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My Top Ten Books to Read for Fall

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It’s been awhile since I joined Broke and the Bookish for Top Ten Tuesday but I am excited to share my Top 10 Books to Read for Fall. I normally do not change my reading style according to season but I am in the mood to read some spookier things for the fall. So here are my top 10 books to read for fall:

 

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1. I love the cover of This Dark Road to Mercy and am happy to be on the TLC Book Tour for the paperback release of this book. A dark story full of mystery, “blood and vengeance”, this book is set in NC, my home state and written by a local author. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about this and Wiley Cash’s other novel, A Land More Kind Than Home.

2. There is nothing like a little magic for the fall, I am finishing up the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for our IRL book club with kids and moms. This will be the first time I complete an epic series, and I look forward to seeing how the series ends. Though I have seen the movies, the last few I did not watch completely because I was busy chasing a toddler who wouldn’t sit still. Of course, the books are better and easier to follow, the movies appear more disjointed to me now that I am reading the books.

3. For my birthday, I got an autographed copy of The Magicians. I have enjoyed the magical world of Harry Potter but it made me crave a darker and more mysterious side of magic. When I opened the cover and George R.R. Martin said this, I had to get it:

“The Magicians is to Harry Potter as a shot of Irish whiskey is to a glass of weak tea. … Grossman’s sensibilities are thoroughly adult, his narrative dark and dangerous and full of twists. Hogwarts was never like this.”
—George R. R. Martin, author of Game of Thrones

4. Nothing says spooky to me like the King of Horror, Stephen King. I have been wanting to join The True Book Addict’s Stephen King Reading Challenge. I am a chicken though so I need to work myself up to his true horror novels. I want to start with 11/22/63, I did my high school term paper on JFK’s assassination, it sounds suspenseful, will they be able to prevent JFK’s assassination?

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5. Again, fall is for good mysteries and what’s better than classic Sherlock Holmes? True mystery without the gore and emotional turmoil of contemporary fiction. I loved The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the Master of Deduction at his finest in concise and easy to read short stories. I look forward to reading A Study in Scarlet and getting lost in 19th century England with Holmes and his trusty Dr. Watson.

6. I am excited to be participating in The Book Wheel’s fabulous 30 Authors event. My day is September 30th, and I will be sharing with you recommended reading by Patry Francis, author of Orphans of Race Point. Orphans of Race Point has gotten great reviews from fellow book bloggers. The Book Wheel called it “….a story so stunning it will leave you staggering with emotion.” and I look forward to reading this emotional story of two orphans and their heartbreaking childhood and coming-of-age.

7. Nonfiction November is coming up and since I am co-hosting our ongoing Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge, I wanted to pick a nonfiction book set in another country. I’ve picked National Book Award Winner, Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire. I started reading this author’s memoir and was captivated. His descriptions of his eccentric privileged family and his childhood experience in communist Cuba had me on the edge of my seat as gunfire erupted around his family when they are trapped in the car. I need to finish this book and will be hosting a book club to discuss this book in November if you’d like to join me.

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And last but not least, favorites from some of my favorite mystery/dramatic authors from present and past.
8. The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain. Diane’s books are always filled with suspense, thrills and drama. Another NC author with a book set in NC. Riley thinks her sister committed suicide as a teenager but she discovers that Lisa is alive and has a new life…From Goodreads: “As Riley works to uncover the truth, her discoveries will put into question everything she thought she knew about her family. Riley must decide what the past means for her present, and what she will do with her newfound reality, in this engrossing mystery from international bestselling author Diane Chamberlain.” Sounds good, right? I look forward to reading her newest book out October 7th!

9. Another favorite author of mine, Renita D’Silva, has a new book out called The Stolen Girl. I was so excited we were able to giveaway 2 copies during our Travel the World in Books Readathon and hosted an interview with Renita. The Stolen Girl is about a 13-year old girl who discovers she was stolen when her mother is arrested. Renita’s books are filled with well-developed characters with interesting and complicated predicaments.

