Your Fall 2024 Reading List

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
A woodland mystery for spooky season? Yes and yes. Transport yourself to summer camp in the ’70s when a counselor wakes up to find one of her campers missing from her bunk—and not just any camper, but Barbara Van Laar, the daughter of the wealthy family that owns the camp. What’s more? This isn’t the first time one of their children has disappeared. Dive into a dark labyrinth of family secrets on the frantic search for Barbara.

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
The thing about me is I love a bizarre book, and this one is peak weird. When Lillian gets a letter from her boarding school friend Madison asking for help years after they’d last seen each other, she doesn’t have much else going on and no reason to say no. The request, though, is an odd one. Madison needs Lillian to look after her two stepchildren, who are moving in. The catch: the twins spontaneously combust when they get agitated. The fire doesn’t harm them, per se, but everything flammable around them is at risk. It’s hilarious, strange, and incredibly original. Well worth the read (and also excellent on audiobook).

I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
Set in the Midwest in the early stages of American dystopia (so…now?), I Cheerfully Refuse follows Rainy on a sailing adventure across Lake Superior in search of his deeply beloved wife. It’s a modern-day Odyssey as he encounters unusual characters, tumultuous seas, and a particularly sinister villain on a journey of discovery, humanity, and love.

Good Material by Dolly Alderton
Think of this as an un-cuffing season novel. Dolly Alderton is one of my favorite authors for capturing what it’s like to live, date, and socialize in our modern world, all with a unique wit and keen perspective. Good Material is about a breakup from the perspective of an amateur comedian named Andy attempting to dissect what went wrong with his ex, who’s now living her best life (at least that’s what it looks like from his social media stalking). It’s an insightful, wise, and poignant look at growing up.

Mood Swings by Frankie Barnet
I’m obsessed with this highly satirical but fascinatingly astute book, but it might not be for everyone. In a pre-apocalyptic world (again…now?), all animals have been eradicated after a mass animal rebellion. Think: gangs of raccoons, vengeful birds, woodland creatures out for blood. A billionaire has promised a time machine to set everything straight, but in the meantime, a gig economy involving black-market houseplants and cosplaying as people’s pets is booming. It’s a commentary on capitalism, our social media–obsessed world, inequality, and nature—and it’s a full-on cringe riot.

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
A novel about an alien that I wouldn’t consider science fiction, Beautyland follows extraterrestrial Adina Giorno as she grows up as a human girl on Earth, using a fax machine to report back observations to her home planet. Such observations include:

“Human beings, Adina faxes, did not think their lives were challenging enough, so they invented roller coasters. A roller coaster is a series of problems on a steel track. Upon encountering real problems, human beings compare their lives to riding a roller coaster, even though they invented roller coasters to be fun things to do on their day off.”

You’ll finish the book feeling the breadth of human emotions, understanding that life is fragile and that we are resilient and also sometimes ridiculous.

Rouge by Mona Awad
A review described this as “Snow White meets Eyes Wide Shut,” and that’s reasonably spot on. Author Mona Awad is known for novels that teeter on the edge of the horror genre with elements of magical realism and harsh cultural commentary. In Rouge, skincare-obsessed Belle returns home after her mother’s death, filled with lingering questions about how her glamorous mother met an unusual demise. Her investigation introduces her to an exclusive (and very creepy) spa as she descends into the dark side of beauty, grief, and our fixation with eternal youth.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
I recommend experiencing The Silent Patient on audiobook as the British accents really add to the story’s cryptic thrill. Renowned artist Alicia Berenson has been institutionalized for murdering her husband, seemingly without motive, and she’s not saying a word. Hoping to open her up, criminal psychotherapist Theo Faber takes over her care on an obsessive mission to discover the truth. Why isn’t she talking? And why is Theo so interested? It’s a wild, thrilling ride to find out.