How To Transition Your Reading Habits For Autumn

Look, I get it. Summer is winding down and if your bookshelf looks anything like mine, it’s a tragic graveyard of unfinished beach reads, romances, and one too many “how to be productive” guides that absolutely did not get read (but hey, those were optimistically purchased). But now the air smells like cinnamon and a vague sense of philosophical introspection, so it’s time to transition your reading habits for autumn—with maximum cosiness and only a moderate amount of self-mockery.

1. Accept That Your Summer TBR is Doomed

Remember those sunny days when your reading ambitions soared higher than your SPF? Now the pool noodles are deflated, and so are your plans for finishing an epic trilogy in a week. Accept defeat gracefully. Toss a decorative pumpkin on your abandoned beach reads and call it “seasonal decor.

2. Build Your Cosy Nest

Autumn is all about setting up a reading nook worthy of a fairy tale protagonist. You don’t need a Pinterest-perfect window seat—just a pile of blankets, a hot beverage that may or may not be 90% whipped cream, and the strategic draft protection of several houseplants. Bonus points if you can make it through a chapter before falling asleep, swaddled like a burrito.

3. Embrace the Autumn Vibes in Your Genre Picks

Summer was for adventure, but now it’s “all murder mysteries, all the time.” Pick up that Gothic novel you bought because the cover looked haunted, or finally give in to a dark academia obsession. If your protagonist isn’t investigating a supernatural event or cursing their fate beneath a golden sycamore tree, you’re not doing autumn right.

4. Go Wild With Fall Reading Lists (But Manage Expectations)

Every book influencer’s TBR for September is longer than a CVS receipt. Don’t worry—realistically, you’ll finish two books, skim five, and genuinely intend to read ten more. It’s tradition. Stack them somewhere visible so you can gaze at them with equal parts ambition and shame.

5. Try Reading Out Loud, But Only If You Want the Dog to Judge You

There’s something magical about reading aloud in autumn, but beware: pets and family members might listen to your dramatic murder-mystery performance with deep suspicion. At least you’ll feel like a character in a Dickens novel… until someone asks if you’re feeling okay.

6. Add Seasonal Snacks

Nothing says autumn reading like snacks, preferably ones that make a mess and require only one hand so you can keep the other glued to a page. Slices of apple, preposterously large mugs of hot chocolate, and cookies shaped like bats—if it’s festive and you don’t spill it on the book, you’re winning.

7. Choose Books That Match Your Mood Swings

Autumn is a rollercoaster: sometimes you want a heartwarming memoir (cue comforting nostalgia), and other nights you need a deeply unsettling thriller about ghosts in an abandoned library. Go forth. Mood swing with pride. The season practically demands it.

If autumn reading means making peace with unfinished summer goals, embracing spooky stories, and overdoing the snacks, then consider this your invitation to read with reckless cosiness. Happy fall, bookworms—may your reading habits transition with style, humor, and at least a little bit of whipped cream.