stargazer

Fall Reading and Reflections

I’ve always been fond of the fall. It’s the perfect time to withdraw for internal reflections, drink coffee, read books and watch the changing colours of the trees. Well, that is the theory at least. In reality, I am normally stressed out with work and central London has a distinct lack of trees.

This year, fall has been different. I just managed a quick trip back to my Nordic home country to visit family and friends. Shortly after arriving back in the UK, the so-called travel corridor was closed and also I returned to the news, that we are back to working from home. There is even speculation that London will be locked down again, which I don’t even want to think about.

During normal times, London is an amazing city. But when restaurants, coffee shops, theatres, museums, etc. are closed and you are stuck in a relatively small flat, it doesn’t quite have the same appeal. Anyway, I shouldn’t complain; there are people in much worse situations than me.

Last year I celebrated fall with the tag Are you ready for sweater weather? This year, I will mark my favourite season by looking at the books I am reading or hoping to read during the next couple of months.

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The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves

At the moment I am listening to the latest instalment in Ann Cleeves’ detective series featuring Vera Stanhope. After a few disappointments with my some of my favourite series, I am happy to announce that – so far – The Darkest Evening is up to Cleeves’ usual standard. And boy, it feels good to be back in the company of Vera and her team.

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogava

Am I the only one who finds math comforting? In a world full of uncertainties, math stands as a solid and unchanging foundation. I like that. Besides from math, I expect The Housekeeper and the Professor to be filled with Japanese quirkiness and musings on relations between people. I can’t wait to get started!

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The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas

Maybe The Ice Palace would be more suitable for the winter. The freezing temperatures, the ice and the frozen landscape are all important parts of this atmospheric novella about the budding friendship between two eleven year old girls and the aftermath when one of them goes missing. I read this on the plane recently and am still trying to gather my thoughts.

Human Acts by Han Kang

I’ve been curious about Han Kang ever since reading about her on Callum’s blog. Korean literature is unknown territory for me and Han sounded like an interesting author with a unique voice. Human Acts is a collection of six separate, but connected stories, all revolving around the student uprising in Gwangju, 1980. So far, I am taken in by Han’s writing. There is a lot of violence and dead bodies though and the book is not for the fainthearted.

Love and Other Thought Experiments by Sophie Ward

When the Booker Prize longlist was announced, I did a quick screening and one novel in particular caught my attention. Sophie Ward’s Love and Other Thought Experiments is inspired by some of the best-known thought experiments in philosophy and is meant to be quite original and imaginative. I have high hopes for this one and an excellent review from Hannah Celeste made me want to read it even more.

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Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin

Before I started blogging, I didn’t know you are “meant to” read spooky stories during the fall. But now I know better! 😀

Luckily, I have a good candidate. A wonderful review from Nicki persuaded me to give Rosemary’s Baby a try. As a bonus, I may squeeze in Daphne du Maurier’s short story The Birds.

These were some of my reading plans for the fall. Do you have any books lined up? Do you prefer spooky or cosy for the fall?

43 comments

  1. I’m a huge Han Kang fan, and Ann Cleeves is good value too. The others I’ll add to my TBR list. I don’t read seasonally at all – just as the fancy takes me. But I’m always behind … well behind.

    • Oh really, feel free to let me know, if there is any Han Kang novel you would recommend in particular. I am currently 40% into Human Acts and I quite like her take on this student uprising (which I knew nothing about beforehand). Normally, I don’t read seasonally either, but last year I noticed a lot of bloggers reading horror/ghost stories up to Halloween and I quite liked the idea. Haha, luckily I don’t have a TBR, otherwise I would be beyond behind all the time 😉

      • Give The Vegetarian a go. In some ways it’s a more straightforward read than Human Acts, but it’s also nt at all a ‘feel-good’ story.

        • Thanks for the recommendation! I have put The Vegetarian on the wish list. It does sound a bit, well, weird, but the blurb certainly piqued my curiosity.

  2. I’m a big fan of Levin and du Maurier so I hope you enjoy them! I love reading spooky, atmospheric books all year round but this time of year is especially well suited to them! 🎃📚

    • Thanks Callum. I don’t read much spooky stuff these days, but I agree – this time of year (the dark evenings and the stormy weather outside 😉 ) is perfect for such books.

  3. Great selection of reads! Rosemary’s Baby and The Birds are on my list of atmospheric seasonal reads too so I’m looking forward to your thoughts on those!

    • Thanks Francesca! I have watched – and loved – the adaptions of both Rosemary’s Baby and The Birds, so I’m hopeful I’ll get on well with the books as well.

    • Glad you enjoyed it! I watched the film ages ago, but I might try to watch it again after I read the book.

        • I actually read it was Polanski’s first attempt at an adaptation and he didn’t realise, he was allowed to change things! That is why the film is unusually close to the book. Don’t know if it’s true, but quite a funny story.

          • Really? That’s interesting. I’m glad not too much was changed though, I prefer films to be close to the books (providing the books are good to start with) 🙂

          • Yes, I am the same. Although, on a few occasions, the changes implemented in the adaptation had made me enjoy the latter more than the book. The English Patient is such an example.

