Autumn Reading List: Best Books to Read This Fall

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This book is probably on every single list of Best Books to Read for Fall out there. And for good reason!

It’s the perfect novel for those cold, crisp, Autumn nights when you want to curl up in front of a roaring fire.

The Secret History is a thriller for the intellectual or literary fiend. At least, that’s how I describe it whenever I recommend it to friends and family (which I do quite often.)

It follows Richard as he starts a fictional literary arts college in New England. There, he meets a group of 5 students studying Ancient Greek. An eclectic mix of misfits led by a charming, brilliant professor.

From there, the book is part coming-of-age story and part murder mystery. It’s revealed in the opening pages that Richard himself took part in a murder, so it’s more of a why-dunnit than who-dunnit.

3. Gone Girl • Gillian Flynn

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

This might be another one on every Fall Reading List, and again, it’s well-deserved.

Gone Girl is the book that launched a thousand books – it became an instant best-seller and people went absolutely crazy over the use of the “unreliable narrator.” I know – I’m one of those people!

So many books have since tried to do what Gillian Flynn did and many have been successful. But Gone Girl is the original and I have to say, it lives up to the hype.

(Also, it’s one of the few movie adaptations that’s equally as good as the book.)

4. The Guest List • Lucy Foley

Genre: Psychological Thriller

This is another great thriller to read this Fall.

It’s what’s known as a “locked-room mystery” a fairly common trope in the crime thriller genre. Basically, it means there are a set number of characters all brought together in a remote location when the crime occurs.

Which, of course, is akin to being in a “locked room.” There’s no way for the killer to escape. It makes for a really good, edge of your seat type of mystery.

I think I read this one in about 3 days – I simply had to find out what happened and why. And honestly, the ending did not disappoint.

5. Dare Me • Megan Abbott

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

I read this book a few years ago and it was so enticing and hypnotic. Since then, I’ve read just about every one of Megan Abbott’s books. If you end up reading Dare Me this Fall, you probably will too.

It was the kind of book where after I read it, I simply had to read everything the author had ever written.

There’s murder (of course – what’s a good Autumn read without murder?)

But there’s also a cheerleading squad, a toxic friendship, and some social commentary thrown in for good measure. Simply put, it’s addicting.

I’m not sure I’ll be able to read everything on my TBR list by Thanksgiving, but I’m definitely going to try!

Along with my suggested books to read, I have one final suggestion for you: get a KINDLE.

I know, I know, it’s not the same as a real book. But it’s so unbelievably convenient that I don’t know how I ever read before!

Since I read so much, I can’t necessarily afford to buy all the books I want. So, instead, I rent a lot of e-books from the library and I can download them straight to my kindle. If you haven’t hopped on board the e-reader train yet, I think it’s high time you do.