Fall Reading List

When I was a kid, it was impossible to keep me in books. I read constantly. My mom would take books away as a punishment. That was a constant up until college, when I double majored, took over 18 credits almost every semester, worked part time, studied abroad, and graduated early. All my fun reading time was consumed by class reading time, and I basically had no time left over for anything else, except the occasional apartment party.

In the past few years, I’m sad to say, it feels like a lot of the time I used to spend reading long form pieces I now spend on the internet. Like, Twitter or Pinterest. Not great, I know. I’ve noticed a decrease in my attention span. Reading book after book was something I really missed. I’ve been better about it this year for sure. I’m realizing that I have an easier time falling asleep if I spend a chunk of time reading instead of scrolling through Pinterest on my iPad.

I did a pretty good job of reading a bunch over the summer — Between the World and Me, The Girls, Public Parts, The Vacationers, among others — but I’m ready to cozy up with books, especially as it’s getting darker earlier already. Wahhhh.

There’s a bunch of stuff I’m looking forward to reading this fall. Here are a few of the books on my list.

Liars’ Club, by Mary Karr — I actually just finished this and I’m already excited to read the rest of her memoirs.

Swing Time, by Zadie Smith — I honestly don’t remember much about On Beauty, but I do remember loving White Teeth. It left a really strong impression, and I’d love to reread it. I could do with a little more Zadie Smith in my life.

One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez — One of my secret shames is that I’ve never read this. I used to say I wanted to wait until I could read it in the original Spanish, but to be honest, that would be pretty tedious and exhausting to me at present. I should have tried 7 or 8 years ago. I miss Latin American magical realism. I used to read a ton of it in my Spanish classes in undergrad, but I’ll have to suck it up and read it in English, I think. We recently got a copy as a favor from a friend’s wedding. How great of a wedding favor is that?

Rework, by Jason Fried and DHH — I’m reading this ’cause it was the October pick for the Being Boss Clubhouse. I’m enjoying it more than I thought I would, but so far, it’s not the super cohesive, long form stuff I’m craving now. What I’ve read so far is written in pretty small chunks.

The Mothers, by Brit Bennett — This is apparently on everyone’s fall reading list.

The Art of Waiting, by Belle Boggs — An essay on infertility she wrote by the same name was so resonant that The Art of Waiting became a book.

Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on the Decision Not to Have Kids, edited by Meghan Daum — To balance out the book above.

I’ve also been trying to keep better track of what I’m reading on my long-neglected GoodReads account. I have a weird aversion to writing reviews there, but it’s nice to have a visual of all I’ve read.

Do you have a reading list this fall? What’s on it? I’ve taken to checking in on Largehearted Boy for book recommendations when I need them. I’m also really enjoying the @phillybookclub Instagram account and hashtag for book recommendations.