Looking for something autumnal to read whilst hiding from the rain, snuggled up under a blanket? Our Culture writers have you covered!

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

Outside of the pumpkin spice lattes, UGG boots, and Halloween festivities, Autumn can be a pretty rough time – especially for University students. Life suddenly starts up again after the summer break. It can feel overwhelming, and it’s best not to face it alone. Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, provides a quiet sense of comfort amongst all the noise that a new academic year can bring. 

In October, during my first term of University, I picked up this collection of letters. I felt lost, as I kicked my way through the orange leaves on campus, and I didn’t really know what I was doing there – but Rilke reminded me to ‘Live for the questions for now. Perhaps then, without noticing it, you will gradually come, on some far-off day, to live your way into the answer.’

This is now a book I will now come back to every Autumn, not to provide answers, but to make the waiting feel a little easier. 

Jasmine Davies (Film & TV Editor)

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

[Content warnings: violence, abuse, racism, death, psychological torment]

When the leaves begin to fall and the sky is unceasingly grey, the book that I always seem to gravitate towards is Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Wuthering Heights is a hauntingly beautiful novel that has been beloved since its publication in 1847.

Sitting on the precipice of the romantic and the gothic, Wuthering Heights is an elusive and uncanny account of the intertwined lives of characters Heathcliff and Catherine, and their surrounding family. The intense atmosphere of the vast Yorkshire moors lends to the dark, passionate, and poetic narrative that examines love in its eternal torment.

After an unfavourable encounter with the Lintons at Thrushcross Grange, Heathcliff and Catherine’s relationship is thenceforth altered, with the storyline spanning decades. The narrative is driven by destructive feelings that inevitably push the characters into making consequential choices.

Perfect for a dark, autumnal evening, Wuthering Heights is a novel that will leave you questioning its very nature; whether the events are the result of human passion or if there is something darker, beyond comprehension, at play.

Emily Walmsley

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Is there any relationship quite as symbiotic as the one between autumn and dark academia? Perhaps it is the sweaters – or perhaps it’s the melancholy in the air as the days turn shorter and nature prepares for an impermanent death.

Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House may only be set in the fall in its flashback chapters, but the season haunts the entire narrative. When Alex Stern enters the world of magic – and, more importantly, academic anxiety – she finds herself led by Darlington, her mentor, the Virgil to her Dante. The relationship between them is similar to the relationship between fall and winter: him as her introduction into this world of intrigue, her as the one left to finish what he started. As Alex traces their footsteps in the winter, she is stuck somewhere between reality and a memory she can’t let go of. The memory of autumn.

I think that the reason this season is so melancholic is that it is always just an in-between, a form of unsteady compromise. And compromise? That is not something Alex Stern is even remotely interested in. Ninth House is a novel fixated on learning to own your identity – no compromise, no in-between, just completely, unapologetically you – regardless of what came before or may come in the future.

Ultimately, that is why I think it fits with autumn’s anticipatory nature. The sweaters and melancholy are just an exciting bonus.

Hanna Rumowska

The Scorched Throne duology by Sara Hashem

With Autumn’s chilly breeze, a warm cup of cocoa and a thorough review of my autumn reads, I declare The Scorched Throne duology by Sara Hashem my favourite read this autumn.

In this Egyptian-inspired political universe lies an heir in exile who battles an internal war. She faces the inevitable question of reclaiming a kingdom from the ashes or protecting her secret identity through trial victory; all whilst being hunted for the very forbidden magic that runs through her bloodline.

From enemies to, perhaps, lovers, you are left half anxious and half yearning by a heavy slow burn; I truly love the way Sara Hashem executed her
debut. It is unique, yet follows closely with themes aligning with fantasy readers’ demands.

This duology embodies the reward of patience in reading such a culturally rich world. Overwhelmed with the initial drop of Egyptian weight, I saw the strategic chess pieces that become lyrically alive through her words. In a world that praises forthright love, Sara Hashem portrays the devastating agony found in its quiet, hidden acts. It is not a loud declaration of love, but an intimate lifeline of two synchronised beating hearts. With a time machine, I would doubtlessly go back to immersing myself in the magical Kingdom of Nizahl for the first time again.

Soul-wrecked by my favourite Autumn read, I leave you with this…
‘If your magic takes you, I will drag you back. It cannot have you.’

Cristina Hermosa

A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles

While A Gentleman in Moscow might not be a classic Autumnal choice – I usually opt for dark academia as soon as the weather turns – there is something undeniably fitting about reading it as the days darken earlier and earlier.

It may be the Count’s obsession with the weather and it’s influence on events that ring true of the lack of motivation this gloomy season brings, but I find it most in the books setting.

Confined to the Metropol Hotel under house arrest following the Russian Revolution, Count Alexander Ilych Rostov ‘s varied social life is put abruptly to an end. However, though it could have easily become claustrophobic, Towles creates an undeniably cosy atmosphere as the hotel becomes a microcosm of the outside world. The diverse and fascinating cast of characters that come in and out of the Count’s life mean that despite the entire book being set in one place, the only other locations coming from the Count’s recollections, the reader is never bored.

This is the perfect book to read this autumn to watch the world go by without ever having to leave the comfort of your own room, just as the Count does.

Elly White

Hopefully this selection of books leaves you feeling a little warmer during these cold months – take your pick from our writers’ recommendations and get cosy.

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