    • I’ve heard of Philip Roth, but never read any of his novels. Glad you enjoyed The Dying Animal.

    • The fall is good for films as well! Although these days it may be preferable to watch them at home instead of in a crowded cinema.

  7. I keep meaning to read Rosemary’s Baby – maybe you’ll finally push me over the edge! Like you, I never thought of spooky reading in the autumn till I started blogging, but now it’s become a major part of my reading year.

    • Yay, you are back!! Hope you had a nice break. I do remember from last year, that you feature spooky stories during the fall. Can’t wait to see what you and the porpy come up with this year. 😀

  8. What a coincidence! The Ice Palace is sitting on my bedside. I was about to start it tonight. Thanks to your list, I’m now going to wait it out and read it in the coming winter months 🙂

    • Ooh, I hope you enjoy it! I love snow and ice and the novella offered a proper winter atmosphere – I could almost feel the cold whilst reading.

  9. It’s ALWAYS interesting to see what you have on your readlist! The ice palace looks quite interesting and closest to what I’m used to, but a little philosophy doesn’t sound so bad either, I like thought provoking reads and philosophy was one of my favourite subjects at university. Happy reading!

    • Awww, thanks Inge. The Ice Palace was a nice winter read, but I am still trying to get my head around it. If you enjoyed philosophy at university, you may like Sophie Ward’s book? I am pretty certain it’s one of these books which will make you think and possibly make your head spin – just a tiny bit. 😉

  10. Wow we share quite similar tastes in books!!! 💕Rosemary’s Baby was soooo 👍🏼 I have Han Kang and the Professor sitting on my shelf!!! Must somehow get to them! Love your list, stargazer!!

    • Good to hear your positive opinion on Rosemary’s Baby, I look forward to reading it! Also, I hope you get to Han Kang and the Professor at some point (in my house books can sit on the shelf for a looong time, without anything happening 😉 ) so we can discuss properly! Thanks so much! 😀

  11. Nicki also persuaded me into picking up a copy of Rosemary’s Baby! I mean… with that introduction by Palahniuk mentioned on it too, it was almost a no brainer!! Hope you have a good time with these. Happy reading! 😀

    • Good to hear – it’s great how other bloggers make us read books we might not have thought of otherwise. Thanks so much, Lashaan, I really look forward to reading it. 😀

  12. Han Kang sounds really intriguing! In my part of the world we’re in early spring, so my Halloween reads are no longer very atmospheric – the sun tends to change the mood radically 😀

    • Haha, I find it hard to imagine Halloween in the spring, all the ghosts and evil spirits will surely be discouraged by all the light and sunshine? 😉 I don’t know if you celebrate Christmas, but I could imagine that must be different in the Southern Hemisphere as well. I remember seeing Santa in bermuda shorts one year… 😆

      • Exactly! Santa on the beach is a unique experience! 😆 Though all the lights look lovely at any time of year, I’d appreciate having more of them during our winter 😉

        The funniest thing is that Guy Fawkes Day and Diwali celebrations fall usually around the same time 😀

        • Santa on the beach is plain weird! 😂 Although, I do see a charm having the festive season (and days off work) at a time, when the sun is shining. Still, I would prefer Christmas in a snow-filled landscape with long, dark nights and lots of candle lights inside.

          I didn’t know about Guy Fawkes Day and Diwali celebrations. Even if they are completely unrelated, I believe it’s inherent in us humans that we want to celebrate the dark time with lights, fireworks or bonfires.

  13. I just added The Housekeeper and The Professor to my TBR today!! I think it sounds comforting and lovely as well 😀 And thank you so much for the shout-out! I hope that Love and Other Thought Experiments will live up to the hype!

    • I saw your comment over at Diana’s blog! Sometimes the blogging community is a small world. 🙂 I think the recommendation for my Zodiac sign was a manga. Great that you will be reading The Housekeeper and the Professor as well, hopefully we will both enjoy it.

  14. I absolutely adore Fall! There’s something about it that makes you want to read even more! It’s such a cozy time of year! 🙂

  15. I too love how much we learn from fellow bloggers and you have some authors here that I’ve never heard of and am intrigued by. I’m a massive fan of reading seasonally and yes, autumn is perfect for atmospheric reads. I hope you get to The Birds (of course! 😂) It actually takes place in the first week of December and is not at all like the film version. Possibly the greatest disconnect between the written word and its adaptation that I can think of. I’m hoping someone will make a straightforward version of the short story – it doesn’t need transporting to California! (Can you tell I’m on my soap box here! 😂😉)

    And I’m so glad you managed that trip home before the corridor closed 😊

    • Yes, I’ve heard that the film version of The Birds is quite different. I actually had a sneak peak at the short story and already at the first couple of pages I noticed the setting and location were completely different compared to the film. I love when people are passionate or feel strongly about something, so you won’t hear a word from me about getting off the soap box! 😊 Having said that, I did love Hitchcock’s film version, even if it wasn’t faithful to the story. Sometimes it’s an advantage to watch the film before reading the book, in that way you avoid comparing all the time.

      Thanks Sandra, I’m glad to have managed a trip home as well, it might be a while, before I can go again.

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