Fall Reading Challenge: Discussion Thread

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Use this thread to ask for recommendations or suggest books that fill the prompts!

[Megan]

Having trouble planning on some of these broader topics if anyone has suggestions....

Rural setting
found family
feels cozy
summer read

... basically almost all of the list hah

[Sophia]

Megan wrote: "Having trouble planning on some of these broader topics if anyone has suggestions....

Rural setting
found family
feels cozy
summer read

... basically almost all of the list hah"

Rural setting matches up pretty nicely with Westerns, if you haven't done that prompt already! That's what I'm planning to do, and I'm using "book I didn't finish for the summer reading challenge" for the "one last summer read" but I also bookmarked Vulture's 100 Greatest Beach Books which has been a good resource for me.

[NancyJ]

Megan wrote: "Having trouble planning on some of these broader topics if anyone has suggestions....

Rural setting
found family
feels cozy
summer read

... basically almost all of the list hah"

I recently listened to Briefly, A Delicious Life which I absolutely loved (but it's rather strange). The characters include a 14 year old ghost (who died a couple hundred years earlier), Frederick Chopin (the pianist), George Sands (famous female author) and her kids, on vacation in a small house in Majorka Spain. It felt cozy (with a lot of rain), it's rural, with family relationships.

For feels cozy - I just got Pearl by Sian Hughes from the library. The reviews used terms like warm and wonderful, which is close enough to cozy for me.

For last Summer Read - I want to read Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. It's a book I wanted to read all summer and covers looks sort of summery. The way it's stated, I agree that it's great for anything you planned to read in the summer but didn't get to.

RURAL - If you like books with some magic, Alice Hoffman has several books set in rural New England (with a fall flavor) and Sarah Addison Allen has several rural Southern books. They also feel cozy to me.

If you like more realistic books, consider The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, Plain Song, Round House, or for a funny rom com - Heidi's Guide to Four Letter Words.

I might have lists for rural setting and found family....

Rural and small town
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

[Nike]

I wonder how to think about books connected to the phrase "falling out". My mind's gone blank. I would be very grateful for some ideas.

[LeahS]

Books about broken romances/divorces?
Arguments between friends?
Literally 'falling out', like a plane falling out of the sky?

[Nike]

LeahS wrote: "Books about broken romances/divorces?
Arguments between friends?
Literally 'falling out', like a plane falling out of the sky?"

Ah, thank you! I forgot the English meaning of that phrase. (It's not my native language). I was just simply thinking of things literally falling out through windows but I forgot the meaning of becoming unfriendly towards eachother. Thank you 🙂

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Goodreads posted this article today!

https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2...

[Pam]

If anyone is interested, someone has added our fall challenge to Storygraph.

[dalex]

For "Is set in autumn" are people going with books specifically set between September 23 and December 20? Or would the southern hemisphere dates work - app. March 20 - June 22? If you do the southern hemisphere dates, does it have to be set in a country in that hemisphere? Could you use any book that kind of has an autumn atmosphere?

Overthinking this one and driving myself crazy. Haha.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I'd go more with *vibes* and less with actual dates. But yes, you're definitely overthinking this one haha.

[dalex]

Emily wrote: "I'd go more with *vibes* and less with actual dates. But yes, you're definitely overthinking this one haha."

Perfect. Thank you!

[Beth]

I’m using the PopSugar fall challenge for my prompt list.
https://www.popsugar.com/love/fall-re...

[Sophia]

I can't believe I've read not one but TWO books about the mid-autumn festival this year and I didn't save any of them for the actual fall! Anyone else have any suggestions for Thanksgiving?

[LeahS]

I read The Lay of the Land, set in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. I liked it, but it is long, possibly a bit too long...

[Lindsay]

Can anyone suggest any 'athlete' books? This is the only one which I have no ideas for.

I normally read historical fiction, biographies or literary fiction but I'm open to ideas in other genres.

[LeahS]

I have no interest in sports but I have read and enjoyed:

Beartown

We Ride Upon Sticks

The Fastest Boy in the World

The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights

Waterlog: A Swimmer's Journey Through Britain

Two for the Lions: about gladiators

If you interpret 'athlete' more widely as 'sportsperson', then
A Long Way From Home is about a 1950s road race, and is certainly literary fiction.

