Ah, Fall. That time of year when the temperature drops, you break out the sweaters and blankets and curl up with a warm mug and a good book. Now, there are so many books to fall for, which one will go with your autumn aesthetic? Here are some suggestions of three fantastic books I love, which will also look cute for your Instagram feed!
1. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Whether or not you’ve seen Hulu’s Original Series, this is a fantastic book to read if you’re in the mood to fight the patriarchy. Eerily familiar as the Religious Right takes a firmer grasp on our society, the fictional Gilead is a world in which fertile women are assigned to men in the society for the sheer purpose of producing children. The Wives of these men are left only to care for the home and the eventual children their Handmaids produce, but they are undervalued as secondary citizens to the men; In this particular story, to the Commander. The narrator, Offred, whose name remains unknown to the reader, describes in much detail her experience as a Handmaid for the Commander and his wife. As she tries to adjust to her new situation, she hears the rumblings of an Uprising against the Regime which may reunite her with her husband and daughter. A deep and intimate story skillfully woven by Atwood making the reader feel personally connected with Offred, this is a novel you won’t be able to stop once you start!
2. Just Kids by Patti Smith
With this next recommendation, punk-poetess Patti Smith invites us into her life as she recounts her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Starting with their respective childhoods shaping them into who they were, to their first meeting in New York, to moving in together from apartment to apartment, to Patti ultimately sticking by Robert through his coming out, rise in fame, and suffering from HIV/AIDS. As Patti will tell you, she promised Robert she would write their story. Although it may have taken her 20 years, write it she did, of a lovely, heartbreaking, but enchanting story of love, friendship, and New York City.
3. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Who doesn’t love a good murder mystery this time of year? Especially one starting with murder and backtracking the story through the “why?” rather than the “how?” In this novel, Richard Papen moves from his community college in California to a high brow college in New England. There he meets fellow Greek students Charles, Camilla, Francis, Henry, and Bunny. As Richard starts to fall in with this crowd, he realizes just how dark and not so cool these people are. With an eccentric professor planting ideas of Bacchus in their heads, this group undergoes tension and trauma until the final twig snaps and all hell breaks loose.
So cuddle up on a beauti-fall Sunday afternoon and immerse yourself in a new world; These books are sure to make you feel the spirit.