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Book Culture's Fall Reading List

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Fall is here, and with it we say hello to brisk mornings, cozy sweaters, and reading new and old favorite books in our favorite coffee shops (ours is the Hungarian Pastry Shop). Here’s what our booksellers are reading and recommending this fall:

The New, the Timely & the Topical:

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely 
Somehow this book slipped under my radar until just now. I take full responsibility. But the issues of police brutality and wrongful imprisonment should not be slipping under anyone's radar anymore, and this book promises to be a vital and gripping addition to the conversation. It follows the lives of a black boy who was wrongfully brutalized and detained by a police officer after being accused of a crime he did not commit, and a fellow classmate who witnessed the arrest and knew the police officer in question. Excited isn't the right word for how I feel about tackling this book. I think it's going to be a reading experience akin to being dared not to flinch. But it's an important undertaking nonetheless. - Haley

 

Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear...and Why by Sady Doyle
Trainwreck is an enlightening, terrifying look at the history behind the modern female “trainwreck.” When I think of Mary Wollstonecraft, I don’t usually connect her to Paris Hilton or Britney Spears. Doyle’s writing is hilarious and insightful, and so timely. One recurring question throughout Trainwreck, “Were you a nice girl?” is a hauntingly familiar refrain to any women who have been a “trainwreck” themselves. This should be required reading for everyone. - Tanwaporn

 

Thus Bad Begins by Javier Marías
Marías is one of my favorite writers. In this, his book, a young man takes a job as a personal assistant to a movie director; when he's asked to investigate a friend of the director's, he becomes more and more curious about his employer's unhappy marriage and history with his friend. Marías is so good at taking melodrama and making something thoughtful and beautiful out of it, so I can't wait to see what he does with this one. Out in November in an English translation from Margaret Jull Costa. - Caitlin
 

Pull Me Under by Kelly Luce
Three Scenarios in Which Hana Sasaki Grows a Tail was Kelly Luce’s stunning and disconcerting debut collection of stories from A Strange Object Press. That brilliance and unnerving writing is now brought to the forefront with Luce’s prodigious new novel, Pull Me Under. I was sucked into the prose and character in Luce’s latest accomplishment from the very start. Rio Silvestri and Chizuru Akitani bring both the familiar and the terrifying parts of our psyche to the surface and then pull you right back down into the depths of this stunning debut novel. - Nick

 

My Private Property by Mary Ruefle 
The latest perfectly-titled book from Mary Ruefle. Her poetry is exact and funny without fail. Good to read in any weather, but sharp like autumn. - Maeve

 

 

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
I recently found out that Jansson, whom I remember as the children's author of those wonderful hippopotamus-like Moomins, has written novels as well. I figure there's no better time to read a book celebrating the natural wonders of summer than during that period right after summer ends and the seasonal nostalgia sets in.  - Cara
 

 

Froelich’s Ladder by Jamie Duclos-Yourdon
After doing a Q&A with the author, Jamie Duclos-Yourdon, I'm so excited to read this book! The green, coastal Pacific Northwest setting and crossover appeal make for a perfect book to read with a cup of tea. - Tanwaporn


 

Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga 
A campus novel, this one set at an all-girl's Catholic boarding school in Rwanda. After hearing Susan Bernofsky compare this to Muriel Spark, I'm sold. - Caitlin 

 

 


The Classic, the Cozy, the Creepy, and the Perfect for the Fall:

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu 
Fall seems like the right time to lock myself in my apartment and try to crack into the "world's first novel," a multi-pound book with huge whole sections devoted to my favorite subjects: romance and exile. - Maeve

 

 

In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
For fans of Gone Girl, this book is an essential read. Set during a bachelorette party in the English countryside, this book was something I could not put down. Who doesn't want a saucy British twist on an American favorite? Haunting, creepy, yet also brilliantly written, this book has already been picked up by Reese Witherspoon as a potential film, and is something you won't want to put down. Eerie and amazing. - Emma

 

Bring Up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel 
I recently read Hilary Mantel's short memoir Meeting the Devil, and I remembered how incredible, crisp, and biting her writing is. Bring Up the Bodies is a book I've been meaning to read for some time now, and this chilling story of English history feels perfect for the fall. - Emily 

 

 

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Okay, I'll admit it. I've made it 20-something years in this life and I've never read anything by Faulkner. I know. I'm sorry. But it's here, fall of 2016, that I begin to make amends. This is the first step. I've been told my legions of my lovely coworkers that As I Lay Dying is not only the Faulkner to start with but one of, and this is a direct quote, the most perfect books ever written. So, no pressure, I guess. - Haley


 

Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
I have a pretty healthy interest in true crime as of late, and am always looking for a great nonfiction read. I recently finished Missoula by Jon Krakauer (devastating) and was captivated by his writing. I looked into his other work and came across Under the Banner of Heaven, about two brothers who claim God commanded them to take the life of a woman and her baby girl. - Laura

 

 

The Best of Roald Dahl by Roald Dahl 
Roald Dahl was one of my favorite authors as a kid and only recently did I hear about how great his works written for "grown-ups" are. They are supposedly very sick and twisted--surprising for a children's author but then again we are talking about the man who wrote The Twits. - Lucas

 

 

