Fall semester comes with plenty of formidable foes: whiplash from weather change, shockingly sudden midterms, and the inevitably wasted reading week that we all pretend to study in but end up sleeping through instead. Luckily, there are ways to get your brain working during reading week that will keep you intellectually stimulated while also feeling relaxed and pleasantly entertained. Some examples include podcasts, movies, nature walks, and— obviously— reading! A great method to get through a slump or motivate yourself into picking up a good novel is switching up your regular tastes with a splash of something new. So, without further ado, here are my top three suggestions for novel genres that you can incorporate into your reading itinerary this fall.
Narrative NonFiction
I know what you’re thinking. You want me to read nonfiction? For fun? Do I look like Spencer Reid? Trust me when I say: you’ve been reading the wrong biographies. Narrative nonfiction is a fun blend of the typical chronological style of most fiction narrations accompanied with true and informative summaries of our scientific or historical worlds. In the wise words of Charles Boyle, “it’s infotainment!” I’ll see myself out. Anyway, here are some books I recommend if you think this genre might be a good fit for you.
Everything is Tuberculosis, John Green
This novel is, you guessed it, a book about tuberculosis. But it’s not just about tuberculosis. It’s a creative discussion on the relationship between our modern world and this centuries-gone (or so you think) disease, and the way it still impacts it today. World War One started with tuberculosis. The state of New Mexico was made because of tuberculosis. I won’t spoil the rest for you, but basically…everything is tuberculosis. You will leave this book with a new perspective on disease treatment, racism in healthcare, and an in-depth understanding of bacterial spread. And with Green’s smooth and gentle monologue, you won’t even notice the information seeping into your mind.
Courting India, Nandini Das
This novel by Nandini Das explores the fall of the Mughal Empire, starting with the encounter that would lead to their demise—an entanglement with Elizabethan England. Das dissects the arrival of the British in 17th century India, chronicling one of the most ground-breaking sequences of events in the history of colonialism. If you’ve been curious about how the Mughal Empire fell, or why India seemed to take a sudden and spectacular faceplant after years of growth and success, consider picking up this novel.
Hint: It was Britain’s fault.
I Saw Ramallah, Mourid Barghouti
This stunning and beautifully tragic narrative is the memoir of Mourid Barghouti, and his life as a Palestinian scholar who was denied return to his homeland after leaving temporarily for his studies. Barghouti expertly weaves between the past and present as he discusses the magnitudes of loss, displacement, and heartache he experienced from the genocidal violence inflicted on his homeland. Above all the injustice in this story, it is one of resilience and unwavering strength, teaching readers about real-life experiences while also remaining a graceful and cohesive narrative.
Side Note: Those are my recs for if you’re getting into narrative nonfiction, but I would also suggest picking a novel that relates to one of your courses. You’ll feel way more immersed in the fields you’re (probably) dedicating your careers to.
Next Up: Absurdism
Absurdism preaches life as a meaninglessly chaotic sequence of events right in the face of humanity’s desire for purpose. It’s the literary exploration of ‘you know what hell yeah’. Sorry. On a real note, these stories tend to resonate with us because their strangeness often speaks to a deeper and more important thesis. By making light of these core topics, absurdism offers a satirical perspective on some of our most important messages.
Slaughterhouse 5, Kurt Vonnegut
If you ask me, really anything by Kurt Vonnegut could be considered ‘absurdist’. His zany writing style and unique worlds are on the long side of strange and weird, and the devastating subtext intrinsic to his storytelling leaves you wondering whether you should laugh or cry. Slaughterhouse 5 is his magnum opus—a story that can really be summed up by its tagline: BILLY PILGRIM HAS COME UNSTUCK IN TIME. It’s a story about a war veteran travelling through his memories, perhaps kidnapped by aliens, perhaps simply losing his mind. So it goes. It’s also one of my all-time favourite novels, so if you read it, let me know!
The Humans, Matt Haig
This story follows the life of an alien who has been sent onto Earth for one sole purpose: destroy the man responsible for proving Riemann’s Hypothesis. If you’re a math whiz, you probably know that Riemann’s Hypothesis is a complex mathematical theory whose solution involves a major cash prize. But even though the story starts out as a hunt-and-destroy for this numerical marvel, it delicately comes apart as the alien loses sight of his mission after falling in love with humanity. He likes dogs. He likes food. He likes watching the stars with two eyes. And he decides: he doesn’t really care about numbers.
I can relate. Although, I think the protagonist of this story might dislike this article—he does at one point claim, “There is only one genre in fiction, the genre is called book.”
Welcome to Nightvale Series, Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink
A richly potent product of the absurdist genre, Welcome to Nightvale explores the weird and strange in a way that is vibrantly unique. In a world originally from a fiction podcast, these stories delve into eccentric adaptations of common folklore creatures, featuring sentient weather with bad attitude, shadow people, trillion-eyed angels tangled in telephone wires, and, most importantly, a faceless old woman. Despite its abrupt and seemingly nonsensical plotlines, paired with descriptions that will leave your face in a perpetual state of question marks, Welcome to Nightvale steadies its readers in its strange world with universally profound sentiments. One of my favourites is, “Be proud of your place in the cosmos. It is small, and yet it is.” That, paired with killer one-liners like, “Wednesday has been cancelled due to scheduling errors,” makes this a series for the beautifully weird.
Finally: Comedic Horror
Every October ‘Recommended Reading’ list should have a splash of horror. But what is horror without a few giggles-turned-screams? Dark comedy novels are a staple in the spooky realm, often depicting the weird and inane while also drawing a shiver up your spine. I’m talking Gravity Falls vibes, Beetlejuice, or even Zombieland. There’s an art to being absurdly frightening while also making light of the situation, and I think these books nail it to a tee.
- Saturday Night Ghost Club – Craig Davidson
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Saturday Night Ghost Club is your typical ‘unconventional friend group doing odd things at late hours’ story. If such a term can be coined. I’d consider it a bildungsroman, as the narrator grows up listening to his uncle’s scary ghost stories (and ends up attributing most of his life’s experiences to a spook-related reason). Craig Davidson explores a new writing style in this novel, and it is refreshingly colourful: analogies going in unpredictable directions, humorously dry delivery, and word choice that turns heads.
- The Body – Stephen King
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Stephen King is a common fall rec, but I had to include him! He’s a classic in the vein of horror-comedy, capturing both the ghastly elements of a true chiller, as well as the hilarity of what really defines preteen fears. The Body is also one of those feel-good narratives whose terror relies on the fuzzy and unattainable nostalgia of childhood. It designs such unique and genuine memories that it kind of makes you wish you were also a 12-year-old hick child on the hunt for a corpse, if only to experience his comraderies.
- Bunny – Mona Awad
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Bunny is an exhilaratingly funny read, while also encapsulating the eerie, cultish vibes that one would expect from a college sorority. Man-hating, trash-talking, and gawkishly judgemental Samantha Mackey finds herself tumbling into the hypnotic lure of her college’s GLO, an exclusive clique of sorority girls known as ‘Bunnies.’ Repulsed by their wide-eyed Rose Queen energy, Samantha hate-watches them intensely, leading her to discover the horrifying freakshow hidden beneath the glitter gloss. And it is… awesome. Combine sorority girls and selfies with body horror and rat-teeth, and you’ve got yourself a Pinterest board for Bunny.
I hope this list got you thinking about some of your autumn book reads. If these genres aren’t in your typical catalogue, I urge you to try them anyway! Expanding your reading tastes is a great way to discover something you might not have expected to enjoy. I leave you with the sage words of Matt Haig in The Humans:
“Knowledge is finite. Wonder is infinite.”