I love everything about fall..the crisp morning air, the smell of fireplaces burning, the beauty of the foliage colors but one of my favorite things I love about fall is curling up in a soft blanket with my tea and a book.
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Every week, they post a new topic/top ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. This week focus on fall covers. So this top ten sounded like it was meant for me. I walked around my bookshelves and picked out old and newer books that either the cover made me get the Autumn feels or the story had scenes set in the fall.
The following are the ten books I selected:
Of the above books, I have read only one of them but let me tell you why I think they fit lovely into this category.
Let’s start with Susanna Kearsley’s The Rose Garden. I have been a fan of this author since I read, Marianna. The story sucked me in and I was sold. Then I went on to read Winter Sea and Shadowy Horses. Although I haven’t read this book yet, I feel the colors in the cover and roses make me think of fall. I also think the way that Ms. Kearsley blends history, time-travel and usually a touch of romance just oozes the autumn feels for me.
Maisie Dobbs book 1 has been on my TBR for years. I am not ashamed in saying that although I probably should be but at the recommendation of a book club member, I began the hunt for her books. I have never bought a new edition of any of her books and find it so much fun looking for them at used bookstores. This edition has the most amazing covers. This is a detective story set during WWI with a female (Maisie) sleuth. Need I say more. I mean fall is an amazing time for mysteries so I just know that this is a good choice for this category.
On that note, Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) is another detective mystery with Detective Cormoran Strike. This is a first in a series. There are three books out and Rowling is working on the 4th now. So I can put on my thinking hat and solve a case while the beautiful leaves gently fall outside.
I picked The Folded Earth simply because of the beautiful fall colored cover. However, it is a book by an author (Anuradha Roy) that I have been so eager to read. It is a tale of a woman making a new life in the foothills of the Himalaya. What better time for “armchair travel” via books than in the fall and winter months.
Rainy Day Sisters by Kate Hewitt was an ARC I read for a publisher in 2015 and I adored this book. It was a sweet women’s fiction with a little romance. It was first in a three book series. I didn’t know the other two books came out already until now so I will have to pick them up to see what happened to the characters. It’s a fast read and one of those starting over books that I think are perfect for the fall or even the new year.
On the second group photographed above I have 5 more books with yup only 1 that I read. Are we seeing a pattern here? Never mind that let’s move on.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi – This cover is what made me think autumn. I think it is safe to say that I can now read this book. When it was first published it had so much buzz, I couldn’t even crack open the book. I just don’t like to be influenced by other’s reviews so I wanted distance to form my own opinion.
The Fortune Teller by Gwendolyn Womack – I read her debut novel (The Memory Painter) last year and loved it so much, that I emailed her to tell her as soon as I finished the book. She even emailed me back and I got the fangirl giggles. This book’s cover made me think of fall but the story of an antique appraiser who deciphers a text that she believes was written in Cleopatra’s time and how it plunges her into a dangerous mystery. Well if that isn’t one for a cup of tea and blanket I don’t know what is and I can’t wait to find out. I really appreciated the amount of research that Womack embarked on to create her first book and I expect nothing less for this one.
When Autumn Leaves by Amy S. Foster – Well if the color of the cover and the word Autumn in the title isn’t enough then a story of magic and witchcraft should seal the deal. I have not read this but don’t you think October would be a fantastic time to crack this one open?
The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George – A book about bookstores and books seems perfect for the fall and I think this one should fit the category. I have not read it but I know it has received mixed reviews. However, I must decide for myself so I will let you know when I finally give it a go.
Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan – I read this book in 2015 and it is the third book in a trilogy. The first book is entitled, Unspoken and it is a lovely story of a girl with an imaginary friend she talks to in her head and one day, she discovers that this boy is real. It is really a fun fantasy story and the trilogy would make for a wonderful fall read.
Well there you have it, ten books I think would be wonderful choices for enjoying during the fall. Let me know if you have read any of these books.
Happy reading!
Belinda
I also including a few pictures from this year of my boys reading and all of the different places I read. On the plane, on the beach, under a cozy blanket in my fun chairs, in my car at pick up, my reading nook in the winter, oh and especially on my deck three seasons of the year.
In 2016, there were two books that stood out among all the others that deeply affected me. One was, “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson and the other was called, “The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race Edited by Jesmyn Ward”. After I finished each one of them, I purposely took the time to thoroughly digest the information they provided. With the book Just Mercy, I first saw Bryan Stevenson on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday and his words moved me to find his book. I listened to the audiobook for this book which Bryan was the voice talent so he could capture his meanings even better than if someone else read the book. The book opened my heart wide to the injustice in our criminal justice system, particularly how it affects the poor minority. For me growing up, I was always raised with an awareness of the inequalities within society when it came to race. So I wasn’t completely shocked when I read this book but Bryan brings the reader into the depths of the justice system and shows you just how messed up it really is at the present. Being so inspired, I decided that I want to find a way to be part of the change. But guess what? Life took over and I put it on the back burner. Then I read The Fire This Time and was blown away by all of the essays in it by such talented authors. Many of whom I read before. I remember stopping and sharing some of the information with Leao. Again, I felt that desire to be a part of the change. But then, life happened again and I put it on the back burner.