5 books to add to your TBR list this fall
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There’s something about the crunch of leaves and cooler weather that makes the crisp turning of pages irresistible.
Here are five books to curl up with this autumn that accentuate fall’s cozy atmosphere:
‘A Separate Peace’
Author: John Knowles.
Publication date: 1959.
This novel is a coming-of-age story set in 1942 that’s told from the perspective of a man named Gene Forrester. It begins with him as an older adult walking through the grounds of his former boarding school in New England.
The plot centers on Gene’s complicated friendship with his roommate, Phineas. The novel explores jealousy, guilt, loss of innocence, the impact of war and what it means to grow up.
The book is said to be reflective of Knowles’ own experience growing up during World War II, per Goodreads.
Notable quotation:
“It seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart.”
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‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’
Author: Shirley Jackson.
Publication date: 1962.
“We Have Always Lived in the Castle” is a psychological thriller following the lives of Mary Katherine (Merricat) and Constance Blackwood.
After their family died from arsenic poisoning, the sisters live in isolation with their Uncle Julian. Merricat is possessive of Constance, her older sister by 10 years, and conflict reenters their lives when a distant relative, Charles, comes after the family fortune.
The novel explores the implications of isolation, superstition and secrets.
Notable quotation:
“I remember that I stood on the library steps holding my books and looking for a minute at the soft hinted green in the branches against the sky and wishing, as I always did, that I could walk home across the sky instead of through the village.”
‘Frankenstein’
Author: Mary Shelley.
Publication date: 1818.
In this revolutionary novel, young scientist Victor Frankenstein becomes obsessed with the idea of creating life. He reanimates a lifeless body, but the results are horrifying. Victor abandons his creation and tragedy ensues.
Written at a time of rapid scientific discovery, Shelley’s book explores the moral consequences of Frankenstein’s creation as it seeks revenge. It also deals with themes of moral responsibility, societal rejection and the consequences of playing God.
Notable quotation:
“Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.”
‘Coraline’
Author: Neil Gaiman.
Publication date: 2002.
Many know the 2009 stop-motion film version of this book, which remained pretty true to the original plot.
Gaiman’s novel is set in the U.K. and follows Coraline Jones as she moves into an old, eerie apartment. Bored and neglected by her parents, Coraline discovers an exciting and perfect-seeming new world on the other side of a secret door. However, things start to seem sinister when “Other Mother” and “Other Father” want to give Coraline button eyes like their own.
Notable quotation:
“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” asked Coraline.
“I swear it,” said the other mother. “I swear it on my own mother’s grave.”
“Does she have a grave?” asked Coraline.
“Oh yes,” said the other mother. “I put her in there myself. And when I found her trying to crawl out, I put her back.”
‘Wuthering Heights’
Author: Emily Brontë.
Publication date: 1847.
“Wuthering Heights” is a Gothic novel set in Yorkshire, England. The story is told by Mr. Lockwood, who is describing his interactions with the housekeeper, Nelly.
Their conversations revolve around the doomed love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, the vibrant daughter of the Wuthering Heights estate. Catherine marries a different man, and Heathcliff is consumed by jealousy and revenge.
Brontë explores obsession, vengeance and the impact of destructive love.
Notable quotation:
“I have not broken your heart — you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine.”
