Dear Aa readers,
The days are getting shorter, the air feels heavier, and somehow our bookshelves are growing taller. For this season’s reading list, we turned to Tiana, Nanuka, and Awa: three minds who find comfort (and occasional chaos) in the written word.
From existential spirals to tender letters and the type of stories that make you feel both seen and undone, these are the books keeping us company this fall.
Curl up, tune out, and turn a page.
Xx,
Aa
Tiana’s Reads
Fall is my favorite time of the year, particularly because of Halloween, so the books I pick feel like part of the season itself. As a horror lover who thrives in autumn, my reads usually fit the mysterious, dark, eerie, gothic vibes of the season, that way I can completely immerse myself into the spooky season. Some books may be scary, some mysterious and I always include a (little) bit of romance, for balance.
This is the perfect Autumn read about an orphaned girl named Jane, navigating love, morality and independence in a world that’s determined to keep her small. It’s very much ‘Gothic romance’ but not the fairytale-like romance we usually think of.
Dr. Victor Frankenstein abandons his own creation and fears the monster he’s created. It’s a classic story we all know, but the book goes deeper, kind of forcing you to question what truly makes someone a monster and the true pain of abandonment. Reading the book made it more of a poetic than a horror story for me.
Beloved is the ultimate Southern gothic novel on trauma and how we deal with grief. Morrison has amazing way of turning real American history into a beautiful and haunting story about pain, slavery, family, memories and ghosts.
A Medieval story that is actually very grotesque — perhaps too grotesque — even coming from Moshfeg, yet is somehow still poetic. A lot of filthy, eerie, and abusurd things happen, where everything feels horrible but has a deeper meanings. Definitely has a lot of “wtf am I reading moments”.
The Yellow Wallpaper – Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A great example of “female hysteria” in a novella about a woman trapped by her husband in a room. Is she really going crazy, or is he gaslighting her into madness? It’s lowkey feminist literature when you look through a feminist lens, but also has a very psychological horror vibe to it.
Awa’s Reads
For me, fall always feels like a season of re-direction: one that brings equal parts discomfort and clarity, with the early onset of end-of-year reflection creeping in. As the days get shorter, I find myself turning inward, drawn to a softer kind of escapism. Lately, that’s meant diving headfirst into books, hoping that somewhere between the pages, I’ll find out a little more about myself too.
The Invisible Man — H.G. Wells
A scientist turns himself invisible and slowly unravels under the weight of his own isolation. Beyond the science fiction, it’s about the feeling of being unseen: something that feels more universal than ever.
Crime and Punishment — Fyodor Dostoevsky
As I was re-reading this masterpiece in my dimly lit bedroom, I couldn’t help but think: I am so him. But that aside, the story of Raskolnikov, a man who commits murder in the name of reason, is a haunting study of guilt, morality, and redemption. The way Dostoevsky dissects the human condition is unmatched, a reminder that everything we feel has been felt before.
East of Eden — John Steinbeck
A multigenerational tale of two families in California’s Salinas Valley, Wrestling with good and evil in all its forms. One of my favourite books of all time, and timshel (thou mayest) might just be the most beautiful word ever written.
Letter to My Daughter — Maya Angelou
A collection of essays written to the daughters she never had, but sees in all women. Something about it feels deeply pacifying: hopeful, grounding, and full of wisdom.
Nanuka’s Reads
In the summer, I’m no longer focused on the pure survival instinct of staying warm and dodging rain. I’m focused on learning. There’s room to explore the weird, uncomfortable, and the unknown. Nothing like a bit of existential discomfort, philosophical prose, a few tears, and politically-charged sociological thought by the beach.
A painter by the fjord prays, remembers, and dreams in Fosse’s long, flowing sentences that seem to breathe on their own. Nothing much happens except everything that matters. It’s meditative, holy in its stillness, and best read while it’s raining, when the world feels hushed.
(Things I Don’t Want to Know, The Cost of Living, Real Estate) Levy turns autobiography into a philosophy of freedom. These three slim books trace her reinvention as a writer and woman. Ideal for nights when you’re rearranging your life, or just your bookshelf, and wondering what “home” really means.
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead — Olga Tokarczuk
Snow, animals, stars and murder. A novel for those who like their coziness with a side of existential irony: mysterious, darkly funny, and glittering with frost.
You know that feeling when you tell yourself “just one more episode”? That’s The Nix. A wild, generous sprawl of a novel that somehow makes the chaos of modern America feel intimate. By the time you finish, you’ll wish there were another season.
The Copenhagen Trilogy — Tove Ditlevsen
(Childhood, Youth, Dependency)
Ditlevsen writes her life as if remembering a dream she can’t wake from. Best read slowly, maybe in the glow of a desk lamp, with something warm in your mug and nowhere you need to be.
A strange man arrives in a quiet town and unravels it, and himself, from the inside out. It’s romantic, eerie, and unsettling, like autumn’s beauty just before the first frost. A perfect match for nights when the air feels electric and you can’t quite name why.
