By Aurora Zaytoun
Be gone, beach reads! The beginning of fall has marked a season of adorably grotesque gourds, wondering “Should I bring a jacket?”, rewatching Gilmore Girls, waiting until the last minute to decide on your Halloween costume, and ridiculously incredible scented candles. I say with earnest that the likes of Emily Henry just have absolutely no place in the equation. Fall is the perfect time to cozy up under a blanket with some hot tea and a 10-hour YouTube video of a crackling fireplace projected onto your TV. What is a better way to do so than with one of these books?
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
If winter is doom and gloom, fall is its moody cousin, and nothing says moody like Donna Tartt’s A Secret History. Following six classics students at a small, elite New England college, The Secret History perfectly captures the eerie, introspective essence of autumn. In between pretentious Greek dialogue, delicate descriptions of twilight chills, and whistling winds in pine trees, readers are taken down a dangerous path of obsession, betrayal and tragedy. There’s something about its dark academic setting, coupled with the intellectual and emotional intensity of the characters, that makes it a read you’ll want to pick up as the leaves fall and crumple. And, as a plus, you’ll look smart doing it too.
Bunny by Mona Awad
Like The Secret History, Bunny by Mona Awad is another perfect dark academia book for the fall, but with a surrealist, psychologically thrilling twist. Think cultish, and then think weirder. Set at a fictional New England MFA program, the story follows a socially isolated graduate student who gets drawn into a bizarre clique of women known as the “Bunnies.” The novel’s gothic campus setting, along with its dark humor and themes of transformation, obsession, and isolation, perfectly align with the contemplative, mysterious energy of fall. The unsettling narrative descent makes it an unexpected and captivating read as the days grow shorter and the nights more mysterious. Wait until you see carved pumpkins lining the streets to start this one.
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
Now, let’s come back to reality for a second. Fall isn’t always twisted,
dancing shadows and crows on carcasses at dusk—sometimes it’s Billy Crystal in a cable knit sweater. And while The Idiot by Elif Batuman may not be anywhere nearly as wholesome as Nora Ephron’s classic When Harry Met Sally, it captures the season’s introspective charm in a different light, much like the classic rom-com. This novel explores identity and the awkward intricacies of young adulthood through Selin, a Turkish-American student in her first year at Harvard. Drop “dark” from “dark academia,” but keep all the pretentious biases that typically come with the trademark. Throughout the story, Selin navigates her new world with all the clumsiness of a leaf falling from a tree. Her thoughts meander through love, literature, and the oddities of life, echoing the bittersweet feelings that accompany the transition from summer’s warmth to autumn’s chill. The introspective nature of the narrative lends further itself to fall as a season of reflection. Yes, this recommendation is a bit more of a stretch than the others, but it’s also one of my most favorite books, so you’ll just have to deal with it.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Am I three for three on recommending books set in universities? Yes. Is it because, as a university student, I enjoy seeing my own experience reflected in the worlds of others? No comment. But let’s switch things up a bit. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a haunting gothic horror novel where protagonist, Noemí Taboada, embarks on a seemingly never-ending and often hopeless journey to uncover dark family secrets. Set in a decaying mansion nestled in the misty, mountainous 1950s Mexican countryside, the house itself becomes a terrifying character in its own right, with its peeling wallpaper and creeping fungi. Between viscerally depicted nightmares and ghoulish presences, the novel masterfully blurs the line between reality and the supernatural, leaving readers with an eerie, unsettling feeling as they turn each page.
Open Water by Caled Azumah Nelson.
Finally, Nelson’s Open Water is a tender love story between two Black British artists in South East London, a place that both celebrates and rejects them. Between thoughtful and beautifully crafted images and allusions to music, the story addresses masculinity, race-based violence, vulnerability and love in only 145 pages. Though it has the length of a quick read, you should spend time with Nelson’s novel to digest his craft and intensity. While the novel isn’t set during autumn, the contemplative nature of his writing style evokes the reflective qualities often associated with the season. The lyrical prose invites readers to pause and ponder the characters’ emotions and experiences, much like the way autumn encourages introspection as the world transitions and prepares for winter. At the very, very least, the book’s cover matches the warm autumnal color scheme.
Happy fall, happy reading!
Fall is a time of change, coziness, and spookiness alike. Whether it’s a book on this list or one totally different, I hope you find time this season to hunker down and transport into another world that maintains the fall spirit. In your pursuit, don’t forget to support your local bookstores! My personal favorite is Bridge Street Books in Georgetown. On the last weekend of September, I stopped by to pick up Sally Rooney’s latest novel, Intermezzo, and James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk. Time will tell if my choices were seasonally strategic. Happy fall and happy reading!