Our Bookseller's recommendations for Autumn reads
Antonia ~ Autumn thoughts and recent reading
Autumn is a beautiful time of year, the leaves are falling, and the evenings are dark cosy. So as the season changes from warm to cold there is sometimes nothing better than curling up with a good book.
This year has been like no other and I decided to break away from fiction, briefly, and in doing so I turned to ‘Grub Street’ by Ruth Herman. This book covers the history of the British Press, very suited to today’s reliance on the Press for current news. Ruth highlights the struggles journalists faced throughout history to publish the truth in a time of great injustice and violence. This struggle made me feel empowered and more conscientious on how I ingest the news on a daily basis whether that be through watching the news or on social media. As a young girl I read E.H.Carr ‘What Is History?’ who similarly points to the importance of understanding how things are presented, whether that be in the history pages or the spoken word, may not necessarily be how things were. This message is raised repeatedly in Grub Street with you starting to understand why things are written, what is the purpose of publishing these words? I think this book makes for a wonderful read for this Autumn.
Jackie~ Book Recommendation
I love to turn to the Brontës at this time of year - Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre in particular - for their wonderful characters and the wild moorland landscape, which is at the heart of everything the Brontës write because it was so much a part of them. Great books for an autumn evening.
I would also highly recommend The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy - Egdon Heath provides a brooding, atmospheric backdrop and it is one of Hardy's best novels. For a bit of an escape to sunnier climes, A Room with a View by E.M. Forster is perfect - just to transport me to a romantic Tuscan summer when the leaves are beginning to fall here!
Hayley ~ Book Recommendation
Lanny - Max Porter. As the seasons change and the leaves turn gold, I always notice nature more in autumn. Lanny is a darker celebration of the English countryside and pastoral apparitions that may inhabit it.
The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter. With Halloween fast approaching now is the perfect time to settle in with Angela Carter's Gothic retellings of classic fairy tales. They are enough to give you goosebumps.
Hamnet - Maggie O'Farrell. Having recently won the Women's Prize for Fiction 2020, Hamnet beautifully combines a love of nature and wilderness with the story of a fascinating family. It follows Shakespeare's wife through her life up until the death of their son and is a moving portrayal of a mother's love.
Jane ~ Autumn Thoughts.
If I close my eyes and think of Autumn with its great depth what simple thoughts do I have?
Perhaps standing under a chestnut tree watching the conkers fall, selecting a special shiny
one and keeping it in my pocket. Swishing through piles of leaves blown into huddles by the
wind or best of all sitting in my garden wearing a winter coat with my hands around a mug
of hot coffee. Dear Mother Nature I do love you and so especially at this time of year.