As the summer heat finally breaks, the arrival of autumn marks the perfect time to let your “To Be Read” pile spiral out of control. These 10 hand-picked reads are the perfect companion for a 6 p.m. sunset and a warm bowl of soup.
1. “Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage” by Belle Burden
The October chill in the air calls for a memoir. Here, Harvard-educated, old-money lawyer Belle Burden sinks her teeth into her own failed marriage, which ended seemingly out of the blue right as the COVID-19 pandemic rolled in. People Magazine calls it “a gripping, heartbreaking read for every wife — and husband.”
2. “Glass, irony, and God” by Anne Carson
Carson made headlines earlier this month after winning a Nobel Prize in Literature for her “bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature.” This 1995 poetry and essay collection is perhaps the most potent example of what makes Carson so unique. The book blends confessional personal writing with classic literary criticism almost seamlessly to take the reader on a journey that they will not be able to forget.
3. “Hollywood, Ending” by John Green
John Green’s much anticipated return to fiction hits hard right out of the gate “Hollywood, Ending” takes us behind the scenes of a Hollywood love story. It’s tender, heartbreaking and raw, leaving the reader asking, “who can we trust in an unsteady world?”
4. “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion
There’s no better time than the chilly months to revisit this classic Didion reflection on grief, family and what it means to heal. Didion artfully tells the story of the sudden deaths of her husband and daughter, and the personal revelations she came to in the aftermath. “Didion has transformed grief into literature,” The Guardian wrote.
5. “Hollow Bones” by Jodi Picoult
In the world of fiction, Picoult never misses. Her newest addition to an awe-inspiring portfolio tells the story of Molly Fitzgerald, a disaster response coordinator whose life is upended by a disaster she never could’ve seen coming. The novel is deeply reflective and emotional yet also quick-moving and exciting.
6. “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver
This 2007 memoir tells the story of a family eating only locally and seasonally grown food on their farm. A stray from Kingsolver’s usual fiction, revisiting this book is refreshing and unexpected. Kingsolver expertly writes a memoir of her own family taking on a journalistic experiment in an engaging and playful way.
7. “Our Missing Hearts” by Celeste Ng
From the author of “Little Fires Everywhere” comes a new work that Oprah Daily calls “an unflinching yet life-affirming drama about the power of art and love to push back in dangerous times.” The fictional novel tells the story of twelve-year-old Bird Gardner, whose mother, a Chinese American poet, vanished without a trace when he was nine years old. Bird is pulled into a quest to find his mother, which will take him all the way to New York City to finally uncover the truth of his roots.
8. “The Secret History” by Donna Tart
This classic dark academia novel is set on a moody New England college campus that is enraptured in a dark murder mystery. The novel is an inverted detective story told in two parts: a tense lead-up to a murder and the legacies of the friends who are left behind living with the guilt. You won’t be able to put it down.
9. “Bright Dead Things” by Ada Limon
2022 U.S. poet laureate Ada Limon shies away from nothing in this 2015 poetry collection. With her signature intimate writing style, Limon carries the reader through the trials and tribulations of a middle-aged woman trying to figure out the ways of the world. The collection explores everything from grief to love to a profound connection between motherly affection and vertigo. It’s a must-read.
10. “Dead and Alive: Essays” by Zadie Smith
Smith’s newest non-fiction essay collection is split into five parts: eyeballing, considering, reconsidering, mourning and confessing. Through essays about everything from contemporary politics to digital technology, she guides the reader into her world of niche cultural criticism in a way that sometimes feels welcoming and relatable and other times leaves the reader asking, “How closely should we investigate our reality?” It’s logical, profound and crisp.