Who’s ready to curl up with a good book this Fall?
Hello, friends! This summer has been a busy one (as always) and if you’ve been following me for a while, you might remember that I’ve mentioned my goal of reading 100 books this year. At this moment, I have read 84 out of 100 books, so I’m totally on track to reach my goal.
As you can imagine, not all of those books have been good. Why finish a book that’s not good, you ask? Well, I have a weird perfectionist thing where I push myself to finish books even if I hate them. It’s a practice in finishing what you start.
Anyway, I’m here to tell you my favorite books I’ve read this year out of those 84 – and what you need to grab off the shelf of your local bookstore this Fall. Time to get cozy, and get reading!
You can click on the title of any of these books to check them out!
Circe by Madeline Miller
This book became an instant favorite once I picked it up. Madeline Miller has to be my favorite author now, I think. I savored each word, each syllable, as I made my way through the story. This is fantastic storytelling. Circe, the witch from Homer’s Odyssey, gets her own spotlight and it’s amazing.
For fans of: Mythology, Feminism, Re-tellings, Homer
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Probably one of the best books I’ve ever read. I’m kind of at a loss for words over Madeline Miller’s work. She just has a way with words. Her stories are achingly beautiful. They’re captivating page turners that I want to savor so as not to finish too quickly.
For fans of: The Iliad, Ancient Greece/Troy, LGBTQIA+ lit, Historical Re-tellings
Fierce Fairytales by Nikita Gill
Magical! And just look at that cover!
“Her mother told her she could grow up to be anything she wanted to be, so she grew up to become the strongest of the strong, the strangest of the strange, the wildest of the wild, the wolf leading the wolves.”
For fans of: Feminism, Fairytales, Illustrations, Poetry
Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman
“He came. He left. Nothing else had changed. I had not changed. The world hadn’t changed. Yet nothing would be the same. All that remains is dreammaking and strange remembrance.”
Call Me By Your Name speaks to the universal human nature of longing, loss, infatuation, and first loves. By the end, I was crying, and I can’t remember the last time a book brought me to tears. It’s hard not to get caught up in their budding romance under the Italian summer sun. Overall, it was a beautiful story of two people exploring intimacy and learning about themselves through the other. Achingly sad, yet deeply reflective of the human condition.
For fans of: Bittersweet endings, LGBTQIA+ lit,
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
This series is so strong. The sequel, the Wicked King, was even better. I love that the protagonist, Jude, is ambitious, cunning, and not afraid to get her hands dirty. She will do anything to prove herself, and I love it. We need more ambitious and dynamic heroines like Jude, that are not all perfect smiles and pretty dresses.
For fans of: Young Adult fiction/fantasy, Strong female characters
Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking
It totally blows my mind that we existed as the same time as Stephen Hawking. From Goodreads: “Will humanity survive? Should we colonize space? Does God exist? These are just a few of the questions Hawking addresses in this wide-ranging, passionately argued final book from one of the greatest minds in history.”
For fans of: Physics, Philosophy, Big picture ideas
My most anticipated read this month: Great Goddesses by Nikita Gill
“Step into an ancient world transformed by modern feminist magic.”
I JUST got my hands on this new release after pre-ordering it. If you know me, you know I love history, Ancient Greece, goddesses, feminism, you name it. Can’t wait to update what I think after reading!
‘I watch Girl become Goddess
and the metamorphosis is more
magnificent than anything
I have ever known.’