The Peregrine  by J.A. Baker
I'm really interested by the stark specificity of this book's "plot," a man obsessively following every motion of two birds for one winter in the fenlands of England. I recently read an interview in which Werner Herzog suggests this book as one of very few all film students should read because of "the kind of immersion into your subject and the passion and the caliber of the prose" (Lithub). - Emily


 

The Mortgaged Heart by Carson McCullers 
Carson McCullers is the coolest person I can think of. She is the author of truly spooky/wise fiction. Here is a collection of her stories, plus her nonfiction and poems, all of it probably equally spooky/wise and surprising. - Maeve

 

 

A Song to Take the World Apart  by Zan Romanoff
It's definitely not hard to get me excited about most YA books if there's anything supernatural about them. But it gets even easier as soon as anything resembling a mermaid is involved. That's what this book has in store for me. The main character has been told her whole life that she's never allowed to sing. Because she is from a family of sirens!!! Yes!!! That is honestly all I need to know about this book. I don't care about anything else. I am 10000% in. Pitch over. - Haley


 

American Heiress by Jeffrey Toobin 
I recently watched the CNN docuseries about the 60s and 70s and learned so much that I had previously not known or had perhaps just forgotten. One of the stories that stuck out to me was the Patty Hearst story, about the kidnapping and trial of the heiress to the Hearst fortune. When I learned that Jeffrey Toobin was releasing this book I knew I had to read it. I'm excited to dive in! - Laura 

 

 

His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman 
The Everyman's Library edition of the complete His Dark Materials series bound in one book is so beautiful that the day it came in I had to buy it. Which means it's finally time for a long overdue reread! This series was extremely impactful for me as a child and I'm definitely looking forward to picking up on new things this time around. Plus, one of our lovely booksellers has never read it before, so we're going to book club it! I'm so excited! - Haley

 

What are you reading this fall? Let us know on Twiter @bookculture!


 

Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear . . . and Why Cover Image
Email or call for price.
ISBN: 9781612195636
Availability: Not in Stock - Out of Print
Published: Melville House - September 20th, 2016

Staff Pick Badge
All American Boys Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781481463331
Availability: Not in Stock - Available for special order
Published: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books - September 29th, 2015

My Private Property Cover Image
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ISBN: 9781940696386
Availability: Not in Stock - Subject to Availability
Published: Wave Books - October 4th, 2016

The Summer Book Cover Image
By Tove Jansson, Kathryn Davis (Introduction by), Thomas Teal (Translated by)
$14.95
ISBN: 9781590172681
Availability: On Our Shelves Now - Click Title to See Location Inventory.
Published: NYRB Classics - May 20th, 2008

Froelich's Ladder Cover Image
$15.95
ISBN: 9781942436195
Availability: Not in Stock - Available for special order
Published: Forest Avenue Press - August 9th, 2016

A Song to Take the World Apart Cover Image
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ISBN: 9781101938799
Availability: Hard to Find
Published: Knopf Books for Young Readers - September 13th, 2016

His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass (Everyman's Library Contemporary Classics Series) Cover Image
By Philip Pullman, Lucy Hughes-Hallett (Introduction by), Philip Pullman (Preface by)
$36.00
ISBN: 9780307957832
Availability: On Our Shelves Now - Click Title to See Location Inventory.
Published: Everyman's Library - December 6th, 2011

Dreams from Bunker Hill Cover Image
$15.99
ISBN: 9780876855287
Availability: Not in Stock - Available for special order
Published: Ecco - August 17th, 2002

The Plot Against America (Vintage International) Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781400079490
Availability: On Our Shelves Now - Click Title to See Location Inventory.
Published: Vintage - September 27th, 2005

Thus Bad Begins: A novel Cover Image
By Javier Marias, Margaret Jull Costa (Translated by)
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ISBN: 9781101946084
Availability: Not in Stock - Subject to Availability
Published: Knopf - November 2016

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Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780914671039
Availability: On Our Shelves Now - Click Title to See Location Inventory.
Published: Archipelago - September 16th, 2014

The Tale of Genji Cover Image
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ISBN: 9780393047875
Availability: Not in Stock - Subject to Availability
Published: W. W. Norton & Company - July 27th, 2015

In a Dark, Dark Wood Cover Image
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ISBN: 9781501112317
Availability: Hard to Find
Published: Gallery/Scout Press - August 4th, 2015

Bring Up the Bodies: A Novel Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9781250024176
Availability: On Our Shelves Now - Click Title to See Location Inventory.
Published: Picador - May 7th, 2013

As I Lay Dying (Vintage International) Cover Image
$14.95
ISBN: 9780679732259
Availability: On Our Shelves Now - Click Title to See Location Inventory.
Published: Vintage - January 30th, 1991

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9781400032808
Availability: On Our Shelves Now - Click Title to See Location Inventory.
Published: Anchor - June 8th, 2004

The Best of Roald Dahl Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9780679729914
Availability: Not in Stock - Available for special order
Published: Vintage - July 14th, 1990

The Peregrine Cover Image
By J. A. Baker, Robert Macfarlane (Introduction by)
$15.95
ISBN: 9781590171332
Availability: On Our Shelves Now - Click Title to See Location Inventory.
Published: NYRB Classics - December 31st, 2004

American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst Cover Image
$28.95
ISBN: 9780385536714
Availability: Not in Stock - Available for special order
Published: Doubleday - August 2nd, 2016

The Mortgaged Heart: Selected Writings Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780618057054
Availability: Not in Stock - Available for special order
Published: Mariner Books - April 5th, 2005


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