Autumn Reading Plan
Sunday, September 19, 2021
I had so much success with my summer reading plan that I decided to make a new plan for autumn. I'm doing this a bit differently this season. For summer, I had a list of 20 books I wanted to read, but I only ended up reading two of them. (I read a total of 13 books in the summer.) I still want to read the 18 I didn't get to; this speaks more to the fact that there are just so many books I want to read. How do you pick just one when there are 75 or 100 you would likely enjoy just as much?
So for this challenge, I thought I'd make a list of types of books to read. That way, I can consider my mood and what I've recently finished and what the weather is like when I pick what to read next. Some books might work for more than one category and they can count for both. I am also saying it is OK to read books that don't fall into the categories.
I'm setting the goal of finishing ten books. It's lower than the summer total because I'll be back on two feet again and thus will have less time for reading. Just being realistic here!
The dates for my challenge are September 15-November 30. (Technically autumn doesn't end until the winter solstice but December is winter in my mind!)
A book about witches or witchcraft. I realized a few years ago that "witch" is one of my alternate personas, after years of trying to reject that concept. But after I wrote an essay for The Exponent II titled "What it Means to Be a Witch" I decided to embrace my Amy witch (for context, my definition of a witch is a woman who upsets the patriarchy), and part of that is witches in October.
Possible titles: Chris Bohjalian's Hour of the Witch, which is more about the persecution of supposed witches than actual witches • The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson, which I've been meaning to read since it came out • The Lighthouse Witches which seems like it is about actual witchcraft • something else witchy I haven't discovered yet.
A book of poems. I don't know if I can blame it on the pandemic (can I blame it on the pandemic?) but recently I have fallen out of the habit of reading poetry. I'm not sure why, but it is unlike me and part of me misses it (even if a part of me is now so jaded and bitter that even poetry sometimes makes me think "yeah, whatever, belief in humanity blah blah blah") and I need to rectify it.
Possible Titles: The 2021 Best American Poetry, which comes out in September • The Carrying by Ada Limon • Dearly by Margaret Atwood • How To Fly (In 10,000 Easy Lessons) by Barbara Kingsolver
A contemporary young adult novel. When I read YA (which I've done a lot less of in recent years, for reasons I should write about) I tend to go for fantasy. So I'm challenging myself to read a contemporary, realistic YA novel.
Possible Titles Not Here to Be Liked by Michelle Quach, maybe—budding feminism on the school newspaper staff. (I would've been an excellent person to have on the high school newspaper if I had been, you know. a functioning adolescent.) • One Great Lie by Deb Caletti (I mean...Italy and art and history!) • They'll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman (sisters and a mystery and running)
Something from the Booker Short List. I almost always enjoy Booker award winners. The actual winner will be revealed on November 3, and I'm going to hope whichever one I read before then is the winner.
Possible Titles: A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam • The Promise by Damon Galgut • No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood • The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed • Bewilderment by Richard Powers • Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Something I didn't read from my summer reading list. As I only read two books from the list I made, I have plenty of options. And I still want to read all of them, so...
Possible Titles: You can see that list here
Something I have checked out right now, today, at this moment I am writing this blog post. Because I do far too often check out something and then take it back three (or four!) weeks later without even having opened it up.
Something I have checked out right now, today, at this moment I am writing this blog post. Because I do far too often check out something and then take it back three (or four!) weeks later without even having opened it up.
Possible Titles: You can see them all in this photo!
Something with an autumn color in the title. So, red, orange, yellow, gold (or golden), brown, or black.
Possible Titles: I don't have any ideas for this one yet!
A book from the non-fiction section. Because I like to be well-rounded.
Possible Titles: Poet Warrior by Joy Harjo • Long Player: Writers on the Albums that Shaped Them edited byTom Gatti • The Soul of a Woman by Isabelle Allende
A book recommended to me by someone I care about. Because I feel guilty for not loving a book Becky recommended to me, but mostly because I love talking about books with friends.
Possible Titles: I'll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos (recommended by Julie) • A book you recommend! Let me know in the comments something you've read recently and loved.
And as always, I continue with my goal of blogging about every book I read.
Happy reading! Happy fall!
great idea!! i have too many books sitting around in "to read" piles and NEED to get going on them! three witch titles i would recommend, if you need more: "the witches" by stacy schiff (well researched deep dive into the history of the salem witch trials); "the once and future witches" by alix e. harrow (witches, salem, and feminism - score!); and "the witch of eye" by kathryn nuernberger (collection of essays on "witches" in history and how they were "found" and dealt with).
Posted by: Michele Skinner | Sunday, September 19, 2021 at 08:21 PM