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!