10 Books To Get You Reading This Autumn

The leaves are starting to turn orange and fall from branches, we’re dusting off our coats and pulling on our boots and the idea of snuggling down in bed for hours on end doesn’t sound as hot and sweaty and uncomfortable as it did a couple of months ago.

I love a good book recommendation, especially when autumn rolls around. In weather like this, there’s nothing I like more than burrito-wrapping myself in a doona, cradling a hot chocolate in one hand and a good book in the other- a book I want to devour quickly and yet savour slowly all at once. It’s a romantic image for sure, but actually setting out time to sit down and read a book is something many of us struggle with these days. Luckily, the following books are the kind that’ll suck you right in to their world, and I’m willing to bet that once you get started, you’re not going to want to stop. Here are books I have enjoyed every page of (and I hope you enjoy them too!).

1. Jasper Jones – Craig Silvey

I don’t think I’ve laughed out loud so much from a novel in a long time. Or cried so much either. Set in Australia, the characters will quickly become your best friends. Donned the Australian To Kill a Mockingbird, the storyline is jam packed with racial anecdotes and societal criticisms, but in a way that’s totally accessible and enjoyable to read.

“How strange and abandoned and unsettled I am. Like a snowdome paper weight that’s been shaken. There’s a blizzard in my bubble. Everything in my world that was steady and sure and sturdy has been shaken out of place, and it’s now drifting and swirling back down in a confetti of debris.”

2. The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett

This is an old classic, and one I’ve read and re-read a thousand times. If you love nature and gardening and friends coming together, this beautiful book will be sure to touch your heart and soul.

3. Requiem for a Dream – Hubert Selby Jr.

If you’ve ever seen the movie (yes, this is that Jared Leto film), then you’ll know this story is hardcore and likened to A Clockwork Orange in terms of obscure writing style. Drug heavy content, a truly creative approach to writing and a plot line that really struck me, this is pretty much the definition of a ‘page turner’.

4. Modern Romance – Aziz Ansari

For those who love their non-fiction, this light critical analysis of the changing landscape of modern relationships by comedian Aziz Ansari will be sure to have you nodding in frustrated agreement one moment, laughing out loud at another.

5. The Catcher in the Rye – J. D. Salinger

This book has sold over 65 million copies since it was first published in 1951, which I can guarantee is a testament to its quality. The male protagonist has become the embodiment of teenage rebellion and his directionless existence is woven with wit and sarcasm.

“Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You’re by no means alone on that score, you’ll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them—if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It’s a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn’t education. It’s history. It’s poetry.”

6. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood

Yes, you Extension English nerds, this book is worth reading outside the confines of school! A speculative fiction novel about a dystopian, totalitarian society run by the Taliban, if you read and like this one then go ahead and read all of Atwood’s other novels – they’re spectacular!

7. The BFG – Roald Dahl

I don’t care how old you are, you need to go and read anything and everything by Roald Dahl. Why do we have to curl up in bed and be literary snobs all the time? Enjoy some light, glorious reading by one of our childhood greats.

8. Grapes of Wrath- John Steinbeck

One of my favourite authors whose novels are rich with descriptions set in expansive American landscapes, this book is a must-read of Steinbeck’s. If you’ve read and loved Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet (which I would liken to an Aussie equivalent), then you should definitely give Steinbeck a crack.

9. Mosquitoland – David Arnold

A YA fiction novel, this book is absolutely hilarious and entirely relevant for all young people. I read this at 21 in a hostel in Bali in fits of giggles, wishing I had known about it in high school.

“I swear the older I get, the more I value bad examples over good ones. It’s a good thing too, because most people are egotistical, neurotic, self-absorbed peons, insistent on wearing near-sighted glasses in a far-sighted world. And it’s this exact sort of myopic ignorance that has led to my groundbreaking new theory. I call it Mim’s Theorem of Monkey See Monkey Don’t, and what it boils down to is this: it is my belief that there are some people whose sole purpose of existence is to show the rest of how not to act.” 

10. Life of Pie – Yann Martel

Life of Pi is a fantastical travelogue laden with lessons and whimsical characters that explore spirituality and practicality. Depending on how you look at it, this could either be a really sweet or really devastating story, but either way it’s most definitely a magical one.

Get down to your local bookshop (support local!) and get your nose in one of these goodies. And hey! Recommend me some too.