In autumn, the air is crisp and clear. Name a book with a vivid setting.
I read Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller this summer, and was completely engrossed in the British seaside town that played host to the events in the novel. In fact, there were times where I could almost taste the salty air and feel the mists on my skin, even though I live hours away from any such coastline. It was a transformative reading experience, to say the least.
Nature is beautiful...but also dying. Name a book that is beautifully written but also deals with a heavy topic like loss or grief.
I believe that one the most exciting writers in American literature today is Jesmyn Ward. All of her books are very hard-hitting, whether a memoir about losing men in her life to whom she was very close (Men We Reaped), the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf area (Salvage the Bones), or drug abuse and family ties (Sing, Unburied, Sing). The way that she writes about these difficult themes and events is with such clarity, beauty, and hope that it's almost impossible to put her books down.
Autumn is back-to-school season. Share a non-fiction book that taught you something new.
I just reviewed it here, but my most recent experience of reading a non-fiction book that totally refocused and my worldview and gave me an education was Ibram X. Kendi's masterful work of scholarship, Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas In America. In it, he tracks instances of racism from humanity's earliest encounters with diverse peoples, through to the modern day. It'll challenge all your assumptions and expectations about how racist ideas exist and flourish, and may open your eyes to ways that you hold onto racist ideas - without even knowing it.
In order to keep warm, it's good to spend some time with the people we love. Name a fictional family/household/friend-group of which you'd like to be a part.
A few years ago, I might have chosen the March family from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, because of how tight-knit and loving they were. However, as my reading experiences have broadened and changed, I think I would be less enthralled with being a Little Woman. Instead, I'd prefer something a little more messy and interesting. In fact, I think I'd like to be a part of the Pea family, living on the island of Nollop and having to get bizarrely creative with language in Mark Dunn's Ella Minnow Pea.
The colorful leaves are piling up on the ground. Show us a pile of autumn-colored spines.
Autumn is the perfect time for storytelling by the fireside. Share a book wherein someone is telling a story.
One of the most prolific stories-within-a-story is the tale that Elena tells of her long-lasting friendship with Lina in the Neapolitan Quartet, by Elena Ferrante. The four-volume set, spanning almost 1700 pages, is the character of Elena writing the story of her friendship, in the wake of Lina's disappearance from Naples. To tell this story around a fire, you'd need a forest's worth of wood to keep it going. If you haven't read the novels yet - My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child - don't let the page count frighten you. If you allow yourself to relax and settle into Elena's writing, you'll fly through the books without even realizing it.
The nights are getting darker; share a dark, creepy read.
One of the creepiest books on my shelves is Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes. It's a suspenseful, really intense novel about a serial killer, the cop who's trying to catch him, and a possibly-supernatural force. It's really good to read, but it's even more intense if you listen on audiobook, because of the narration and the really compelling voices that the narrators use.
The days are getting colder; name a short, heartwarming read that could warm up somebody's cold and rainy day.
A truly heartwarming novella is Parnassus On Wheels by Christopher Morley. A man wants to sell his mobile bookstore, called Parnassus, to a newly-famous author. However, it's the author's spinster sister who sets out on a bookish adventure. Sweet, charming, and full of book love.
Autumn returns every year. Name an old, favorite book that you'd like to return to soon.
Autumn is the perfect time for cozy reading nights. Share your favorite cozy reading "accessories".
I can't have a cozy reading night without a blanket and a beverage.
That's it for the "Finally Fall" book tag. I'm fully invested in autumnal reading, and had a blast answering these questions. If you're interested in doing so, consider yourself tagged.
Librorum annis,
