10 Books Dripping with Fall Vibes

For me, witchy stories overflow with autumn vibes. In this middle grade novel, three young witchlings want nothing more than to be chosen by a coven and trained as proper witches. But then they are determined to be “spares.” Now they must complete the “impossible task” to cement themselves as sisters, a coven in their own right, to come into their full witch powers.

Few things scream fall like a good mystery. Stevie Bell is accepted into a prestigious private school that will cost her and her family nothing. The catch? She must complete the task of solving the school’s most famous mystery: the founder of the school’s wife and daughter went missing almost a hundred years ago. But as Stevie investigates the history of the school, the events of the past seem to repeat themselves when someone else goes missing.

Is this recommendation a bit on the nose? Yes. Is it still an incredible book? Also yes. In Autumn, the first in Ali Smith’s seasonal quartet, we meet Daniel, a man who is almost a century old. He’s befriended by a young girl, and we listen in on their conversations as they bridge the gaps between their generations. Smith wrote her seasonal quartet in response to current events, and combined with her stream-of-consciousness style, created something truly unique and of the moment.

Brilliant Cowlitz essayist Elissa Washuta writes about the intersections of Indigenous cultural practices and the occult. In one essay, she describes how white wiccans and new age occult practitioners culturally appropriate traditional Indigenous practices, like burning white sage. She also writes about her experience with PTSD, depression, and chronic illness in such a unique way, combining different elements together to create an incredible reading experience.

When I think of fall, I think of mushrooms. So of course, I love Long Litt Woon’s memoir about how her passion for Norwegian mushrooms helped her deal with the grief of losing her husband. She takes us along on her foraging expeditions, perfectly describing the forests that became her safe haven as she learns more about the mushrooms and the woods they call home.

As a kid, Inkheart was one of my favorite books. It opens on a stormy night in Germany when a mysterious man shows up on Meggie’s doorstep, changing her life forever. From there we’re thrown into a world where characters can come out of books, and — what’s scarier — people can also be read into books, trapped in a story until someone comes to set them free.