A Spooky Autumn TBR List

If there’s one thing about me I loooove Autumn. I treat it like a festive season; decorating my room, digging out the pumpkin mugs (yes that’s mugs plural), so much cinnamony baking and of course, autumnal reading to get even more into the cosy Autumn vibe. Maybe you love to do the same? If you do please please please comment your favourite Autumn reads, I’d love some new stories to add to the list. If not, firstly sad for you, secondly, I hope my wee list gives you some inspiration and you can join me in making the absolute most of spooky season!

Something Wicked This Way Comes Ray Bradbury

This is one book that has stayed firmly on my bookshelf for many years now. I come back and re-read it again and again, it’s become a ritual! The familiar words tell me it’s Autumn just as much as the leaves changing to orange and gold do. Its soft yellow pages and deep woody smell will always take me back to the second-hand bookshop in Pitlochry where I bought it one October afternoon. Something Wicked this Way Comes is about as quintessentially spooky, autumnal and Halloweeny as it gets. Bradbury crafts a picture perfect Midwest American town that is unsettling in its mundane normality, but things are about to get even stranger. Something wicked is blowing into town on the Autumn winds - the carnival is coming. Two thirteen year old boys, Jim and William become entranced by the carnival and vow to find out what is hidden beneath its garish facade and unearth all manner of malevolent goings on. We follow their story as they get increasingly wrapped up in the carnival’s twisted world. Bradbury’s dark fantasy novel explores themes of fear and desire, imagination and belief in a story laden with rich imagery that is guaranteed to get you in a spooky mood.

Coraline Neil Gaiman

This classic is another one I’ll be re-reading although I only got around to reading it for the first time last year. I’m so excited to get lost in Gaiman’s fantastical world again. Even if you’ve watched the film just wipe that from your mind and read this book without expecting to know what happens, I promise there’s quite a few differences! Coraline and her family move into a new flat where she is bored and lonely. Gaiman’s choice to make her curious and adventurous allow him to showcase the depth of his imagination and gives you such a detailed view of Coraline’s world. While she is exploring one day she discovers a door that didn’t open before. Now it does. Beyond it she finds another world which is almost exactly like her new flat but more exciting in every way. Better food, better toys, better parents who have more time for her. Before long however, Coraline finds that this other flat may not be as much fun as she first thought. Gaiman’s beautifully crafted, award winning novel is such a fun and engrossing read for all ages and is certainly full of enough mystery and intrigue to warrant many, many re-reads.

The Fortnight in September R. C. Sherriff

This one is definitely a bit less autumnal and more of an Indian Summer type of situation but since it literally has September in the title I think it still warrants a place. Fortnight in September seems to be in the same kind of genre as Sally Rooney, where not much really happens plot-wise yet you still find yourself utterly immersed. Except Sherriff’s work is apparently much less depressing and instead seeks to capture the beauty and joy of the everyday. Sherriff is even quoted saying; “I wanted to write about simple, uncomplicated people doing normal things”. The story follows the two week holiday of a family to the south coast of England as they go to the beach everyday and really just live their wee life. It might not sound that exciting, but it is important to note that Fortnight in September was published just after the end of WW1 and captured the beautiful peaceful world that soldiers were dreaming of. According to reviews I’ve read, it is Sherriff’s beautiful prose style that makes this book so lovely and although I can’t vouch for that yet I’m definitely intrigued. Fortnight in September promises to be the perfect book for the transition between Summer and Autumn!

Practical Magic Alice Hoffman

I thought I’d include a book that was still definitely spooky but less scary than Bradbury and this one seemed perfect! Practical Magic is about the Owens, a family of witches living in small town America who have constantly been blamed for everything that goes wrong for hundreds of years. In the present day Gillian and Sally, the youngest generation of Owens, both tried to escape the prejudices they faced in their youth. There is something however, that draws them back to one another, their old town and the magic they tried so hard to leave behind. Basically it’s cute girly witchy fun about sisterhood, magic, self-acceptance and love. Kind of Gilmore Girls but witch edition! So excited to pick up a copy and get started!

The Secret History Donna Tartt

Surprisingly I’ve never read this before! I tried to read The Goldfinch and couldn’t really get into it so never gave any other Tartt novels much thought. However, this has been recommended to me again and again so what better book than this to ease my graduation denial. The Secret History is set in a fancy New England university and follows a group of students and their departure from morality into corruption, secrets and murder. This is definitely less Halloweeny than some of the books on this list and more autumnal dark academia vibes. Can’t wait to delve back into the world of university without actually having to write any more essays. This one has been on my TBR list for a while now and this Autumn seems like the perfect time to give it a go!

Death With Interruptions Jose Saramago

I’ve never read anything by Saramago before but the Nobel prize certainly seems like a good sign! It will also be the first Portugese book I’ve read and I love exploring new genres and writing styles, always so much amazing new literature to find! Death with Interruptions imagines a world where the grim reaper decides to stop death. Saramago explores the potential consequences, the euphoria, the disaster, the panic and chaos that might ensue. He looks at the repercussions across society, how it would affect politics, religion, doctors, the daily lives of normal people, and even death herself. Saranago poses the interesting question, is death really as bad as we think? I’m really looking forward to reading this one!

Luckenbooth Jenni Fagan

Last but not least I have another Fagan text to add to my bookshelf! Luckenbooth is set in Edinburgh, which is always so much fun for me, I love reading a book where, when a certain place or street is mentioned you can go ‘oh I’ve been there!’. Anyways, Luckenbooth follows the legacy of a curse that the devil’s daughter has placed on a tenement building through the decades. Fagan will introduce us to a variety of colourful characters ranging from gang members, sex workers, academics and a seance, all of whom are affected by the curse in different ways. Luckenbooth is a mystery that sprawls across a century and promises to unravel and entwine in unexpected ways while keeping close to the people at the heart of the story. I always look forward to reading more Fagan and am planning on getting lost in this in a cafe uptown surrounded by the setting of the story!

Did my wee list give you some ideas for your own autumn TBR? Comment below which ones you fancy reading or what’s on your reading list for this year, I’d love to know! Hope you enjoyed reading and stay tuned for upcoming reviews of these and lots of other wee bits and bobs.

Love, Grace xx