjoy the mystery. This book is rather dark, but as always she manages to combine murder and mystery without making it too scary.
- Whose Body by Dorothy Sayers: I will admit this book took me a while to get into. It seemed like a slightly slower, more eccentric Sherlock Holmes. I had heard from a few people that Dorothy Sayers was a master of mystery novels and after finishing it, I agree! The main character is a very mysterious, proper gentleman who is drawn into a murder investigation. Once it really started rolling I had trouble putting it down. I could not figure out who had done it. If you enjoy plot twists and trying to figure out murder mysteries, then this book is for you!
Adventures
- Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: I just had to add Harry Potter. The Harry Potter series is one of my all time favorites, and its inclusion of Halloween themes and magic make it a fun, but not scary Autumn book. The book is quite different from the movie, and I love how it develops the characters and draws you in. My copy has clearly been read a couple of times, but it is perfect for days when I just want to read a familiar story.
- Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson: Kidnapped was another new book for me this year! The only other book of Stevenson’s I had read was Treasure Island, which I loved! I decided to try Kidnapped because a book podcast I follow was reading it. This book thoroughly surprised me! While it could be written towards a younger audience, it is still gripping for older readers and contains themes about honor, birthrights, friendship, and bravery. A young man is trying to find his way in the world and ends up with a family member who wants to help him…or does he? A large portion of the book takes place on the moors and highlands of Scotland and the atmosphere of the book screams autumn.
Slow but Intense
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles: This book was life changing. Russia after the fall of the aristocracy as it tries to find itself. I admit I knew very little about this portion of history. This book inspired me to research the history. It is so rare that you read a book that you feel speaks to your soul in the way this one spoke to mine. I thought based off other excepts I had read about it that it would be boring. You might think “how could a book about a man who can’t leave a hotel be interesting?” Prepare to have your mind changed. A Gentleman in Moscow is one of my favorite autumn books: funny, cozy, thoughtful, and with more adventure and mystery than you would think!
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: I read this book in high-school and fell in love with it. The whole book feels like autumn: creepy turned loveable man, mysterious person living in the attic, and a gray mansion. The heroine is exceptional. I feel like she models many virtues that we want to cultivate in ourselves and our children, but in a relatable and un-preachy way. Charlotte Bronte is a master at creating deep, relatable characters. I really sympathized with Jane and got drawn into the story. This book is a classic for a reason!
- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery: I avoided this book for a long time. I’d heard it was very “wordy,” which it was, but in the most lovely way! I was enchanted by the beautiful descriptions, the loveable and relatable characters, and the unexpected humor. Anne is a funny and brilliant character. L.M. Montgomery perfectly captured the young romantic and appealed to the kindred spirit in all of us. This book is a wonderful choice for fall as much of it takes place during the fall school year. Anne has a special love for autumn. She even says, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
I hope that you have enjoyed this list of autumn books, and that you get some of them to read yourself! This is the perfect time of year to spend evenings reading a new book, and why not try some mysteries while we are surrounded by Halloween?