What I’m Reading This Fall
Not every escape requires a passport. Some of my favorite journeys this season have happened from the comfort of a reading chair, with a soft throw, a cup of something warm, and a stack of books waiting on the side table.
This fall, my nightstand holds a little bit of everything: a long-awaited return from a beloved author, an emotional homecoming story, and a charming English village mystery. Here is what I am reading right now, and why each one has earned a spot in my travel bag.
The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett
Seventeen years after The Help, Kathryn Stockett is back, and I have been looking forward to this one. Set in Mississippi in 1933, during one of the bleakest years of the Great Depression, the story follows Birdie Calhoun, who is fighting to help her family keep their home, and Meg Lefleur, an eleven-year-old girl living in an orphanage. As their lives intersect, the novel becomes a moving portrait of family, loyalty, and the quiet resourcefulness people find in one another when times are hard.
This one has nothing to do with travel, and that is exactly the point. Sometimes the best way to recharge between trips is to get completely lost in another time and place.
Love You More by Emily Giffin
Emily Giffin's newest novel follows Billie Wright, a New York fertility doctor whose carefully built life is shaken by a phone call from Mick, her first love, after nearly a decade of silence. The call draws her back to her Wisconsin hometown, and the story moves between the present day and Billie's teenage years.
At its heart, this is a story about grief, friendship, second chances, and the people and places that shape us. It is the perfect companion for a long flight, though I would recommend packing a few tissues.
Wicked Autumn by G.M. Malliet
If your idea of the perfect fall evening involves a crackling fire and a good mystery, meet Max Tudor, a former MI5 agent turned vicar in the tiny English village of Nether Monkslip. When the formidable head of the Women's Institute is found dead at the annual Harvest Fair, nearly everyone in the village has a motive, and Max must put his old skills to work.
This is the first book in the Max Tudor series, and it is pure armchair travel: cozy village life, local gossip, and the kind of English countryside charm that makes me want to book a country house stay immediately. If it has the same effect on you, my Insider's Guide to the English Countryside is a wonderful place to start.
Your Next Chapter
Whether you are packing for your next trip or curling up at home this fall, I hope one of these finds its way into your carry-on. And if a story sparks a little wanderlust, whether it is a storybook English village or a slow Southern getaway, let's start planning your next journey together.
