10 Books On My Autumn Reading List (Possibly)
What’s the next best thing to reading? Making lists of books you want to read of course. It doesn’t really matter whether you actually get around to reading them — half the fun for me comes looking along the book shelves and discovering books I’d forgotten about.
The Top Ten Tuesday prompt this week is “10 Books on My Fall 2022 TBR.” Since I live in the UK I’m switching from the American “Fall” to “Autumn” .That’s not the only difference UK/USA difference — we also use different dates to denote this season. Americans associate Labor Day (the first Monday in September,) as the end of summer and the start of “Fall” . But in my part of the world , an in fact, most of the Northern Hemisphere, autumn traditionally starts with the September equinox (21 to 24 September)[ and ends with the winter solstice (21 or 22 December).
Now that we have that cleared up, here are the books I’m thinking of reading between October and December.
Some are left overs from my summer reading project, others are new titles for late 2022. I’ve also added a smattering of books from my classics club project.
Do not be surprised to hear in December that all these good intentions evaporated. I reserve the right to read ten completely different books if the mood takes me.
A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny
Louise Penny’s series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache shows no sign of coming to an end any time soon. A World Of Curiosities, due to be published in November, will be #18 in the series.
Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson
A new Kate Atkinson is always a cause for celebration. Her latest novel is a tale of betrayal set in London, a city emerging from the aftermath of the Great War. For more details check out the Goodreads listing here.
Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie
I loved Shamsie’s earlier novel Home Fire so have high hopes for her latest book. Best of Friends is about two girls from Karachi whose friendship is put to the test by one incident in their adolescent years. Three decades later their past resurfaces, threatening the new lives they have made. Details available here at Goodreads.
The Vanishing Sky by Annette Binder
This was on my #20booksofsummer list but I ran out of time to read it then so it’s making an appearance in Autumn instead. The novel imagines the lives of one German family in the final days of the Third Reich. It’s a debut novel based, in part, on the experiences of the author’s family.
The Lifted Veil by George Eliot
This 1847 novella by George Eliot is my Classic Club spin book. Having seen some of the comments from other bloggers I’m not entirely sure it will be to my taste.
Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell
Listening to the latest episode of the Backlisted podcast about about Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South, has me hankering to read some more Gaskell. I’ve had a copy of Ruth on my shelves for about eight years so I think it’s time to give it some attention.
No Name by Wilkie Collins
I read this so long ago that I’ve forgotten most of the details now. It’s not as sensationalist as Woman in White — more of a commentary on social prejudice in the Victorian era.
Ray of Darkness by Margiad Evans
This is the only non fiction book on my list. Margiad Evans was born in England but had a life-long affinity to the Welsh borderlands. In 1952 she published this account of her diagnosis of epilepsy and how that affected her writing. The book was re-published by Honno Press in January 2022 along with the second part of her autobiography, A Nightingale Silenced.
The Ardent Swarm by Yamen Manai
This could be the final book read for my World of Literature project. This debut novel by a Tunisian author is the story of a bee whisperer who wakes one morning to find that something has attacked one of his beehives, brutally killing every inhabitant. It’s an allegory about a country in the aftermath of revolution.
The Promise by Dalmut Galgut
I started reading this just before it was announced as the winner of the 2021 Booker Prize but stalled half way through. Just wasn’t in the mood at the time.
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I love The promise, so I hope that if you try it again you like it. I have read Ruth. It’s good but not as good as North and South. I’ve read three or four Gaskells. The next on my list is Mary Barton – one day. The lifted veil is new to me – what have you heard that makes you think you mayn’t be interested?
It would be hard to beat North and South – I love that book. My hesitation about the Lifted Veil is based on the fact I’ve heard it ventures into the supernatural which I don’t enjoy very much
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Ooooh, a good crop of “fall”/autumn reads! Best of luck with them! And I feel you on the US/UK differences – I’m in Australia, so as all the Northern Hemisphere readers are getting ready to cosy up with books, I’m looking for reads to take to the beach! 😅
Don’t worry, i never change my reading tastes according to the seasons. I’m just as likely to be reading books in snowy landscapes in August as in December
I just read Home Fire — Best of Friends sounds great. I love Elizabeth Gaskell and Wilkie Collins. Enjoy your fall reading!
