In the interest of counter-programming against all of the season’s dark and scary Halloween reading, we’ve compiled below a selection of cozy books for your autumn reading pleasure. This is a specially curated collection of books both old and new, with an eye toward Maximum Coziness.

Now, we know the term cozy when it comes to books can be largely in the eye of the beholder, but in general we take it to refer to stories in which sex and violence are largely kept “off-screen” and the plotline focuses on characters, relationships, and close-knit communities. The tone is light and often humorous, with likable people and a relaxed atmosphere. The term originated in crime fiction—the cozy mystery—but has since blossomed out into other genres: fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction, and romance.

For this collection, we've sorted the stacks still further, creating separate mood-based subcategories for cozy-specific reading strategies: Murder Most Cozy, for instance. Found Families or Lightly Enchanted Everything. Plus, of course: Cats!
 
Cozy fiction also often revolves around books and book lovers. Which is good and proper. We are remarkably cozy, as a people. Check out this category for favorites like Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books and The Left-Handed Booksellers of London. Click around carefully and you might even find books by very famous authors, books about famous authors, and even books from 1908.
 
Click on the book cover images for more information about each title, and use the Want to Read button to add promising leads to your own cozy story shelf.
 

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