Jackie Mann is the Acquisitions and E-Resources Librarian based at John T. Richardson Library. She is also an avid reader and always enjoys sharing book recommendations.
Happy Fall, the best season for reading! The following titles are some of my favorites in our Unwind the Mind Collection, a group of books housed at both John T. Richardson Library and the Loop Library that are meant for recreational reading. While the collection is wide-ranging in topic and book genres, due to my own reading tastes, this blog post has particular emphasis on fantasy, mysteries, and a few outstanding non-fiction books. Look below for my favorite titles and my reviews, and click the titles to link directly to the catalog entry for each book. Happy reading!
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
The first book in a trilogy, The Bear and the Nightingale is a fantasy story about a young girl in Medieval Russia who helps the local spirits save their country from an evil and powerful sorcerer. This is still the best trilogy I have ever read, and a must-read for any fantasy or historical fiction fans. It’s stunning and a perfect read for that time when fall turns into winter.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
This is a beautiful mystery about a tragic loss that was witnessed only by an octopus, and the story that unfolds around these events. This was a very gentle and comforting read that came together perfectly in the end and has a lot to say about family and nature.
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan
Have you ever looked out at Lake Michigan and wondered at the history of it? The massive size? The plants and animals that call it home? The Death and Life of the Great Lakes will answer all these questions and more. I’m not much of a non-fiction reader, but this is a book that anyone living near the Great Lakes should read at least once. I’ve never looked out at the water in the same way since I read it.
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
This book of short stories is both a memoir and a horror novel wrapped up into one. Machado shares her experiences of being a woman via this collection of fictional stories that reminded me of the Surrealism movement. If you want something feminist and a little bit strange to read this Fall, this is your book.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
This is by far one of the best “dark academia” books out there. In Ninth House, a young woman gets a full ride to an ivy league university in exchange for her natural ability to see and interact with spirits. Not only must she study, but she must also work for a secret society that is obsessed with immortality. Surely, nothing could go wrong with this arrangement. This is an absolutely perfect book to read on campus in the Fall.
Circe by Madeline Miller
Circe is a gorgeous retelling of the ancient Greek tale The Odyssey, told from the viewpoint of the witch Circe who is trapped on a remote island for eternity. This is the book that set the precedent for the current, massive trend of ancient Greek retellings, and none of them have been as good as Circe.
Babel by R.F. Kuang
Another “dark academia” book, but with an even grander premise. In Babel, students study at Oxford to become translators, but in this world, translating words is a source of magic. The perfect translation can create the perfect spell, and the more unknown the word, the stronger the spell. To use rarer languages, the school recruits students from all over the world. But these students are getting sick of being exploited. Cue a rebellion and an incredible book.
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
I love everything Nghi Vo writes, and Siren Queen is no exception. Luli Wei, who has grown up in Los Angeles with her Chinese parents and longs to be a successful movie star, risks everything for a shot at success when she strikes a deal with one of the world’s most powerful film studios. Once she enters the world of acting, there’s no telling who is human or something else or what price will have to be paid for escaping the silver screen with your life. Nghi Vo has creates a 1930s Hollywood run by magic and demons where a good performance, both on set and off, is a matter of life and death.
Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby
I love Samantha Irby’s books of essays. Not only are they funny, clever, and endlessly relatable, but Irby is from the Chicago area and often speaks about the city in ways that only another local will understand. Her wit and life experiences are immeasurable, and that’s apparent in Wow, No Thank You.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
This quirky short novel is based on the Italian artist Giovanni Batista Piranesi’s intricate drawings of complex fictional landscapes and buildings. In this case, our lead character seems to be trapped in one of these maze-like drawings with no memory of who he is or how he got there. As we watch him try to survive this life-size puzzle, we begin to unravel the secrets that Clarke has wound for us.
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
A young adult novel that reads like a thriller, Firekeeper’s Daughter was impossible to put down once the mystery got started. Set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and following a group of modern Indigenous families and their friends, this book is a beautiful portrait of the social struggles of a group of people and the beauty and love with which they face those battles. This is a hard book to read at times, but it’s worth it.
The Hacienda by Isabel Canas
When Beatriz receives a marriage offer that will rescue herself and her mother from their fall from grace after her father was killed during the Inquisition, she accepts and is swept away by her new husband to a hacienda far from the city. Beatriz hopes the house of San Isidro and its lands will be a safe new home far from her past. However, she comes to find that it is haunted, deeply poisoned by a mysterious and angry presence that repeatedly threatens her life. As the haunting appears to claim more lives and grows stronger by the day, will Beatriz discover the true mystery of the haunting and save herself and the other inhabitants of San Isidro in time? I loved the setting of this book in Mexico shortly after the War of Independence, as well as how spooky the story is. This is another book that’s perfect for Fall!
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel
While many people may recognize Mandel from her other book, Station Eleven, I think this book is even better. In Sea of Tranquility, several people across many centuries are connected by an anomaly- a “glitch” in the appearance of the world. In his investigation of this glitch, Gaspery Roberts travels through time to gather evidence of the strange occurrence, and in so doing, just might change the universe forever.