Crunchy Leaves, Smooth Books

Autumn time is the happiest time of year for bookstore types. All the best books are coming out, the weather is perfect for warm tea or pumpkin spice lattes while you curl up in a cozy blanket and read all the books, or curl up in a nice scarf and fend off the chubby squirrels preparing for winter in the Common. There are tons of great books the store is jazzed about released this fall: Jumpa Lahiri's Lowland, I've already started tucking into Anya von Bremzen's Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking and the new David Wiesener book Mr. Wuffles are just the tip of the autumnal iceberg.

In addition to all the new fall books, the UBC has cured curated a fine selection of meats books that are perfect for autumn: Ivy League campuses going back to school, spooky New England ghost stories, young couples falling into piles of leaves, the whole gamut of super-satisfying fall time reads! We've got a nice new case at the top of the stairs, for the discerning book lover on the go who might not have the time to get lost in our subterranean bookshelves. The selection changes daily so come quickly and come often! And if there's a special book you love to reread every fall, let me know in the comments!

Autumn Reads

©artist Robert The; www.bookdust.com

It's that time, dear Reader. I shook my head and ignored it when I saw pumpkin beers infiltrating the market, and on my birthday a week ago when I had to bring a sweater, but the death knell came this week when two important things happened:

1) My craving for a pumpkin smoothie won out at the end of a long shift, and
2) When I got a hankering to read Virginia Woolf.

Typically, Orlando is my favorite, and reading Woolf in autumn started with Mrs. Dalloway, but this year I was thinking of that scene with the deer head and the veil when I saw about the 800th horned-animal accessory (so hot right now) in a row. Sometimes, kids, you just have to surrender to what the universe is telling you to read. I just finally got caught up on Mad Men, and some lines that stuck with me might be subconsciously pushing me to pay attention to Lily Briscoe this time around. Who knows?!

Other Booksmithereens have similar seasonal traditions. Bonnie in the C&G reads Raymond Carver as the trees die. And other friends, my bestie Katia for one, reads Oscar Wilde.

How about you? Any big autumnal reading plans? If not, stop by and get inspired! Or if you're soured on reading, get inspired by Robert The's super-cool book sculptures, then come in and buy cheap $1 to hack up. Autumn is the perfect, contemplative weather for crafting beside a cup of tea.

I smell goodness approaching :-d

Happy Official First Day of Fall!


Leaves are just beginning to turn yellow. I can hear the wind is passing through. Even the thermometer agrees that it is time for apartments to stop feeling like ovens and welcome in the seasonal tastes of autumn. Not to mention that fall is the best time for baking because there are so many delicious vegetables ripening just above the ground. But, I'm not here to comment on baking -- though I do a lot of it (while listening to audio books usually...) -- maybe some other time.

What if you didn't know about fall? Would you think your favorite tree was sick and not getting better? Would you be so brave as to tie the leaves back on to the tree and stop other woodland creatures from taking its precious leaves away?


Meet Fletcher, who is the fox I speak of. The best autumn book out there, no doubt, is Fletcher and the Falling Leaves written by Julia Rawlinson and vibrantly illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke. This year, it turns four. Every time I pick it up I feel the curious essence of fall and the surprises awaiting, especially when winter comes (Look on the last page spread. You are in for a lovely sight!).

If you already familiar with this book, be prepared. Booksmith is getting a new Fletcher title: Fletcher and the Snowflake Christmas. This fun-Christmas book is nearing the top of my list for best holiday books of the year. But more on that later when we get closer to the holidays.

Happy Fall!