Welcome! Please sit down, make yourself comfortable, and have a brownie or three...

Friday, September 9, 2011

The Best Books For Autumn Reading

The last two days have been crisp and chilly in my corner of Colorado, and a few loaves of pumpkin bread were baked yesterday. A few days ago, I drove to get muffins at 7:30 AM and the temperature on the electronic bank clock said 46 degrees.

Fall is my favorite time of year (not sure if you caught that from my blog title), so I thought I’d offer a couple of my favorite books to read during the season of changing hues.

Please pipe in with your recommendations as well!

Picture Book: The Ox-Cart Man, written by Donald Hall, illustrated by Barbara Cooney (who won the Caldecott Medal for this)

Though it’s not specifically about fall, this darling book captures the changing of the seasons with quaint simplicity.



Middle Grade: Harry Potter, of course! Most of them start with him going back to Hogwarts in the fall.

Danny, Champion of the World (Roald Dahl)—When Danny and his dad go pheasant poaching, there’s a distinct feeling of autumn in the air. There’s also mention of crisp apples, specifically Cox’s Orange Pippins (which, as Danny points out, is a delightful name for a type of apple).

The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. (Kate Messner)—The cover alone screams, “It’s Autumn—read me!”



Young Adult: I’d love to hear your recommendations on this category!


Adult fiction: Most anything by Maeve Binchy or Jane Austen—What can I say— I’m a woman.

Cookbooks: I love reading these any time of year, but Fall is when I gear up for cooking. At my core, my heart and stomach crave savory over sweet, so any cookbook with the word “Tavern” in it is sure to hold Autumn-y delights to me. The most recent I’ve read are The Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Cookbook and City Tavern Cookbook. Yum.

What are your favorites (old or new) for Autumn reading?

I’m off to a conference, so my apologies if I don’t get around to your blogs today!

24 comments:

  1. I'd have to agree with Harry Potter! Have fun at the conference!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anything scary for October. Stephen King (old style, not the beer) and Dean Koontz are my favs.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Harry Potter is spot on!!! Autumn is my favorite time of year. I'm so excited to welcome it in yet again. Imagining the leaves falling on the ground, getting to Halloween, enjoying the Ren Fest! Oh what a beautiful time of year!

    I love horrors and thrillers during October and then Harry Potter during the fall! HOORAY!

    ReplyDelete
  4. fall is my favorite too!!!!
    i try to read arthur millers THE CRUCIBLE every fall. man, i love that play!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love Fall so much it's ridiculous. I just started The Near Witch last night and so far, it's perfect for the crisp air occasion!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Pumpkin bread! Yummy!!!!

    I have tons of YA books to recommend. It just depends on what genre you're in the mood for. :D

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh. My. God! Danny was one of my favorite books as a kid. And you're right, it has a distinct autumnal feeling to it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. We're still a little bit away from true Fall here, but I''m ready. I love Danny Champion of the World! I'm reading No Such Think as a Witch by Ruth Chew to my daughter right now. It's a good Halloween book - not too scary. Have fun at your conference!

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's been reading weather here as well. Love it. Did someone say pumpkin bread??? Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm with you. Fall is my favorite season of all. Yum ... pumpkin bread. I'm itching to head up to Sundance and take the ski lift up for the fall colors. One of my favorite activities.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh, I'm so excited for fall! I think it's one of my favorites as well. In fact, this Monday, I decided I was ready for fall (after a very short summer here in Oregon) and what do I get? Ninety degree weather ALL week! Now I'm definitely ready.

    I don't have any book recommendations, but one of my favorite "fall" movies is You've Got Mail. It makes me so excited for Halloween!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Can you mail me pumpkin bread?? :-) I heart anything pumpkin, my Mom makes me pumpkin cake every year for my birthday. Enjoy your weekend!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Fall is by far the best season! I'm also a fan of anything pumpkin, except pumpkin soup. I'm fairly certain pumpkin soup is evil straight from wherever evil comes from.

    I don't read that much YA, but I do dearly love the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett. I could read Mort over and over and over again.

    ReplyDelete
  14. When the girls were little, I used to love reading them "Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten", the cutest book I've ever seen about going back to school.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Ooh, now I feel like baking some pumpkin bread. Or going out to pick apples.

    I am just this week reading The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ooh, these are great recommendations! I'm particularly interested in The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z and Danny, Champion of the World. I'll check those out!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I have always loved the OxCart Man.

    You are right...it sings of fall!

    Shelley

    ReplyDelete
  18. I hope you enjoy the conference. I don't know if it's because I'm hungry but I love the cook book recommendation. :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. I can honestly say I love all the seasons...but by the end of any season, I'm desperately looking forward to the next one. And right now I am VERY eager for fall. Here in southern NJ...it is HOT and steamy humid still. It was a long, record-breaking hot summer. I am WAY ready for fall. Thus, I'm green with envy for your cooler temps.

    But, if a gun was put to my head and I HAD to pick a favorite season? I'd pick autumn. And I'll eat or drink anything pumpkin spiced! :) Yummmm.

    And, yes, HP is a perfect series to read in the fall.
    Hugs,
    Lola

    ReplyDelete
  20. Fall is my favourite time of year too (pity I'm heading into spring here in Oz hehehe).

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'd say Shiver for YA because it's all about the weather getting cooler.

    Hex Hall begins at back to school at an academy for problem magic beings - I really liked this one!

    Anna and the French Kiss - back to school in PARIS!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love fall too! And pumpkin bread, or pumpkin muffins, or pumpkin pie... :) Also picking apples! And anything baked with apples! Harry Potter, Danny Champion of the World, anything Maeve Binchy - all perfect choices. I'll have to think on YA picks... I agree with Theresa on Shiver, but I can't think what else off the top of my head.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Gosh, I can't think of any autumn-feeling books. Jeez, what's wrong with me??? It's my favorite time of year, too!!!! I will give this more thought. i will say though that the there are two movies that always make me feel "fallish": Dead Poet's Society and Little Women (Wynona Rider version).

    I'll have to check out your recommendations. We're going to the library today, me & the girls. I love library day! The Ox Cart man is on the list and that Brilliant Fall one. Kate Messner rings a bell for some reason.

    I love your quip regarding Maeve binchy and Jane Austen. (maybe I'll pick up a Binchy book, too).

    The mention of taverns for some reason put me in a Hobbit mood, not quite sure why???

    ReplyDelete

  24. I say many thanks to Mr. admin website I read this, because in this website I know a lot of information information that I did not know before his
    Waspada Celana Dalam Ketat Berbahaya Bagi Kesuburan Pria

    ReplyDelete