Stocking up on awesome autumn reads with my latest book haul

 With the cold weather and falling leaves starting to arrive , it’s fair to say autumn has officially begun.

 While I can’t go trick or treating this Halloween season (I’ll be getting a booster shot on that day!), between Book of the Month club, my local library and Better World Books, my literary larder is well supplied enough to last me into December there.

Starting with BOMC, my main pick was Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese, which takes a fresh look at Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.

Our leading lady is Isobel, a young wife emigrating to Colonial America in search of a fresh start with her much older than herself husband Edward. With her spouse deciding to head out to sea, Isobel has no choice but to use her extraordinary skills as a seamstress to make some sort of living yet being on her own like this raises suspicions amongst the townsfolk.

The only person who even gives Isobel any kind of friendship is young Nat Hawthorne, who finds her to be an inspiration for his writing and perhaps more than that. However, such a bond appears to be doomed in more ways than one.

I’ve always liked The Scarlet Letter(except for that Demi Moore adaptation) and it’s great to see such a classic novel get a creative new coat of paint on it here. Really looking forward to a nice bit of page turning with this one:

Speaking of reimagined classics, I was so delighted to find the final book in Sonali Dev’s Jane Austen themed Raje series, The Emma Project, on the shelf at my local library.

Naina is still dealing with her breakup from elder brother Yash when a new work project has her partnering with his younger sibling Vansh.

Vansh is very talented but also very unfocused, using his looks and charms to get by in life. Feeling slightly guilty that his new found goal will be depriving Naina of some of the funding for her non profit, he agrees to find a solution for both of their agendas.

Naina reluctantly goes along with, despite wanting to stay out of his family’s orbit as much as possible. Sparks do fly between them, romantically, and keeping things casual quickly becomes less of an option for either of them. 

Having just finished Incense and Sensibility, I’m torn between diving right to this last entry in the series or waiting a little bit longer(as long as my library renewals on it last!) to enjoy it.

This take on Austen’s novels has been such a joyous ride that I hate to see it end. Yet, Dev’s storytelling prowess promises to give us more wonderful tales of modern day love and it’s been grand to see her embrace one of her literary inspirations with us all:

Also at the library was a Miss Marple mystery that I haven’t read but will do so soon.

Agatha Christie’s A Carribean Mystery takes Miss Jane Marple away from her usual homestead at St. Mary’s Mead and sends her off on a cruise, where even such a major change of scene keeps her in proximity of a juicy murder.

When one of her new colleagues, a retired major who was eager to show Miss Marple a rather auspicious photo he had recently taken, winds up dead due to unnatural causes, she must put her beach bag aside to lend her considerable talents towards solving this case.

While my Christie reading isn’t as extensive as I’d like it to be, I am firmly on Team Marple all the way. Poirot is all well and good but give me a clever older lady with subtle wit and solid good sense to find the true culprit  every time:

My library find of that Miss Marple book was fitting as my recent order from Better World Books included a pair of Agatha Christie themed novels.

One of them , The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont, is told by a woman named Nan O’Dea, who may have one of the reasons that Christie vanished from sight for eleven days back in 1926.

Nan was the current mistress of Agatha’s never do well husband Archie, who often complained of playing second fiddle to his celebrated wife’s career. Christie’s sudden disappearance made that whole “ careful what you wish for” phrase become dangerously real for all involved.

Nan takes a cue from Agatha and hides out herself, staying at a remote hotel where she’s sure to not be noticed. Yet, when a murder occurs on the premises, Nan finds that she may need some help in solving the case and receives an assist from a most unexpected source.

Leave to Christie to have an unsolved mystery as part of her legacy for other writers to indulge their talents in. With the chill of the season settling in, this does feel like the kind of novel to curl up with over a warm cup of tea:

This quartet of books is just the tip of the iceberg of my bookish finds lately. Given the present state of the world right now, a good book is a healthy way to keep a steady balance on things  these days.

Plus, autumn is rather a bookish time of year as many literary awards are announced, Best of the Year lists are being made(working on one myself) and film adaptations are arriving on screens big and small there.

 Some people stock up on pumpkin spice items edible and otherwise, which is fine by me, and others pile  up on enough books to stock a bookstore or two. Fall enjoyment comes in as many varieties as the colorful leaves do indeed: