65 Books to Read in Autumn
“I am so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
Reading a book pairs beautifully with autumn weather. Imagine yourself curled up in your favorite spot, a cup of tea nestled in your sweater-clad arm, book laying open on your lap. A soft creature sleeping nearby while rain patters on the window. Le sigh.
Since autumn is so ideal for reading, I’ve compiled a list of over 5 dozen books to read this autumn. Many of the authors on this list (Stephen King, Agatha Christie, Jane Austen) have a large body of work from which to draw. Also, many of these books are the first in a series. Not all take place specifically in autumn, but they still have the quiet, ghostly atmosphere perfect for the season.
FYI, all recommendations are completely my own, but I may earn a small commission if you purchase a book through a link in this article. Read about my affiliate link policy here.
Classic Books to Read in Autumn
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Fantasy Books to Read in Autumn
Ninth House Leigh Bardugo
Small Favors by Erin A. Craig
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkein
General Fiction Books to Read in Autumn
First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen
The Familiars by Stacey Halls
The Sparrow Sisters by Ellen Herrick
Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson
An Autumn Crush by Milly Johnson
Pumpkin Everything by Beth LaBonte
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
September by Rosamunde Pilcher
The Simplicity of Cider by Anne E. Reichert
Autumn by Ali Smith
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Midnight at the Blackbird Café by Heather Webber
Horror Books to Read in Autumn
House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
The Good House by Tananarive Due
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
The Hunger by Alfa Katsu
Misery by Stephen King
Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
Mystery/Thriller Books to Read in Autumn
Murder in the Mystery Suite by Ellery Adams
Cold Clay by Juneau Black
Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell
Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
The Searcher by Tana French
The Maidens by Alex Michaeledes
Still Life by Louise Penny
Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters
Broomsticks and Burials by Lily Webb
YA Fiction Books to Read in Autumn
The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier
The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
For even more ways to find books to read in autumn, try these:
