Fall is here! Autumn is my favorite time of year. The weather gets cozy, the colors are beautiful, the food options are delicious...it's just an amazing time of year. I've enjoyed doing this tag in the past and I thought it would be fun to do it again but with a twist. For this year's tag, I'm only using books that I read this year, I'm currently reading, or are on my TBR for the rest of the year!
1. In fall, the air is crisp and clear: name a book with a vivid setting!
The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O'Keefe is a sci-fi space opera with one of the coolest plots I've ever read. This first book is set on a planet overrun by ecological disaster. With the way Megan writes, it was so easy to picture and so vivid. The setting is such an important part of this first book that it couldn't stand to be anything less than vivid. I felt like I was there, I could picture every bit of it clearly, and it was delightfully creepy. It was an amazing book, simply put.
2. Nature is beautiful… but also dying: name a book that is beautifully written, but also deals with a heavy topic like loss or grief.
Cherished by Emilia Emerson deals with quite a few difficult topics, including a very extensive look into severe, chronic illness and treatment. It's an amazing book and I can tell I'll revisit it in the future. But it's also a difficult one in many ways because of the hard journey the main character goes on. I don't want to say much in ways of spoilers but it's a beautiful book with lots of light but also lots of dark.
3. Fall is back to school season: share a non-fiction book that taught you something new.
I'm currently working my way through Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. This is a highly recommended cookbook by Samin Nosrat that I got for Christmas last year. I love cooking but I also want to get better at it. Give me a recipe or basic guidelines and I can whip up something amazing. My hope with this book, though, is to understand the science of food a lot better to get to the point where I can create my own recipes.
4. In order to keep warm, it’s good to spend some time with the people we love: name a fictional family/household/friend-group that you’d like to be a part of.
One of my absolute favorite worlds is the Mounts Bay world consisting of Hannaford Prep, Queen Crow and The Butcher of the Bay. It's gritty and dark and the characters would go to hell and back for each other. Anyone who crosses one of them has to deal with the others. It's a type of love that is fierce and powerful. I would hate to be on their bad side but if I were a part of their found family I know I'd have someone at my back no matter what.
5. The colorful leaves are piling up on the ground: show us a pile of fall-colored spines!
6. Fall is the perfect time for some storytelling by the fireside: share a book wherein somebody is telling a story.
This was kind of hard to do with only the books I've read this year. It's been a while since I read Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow but I believe it to be the one that best fits this bill. This is technically a short story and it's so good. An absolute masterclass in short stories. Impactful and brilliant.
7. The nights are getting darker: share a dark, creepy read.
My current read is A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson and it perfectly fits this prompt. I'm not a huge fan of creepy or scary books but YA thrillers seem to fall in the acceptable range for me. I'm about halfway through and it is so good. Creepy, nerve-wracking, addicting. I know for a fact I'm going to be binging the rest of it after this post and then binging the rest of the trilogy as soon as I can.
8. The days are getting colder: name a short, heartwarming read that could warm up somebody’s cold and rainy day.
This one has to go to The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna. I finally read this for the first time this month and it was everything I'd hoped it would be. I laughed, I cried, I gasped, I swooned...it was perfect. It was atmospheric and heartwarming with a twist I didn't see coming at all. It was the perfect cozy read for fall and I cannot wait to read more from this author.
9. Fall (luckily, it’s my favorite season) returns every year: name an old favorite that you’d like to return to soon.
The fifth book in the Ironside Academy series by Jane Washington comes out in December. It's been about a year since I read the first three books and I cannot wait to reread them and then get into two whole new books (since I haven't read the fourth one yet). This series is addicting and such an interesting take on the omegaverse genre.
10. Fall is the perfect time for cozy reading nights: share your favorite cozy reading “accessories!"
I am so excited about this new blanket I got this fall. It's from Aldi and so soft and fluffy, but light enough that I've been able to use it despite some warmer weather lately. This specific blanket is patterned with books, scarves, leaves, and other autumnal objects. It's so cute and I am so excited to have it. It's the perfect blanket for cozy fall nights.
Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren
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