Our staff have shared their favorite books to read during those long, lazy summer days.
For some reason, I find coming-of-age stories to be most suitably read during the fall. This novel has difficult themes, and is a mystery, but Erdrich's voice is always warm and compassionate. I strongly recommend it!
- Jen M.
Absolutely gorgeous descriptions of beautiful places (but also get your tissues ready). The film adaptation is great too!
- Elizabeth P.
It's a classic for a reason! The book covers a full year of time, but its descriptions of autumn in northern New England are particularly evocative, as are the little college and the run-down old country house where the characters spend much of said autumn. The characters are brilliant and cruel, the plot is slow unfolding but tense from beginning to end, and besides, who doesn't want to read about murder and madness around Halloween?
- August G.
Mary Oliver takes so much inspiration from the natural world and her work is heavily infused with her experiences living in New England. Not only are her poems cozy, but they are guaranteed to leave you a better person than they found you.
- Clark G.
Technically this book takes place during Summer 1990 but there's just something about New England history, Salem, and subtle magic that transcends pesky details like seasons. Archives and manuscripts feature prominently in this book, and the "physick book" in question is prime example of how bias in libraries and archives can occur, however unintentionally. I won't ruin what a physick is for you - you'll just have to discover it for yourself.
- Elizabeth C.
The first installation in this graphic novel series starts at the beginning of the school year, making it a super sweet, cozy LGBTQ+ romance set in the Autumn!
- Kellyn J.
Set in a post-technology ecotopia right out of a Miyazaki film, Becky Chamber's "Psalm for the Wild Built" and "Prayer for the Crown Shy" are thoughtful, delightfully cozy sci-fi/fantasy novels to enjoy over a cup of tea. Literally, they're about a tea-brewing monk!
- Georgia M.
Who doesn't love to stay indoors on a cold day and read a good locked-room mystery? Except in this case, the "locked room" is an apartment complex with a colorful cast of tenants who are seemingly unconnected outside their shared goal: solve the murder of the eccentric millionaire living next door so they can claim the inheritance he's mysteriously left them. Raskin builds mystery and suspense masterfully, and not a single detail of her compact plot goes to waste -- you'll want to break out a paper and pen and try to solve the mystery yourself!
- Nicole K.
This book takes me back to my college days. Have a great semester on the Heights, everyone!
- Aidan O.
This last installment of a graphic novel trilogy is not only set in the season, but the rich autumnal color palette of O'Neill's illustrations create a cozy fall foliage atmosphere you can sink into. Add in found family, communal care, and adorable tiny dragons, and it's a perfect treat for a fall afternoon! I highly recommend accompanying with a large cup of tea :)
- Bethany C.
This book is a favorite from childhood! If you like history, intrigue, and stories about morally ambiguous girls, this is a great one for when the weather is darker/stormier outside :) i think this story would make such a good TV show, too!
- Sabrina F.
In this Booker prize winner, a woman arrives at the Hotel du Lac on Lake Geneva for a month-long stay in off-season October. Her loved ones have sent her on this extended vacation because she did something so shocking that they can't bear to have her around them. While there, she meets other hotel guests who, like her, are exiled in the hotel.
- Karen B.
I first read this book in the fall, and thought that it encapsulated the quintessential autumnal read! From the collegiate/academic atmosphere of Oxford that features as the book's setting, to dark magic, to the witches and vampires who comprise its central characters, A Discovery of Witches is perfect for chilly October weather, and for anyone who works or studies on a college campus.
- Caroline P.
Nothing can be cozier than the Hobbits themselves! They have two breakfasts and spend their leisure with a cup of tea in their comfortable underground dwellings ... unless they go on a crazy adventure like Bilbo Baggins! Then you can stay in your comfortable dwelling and read about his adventures with a treat and a cup of warm tea in your hands!
- Katya V.
Many of the stories take place in fall or winter when the weather is chilly outside! You feel like you're walking in from the cold with each character as they enter the restaurant and explain the dish from their past that they are in search of. The stories are heartwarming and the descriptions of food are delicious.
- Jo M.
Nothing screams fall like your dead ex-lover's ghost literally screaming at you through the window from the cold, misty English moorland outside
- Emma Jane K.
Have you ever watched a romance movie where the main character breaks up with their significant other to go after their true love and wondered what happened to the character who just got dumped? This book answers that question! It's a love story that also has themes of finding yourself. And it's set in a small town with a main character who's a librarian, so it's a great cozy read!
- Hilary C.
