24 Books On My Fall Reading List

+ a few extras.

Sep 09, 2025

“Are you a mood reader?” I had never before considered this question until my friend Lauren asked me last year after catching a glimpse of my TBR.

I laughed and said, “I guess I am!”

That is to say, I’ll pass up the memoir that has been waiting patiently for me to crack open its pages for months to grab a romance I just bought if that’s what I’m in the mood for, and can’t imagine reading an Elin Hilderbrand in the snowy dregs of winter.

Fall is my Mood Reading Super Bowl.

I wait patiently all year to crack open witchy tomes, novels teeming with back-to-school energy, and memoirs where chefs luxuriate in their descriptions of stewed apples or childhood memories of their mother’s pot roast.

This year, I sat down to go through the list of books I’d like to read that fit this particular aura, and narrowed it down to… 24.

Will I read them all? I don’t know.

Will I rush through a delicious read just to get to the next one? I will not.

Am I absolutely using the New York Public Library system? Of course.

Without further ado, here are 24 books I’d love to read this autumn.

Which ones are on your list?

The White Hare by Jane Johnson: A book highlighting the complexity of a mother/daughter relationship will always rise to the top of my list, and this one is no different. Now add on a comparison to Alice Hoffman, long-hidden secrets, and the promise of glamorous parties? I’m ready.
The Witches of El Paso by Luis Jaramillo: Reading about witches always makes me feel connected to my ancestors. Because I’m from a long line of witches (probably), and also because so many of the characteristics we associate with witches are just pillars of strong women who don’t fit into society’s tight constructs.

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom: Currently a #1 Bestseller in the Horror and Occult categories, I feel that this one might just live up to the hype I’ve been seeing on social media. Set in 1600’s New England, a battle between Pagan and Puritan ensues. Will the village be able to survive the bloodshed?
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: I’ve wanted to read this classic for years + 2025 is the year I finally do! With an accolade like Best Novel of the Century under its belt, I feel that good (+ chilling) things are in store.

Flashout by Alexis Soloski: The hint of a cult, a theater troupe, and a woman riddled with mystery about a past she no longer speaks of? This is right up my alley.
Creep: A Love Story by Emma Van Straaten: My actual worst nightmare come to life. Alice has been using Tom’s toothbrush, attending events with him, and even sleeping at his apartment. The catch? Alice and Tom have never met.

Owls and Other Fantasies by Mary Oliver: Mary Oliver's poems always leave me feeling so connected to the natural order of things, and I’m thrilled to be reading this lesser-known collection of hers in the “ber” months. I’ll likely take it to the park or on our trip to Vermont + read whilst sipping a cup of tea.
I Call Upon the Witches by Chloe Hanks: Another poetry collection, this one focuses on the concept of the witch— reinventing what that archetype means and celebrating women who choose to reside entirely in their authenticity.

Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley: At a California college in the early 00’s (peak), Percy meets student songwriter Joe. When Joe asks opinionated Percy about one of his songs, it kicks off a creative collaboration that lasts for years. So, why did it come to an end? Or did it?
The Andy Warhol Diaries by Andy Warhol: This is one of those books I keep meaning to read + then never do. Something about NYC in the 70s just reminds me of the fall— maybe it’s the Patti Smith of it all. I also can’t resist a journal where the writer shamelessly name drops + spills the hot goss of the time, so I suspect I’ll enjoy this!

The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells by Rachel Greenlaw: Carrie, the protagonist, spends 10 years painting her way through Europe trying to escape the memories that haunt her of her hometown. But when her grandmother dies and leaves her a dilapidated cottage, she returns, perhaps to more than she bargained for.
Fangs by Sarah Andersen: I’ve seen this several times at McNally Jackson and have almost bought it more times than I can count, but I’ve been waiting for just the right time… and that time has come! A 112-page read, I suspect this vampire/werewolf meet-cute would be perfect over a mug of mulled wine at my local café.

Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by adrienne maree brown: I’m certainly not the only one feeling down about the state of the world and grasping at whatever straws I can to try to uplift the policies and communities that I believe in. This book, about making social justice a pleasurable experience, teaches us about the politics of happiness and healing, and how we can rework our idea of activism to make it something we can pursue sans burnout.
The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister: A gothic read revolving around a family’s relationship with their cranberry bog, and what happens when one side doesn’t hold up their end of the bargain. The Massachusetts four-year transplant in me has her interest highly piqued!

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern: I feel like this novel could grab my attention on keywords alone. Painters. Pirates. Lovers. Stories Whispered by the Dead. Crowded Ballrooms. Mysterious. Did it work for you, too?
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh: Like Rebecca, I consider this a classic. A newer classic. But a classic nonetheless, and I somehow have managed not to read it! Until this autumn.

Cider Mill Coven by Vanessa Abigail Lambert: The '90s witch vibes that Cider Mill Coven describes remind me of Practical Magic, which means I’m automatically intrigued. About three cousins who are infused with magic from their grandmother’s apple orchard and sent off to separate New England towns to hide their newfound powers, they reunite one fateful October night years later. The question is, what will happen when they do?
Cackle by Rachel Harrison: Annie, a teacher used to the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, relocates to a small village upstate, where she meets Sophie. Sophie is magnetic, has an idyllic cottage in the woods, and the other townspeople seem a little… afraid… of her.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna: So many people on my Instagram feed have sung the praises of this one, enough so that I’m determined to pick it up finally! Mika Moon, a witch-in-hiding, is tasked with teaching three young witches how to control their magic, but soon, she realizes she’s learning more than she thought she would herself.
Jazz by Toni Morrison: In the early ’90s, Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison put out Jazz, a contemplation on race, sex, and American life in the 1920s. When Joe murders his young lover, their community is left to grapple with their complex emotions surrounding the tragedy.

Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl: I am a fan of anything
Ruth Reichl
writes— her non-fiction, her fiction, I’m sure I’d pore over her grocery lists. This is her sequel to her memoir, Tender at the Bone, and picks up as she pivots from chef to restaurant critic. I’ll be honest and say I didn’t know she was a chef before reading the synopsis, so color me fascinated!
Bunny by Mona Awad: I tried to reserve this at the library last year but didn’t make the cut. This year, I bought it! When scholarship student Samantha joins a wealthy clique’s “Smut Salon,” she becomes privy to the world of off-campus rituals, monstrous creations, and friends who seem to move as a single entity. Will it cost her the life she knows?

My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan: You know those people whose reading taste just-so-perfectly seems to line up with yours? One of those people is Yasmine, for me, who has sung the praises of My Oxford Year! A novel about a young woman poised to take the world by storm when she secures the opportunity of her dreams: studying at Oxford. She makes the choice to leap, but upon arrival, meets a man who throws a wrench in her perfectly laid out plan.
The Belles by Lacey N. Dunham: Let it be known that my fall reading list was at 23 books until
Marta Carvalho
convinced me I had to read The Belles. This dark academia (a favorite genre) revolves around a student in the 1950s who a prominent woman chooses as one of the Freshman “belles.” She’s whisked into a life of cruel pranks, secrets, and a chilling past. Pull my arm!

24 Books On My Fall Reading List

+ a few extras.

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