Books for a cosy autumn

Posted on 29 May, 2019

Let’s be honest.

The best thing about the winter-side of autumn is snuggling under something soft with a good book in hand.

We asked our friends at Paperchain Bookstore to recommend five wintery reads to disappear into as the days turn frosty for our latest Magazine: Fall.

Normal People 

Sally Rooney

Connell and Marianne are from very different worlds. Though both come from the same town in rural Ireland, their lives could not be more different. One poor and deeply loved by all; the other, rich, outcast and disdained by their own family.

Charting their relationship from secretive hookups in high school through to their passionate, vulnerable and insecure college romance, the novel follows the cycle of falling in and out of love and relationships.

Connell and Marianne seem to be magnetised, orbiting each other through every phase of their lives; their love sometimes shown but unspoken, feared yet embraced.

A stunning read, intimate and truthful, and a deserving winner of the 2019 Costa Prize for new fiction.

A River in the Trees

Jacqueline O’Mahony

Split across generations of an Irish family, this story follows Hannah in 1919 during the War of Independence, and Ellen in 2019.

Hannah’s story begins with her family’s sheltering of Irish Rebels from the British army and the subsequent introduction to their leader O’Riada, with whom she has an instant connection.

Fast forward to 2019, and Ellen’s marriage is breaking down as she grieves the loss of her baby. Returning home to Ireland after many years in London, Ellen begins reaching back into her family history, finding the mysterious figure of Hannah, a woman no one wants to talk about.

The warp and weft of both stories weave together to form a moving novel of love, loss and betrayal; exploring how difficult it is to truly come home.

The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost and Vivian Mineker

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood…”

The famous poem by Robert Frost has, for the first time, been bound into a beautifully illustrated children’s book. Set against bright autumnal illustrations, a boy wanders through a forest blanketed in golden leaves, taking the less trodden path through the trees where love is found, families created, and adventures had.

Though the poem was originally written about indecisiveness, it has become a reminder and celebration of one’s own journey, a reflection of our own paths.

This luminous hardback invites the reader to reflect on the pivotal moments in their own life and to recognise the paths that have made all the difference.

Slow Knitting

Hannah Thiessen

As cool mornings creep in we turn indoors to the comforts of home, swaddling ourselves in woollen blankets and cardigans. Everything becomes slower as the leaves fall and the days shorten.

Slow Knitting is a delightful book that takes you on a journey as you learn about different yarns, patterns and the spinners that produce it. Its ethos is based on five tenets; source carefully, make thoughtfully, think environmentally, experiment fearlessly and explore openly.

It encourages us to step back from the incessant production of projects and instead focus on the meditative process of knitting, and is ultimately an invitation to embrace the slow life.

Wild Side: The Enchanted life of Hunters and Gatherers

Autumn is the season of harvest, the gathering of supplies in preparation for the cold winter ahead. Wildside invites you to journey with hunters and gatherers from all over the world as they forage out their living in what seems to be a perpetual harvest season.

From the wilds of the arctic tundra to the lush forests of Europe and North America, these foragers have learnt how to reconnect with the natural world around them, relying on the annual cycles of their local landscapes to survive.

This enchanting book features stunning images that are as atmospheric and romantic as we imagine a life immersed in nature can be. Get ready to be inspired!

All titles available for purchase instore or at paperchainbookstore.com.au.

This article originally appeared in Magazine: FALL for Autumn/Winter 2019, available for free while stocks last. Find out more about Magazine here.

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