More Fall Book Recommendations!

Fall Recommendations 

by Sacred Chickens Staff 

---

​Fall is my favorite time of year. Comfy sweaters and warm coats, changing leaves and dark nail polish. And books. Lots of books. (Ok, besides the coats and sweaters that’s how I am most of the year but fall makes it all extra special!) Now that the cold weather seems to be here to stay, it seems about time for some fallish books. Here are some of our favorite books to curl up with under a large blanket!

Peyton Place by Grace Metalious- Some books set a tone, and this one screams fall. It is a novel that was published in the late ‘50s, and the blurb on my cover reads, “The novel that shocked a nation.” It is a book that seeks to dismantle the bourgeois, and to uncover the truth behind the perfect veneer. It is a novel about a small town called Peyton Place, where on the surface everyone looks normal, but, chapter by chapter, everyone’s dark secrets are revealed. There’s a dark and incessant undercurrent throughout, and Metalious does an excellent job of making the mundane horrifying, and essentially, she exposes the true character of the people in that town. However, please be advised and keep in mind that this novel deals with graphic sexual violence if you decide to pick it up.

Dragonwyck by Anya Seton- This is another subversive novel, concerned with the patriarchy and the male gaze. It is a gothic novel and has all the creepy elements that go along with it. I feel that I can’t say anymore without giving things away, but just know that there’s a castle, murder, and undercurrent s of feminist and anti-war commentary! ​

​The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters- I seem to be in a mood for dark novels that build the creepy factor. This is a classic gothic novel. An old country mansion slowly going to ruin, ghosts and other creepy things kept me hooked until the very last page. The other two books in my list I enjoyed both for the plot and the analysis of it, but sometimes you just need to read a damn good story. This was it for me when I first read it a few years ago, and I’m very tempted to pick it up again!

Season of the Witch- I you tell me that a book, any book, has witches in it, I will read it. Since I was a child, I’ve loved everything to do with witches. This is a little book inspired by the Netflix series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which I have thoroughly enjoyed, so of course I had to read the book. If you like the television series, you will love it. I had to sneak at least one book about witches in the post, so let’s move on before I roll my eyes at myself.

Virginia Woolf- Woolf is one of my favorite authors, and while I would encourage you to read her books anytime of the year, her moody and sometimes dark writing seem to suit this season particularly well. If you’re after specific book titles of hers, Orlando, A Room of One’s Own, and Mrs. Dalloway are some of my favorites, but anything with her name on it will do. She and her husband were also gardeners, and if that doesn’t make you want to pick up her books, I am afraid I cannot help you.    

​
Bio
Jarad is the co-administrator and writer for Sacred Chickens, attends college at MTSU, loves tea and coffee, and tries to spend every spare second reading. He recently developed an interest (some might say obsession) with gardening. Jarad is an English major with a concentration in literature.  Bless his heart!  Let's all light a candle for him and send him happy thoughts!
 

---