Fall has well and truly arrived.
The days (and nights) are starting to get colder and the pumpkin spiced latte is due to make its return in just a few days time.
Which means that it’s the perfect time of year to curl up on the couch with a good book – which is why we’re assuming you’re here, right?
From mysteries to fantasy and everything in between, there is a number of incredible books hitting the shelf this month.
So here’s our pick of six of the best books to enjoy this autumn.
Happy reading!
The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
When he was a young boy, Daniel Sempere found a book that would change the outcome of his entire life – buried deep in the passageways of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.
Years and years later, in the Barcelona of the late 1950s, he runs the family bookshop – Sempere & Sons – and has what appears to be a fulfilling life with his loving wife and son.
But despite the best efforts of his wife, Bea, and his friend Fermín, Daniel remains plagued by the mystery of his mother’s death – an enigma he’s never been able to solve.
When he manages to get close to the truth, a conspiracy more sinister than he ever could have imagined or thought comes to light – and he meets Alicia Gris, who will reveal the secret history of his family, although at a terrifying price.
You can get it here.
The Importance of Being Aisling by Emer Mclysaght and Sarah Breen
It’s been a difficult year for Aisling, but things are finally looking like they’re back on track between her and John – and life with Sadhbh and Elaine in their notiony Dublin apartment is more craic than ever.
However, her world ends up getting thrown upside down when a surprise change means moving Down Home might be her only option: how will she and Mammy be able to cope living back under the same roof? And what about her relationship with John?
After a girls’ trip to Vegas gives Aisling some newfound and unexpected confidence, she realises it’s time to grab Ballygobbard by the horns.
With even more twists and turns to follow, it begins to look like Ballygobbard may just be what Aisling needed to find out she’s stronger than she ever thought.
You can get it here.
Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia
More than a decade ago, a boy and his father went missing in the wilderness of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters. But now he’s back; violent and uncommunicative.
The authorities take him to Congdon Mental Institution in Duluth, on the edge of Lake Superior, where language therapist Maya Stark get the task of trying to form a connection with the boy/man who came back from the dead.
But the ‘celebrity’ patient is unwilling to answer any questions about his father – or even his life for the last decade – and tries to escape.
Maya, who was abandoned by her own mum, continues to be drawn closer and closer to him – eventually risking everything for a shot to reunite him with his dad, who has disappeared from the known world.
You can get it here.
Ordinary People by Diana Evans
The book follows two couples – Melissa and Michael; Damian and Stephanie – who find themselves at a moment of reckoning.
Melissa is determined to not let her new baby change her, but despite her efforts she soon begins to feel like she is disappearing. Meanwhile, Matthew is still in love with her – but can’t actually get close enough to her to stay faithful.
Out in the suburbs, Stephanie is happy with her picture-perfect life with Damian and their three kids – but the death of his father has thrown him into total chaos. Unless it’s actually something – or someone else – who is causing the change in him.
Over the course of a year, the couples begin to wonder: Are they all just in the wrong place? Are any of them prepared to take the leap?
You can get it here.
Boomer1 by Daniel Torday
Bluegrass musician and ex-journalist and editor Mark Brumfeld hits his thirties with plenty of debt – but no steady prospects. But things begin to change when his girlfriend Cassie – a punk bassist in an all-female band – lands a job at a new media company.
After she turns down his marriage proposal, Mark makes the decision leave New York and returns to live in the basement of his childhood in the suburbs of Baltimore.
Feeling disgruntled and humiliated, Mark begins to post a series of video monologues criticising Baby Boomers and their hold on the job market.
But his videos soon go viral and, as Cassie starts to build her career, Mark finds himself losing control of the movement the began – with some life-changing consequences.
You can get it here.
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
In the early, early hours of the morning, April May is roaming the streets of New York City when she stumbles across a ten-oft sculpture that she names Carl.
She and her friend Andy decide to make a a video with the Transformer-like Carl – and Andy later decides to upload it to YouTube. The next day, April’s life becomes totally transformed.
But there are Carls in cities across the globe, from Beijing to Buenos Aires. And since April is the first person to document the surprising sculpture, she soon finds herself in the middle of a media storm.
Dealing with the newfound pressure on her relationships, identity and safety that the new position brings, April continues her mission to answer one thing: what are the Carls – and what do they want from us?
You can get it here.
A good book can do just about anything; from taking you on a wild and fantastical adventure to making you feel like an all-knowing super sleuth (if you figure out the killer twist).
Every week at #Bookmarked, we will be taking you through some of our all-time favourite books – as well as the newest novels hitting shelves in Ireland.
