Cooler weather and dark evenings are here. Is there any better time to curl up with a good book? In my fall reading update, I share my favourite reads of the past three months, and an update on progress toward my lofty goal of reading 1,000 books.  

Michelle’s Top 5 Cozy Fall Reads

I read 18 books over the last three months. Here are my top 5 picks.  

The Women – Kristin Hannah

After being told that women can be heroes, twenty-one year old nurse Frankie McGrath joins the US Army Nurse Corps and is deployed to Vietnam. During her two years of service, she sees death and devastation on a daily basis. But nothing she experienced there prepared her for the challenges she’d face rebuilding her life after returning home to a bitterly divided country and distant parents who don’t understand her struggles.  

This is the first book I’ve read by Kristin Hannah. It featured strong characters and a compelling storyline, making it a must-read for fans of historical fiction.

The Reason You Walk – Wab Kinew

Wab Kinew is the first Indigenous person elected as the Premier of a Canadian province. In this memoir, he shares stories from his childhood in Winnipeg and on a reserve in Northern Ontario. He also recounts his experience reconnecting with his father—a residential school survivor—after his father’s cancer diagnosis.

This is a wonderful book that highlights the strength and resilience of Indigenous culture. It is full of wisdom and life lessons, and provides hope while recognizing that we still have work to do.

When Things Go Missing – Deborah J. Brasket

I ordered this book after Deborah was a guest on an episode of the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast. 

It’s the story of Franny who, on a trip to the supermarket walks away from her life in California and keeps on going—all the way to the southern tip of South America. As her husband and two adult children struggle to understand why she left, they slowly put their lives back together.

This book was so beautifully written with complex characters that we find ourselves rooting for in different ways. For me, it was an important reminder that no matter how much circumstance and distance separates us from our loved ones, there are threads that weave us together.

The Testaments – Margaret Atwood

This sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale takes place 15 years after the original story.

As cracks begin to appear at the top of Gilead’s theocratic regime, the book follows the story of three women. One was raised as the privileged daughter of a high-ranking commander. The second grew up in Canada and returns to Gilead to gather evidence against the regime. And the third holds a position of power and has inside information on the evil and corrupt regime.

Like The Handmaid’s Tale, this is a terrific book highlighting the strength of women despite their most difficult circumstances.

Dear Edward – Ann Napolitano

This book tells the story of Edward, the lone survivor of a plane crash that kills his brother and their parents as they were on their way to a new life in Los Angeles. After the crash, Edward goes to live with his aunt and uncle where he struggles to rebuild his life.

This book was recommended to me by LA from Waking Up on the Wrong Side of 50 in a comment on my post about survivor guilt. It was a beautiful, tragic, but hopeful story. It’s the second book I’ve read from Napolitano and I loved it.

Fall reading update – Fiction

The Inmate – Freida McFadden

The story begins as nurse practitioner Brooke starts a new job at a correctional facility near her hometown. When she was hired, Brooke failed to disclose that one of the inmates is her ex-boyfriend Shane Nelson and that it was her testimony that sent him to prison. Shane’s appearance in the prison infirmary leads Brooke to question what really happened all those years ago. Could she have been wrong?

I think McFadden may be my new favourite author. Like other books I’ve read by her, this one was engaging and contained so many twists and turns before the truth was revealed.

Seduction – Catherine Gildiner

Kate Fitzgerald is a convicted murderer who spent her time in prison studying the works of Sigmund Freud. When the director of the Freud academy threatens to release correspondence that could discredit his work and destroy psychoanalysis, Kate is granted a temporary absence from prison to team up with detective Jackie Lawton to investigate.

As the investigation unfolds, two men with knowledge of Freud’s correspondence are murdered. As she was the last to see both men alive, Kate races against time to solve the mystery and avoid being sent back to prison.

I picked this book up at the Free Little Library around the corner from my house. It was a fascinating read, albeit a little heavy on scientific detail and a bit long.

Beautiful Ugly – Alice Feeney

A year after his wife Abby mysteriously disappears, bestselling author Grady Green’s life is in a mess. He’s broke, can’t sleep, is drinking too much, and can’t focus long enough to write. When his agent suggests he get away to a cabin on a tiny remote island in the Scottish highlands, Grady takes her up on the offer. On the ferry to the island, he sees a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife. And he quickly learns the island has a sinister history. Could he be the next casualty?

I found this book and author through the Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge. It was a great page turner with lots of plot twists.

The Banned Books Club – Brenda Novak

At the assistance of her sister Margot, Gia Rossi returns to her small hometown to help care for her dying mother. Gia left in a cloud of scandal 17 years earlier, after accusing her high school English teacher of sexual misconduct. Years later, the teacher’s family still proclaims his innocence and resents Gia for ruining their family’s lives.

When Margot mysteriously disappears, Gia is the target of her brother-in-law’s anger, and finds support from the most unexpected sources.

