The autumn is my very favorite season. It smells like crisp air and apples, cozy family moments and pumpkin pie. It’s the gateway to all my favorite moments from harvest fun and Halloween to Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s special. Besides, all that crisp air makes curling up with a book and a cup of warm apple cider or hot chocolate practically the best thing ever.

If you, like me, find the fall magical and reading during those changing, colorful months as necessary as breathing, you might want to check out these awesome books. Most are set in or have some sort of fall theme.

Some of My Favorite Autumn Reads:

1. The Orchard: A Memoir by Adele Crockett Robertson. This might be the mostfall-ish book. It’s about a woman struggling to make a success of her family’s apple orchard around the years of the Great Depression. I first read this for one of my college classes, but was impressed by Kitty’s (the main character’s) generally upbeat attitude and effort, even during pests, early frosts, and cold.
2. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. This doesn’t actually center around just fall, but I always think of changing leaves when I read it because our heroine, Kit, experiences both autumn and winter for the first time in this book. Plus, there’s the whole accusation of witchcraft theme, making it ideal for Halloween time.
3. The Sunflower by Richard Paul Evans. Honestly? It the sunflower in the title. They really come out strong during the fall. Also, the book starts out in October. Happily, this is also a great Christmas book. And clean romance. It really has it all.
4. Masque by W.R. Gingell. This is my most unrelated to fall book. Mostly, I chose it because it’s a fun mystery, perfect for reading all cozy on the couch. It just made me think of autumn. I have no idea why.
5. The Raven Boys series by Maggie Stiefvater. I’m going to preface the next three books (or series) by saying that I didn’t expect there to be so many of Maggie Stiefvater, but she’s excellent at creating a setting, at painting a picture. The Raven Boys series not only takes place in the fall (part of the time), but the season is actually important to the storyline.
6. Shiver series (or Wolves of Mercy Falls series) by Maggie Stiefvater. This is another series where the season is important. Even critical.
7. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. This book takes place in November, the perfect setting that combines the ocean with the chill and beauty of autumn.
8. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter always makes me think of autumn, partly because the books usually start at (or close to) autumn, but also because of the whole witches and wizards and magic thing.
9. Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. This book is an urban fantasy about the fey, who are tied closely to the seasons. There’s a lot about the fall and the cold within the books.
10. Need by Carrie Jones. Need takes place at the beginning of the school year in Maine, so there’s the whole fall vibe. Also, this book always makes me think of New England foliage and winter.

Usher in the fall with a good book and a warm drink in a cozy spot. Crisp-weather reading is one of life’s pleasures.