I haven't read it but The Last of the Wine involves the Olympic Games in ancient Greece.

Like most people, I assume, I've only seen the film but Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ obviously involves a charioteer in ancient Rome.

Just adding that I have Gold lined up for the Going for Gold prompt. It has good reviews.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I read Gold when we had an athlete (or maybe Olympics?) prompt a few years ago and it was excellent. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.

Also adding Carrie Soto Is Back to the list of books about athletes that's not about sports.

[LeahS]

Good to know that about Gold - thanks, Emily.

[Lindsay]

Thanks Leah and Emily for the suggestions

[Robin H-R]

@Emily

There is an error in the spreadsheet. The completion percentage at the bottom should be total/15, not 12.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Ah will fix, thanks!

[Sophia]

For anyone still looking for "athlete" books, I recently read two graphic novels that were great:

Dragon Hoops is part history of basketball and part memoir about a high school basketball team trying to win a championship

In Waves is part history of surfing and part memoir of the author's late girlfriend who introduced him to surfing before she lost her battle with cancer

[Megan]

Any suggestions for the giving thanks/Thanksgiving prompt?

[NancyJ]

Lindsay wrote: "Can anyone suggest any 'athlete' books? This is the only one which I have no ideas for.

I normally read historical fiction, biographies or literary fiction but I'm open to ideas in other genres."

I like similar kinds of books, and I adored Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. It covers a 20+ year period, and has literary fiction, historical fiction, and family tags, and a lot of emotional depth. It also has a character who is a college basketball player. The athletic story was interesting, with a later physio emphasis on how to prevent injuries. (Those who really like reading about sports might wish for more game action.) There are four close sisters (with two twins) with subtle Little Women references. One of the plot lines sounded like it would be too melodramatic to me, but I think it worked.

I also loved the Beartown series. It has the smartest coverage of “me too” issues than I’ve read anywhere else.

[NancyJ]

I overlooked the autumn setting prompt as I was reading. I know that there were some fall scenes in the books I read, but my memory is failing me.

[dalex]

Lindsay wrote: "Can anyone suggest any 'athlete' books? This is the only one which I have no ideas for.

I normally read historical fiction, biographies or literary fiction but I'm open to ideas in other genres."

Canary Girls by Jennifer Chiaverini. It’s set during World War One and is about women who were exposed to dangerous chemicals in factories (and played football). Based on true historical facts.

[Michelle]

I could really use some suggestions for "Makes you think of Thanksgiving (or giving thanks)". I can't seem to find anything that really speaks to me as fitting the prompt.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I used a book that made me thankful for my life (because I would have never wanted to live in the conditions the characters were facing). Does that help?

[NancyJ]

I agree Emily, those are the books that make me feel the most grateful for my life. Maybe that’s why I like books about orphans or foster kids. I used a NF book that I read early, but all of these books made me feel thankful:

Demon Copperhead. Plus the character always felt grateful for the beauty around him. He would hate living in a city or a crowded suburb.
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
Half of a Yellow Sun
The Snow Child

For more of a feel-good story,
I really loved Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. The settings include summer stock (Our Town) and a cherry orchard (during Covid). It’s a great story about reconnecting with family, and sharing memories, and there was a lot of gratitude. The audio is narrated perfectly by Meryl Streep

[Michelle]

Emily wrote: "I used a book that made me thankful for my life (because I would have never wanted to live in the conditions the characters were facing). Does that help?"

That makes sense and is a great take on the prompt! I just finished reading Wilder Girls which would fit this interpretation. Stuck on an island, running out of supplies, animals trying to kill them, all suffering with an odd sickness no one can figure out.

[Robin H-R]

Michelle wrote: "I could really use some suggestions for "Makes you think of Thanksgiving (or giving thanks)". I can't seem to find anything that really speaks to me as fitting the prompt."

I am reading Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford. It is a detailed history of the Pilgrims written by one of their own.

I chose this book as I am a "Mayflower descendent". Even though the language has been "modernized" (no Thees and Thous), it is still very formal and slow-going. But it is so interesting to read how the settlement came about and how the colonists (including my ancestor) survived in the New World.