Top Ten Tuesday – Autumn 2023 TBR!
If you are looking for inspiration for spooky reads to pick up this autumnal season, then look no further! In today’s Top Ten Tuesday post, I take a look at some of the spooky reads I plan to pick up this autumnal season.
Autumn is one of my favourite times of the year. You may call me strange (and you wouldn’t be wrong), but I enjoy the nights drawing in a bit earlier, and the weather turning a little for the worse (although on the island, it’s rare we get a break from it at all!) It makes it all the easier to justify locking the front door, getting into my PJ‘s, and cosying in with a cup of tea and a good book.
Speaking of which, I trust I have quite the variety of those on today’s Top Ten Tuesday list. I have some classic authors on the list, as well as some other offbeat books which I feel suit the season well. I’ve been looking forward to sharing this list for quite some time, having shared both a spring and summer Top Ten Tuesday lists earlier this year, so I won’t keep you any longer!
The Shining – Stephen King
I have to start this Top Ten Tuesday with a classic King novel.
I have owned a copy of The Shining for several years now, but I am yet to pick it up. I’ve been saving it for a spooky season, but I’ve always allowed other reads to take priority in previous years.
That is not the case this year. I am making a commitment here and now that I will be reading The Shining this year. All being well, I hope to pick it up as soon as next month!
The Witches: Salem 1692 – Stacy Schiff
The Witches will make for a great read for me this spooky season. Not only is it obviously very topical, but it is also a non-fiction, helping me towards my goal of reading 15 non-fiction books by the end of 2023.
I have looked to start this book previously, but was intimidated by the page count and the size and formatting of the print in my edition. There is a lot to get through, put it that way….
Halloween (or Hop Tu Naa locally) will be the perfect time to read this though. If I’m ever going to be in the mood for such a work, then I can’t think of any better!
If We Were Villains – M.L. Rio
Another book I’m looking forward to picking up this autumn, although less obviously themed, is If We Were Villains. The book features crime and thriller/mystery elements, as well as the thrill and drama that only stage performers can lend to the narrative. As a dark academia novel, I think it has the perfect autumnal vibes.
I confess that I’m also looking forward to picking this up, as this is a genre I haven’t picked up again since the beginning of this year!
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs
What book better fits the bill than a novel featuring an abandoned orphanage and children with supernatural abilities?
That’s the vibe we get in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Even from the synopsis, it is very clear that not all may be as it seems. There is a mystery to uncover, and the paranormal theme makes this best suited as a seasonal read.
If you like the isolated island/paranormal children vibe, but want to read something more wholesome than horror, then I would suggest picking up The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. It’s a great book and one I would have recommended here had I not already read it.
Carrie – Stephen King
Another King classic I am yet to pick up and read is Carrie. I have a vague idea of the plot, but neither have I read the book, nor watched the film.
Stephen King is a great author to pick up during spooky season. I have previously read one of his books in October before, and it was an epic. IT, to date, is the longest book I have ever read. I read that in October 2017, and I really enjoyed picking this up seasonally. I hope to make more of a habit of picking up King books in the autumn. There is just something about the tone of each that complement each other well.
The Good Samaritan – John Marrs
This Top Ten Tuesday wouldn’t be complete without including a psychological thriller. The Good Samaritan by John Marrs has been on my reading list for a few years now, and I hope to pick it up very soon. It will be my first experience of a John Marrs book, although I have added several to my reading list over the course of time.
The Good Samaritan has a sinister tone, and it’s the kind of book I want to pick up whilst cosied under a blanket and surrounded by my home comforts!
Incendium – A.D. Swanston
Incendium makes for a seasonal read, but slightly later than the majority of the books on this list. If you read the synopsis of this book, it is very apparent that the setting is reminiscent of the gunpowder plot.
With this in mind, I would like to make Incendium a book I pick up in November. I do like me a historical fiction, and as this will be the first book of this nature I have come across, it feels like the perfect time to read it…
The Outsider – Stephen King
I promise that this is the last Stephen King novel on today’s Top Ten Tuesday list! I appreciate there have been quite a few!
I have featured earlier books on in this list because they have certain elements fitting for this season. Crime, thriller, and paranormal are all genres worthy of being picked up the spooky season. The Outsider rolls all of these into one!
I really like the sound of the premise for this book, and it is one that has been sat on my bookshelf, begging for me to pick it up. My poor copy has been sat on my bookshelf that long that its spine has been bleached to the point of being unreadable. I wonder if anybody will be curious and/or brave enough to approach me and ask what I’m reading?
Killing for Company – Brian Masters
Another non-fiction book that I’m really looking forward to picking up soon is Killing for Company by Brian Masters. You may recall that this book featured on the recent Instagram poll in which I asked my followers to decide my next read. Killing for Company did not win the vote, but only by small margin. I already had in mind to pick this book up not long after the winner… and now feels like the perfect time to do so! Wouldn’t you agree?
The Burning Girls – C.J. Tudor
C.J. Tudor is an author that I have already read a couple of books by, and I’m looking forward to picking up again. The Chalk Man and The Taking of Annie Thorne have both had the sinister, spooky vibes that I’m looking for. I have no doubt that The Burning Girls will live up to that expectation!
C.J. Tudor has a way of incorporating tension into her narratives. Based on my experience of these two prior books, I can’t think of a better time to delve back into her thrilling narratives.
So, he concludes today’s Top Ten Tuesday post, and these are my planned autumn reads. Have you read any of the books on this list? Do you have any other recommendations to share for spooky reads to pick up this autumn?
As always, I would love to have a chat with you in the comments!
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