10. The queen of mystery, Agatha Christie, was my favorite author as a kid. In 4th grade, we had to write and illustrate our own book and her inspiration led me to write my own mystery. It’s been a long time and I don’t remember even the books I read and would like to re-read them. I’ll start with The Mysterious Affair at Styles and see where Hercule Poirot’s mysteries begin.

Well, there you have it…my top ten books to read for fall. What’s on your fall reading list? Do you change what you like to read according to the season? I hope you enjoy your reading journey, wherever it may take you!

 

52 Comments

  1. These sound like interesting books. i have never personally liked scary books, but I have a lot of friends who do. The Stolen Girl sounds like something I would like. Thanks for sharing on #throwbackthursday linkup!

  2. Nice line-up! My husband just finished The Magicians and is looking forward to book 2.

    Stephen King has written lots of books that aren’t horror – people just tend to assume he;s all horror because that’s what he started with. he can write amazingly in any genre – he has an incredible talent for realistic characters & dialogue and no one writes kids better! 11/22/63 is fabulous – time-traveling historical fiction – so compelling. Hope you are enjoying it.

    I read Waiting for Snow in Havana years ago for a book group, and we all loved it. he writes beautifully about his childhood in Cuba, and I knew very little about when they moved all those Cuban kids to the US.

    Sue

    1. Oh glad to hear your book club loved Waiting for Snow in Havana. Savvy Working Gal and I will be hosting a readalong of it in November for November Nonfiction. Two birds with one book 🙂 The beginning was gripping. I look forward to reading more.

      Thanks for stopping by and linking up!

  3. I’ve decided to join you in reading Waiting for Snow in Havana. It sounds like a great read and will be fun to discuss in one of our twitter chats.

  4. Great list. The Silent Sister sounds intriguing. I enjoy reading books by NC authors and I know Diane Chamberlin is a friend of Mary Kay Andrews. I used to be an avid book reader, but since having kids my book reading seasons have been dictated by their schedules. 🙂

    1. Yes, they are friends and a great pair of authors. I have only read Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews, fun summer read! Which are your favorites? I know what you mean. I sacrifice sleep time for reading time. I still don’t read as much as I would like to but its better than nothing 🙂 Thanks for stopping by Rachel!

  5. I LOVE that you are in a book club for kids and moms. I have never heard of that. What a great idea to do over the summer! I will have to stick that idea away! (I loved reading the Harry Potter series as a teacher before I became a mom. Now our oldest is starting to read them.) 🙂

    1. Thanks Jennifer. It arose out of necessity. We had a small group of 3 moms and the one who started it with me started not coming cause she couldn’t get away without her kids. So we started reading Harry Potter so our kids can come and discuss too. It has been fun and interesting hearing their perspective. It helps that they are bookworms too. They want to read the Percy Jackson series next (a reread for the kids but first time for me). I am thinking we will let the kids pick their book and moms can go back to picking our own too.

  6. Hi Tanya – my friend Renita wrote Stolen Girl and so I was introduced to your Fall reading list through her. Very interesting choices and I’ve added a few to my list. I did have the Magicians on my list – I read his Codex and enjoyed it. I’m also rereading the HP series – loved the books and didn’t mind the movies (they can’t possibly make them as good as the books 😛 ). I’ve added the Orphans – looks very interesting – as well as Silent Sister. Over the years, I have read all the Agatha Christie books – even owned every single one and wished I still had them all…and I will reread my Sherlock stories too (will never get rid of my copies). Thanks for some good suggestions and I’m happy to have met you through Renita!!

    1. Nice to meet you Judith. My family and I enjoy the Harry Potter movies and I am always reluctant to read the books after seeing the movies. I didn’t remember movies 5-8 as much so I have really enjoyed those books so far. What a wonderful collection to have Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes books, I love collecting books. I am trying to grow my autographed book collection so that is what I will want for my birthday from now on. 🙂 hope you continue to stop by and share what you are reading with me!

