I don't know what it is about Autumn, but it just seems like the time to read. The weather cools down and the leaves start to turn... the next thing I know I'm curled under a tree with a book and hot chocolate in hand. Once it gets too cold, I cozy up into my favorite spot in the library overlooking the fall foliage, happy and at peace.
Lets not pretend like we aren't all crazy busy this semester. Personally, it's my first year here at Plattsburgh State. I'm still assimilating myself into actually having classes and homework after taking two years off to work in the office world. As an avid reader, the need to read a good book is overwhelming. As an English major, my schedule doesn't exactly allow for pleasure reading. Some young adult reads are exactly what we need to get us through the semester.
1. How to Ruin Everything Essays by George Watsky
If you’re familiar with underground or experimental rap, you probably know the name Watsky. It’s also probable that you didn’t know experimental rap was a thing. It’s okay, I got you. Although Watsky has been around for a while in the slam poetry and rap world, his writing debut truly comes to life in How to Ruin Everything. This collection of essays follows Watsky’s mishaps in a retelling of his life through humor and humiliation. Hamilton creator Lin Manuel Miranda reviews it as, “Funny, subversive...with such brutally honest sentences that you find yourself nodding your head in wonder and recognition.” The perfect read for a nonfiction lover. While not exactly YA, the essays relate to any college student and their quest towards self discovery.
2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
I used to live in a naïve world where I believed everyone had read Harry Potter. My fantasy is slowly crumbling around me as I talk to more and more people and realize that I was completely wrong. Autumn is the perfect time to pick up the first Harry Potter installment, and by the time you reach the longer books in the series, it'll probably be time for break anyway. I don't think I need to sell you on why you should read Harry Potter, but if you don't own the series you can read them for free with an Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription ($10 a month, first one free). If you don't have a Kindle, you can get the app on your phone for free. Amazon amazes us all once again.
3. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Love, friendship, mystery, and magic. Four things that never get old weave together to create the tale of four boys and their daughter-of-a-psychic best friend as they search for a lost, dead Welsh king. This band of merry friends, haunted by death and prophesies, is unlike any other, and their obsession with the hunt and each other make for a light, yet compelling read. There are four books total in the series, and the final installment came out this past year. If you happen to get obsessed (like me) you won't have to wait for the release date, which is always a relief. Enjoy this sitting under a tree, and you might just get lost in the book's mythical forest, Cabeswater.
4. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
No, it's not 2008, but Vampire Academy is the only vampire-esque book I've returned to since my middle school Twilight phase (don't scoff, you had one, too). Jump into Rose Hathaway's world of half-vampires, good vampires, and bad ones, as she trains to protect her best friend, who happens to be the vampire princess. If you haven't guessed by now, I'm a sucker for series, and this one happens to be six books long with a spinoff and a 2014 movie adaptation (watch only for the laughs). This book is seriously good, filled with quick-witted characters, romance, and of course, vampires. It's the perfect story to get into a spooky mood near Halloween.
5. A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
Not only does this novel have a stunning cover, the book itself tells a stunning tale of love and parallel universes. Follow Marguerite in book one of the Firebird series on her quest for vengeance to find her father's murderer, and the thief of his invention that allows its user to jump from one universe to another. Filled with plot twists and romance, with just a hint of science fiction/fantasy, this page turner is perfect to read cozied up in your favorite sweater with a mug of something hot.
What books will you be reading this fall?
