There's something about the start of autumn that immediately puts me in the mood for cosy evenings spent curled up with a blanket, a book and a large pot of peppermint tea. I'm a very particular person and I like to use my particular blanket (that's extra cosy), my particular mug for tea, and a very particular type of book for autumn.
In my mind autumn is all about the mighty chunksters, the classics, the mysteries and detective novels, war writing, and perhaps a memoir or two that are bound to make me cry. I want a good story that I can get my teeth into on these crisp autumnal nights.
Now we all know that, for me, Wilkie is the answer to everything life may throw our way. Certainly when autumn envelops us in her rusty red blanket, Wilkie is there to keep the heat in. Although that sounds a touch highfalutin I actually speak the truth - reading Wilkie is often a very physical experience. He makes me laugh out loud, tense up my whole body, and wait with bated breath for the next twist. In a rather roundabout way, what I'm saying is that I plan to read plenty of Wilkie this autumn.
I had intended to re-read The Woman in White for the umpteenth time, but when I took it off the shelf my sister pulled a most disagreeable face and said, with such dissatisfaction in her voice, 'not again!'. Not again, indeed. Thankfully I did have another Wilkie languishing on my shelves which I've not read yet so I've started that instead. I'll read The Woman in White when she's not looking.
For the rest of my seasonal reading I've gone for a literary memoir about my beloved Russians (The Possessed), a novel of WW1 (While the Gods Were Sleeping), and a memoir about 'this magnificent life' (Late Fragments).
I've been reading a fair bit of non-fiction lately, actually rather a lot now I come to think of it, so I'm leaving the non-fiction for a month and spending October with novels. I vaguely recall seeing something about non-fiction November and if that definitely is a thing (please tell me if it is!), then I'll save up a little pile for then. Who'd have thought I'd be such a non-fiction convert?!
What do you like to read in Autumn?