  7. I usually get into more serious reads after summer passes- in the summer, it’s difficult for me to stay focused when all I want to do is go outside. My choices for fall are usually classics or longer reads, with a good scary story around Halloween.
    I’m interested in seeing how you like the Magicians, as I’ve heard contradictory things about it. And Harry Potter the Deathly Hallows (as far as I’m concerned) does justice to the series with a solid ending (I admit prior to reading it, I read the last page to ensure some characters lived).
    What a nice variety of titles you have to look forward to this fall!
    ~Litha Nelle
    P.S.
    Thanks for sharing my post on Banned Books.

  8. I don’t read with the seasons either. Looks like a busy fall for you, reading-wise. I’m glad that you have an Agatha Christie in there. I have been meaning to read Sherlock Holmes but I keep getting distracted with Benedict Cumberbatch ;P

  9. I have a copy of Snow in Havana. I really must give it a read. I’ve heard so many great things about it.

    1. Oh goodie! Want to read it with me in November for Nonfiction November and our Travel the World in Books reading challenge? Was hoping to set up a twitter chat towards the end of the month. I look forward to reading it too!

  10. Ooh I flirted with reading the latest books from The Magicians series but I didn’t really love the books. They are definitely memorable though so I’m excited to see what you think of them.

    1. Aw, sorry you didn’t love the Magicians series, I guess we can’t love them all. What was it that didn’t work for you? Well glad it’s memorable cause my memory is horrible, at least, if anything, I will remember it. Glad to hear from you Tanya!

  11. The Magicians is one of my very favorites. I am holding off on reading the conclusion to the series because I just don’t want it to end!

    11/22/63 is supposed to be wonderful, that’s also on my list to read someday. I hadn’t heard of the Silent Sister but that’s going on my list now too!

    1. Oh glad to hear you loved the Magicians. I felt that way about Divergent, I haven’t read Allegiant because I don’t want to be disappointed by the conclusion. It got such mixed, and it seemed more negative, reviews.

      11/22/63 is a chunkster. Between that, Deathly Hallows for book club and a couple for tours, that will take up my fall (and likely winter too). Thanks for stopping by Amanda!

    1. 11/22/63 seems like the clear reader’s choice out of this list 🙂 Glad to hear you enjoyed it too Charlotte. I don’t think I’ll be able to handle his horror stuff but maybe if I work up to it. Time travel and sci-fi I can handle. Thanks for stopping by!

  12. 11/22/63 is one of my favorites. Even though it definitely has creepy factors, there is so much heart in the book. It still tugs at me when I think of it–two years after I read it. Enjoy these!!

    1. What a combination, creepy with heart. I love books that stay with me, you’ve just moved it further up my reading list. Thanks, I’ll be stopping by to check out your list.

    1. Hi Cate, I’ve only read The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes but I do recommend it. I enjoyed it and since they are short stories, easy to fit in among other reading. Thanks for stopping by, will be checking out your list too!

  13. Wow, what a great collection of all kinds of reads! Harry Potter, I really have to reread the books, have been wanting to do that for quite some time now! And the Diane Chamberlain book looks great as well, would love to hear what you think of it! 🙂

    1. Confession: It’s my first time reading the HP series. My book club picked it so us moms could have our kids come to the meetings and talk about it with us. My oldest son insisted I read it. I told him I’d read it, and now I get to pick 8 books for him to try.

      Have you read Diane Chamberlain books before? Contemporary women’s fiction and often dramatic but so good, I usually can’t put the book down until I’ve finished.

    1. Glad to hear 11/22/63 is one of your faves. I so wanted to do the Kings March and will definitely check out your post. Maybe I can join if they have it next year.

      Yay, another Diane Chamberlain fan. Have you read her other books? My favorite is still Midwife’s Confession, it just totally caught me off guard.

        1. Oh I haven’t read Necessary Lies yet either. I agree, I find her books thought provoking too. Her plots put a spin on ethical dilemmas that you don’t expect, never say never.

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