5 Recommended Autumn Reads
Autumn is the ideal month for discovering new books. Colder days and darker nights mean there’s ample opportunity for hunkering down with a new novel to lose yourself in.
Each of the following recommendations I’ve discovered this year offer up something a little different to enjoy during these autumnal months, whether that’s hope, friendship, spookiness, romance or warm, cosy vibes.
5 best autumn books recommended by My Weekly’s Fiction Ed
1. Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
Despite being published earlier in the year, there’s something eminently autumnal about Sipsworth. It might be the slow but steady pacing, or it might be the cosiness that main character Helen and the titular mouse find in each other.
A love story between a woman and a mouse shouldn’t work, but there’s so much more to Sipsworth than meets the eye.
The novel is a meditation on grief, friendships, growing older and knowing your place in the world. As Helen and Sipsworth muddle along together, her past is revealed drip by drip, illuminating her complicated life.
This is a tender, gentle, heartbreaking book to be read alone in quiet moments.
Bedford Square Publishers, HB, £16.99
2. We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida (trans. Emmie Madison Shimoda)
The Kokoro Clinic for the Soul is a mysterious building, tucked down a side street in Kyoto. It can only be found by those who are genuinely in need of help. Throughout the book, a handful of troubled souls stumble in and come out with exactly what they need: a cat. Among them there’s a jaded businessman, a schoolgirl concerned about cliques and a highflying handbag designer, whose stories are all simultaneously heart-wrenching, humorous and hopeful.
Ishida’s writing is beautiful, depicting the emptiness of life alongside its joys and wonders – you don’t even need to be a cat lover to find this an uplifting and beautiful book.
Doubleday, HB, £12.99
3. Haunted Tales by Adam MacQueen
This is the ideal book to dip in and out of as the nights start drawing in. Discover the tale of a father whose son continues to communicate with him in the afterlife; a schoolgirl trying to deliver a care packet to one of the older residents of her island; and a neighbourly meet-cute with a spine-tingling twist.
Each story is completely absorbing, with some characters your heart will ache for and others you’ll spend hours wondering about once their story has ended.
Ghost stories for autumn and winter have always been part of Britain’s bookish culture, so in the tradition of Charles Dickens and M.R. James, curl up with a hot drink and let yourself be drawn into each of MacQueen’s fascinating worlds.
Swift Press, HB, £12.99
4. Plaything by Bea Setton
There’s an essence to dark academia novels that means they always feel autumnal, and Plaything has this in spades.
Protagonist Anna is uptight, very aware of how she presents in society and extremely proud of her intelligence. But even she is taken in by physiotherapist Caden during her time as a PhD student at Cambridge University.
When the pandemic forces them into close proximity, their relationship ebbs and flows, and Anna can never really tell whether they’re in love or indifferent to each other. There are twists that will make you gasp and moments of real poignancy in this smart, dark book.
Transworld, HB, £18.99
5. A Recipe for Christmas by Jo Thomas
It’s never too early for a Christmas story, and this one is delightful. Nearly forty and stuck in a job she hates, Clara takes a huge leap of faith: moving to Switzerland to start a course at a prestigious chocolate school.
Jo Thomas is the master of foodie fiction, and her descriptions of truffles, bars, hot chocolate and fondue melt off the page, all wrapped up in a delicious Christmas vibe.
As Clara grows closer to one of her tutors, she needs to make some decisions: should she quit and go back to being boring old Clara in HR, or move forward in this winter wonderland, one chocolate at a time?
Penguin, PB, £9.99
Each week in the pages of My Weekly we bring you brilliant fiction – from heart-warmers to cosy crime and big name author exclusives. Our latest issue is in shops now – order a single copy here, or click to subscribe and have your copy delivered each week.
