Welcome back to my reading corner; as autumn approaches I am getting more and more excited for cosy reading nights with candles and a cup of tea with a good read. I am planning to work my way through the Manbooker long list throughout the coming months but in between those I will also be reading other books. With the shift in seasons I am trying to shift my books towards topics and settings that seem more autumnal to me.

I have added 15 books to this TBR, this is by no means exactly what I will read up until the winter (note: there will also be a Halloween themed TBR coming in October) but it will give you a rough idea of what I’ll be aiming to pick up. I will do monthly wrap ups as well to show what I have read during the month.

The Child by Fiona Barton 

Genre: Thriller

Plot: This book centres around 3 women who are all connected by a past experience that is brought up again through a newspaper article. The blurb says, “The child’s story will be told.”

The Bad Mother by Amanda Brooke

Genre: Thriller

Plot: This books follows a new mother, Lucy, who is continually forgetting small things and becomes increasingly worried about it. Her husband reminds her she is a bad mother but there is more to it.

Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon 

Genre: I would say this is contemporary fiction however as it was long listed for the Women’s Prize for fiction I guess it could also come under literary fiction.

Plot: This book follows 84 year old Elsie who is living in a nursing home in her old age, someone from her past reappears in her life and this leads her to thinking back over her past and the potential threat this person poses to her now.

Note: I look forward to reading this, as I only have a few books from the Women’s Prize long list I haven’t read. I have heard great things about this book and I can’t wait to get stuck in soon.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Genre: Non-fiction (true crime)

Plot: This is Truman Capote’s take on a case that happened in America where he tries to recreate and piece together the events leading up to the murder. I don’t know much about the case so I am looking forward to learning about this.

Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen 

Genre: Women’s fiction

Plot: This has been dubbed as a similar idea to Bridget Jones, I first heard about this on What Page Are You On? podcast and found it to be intriguing. I don’t know much about this book going in to it but I am looking forward to reading it as it promises to be funny and light-hearted.

Elmet by Fiona Mozley 

Genre: Literary fiction

Plot: I think this book follows a family who live off-grid. I have heard some really great things about this book and, of course, it’s another one off of the Women’s Prize list that I had not yet read.

Skin Deep by Liz Nugent 

Genre: Thriller

Plot: This book follows a woman’s journey after she comes home from a party to find a decomposing body in her house. This promises to be full of problematic female characters who are dislikable and I am here for that.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Genre: Classic literature

Plot: This is a re-read for me after reading it years ago for English. It follows the goings on on a farm and is a critical look at communism and class systems.

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris 

Genre: Thriller

Plot: This book is about a couple who seem perfect from the outside but behind closed doors there is much more to it. I read B.A. Paris’s other book Bring Me Back and was severely unimpressed but I have heard a lot of really positive buzz about this book and I really enjoy domestic thrillers.

The Awkward Age by Francesca Segal

Genre: I think this is literary fiction.

Plot: This follows a modern day family where the teenage daughter does not like her mum’s new partner and begins to seek comfort in her partner’s teenage son. I don’t know a lot about this, but saw someone I really like’s (@smokintofu on Instagram) review on this and was intrigued.

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Genre: Classic literature

Plot: I started reading this a couple of years ago but set it down because, at the time, I was in a huge reading slump. This book is set in early 20th century New York and follows Lily who is furiously trying to resist being married off into the upper classes of the New York limelight.

My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal

Genre: Literary fiction

Plot: This book is set in the 80s and follows 9 year old Leon who is struggling with the fact he has been placed in a foster home. I have wanted to read this for a while and have de Waal’s second book The Trick to Time but I want to read her debut first.

Tin Man by Sarah Winman

Genre: Literary fiction (?)

Plot: This book follows the story of two boys who have a close relationship but then their friendship is threatened when a girl comes into their lives.

Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang 

Genre: Literary fiction

Plot: This is a short story collection focusing on the story of immigrants who I believe live in the same building in the 90s. I’ve heard really good things about this and I also would really like to read more short story collections.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 

Genre: Historical fiction

Plot: This book is narrated by Death during WW2 and follows the story of a young girl living in Germany who steals books. I’ve seen the movie before but not read the book.

General Thoughts

There are a lot of thrillers on my TBR but I feel like this will lend itself to cosy reading nights in autumn, I’m looking forward to reading more thrillers over the next few months. Technically autumn doesn’t start until the 23rd of September and doesn’t end until the 21st of December so I have quite a while to work on this TBR.

I will do an update on how I got on with this TBR when it comes to the end of autumn and, of course, during the month of October there will be more horror fiction and true crime books.

Please let me know if you’ve read any of these books and what you thought of them.

Keep reading,

– A