Four Ways to Enjoy Fall Reading

While summer is a nice time to read —fall is here.  A season of chilly nights and hot cups of tea, fall brings the perfect weather for curling up with a good book.  On the other hand, time can be limited, so here are four ways to enjoy and maximize your fall reading.

 1. Read your Favorites

A familiar book by a favorite author is a bit like chicken soup.  So, why not re-visit one of your favorites?

Recently I read A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter.  A childhood favorite —upon first reading it, I was convinced that I wanted to collect moths— Girl of the Limberlost was fun to read from a “grown-up” perspective.  I particularly enjoyed glimpsing Porter’s worldview; she saw God clearly in nature, yet church is hardly, if ever, mentioned.

2. Read More by a Favorite Author

There’s a certain joy that comes when discovering or reading a new book written by a favorite author.

Having loved N. D. Wilson’s Ashtown Burials series, I decided to try his 100 Cupboards trilogy.  Like Ashtown, 100 Cupboards is a fantasy, and I loved the characters, and Wilson’s word-building.  I also loved the way Wilson captures spunky girls and realistic-yet-loving sibling dynamics.

While you might recognize familiar ground as you read a favorite author —or maybe even that particular author’s stereotypes— the familiarity can be almost comforting.  If this appeals to you, think through your favorite authors and see if you can find some new reading material.

3.  Read Nonfiction 

With school in full swing, it does feel like a season to learn —so read some nonfiction.  I love history, and in the past couple months, I’ve enjoyed historical books by Erik Larson and Laura Hillenbrand.

Memoirs also fall within nonfiction —Rosaria Butterfield’s The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert was a wonderful and encouraging glimpse at one woman’s “train wreck” conversion to Christianity.  I read the expanded edition, which includes an appendix with resources shared by Rosaria and several key characters within her story.  I am already looking forward to re-reading this new favorite.

4.  Read —via Audiobook

Are you spending more time in the car this season?  Audiobooks can be a wonderful resource.  Also, many libraries are providing patrons with online audiobook resources such as OneClickdigital or Overdrive Media Console  If you can access one of these resources, there are many audiobooks available and, provided they successfully download, these audiobooks will not skip like that well-used CD from the library.  Some recent favorites?

Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter —I listened to this growing up, and I was glad to revisit the story during a road trip this summer.

Almost anything by P. G. Wodehouse —Thanks to my library’s expanding online audiobook collection, I have laughed quite a lot while listening to Wodehouse’s British comedy.

Whether you listen to an audiobook, or read a book, may you enjoy books to His glory this fall season.