Autumn Is the Best Season for Reading (And We Can Prove It)

Sure, summer reading is fine. The days are longer, and you can match your paperbacks to your vacation spot. But autumn, with its rich colors and brisk air, is truly the best season for reading. Don’t believe me? Here are three very important reasons why:
1. The Aesthetic
By the end of August, you’ve probably realized that all of your summer reads have sand packed into the binding—what’s so great about beach reading again?—and pages whose edges have been softened by a deadly mix of humidity and sweat and sunscreen. You know when that doesn’t happen? Autumn. You know what you’d rather fill those pages with? The crisp smell of freshly fallen leaves.
Even if you’re not going back to school, it’s hard not to give in to that itch to fill a backpack up with brand-new books every fall. Cozied up with sweaters, reading in front of a fireplace or under a nice orangey-red tree, blanketed with paperbacks—what’s not to love? So grab your plaid shirts, your candles, and your sense of self-discovery and get ready for fall.
2. The Snacks
There’s one thing that all true book nerds know: if you’re settling in for a long day of reading, you’re going to need proper sustenance. And you know what pairs perfectly with a nice, new hardback? Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, a nice chai latte—all worldly pleasures that are hard to appreciate when you’ve got summer sweat rolling down the back of your knee. Toss in some fresh-baked cookies, a slice of pie, an after-dinner glass of brandy, and anything pumpkin, and you have to admit that fall reading snacks are the best reading snacks.
3. The Books
Food and aesthetics are all well and good, but the true reason that autumn reading surpasses all other reading? The books.
Summer books sound good when you make the initial approach: a quick fling you can speed through and then forget. But after months of light reading, you can’t help but crave something a little more serious. Enter fall reading. Between long-awaited new releases from favorite authors (helllllloo Swing Time) and beloved re-reads (Night Circus is a must), you’ll have more books to read than pumpkin spice lattes to drink. Plus, as the air turns chillier, you can’t help but be drawn to those dark, thrilling reads, perfect for matching your Halloween decorations.
Still need some convincing? Here are some upcoming autumn books that will have you craving sweater season: