As November draws closer and before the onslaught of snow promised by meteorologists hits campus signifying the beginning of winter, it is important for readers to select their next book for the season.
In the publishing world, there are three seasons of publishing — fall, winter and spring. The goal of a publishing company is to release their promised bestseller in the fall, as readership is seen to increase when people go back to school and work, according to Zoey Gulden, Milkweed Editions manager.
Lucky for readers, the Twin Cities are home to many independent bookstores and libraries that offer the perfect fall book.
“All Fours” by Miranda July
Written by New York Times bestselling author Miranda July, 2024’s “All Fours” follows a woman experiencing a midlife crisis while on a solo road trip away from her husband and child.
The transitional period of life for the main character is unpacked in the novel and is a perfect companion for reading under the changing leaves. The story also reflected Gulden’s favorite themes in literature.
“I also like essay collections primarily written by women that are kind of going to circle around natural themes and how that impacts our existence in our bodies,” Gulden said.
Milkweed Editions is an independent bookstore and publisher located in Minneapolis that offers the works of debut and experimental writers.
“Atonement” by Ian McEwan
Published in 2001 by British novelist Ian McEwan, “Atonement” follows the lives of two upper-class sisters through three time periods after a terrible mistake irrevocably changes their lives and ruins another person’s life.
The hazy late-summer story was also adapted into a film in 2007 by Joe Wright, who previously directed the film adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Pride & Prejudice.” Starring Keira Knightley as Cecilia Tallis and Saoirse Ronan as the younger sister Briony Tallis, the film serves as a post-reading reward for Paloma Barraza, a University of Minnesota librarian and curator.
“I like to reread books to kind of get me into that groove of fall,” Barraza said. “So I’m currently reading ‘Atonement’ by Ian McEwan and I like that book because it has the movie component to it too.”
“Part of Your World” by Abby Jimenez
American novelist and talented baker Abby Jimenez’s “Part of Your World”, published in 2022, is a romance novel following a carpenter and emergency room doctor finding a fairy-tale-like love in a modern world.
An avid reader from a young age, Barraza enjoys reading romance novels or listening to them on the free library app Libby instead of the dense historical materials she works through at her job.
“Romance books are just inviting and happy, and I can sit and read it over a weekend without having to filter through all the dense interpretation,” Barraza said. “And I mean, I’m like a hopeless romantic. So I do love romance.”
She read Jimenez’s previous novel during the summer and purchased her current read at a local bookstore named Tropes and Trifles.
“Witch of Wild Things” by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
The first novel in the “Wild Magic” series by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland, “Witch of Wild Things” was published in 2023.
The series follows the lives of a family of witches struggling to heal from their past traumas in the modern world. Focusing on the changing environment and the witches connected to it, the book falls perfectly into a fall reading list, according to Caitlin O’Neil, co-owner of Tropes and Trifles.
“It has that magical realism, and it also has this social commentary on climate change because all of the witches have girls really related to the natural world,” O’Neil said. “It has this perfect blend of like the witchy but also the real.”
“North Woods” by Daniel Mason
Published Oct. 1, “North Woods” by Daniel Mason centers on a cabin in the woods that becomes home to multiple human and nonhuman characters over time, each unpacking a connection to the natural earth that transcends time.
“I think what I love about it is because it’s so much about nature and our relationship to nature,” said Deborah Ultan, a University arts and performing arts librarian, archivist and curator. “It’s written with so much texture about nature. It’s very beautifully written.”
Ultan has had a love of reading and theater since childhood. She regularly purchases books she hasn’t read yet so she never runs out.
“You know what? I’m not even ashamed of it,” Ultan said. “It makes me happy to see that there’s always something to read.”
