The Secret History
Donna Tartt
A group of classics students at an elite Vermont college become entangled in murder and moral corruption.
September feels like a second New Year. Summer fades, routines return, and the back-to-school rush brings equal parts stress, nostalgia, and a craving for comfort. One of the simplest antidotes? A good book. Whether you're leaning into cozy vibes, chasing gothic chills, or looking for dark-academia drama to match the campus mood, autumn reading offers both escape and reflection.
Choose a mood above to get instant recommendations, or browse our full autumn bookshelf below.
Donna Tartt
A group of classics students at an elite Vermont college become entangled in murder and moral corruption.
Rebecca Yarros
A badass fantasy romance set at a dragon rider war college with intense action and chemistry.
Alex Michaelides
A psychological thriller about a woman who refuses to speak after allegedly murdering her husband.
Freida McFadden
A gripping psychological thriller that keeps readers on edge with shocking twists and chilling revelations.
Sally Rooney
The beloved author of Normal People returns with a story about two grieving brothers tangled in unexpected romances.
Louise Erdrich
A captivating tale of love and everyday life amid environmental upheaval and the 2008 financial crisis.
Percival Everett
A brilliant reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn told from Jim's perspective.
Laurie Gilmore
A cozy romance set in Dream Harbor where a woman takes over her aunt's cafe and finds unexpected love.
Rebecca Yarros
A badass fantasy romance set at a dragon rider war college with intense action and chemistry.
Rebecca Yarros
The gripping continuation of the Empyrean series with darker trials and terrifying dragon secrets.
Freida McFadden
A psychological thriller about a live-in housemaid whose seemingly perfect job hides dark secrets.
Colleen Hoover
A powerful novel exploring the complexities of love, resilience, and breaking cycles of abuse.
Sarah J. Maas
A dark and seductive reimagining of classic fairy tales in the dangerous world of the Fae.
Kristin Hannah
A sweeping historical novel about women who served in the Vietnam War and their fight for recognition.
Gabrielle Zevin
A heartrending story about friendship, love, and ambition set against the backdrop of the video game industry.
Richard Osman
A clever mystery series featuring four retirees who meet weekly to investigate cold cases.
Liz Moore
A literary mystery with a solid twist that explores family secrets and disappearances.
Donna Tartt
A group of classics students at an elite Vermont college become entangled in murder and moral corruption.
Erin Morgenstern
A dreamlike story of a magical traveling circus and the magician competition hidden within.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
A glamorous socialite enters a decaying mansion with dark family secrets in 1950s Mexico.
Alice Hoffman
A spellbinding tale of two sisters who must confront their family's magical legacy.
Daphne du Maurier
A haunting Gothic novel about a young woman living in the shadow of her husband's deceased first wife.
Shirley Jackson
A masterpiece of psychological horror about four people staying in a supposedly haunted house.
Ray Bradbury
A poignant book about growing up and a creepy fall read featuring a mysterious carnival.
Ray Bradbury
A collection of dark, atmospheric stories perfect for autumn reading.
Ray Bradbury
A book about summer transitioning to fall with beautiful prose about small-town life.
Neil Gaiman
A mesmerizing ghost story about a boy raised by ghosts in a graveyard.
Neil Gaiman
A creepy and whimsical tale about a girl who discovers a nightmarish parallel world.
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
A gothic historical mystery set in 1940s Barcelona featuring a cemetery of forgotten books.
Ann Patchett
A literary novel about family, obsession, and forgiveness centered around a brother and sister.
M.L. Rio
A dark academia novel about Shakespearian actors whose friend's death becomes a murder mystery.
Leigh Bardugo
A dark fantasy horror novel about a young woman at Yale who can see ghosts and monitors secret societies.
Sangu Mandanna
A cozy witchy novel about found family and unexpected friendships with magical elements.
Shelby Van Pelt
A heartwarming story about a widow who befriends an octopus that helps her uncover family secrets.
Emily Henry
A romantic comedy about a literary agent who keeps running into her nemesis in a small town.
Emily Henry
Two rival writers challenge each other to write outside their comfort zones in this enemies-to-lovers romance.
Shehan Karunatilaka
A darkly comic afterlife adventure about a photographer trying to solve his own murder.
Bonnie Garmus
A witty novel about a 1960s chemist whose career takes an unexpected turn into television cooking.
Olivie Blake
Six young magicians compete for a place in an exclusive society in this dark academia fantasy.
V.E. Schwab
A woman cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets finds someone who remembers her after 300 years.
Kazuo Ishiguro
A poignant story told from the perspective of an artificial friend observing human nature and love.
Matt Haig
A thought-provoking novel about a woman who gets to explore alternate versions of her life.
Delia Owens
A mystery and coming-of-age story about the 'Marsh Girl' who becomes a suspect in a murder case.
Elizabeth Strout
The latest in Strout's beloved literary universe with romance, mystery, and the return of Olive Kitteridge.
Abraham Verghese
An epic tale following three generations of a Christian family in Kerala, India from 1900 to 1977.
Barbara Kingsolver
A modern-day version of David Copperfield set in Appalachian Mountains, exploring poverty and addiction.
Olga Tokarczuk
An eerie World War I-era novel set in a Polish sanitarium, blending philosophy with dark comedy.
Rebecca F. Kuang
A satirical thriller about cultural appropriation in the literary world when a writer steals her friend's manuscript.
