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When you arrive to lecture with your makeup dripping off your brow from the Southern California humidity, it’s difficult to feel the cozy, sweater-wearing mood of autumn that the majority of North America is experiencing. To combat this, and optimize the “fall” season in California, I present the perfect solution: books! I’ve found that books can transport me to a place with actual seasons, and encourage me to romanticize the college experience of fall — after all, even if it isn’t raining and I can’t walk with my coffee around a campus dappled with fallen orange leaves, the ever-lingering gray marine layer may just be encouraging enough to crack open one of these 5 books, and get in the holiday spirit!
1. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Donna Tartt masterfully transports her readers to a cold, woody college in Vermont through her use of dark academia in The Secret History. Head down to the beach and cozy up with your favorite fall drink, and read about ancient Greek students who slide down the slippery slope that is obsession, into complete moral corruption. This book is a page turner, and the unreliable narrator, Richard, will have you both sympathetic and confused towards his mind spiraling and desperation to fit in with his fellow privileged students. The spooky vibes in The Secret History are top tier, and make it the perfect Halloween novel. You’ll forget you even have to bike by the sparkling Pacific Coast to get to your discussion section!
2. Funny Story by Emily Henry
Emily Henry knows how to write an angsty story, and, wow, the tension in this book is top tier. Reading the drama in Funny Story made me feel like I was watching the juiciest episode of a reality TV show, but with funny, realistic characters. Kicked out of the beautiful home she shared with her fiancé in Michigan, small town librarian Daphne must battle heartbreak, and her new roommate’s antics. Descriptions of adventures to local lavender farm vendors and wineries made me feel like I was on the perfect mid-semester vacation. While technically set in summer, this feel-good romance gave such cozy fall vibes that it made my California-born heart want to pack my bags, and move to the small, fictional lakeside town of Waning Bay that it’s set in.
3. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
A Walk in the Woods is perfect for all my granola girl college students (or wannabe ones). Exactly what it sounds like, this novel is 200-something pages of walking the Appalachian trail– but it’s so much more than that. Adult friendships are explored, the power dynamic between nature and people, and tougher topics like alcoholism are discussed— but it’s also pee-your-pants funny. If you love to go on muddy hikes or rainy day walks in the chilly California forest, I highly recommend this book. It’ll transport you to a real fall in the wilderness, with changing leaves and the strangely alluring unpredictably of nature. There’s also a beautiful screen adaptation for when you finish reading!
4. The Deal by Elle Kennedy
Listen, Elle Kennedy’s romance books are my guilty pleasure. As an English major, after reading (literally) hundreds of pages of classical literature a week, it’s really nice to crack open a silly college romance book I don’t have to think much about. I was initially drawn to Elle Kennedy’s Off Campus and Briar U series for its cozy vibe, and also because it allows me to live vicariously through the main characters’ relationships— without going through my own “love story” that is Isla Vista’s infamous hookup culture. The Deal is a great introduction into Kennedy’s college world, as it follows Garrett Graham, hockey player extraordinaire, and Hannah Wells, a music student, as they fall in love in college on the East Coast. This novel takes the reader through halloweekend at Briar University, as well as the changing leaves (and feelings!) on campus. The many study dates and library trips included are sure to make you want to romanticize your fall quarter as much as the author does.
5. Normal people by Sally Rooney
With Halloween approaching, pick up this horror novel! No, just kidding (ish), but Sally Rooney’s beautiful depiction of mental health and human connection will leave you horrified at how she can read the average sad college student’s mind. Some people find the complete absence of quotation marks in this novel confusing, but I thought it was beautiful and emphasized the softness of the characters, as well as the communication issues their relationship had. The stylistic choices of Sally Rooney and the wet, green settings of Dublin and Cork Ireland lend themselves to both the homey, comfortableness that is autumn, as well as the knowing fear that winter is approaching. Just a warning, while this book may bring the fall vibe from the damp and beautiful historical landscapes that are Ireland, it also may take you on an adventure of finding scarily common ground with characters that may change your perception of love (oops!).
California’s lack of changing leaves, pumpkin patches, and chilly rain leaves much—for those used to autumn—to be desired. If you’re homesick for these warm and cozy vibes, pick up one of these 5 fall books, and immerse yourself in a world far, far away from the sunshine that permeates Southern California’s college campuses.