All I need is a few extra hours in the week to get to all the books I’m itching to read
A very respectable list. I expect I will dip into one or two of these, certainly the newer publications on your list. I look forward to reading your reviews.
It’s always a challenge for me – whether to read the new books or stick with the classics.
Hello, I thought to comment here; I attended our town’s library book sale today and it was not as good as the other one attended last year. I did find a few books; while my husband did better with his findings this year; good that we have this new bookcase for the books. I do my best to review but I am not good at this either because others act out what I am supposed to have been reading or it’s…that illiteracy thing going on with me. No matter, have a good week and Keep reading.
sometimes you can be lucky with those kinds of sales and other times there is little to interest you
Oh, another Atkinson, yay! The last one I enjoyed was Transcription but I’ve a few to catch up on. Hmm, there’s somebody’s birthday immanent who’d appreciate it, and perhaps I can borrow it after …
That sounds a very smart strategy to me 🙂
The birthday present has now been presented, and I’m hoping to be given a chance to peruse it afterwards…
I’ve played that game myself 🙂
😁
I fully intend to read Best Friends by Kamila Shamsie soon too, I love her books. I also read No Name years ago but can’t remember anything about it now. Enjoy your autumn reading .
Thanks Ali. Lovely to see you commenting again – have really missed you. Hoping this means that the new treatment plan is helping you
I’d like to know more about the George Eliot book.
I was curious about it because it is so unlike her other books
Quite a list and mostly women! Look forward to your thoughts on Eliot and Gaskell!
I hadn’t even noticed the gender split!
I look forward to hearing what you think of the George Elliot because it is on my CCSpin list too!
The comments from other bloggers are making me nervous about this book
I understand why you need to be in the right frame of mind to persist with the Dalgut. But don’t cast it aside. It’s well worth returning to.
I promise it is not going to be discarded….
Making book lists is one of the most fun parts of blogging, even if none of us ever stick to them! And reading other people’s lists always introduces me to new books that I haven’t read but like the sound of – in this case Wilkie Collins’ No Name.
I know how tempted I get when I see lists too
I heard of Elizabeth Gaskell but I don’t know where. I need to get to reading Wilkie Collins’s books.
Maybe you came across her via the TV adaptation of her book Cranford??
Looking more into it I think I read one short stories.
How did I miss the news of a new Kate Atkinson?!
There are only so many announcements we can keep track of 🙂
Ruth is a fascinating work. Far more personal than North and South. I look forward to your review, I’ve been meaning to review it myself ever since I started blogging.
I’m intrigued now….
Fun list! I guess Penny’s book was so obvious to me that I completely forgot to list it!!
I also have The Lifted Veil (for Novellas in November).
Curious to see what you’ll have to say about No Name.
Enjoy your Autumn reads!
such a frustrating time today – I can’t find my copy of No Name
The Atkinson is wonderful, a real treat, and I enjoyed the Shamsie, too.
I have been trying to avoid reading reviews before I get to these books myself but good to hear you enjoyed them
An interesting collection, I shall look forward to your reviews.
Do you want to guess how many I will actually read???
I have a list of 10 books since 1 year. Until they’re dealt with, there comes nothing to it, otherwise I fear to become one of those eternal list-makers without any meat to actually doing something about it. The same goes for my new year resolutions: not another one till the previous one has been dealt with.
Wow, you are so disciplined. I’m afraid I don’t have your level of self control.
It takes discipline to be such a prolific blogger as you are. It just comes at a cost that I’m not willing to pay. Sometimes I have the impression that the social media just have intensified the rhythm of the rat race instead of giving people the opportunity to leave it behind them.
Social media can be such a drain on your time. It’s also very negative – so many people who feel its ok to write some horribly nasty comments
That happens when people reduce you to an icon on their screen. I sometimes think with nostalgy at the times when you corresponded through handwritten letters with people abroad. It had a personal touch that has been filtered out by the new technology. You had of course to wait about two months to get an answer. I have been pondering lately to reverse to that method.