This was a random pick from the public library, and it was a light read with a good mix of romance and mystery.

What Does it Feel Like – Sophie Kinsella

Eve is a successful writer with a wonderful husband and five terrific children. Her latest book has been made into a Hollywood movie and she’s on top of the world. Then she wakes up in the hospital following surgery to remove a large cancerous brain tumour. The story follows Eve’s journey as she learns to walk, talk and write again.

I’ve never read anything by Kinsella before, but I read this as part of the Goodreads summer reading challenge. It’s a short novella that captures the emotion of a cancer experience perfectly. I learned after I read it that it was based on Kinsella’s own experience with glioblastoma.

Notes on Infinity – Austin Taylor

This was another book from the Goodreads summer reading challenge. It’s the story of Harvard students Zoe and Jack who develop a theory for an anti-aging drug. Their hypothesis is exciting enough to capture the attention and backing of venture capitalists. The book follows the meteoric rise and fall of their startup as they race to patent the drug and get it to market.

Although the storyline had promise, the book was difficult to get through. I found it a little long and the story didn’t grip me enough to make me want to keep reading. I did finish it, but wouldn’t recommend it.

Keeping Faith – Jodi Picoult

After witnessing the breakdown of her parents’ marriage, 7-year old Faith White starts to hear divine voices, and is seemingly blessed with miraculous healing powers. Faith and her mother Mariah find themselves at the centre of a media frenzy and a nasty custody battle when Faith’s father fears his daughter’s life is in jeopardy.

Like other books by Picoult, this one provides insight into real-life issues. It’s a great read.

Death Row – Freida McFadden

I love Freida’s books, but this one is more of a short story than a full novel. It’s the story of Talia Kemper who’s on death row for murdering her husband. As she proclaims her innocence, her last appeal attempt is rejected and her execution day approaches.

I admit this one totally confused me and the ending made no sense to me at all. Luckily, I only spent a couple of hours reading it.

By Any Other Name – Jodi Picoult

Other books I’ve read by Picoult tackle current-day issues and challenges. Classified as historical fiction, this book parallels the hardships faced by Emilia Bassano, with the life of her descendant Melina Green who, as a female playwright, struggles for recognition over 400 years later. 

In her struggle to survive in a world where women have no voice, Emilia writes in secret and forges a partnership with William Shakespeare who does what she is unable to do—front and publish her work.

The story is a fascinating look at how, despite the progress we’ve made, many women still struggle for recognition and equality.

Crow Lake – Mary Lawson

Kate Morrison, and her three siblings lived a normal life in the tiny farming village of Crow Lake in Northern Ontario. When tragedy strikes, family members step up and do what needs to be done, even at great expense to their own hopes and dreams.

Years later, successful scientist Kate returns home to Crow Lake for her nephew’s birthday party. But her years away have created a divide between Kate and her family.

This terrific story of triumph over tragedy showcases the strength of the human spirit and its ability to adapt to the most difficult of circumstances.

Fall reading update – Non-fiction

The Let Them Theory – Mel Robbins

Honestly, this book was a disappointment to me. It just didn’t live up to the hype. Perhaps if I’d read it in my 30s or maybe even my 40s, it would have had a bigger impact. At this stage of my life, I already know I can’t control or change other people and the only thing I can control is myself. That’s the whole premise of the book.

That said, I did find the section on adult friendships interesting and helpful. That section alone made the book worthwhile for me.

The Ikigai Journey – Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles

I’m a big fan of the power of purpose and I use the Japanese concept of Ikigai extensively in my retirement coaching work.

Although this book did contain many nuggets of wisdom that provided food for thought, I found the “journey” to be more of a series of random ideas. I would have expected a book about purpose to be more of a purposeful journey.

The Next Chapter is Yours – Retirement Coaches Association

Like other books by the Retirement Coaches Association, this book contains a collection of essays on different aspects of retirement planning and transition written by members of the Retirement Coaches Association. It’s interesting to read the insights of experienced retirement coaches on the work they do with their clients.

The road to 1000 books

So, in this three-month period I read 14 fiction and 4 non-fiction books for a total of 18. That’s an improvement over the 16 I read in the three months covered by my last update. Since I started tracking at the beginning of June 2024, I’ve read a total of 80 books—an average pace of just under 5 books a month.

In the middle of October, I also met my Goodreads 2025 Reading Challenge goal of 50 books. How many more can I read before the end of the year? Stay tuned.

Next on my reading list

Winter is a terrific time to curl up with a good book. Here are some of the books on my winter reading list:

• The Cold Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty
• All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
• Joyspan: the Art and Science of Thriving in Life’s Second Half by Dr. Kerry Burnight

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What’s on your reading list? Have you read any of the books on my fall reading list? Drop me a comment below to let me know. I’d love to hear your book recommendations.