Something about fall weather just reminds me of sinking my teeth into a great book. Summer reading time is officially over, so you can stop sweating it out on your porch swing or getting your pages wet at the pool. Instead, pull on a cozy sweater, brew some coffee, and crawl into bed with one of these books.
My list has a book for everyone: Some of them are new, some are old, some are non-fiction, and some are fiction. So without further ado, here are the books I want to read this fall..
Table of Contents
1. “The Light Between Oceans” by M.L. Stedman
The Light Between Oceans is the story of a lighthouse caretaker named Tom Sherbourne, who has just returned to Australia from the WWI.
Tom and his wife, Isabel, have suffered over the past couple of years, dealing with multiple miscarriages. Then one day, a dead man and a crying baby wash up to the shore of the lighthouse. Tom and Isabel decide to keep and raise the baby. The story follows their consequences of this decision..
How creepy and completely captivating!
2. “The Girl Before” by Rena Olsen
This is for all you who love thrill and suspense (me)! (Think Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train.)
In The Girl Before, Clara Lawson, wife and mother, is dragged out of her home. The last thing she remembers is her husband yelling, “Say nothing.” (If those aren’t the worst parting words ever, then I don’t know what they are.)
Clara is brought to an institution. There, people call her by a different name and shame her husband for disgusting crimes. Turns out, maybe Clara doesn’t know as much about her life as she thought.
3. “The Opposite of Loneliness” by Marina Keegan
The Opposite of Loneliness, a collection of short stories and essays, was put together by friends and family members after Marina Keegan’s tragic death. Keegan graduated magna cum laude from Yale and had a job waiting for her at the New Yorker when she was killed in a tragic car crash.
When you think of this assembly, think of The Last Lecture. Keegan leaves behind relatable and abundant text that not only shows the potential she possessed, but also what our generation as a whole possesses.
If you want to read something poignant and raw, try this book.
4. “Two by Two” by Nicholas Sparks
Nicholas Sparks is #backatitagainwiththewhitevans. Indeed, the bestselling author has churned out yet another powerful love story.
In Two by Two, Russell Green lives a luxurious life. He has a little girl, a prosperous career, a beautiful wife, and a massive house. But beneath all of this, some trouble is brewing. In a short amount of time, Green finds himself wifeless and jobless, with just his daughter by his side. Can Russell handle all of this on his own?
Hopefully this book won’t make me cry like all of Nicholas Sparks’ other novels. (Okay, it probably will.) I’m willing to risk the tears, though, so I’m pre-ordering this one.
5.” When Breath Becomes Air” by Paul Kalanithi
When Breath Becomes Air is the true story of neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi, who was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer at the age of thirty-six. Now, instead of working on patients, bent over the operating table, he was the one barely surviving. He never finished this book because the cancer took his life too early, but the book shows how Kalanithi deals with a little thing called mortality.
In this reflection, Kalanithi attempts to answer the questions that scare us all. What do you do with your life when you’re faced with death? What do you do when the future becomes the present? This looks like a profound, life-changing read.
6. “White Oleander” by Janet Finch
This famous novel has been on my radar for a long time now (it came out sixteen years ago!), but I haven’t gotten to it yet. I vow to change that this fall.
White Oleander is the story of Ingrid, a poet, and her daughter, Astrid. Ingrid is charged with murder and taken to prison, so Astrid must travel throughout different foster homes. Each foster home teaches her something new about herself and the world around her.
This book is touted as honest, depressing, and beautiful, and I can’t wait to delve into it this fall.
7. “The Forgetting Time” by Sharon Guskin
The Forgetting Time tells the story of a mother and son in turmoil. Janie, a single mom, doesn’t know what’s going on with her son, Noah after his preschool calls and asks her to come in and talk. Janie knows her son as always been different form the other kids – imaginative and always telling stories – but it becomes worrying when he talks about drowning and carrying guns.
Jerome Anderson, a professor of psychology from Harvard and Yale, has spent his whole life studying kids who remember past lives. Noah just may be child who can prove his theories.
In no time, Janie, Anderson, and Noah will knock on a door. This door belongs to another mother who has not seen her son in eight years. Will all of their questions be answered?
This novel is so out there that I just want to give it a try. The story sounds so captivating and I doubt I’ll wrap my head around the plot until I’m quite a ways in.
8. “Tales From the Back Row” by Amy Odell
Take a plunge into the fashion industry with Tales from the Back Row, a telling nonfiction novel by Amy Odell, the current editor of Cosmopolitan.com.
Odell, an everywoman who is tossed into the fashion world, takes you to meet influential people, models, fashionistas, photographers, and editors at NY Fashion Week. But more importantly, she writes about what it’s like to work in this back-bending industry.
This book comes highly recommended for anyone who loves fashion, so I’m super excited to read it. Have any of you checked it out yet?
9. “Eight Hundred Grapes” by Laura Dave
Eight Hundred Grapes is described as a novel about secrets. Laura grew up on a Sonoma vineyard, and she knows many secrets. Among them are how many grapes it takes to make one bottle of wine, how to end a fight, and the secret ingredient to her mother’s famous lasagna.
But just a week before her wedding, she discovers a huge, Earth-shattering new secret. And it belongs to her fiancé. So, she returns to the comfort of the vineyard to spend time with her friends and family. Little does she know, they have more secrets as well…
With well developed characters, a beautiful setting, and plenty of intrigue, this looks like a fun read that will have me turning the pages at rapid speed.
10. “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin
Again, this is a book I’ve been wanting to read for a while but have always put off. I’m going to get to The Happiness Project this fall, though!
Blogger Gretchen Rubin feels that something in her life is “off.” Her days are mundane. She is doing things that don’t matter. So, she decides to take a year to travel. While traveling, she test drives pieces of wisdom about happiness and what it really takes to find it and keep it.
Since I can’t take a year long journey to do this myself, I can’t wait to read this book and live vicariously through her.
That about wraps it up!
What do you think? What books are you yearning to read? Have you read any of these books? Which would you recommend (or not)? Let me know in the comments below!
I just started reading eight hundred grapes a good read so far. After that I’ll look into the girl before that seems to be good too. ?
Some of these were already on my reading list and I too have been putting them off. I was excited to learn about the final listing you have; the happiness project, now I need to read that as well.
Happy warm cups of fall coffee and reading!
Sincerely,
Lauren Jill | Guardthevineyard.com