Books You Should Read This Fall

Martinique Mccrory

I know, after dropping at least a couple hundo at the University Store “What else can I read this fall?” is the last question on your mind. However, delving into nonrequired reading with twisted, attention-grabbing storylines is a way to give your brain a break from drool worthy textbooks without shutting it down completely with another Netflix marathon. Here are some recently published novels with thrilling plots and unpredictable endings that are perfect for the fall season.

“Lock In” by John Scalzi

One of modern sci-fi’s most popular authors, Scalzi takes his readers fifteen years into the future to experience a pandemic often predicted by the media. No, we’re not talking zombies here. Scalzi creates a disturbingly realistic virus that is capable of rendering a human body completely immobile and unresponsive while leaving the afflicted still awake and mentally aware. Hence being “locked in” their bodies. While it only does this to 1 percent of the United States population, the President’s wife and daughter falls under this state, and technology is created to allow the locked-in to sometimes take control of the bodies of people who aren’t affected by the illness. Think corruption, political control and murder, and you start to get a good sense of what this book about.

Genre: Science Fiction

“The Supernatural Enhancements” by Edgar Cantero

What better way to get in the mood for Halloween than with a story about a haunted house? With the first page missing, Cantero deviates from the typical 19th century chain-rattling ghost stories by telling it through collected documents such as letters, journal entries and recording transcripts. It’s a modern day thriller that follows a guy named A. and his mute, purple-haired companion after A. inherits a gloomy mansion from his mysterious, dead relative. This book is quirky, gothic and hard to put down. Ten points to Gryffindor if you can figure out the ending before the characters do.

Genre: Paranormal Thriller

“Edgar Allan Poe: The Fever Called Living” by Paul Collins

Remember that creepy Edgar Allan Poe poem that your sadistic high school English teacher made you read that left your skin crawling? You’re right:but the question is “which one”? Well if one of America’s most morbid writers ever fascinated you when you were younger, you can now get a better understanding of the intriguing and tragic life this author lived. Although countless biographies have been written on Poe before, the majority of them are either boring or biased. Paul Collins takes a neutral approach in explaining Poe’s personal life, career and self-destructive habits. It’s a short, interesting read and will have you wanting jump out of your skin by reading more of Poe’s work.

Genre: Non-Fiction Biography

“The Secret Place” by Tana French

It’s “Mean Girls” all over again in French’s newest murder mystery. Instead of a burn book, the girls at a boarding school post cruel gossip and secrets on a board they call The Secret Place. It’s all fun and games until one post is pinned saying “I know who killed him”–“him” being the popular boy that was found dead last year. Two detectives find themselves struggling to discover the secrets hidden between a group of friends, their families and a rival clique, and realize that teenage girls can be more dangerous and nasty than they seem. Duh. Don’t they know who Regina George is?

Genre: Mystery

“The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern

If creepy clowns are your thing, you may want to pick up this book on your next trip to the bookstore. In Morgenstern’s tale, a circus appears out of no where with no announcement but is incredible and magical all the same. It’s a wonderful event but behind the scenes, two young magicians are forced into a competition in which only one of them can be left standing. It’s a complicated plot with several characters, a love story and sinister ambitions. If you appreciate long reads that leave your head spinning like acrobats, this book is for you.

Genre: Fantasy