Ann Napolitano
A homage to Little Women following four sisters in Chicago whose family is changed by tragedy.
Amy Tan
Essays and drawings by the author depicting a search for peace through birding.
Emilia Hart
A novel intertwining the stories of three women across centuries, revealing a powerful tale of witchcraft and empowerment.
Richard Osman
Four retirees meet weekly to investigate cold cases in this clever mystery series.
Taylor Jenkins Reid
A retired tennis champion returns to the court to reclaim her record in this character-driven sports novel.
TJ Klune
A cozy fantasy about a caseworker who discovers a magical orphanage and finds unexpected family.
Casey McQuiston
A romantic comedy about the First Son falling in love with the Prince of Wales.
Erin Morgenstern
A magical realist novel about a graduate student who discovers a mysterious book containing his own story.
Andy Weir
A science fiction adventure about humanity's last hope awakening alone on a spaceship with no memory.
Samantha Shannon
An epic standalone fantasy featuring dragons, diverse characters, and multiple interconnected storylines.
Alix E. Harrow
A portal fantasy about a young woman who discovers doors to other worlds in early 1900s Vermont.
Alix E. Harrow
A historical fantasy about sisters, witches, and suffragettes in 1893 New Salem.
Alexis Henderson
A dark horror fantasy combining The Handmaid's Tale with Salem Witch Trials in a Puritanical society.
Emily Lloyd-Jones
A dark fantasy Welsh-inspired novel about the undead rising and a gravedigger trying to stop them.
James Clear
A practical guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones with proven strategies.
Laurie Gilmore
A cozy romance set in Dream Harbor featuring a bookstore owner and unexpected love.
Erin Sterling
A fun paranormal romantic comedy about witches who must break a curse affecting their magical hometown.
Emily Henry
Two rival writers with opposite genres challenge each other in this enemies-to-lovers romance.
Ray Bradbury
A fantasy novel following trick-or-treating children on a magical journey to save their friend.
Agatha Christie
A collection of autumn-themed mysteries perfect for fall reading with classic Christie plots.
Julie Leong
A cozy fantasy about a traveling fortune teller running from her past who finds unexpected community.
Rivers Solomon
A haunted house story drawing on real-life horrors of racism about the only Black family in their neighborhood.
Claire Keegan
A powerful novella about an Irish father who discovers a town secret that forces him to choose courage.
Haruki Murakami
Murakami's latest surreal literary fiction featuring the familiar Town where a Dream Reader reviews dreams.
Sabaa Tahir
A YA fantasy following three young people whose journeys overlap to shape the fate of an empire.
Kay Chronister
An Appalachian gothic horror about a family's generational covenant with a cranberry bog.
Ina Garten
The highly anticipated memoir from the beloved Barefoot Contessa detailing her journey to culinary fame.
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Three sweeping essays examining myths and truths through travels to Senegal, South Carolina, and Palestine.
Lynn Painter
The sequel to Better Than the Movies following star-crossed teenage lovers navigating college romance.
Richard Powers
A Pulitzer Prize winner's novel exploring technology, environment, and humanity in our last wild place.
Rachel Kushner
A spy thriller about an American agent infiltrating an eco-activist commune in rural France.
Jason Rekulak
A psychological thriller that unfolds during a wedding weekend with dark secrets and unexpected twists.
Meghan Quinn
A romantic comedy about feuding neighbors during the holiday season with enemies-to-lovers romance.
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
A YA mystery about a girl who inherits a fortune from a stranger and must solve puzzles to claim it.
Emily Henry
A friends-to-lovers romance about two best friends and a life-changing vacation.
Elena Armas
An academic enemies-to-lovers romance with fake dating tropes and Spanish setting.
Colleen Hoover
The sequel to It Ends with Us continuing Lily's story of healing and new love.
Ali Hazelwood
A STEM romance about a fake relationship between a graduate student and a intimidating professor.
Alex Michaelides
A psychological thriller about a woman who refuses to speak after allegedly murdering her husband.
Colleen Hoover
A dark psychological thriller about a writer hired to complete another author's series who discovers disturbing truths.
Lucy Foley
A locked-room mystery set during a wedding on a remote island where someone turns up dead.
Sarah Pearse
A atmospheric thriller set in a remote Swiss Alps hotel where guests start disappearing.
Nita Prose
A cozy mystery about a hotel maid who discovers a murdered guest and becomes the prime suspect.
Miranda Cowley Heller
A literary novel about a woman who must choose between her husband and her childhood love.
Kazuo Ishiguro
A Nobel Prize winner's poignant story told from the perspective of an artificial friend.
Julie Orringer
A sweeping historical novel about Hungarian Jewish architecture students during World War II.
Tana French
A psychological mystery about a man recovering from assault who discovers a skull in his family's garden.
Sally Rooney
A complex love story following two Irish teenagers through their school and university years.
Hanya Yanagihara
An intense novel following four friends in New York exploring trauma, friendship, and survival.
Madeline Miller
A beautiful retelling of Greek mythology from the perspective of the witch Circe.
Madeline Miller
A lyrical retelling of the Iliad focusing on the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus.
Tara Westover
A powerful memoir about a woman who leaves her survivalist family to pursue education.
Michelle Obama
The inspiring memoir of the former First Lady chronicling her journey from Chicago to the White House.
Glendy Vanderah
A touching story about a mysterious child who claims to be from the stars and the adults who care for her.