Reread Harry Potter Before the HBO Series Premieres
HBO’s Harry Potter arrives on Christmas Day, with years of seasons to follow. Before a new cast defines these characters for a new generation, reread the first book as an adult – it’s a better mystery than you remember, and every clue is on the page.
Food for Thought by Alton Brown
Alton Brown steps away from the recipes for a collection of personal essays on food, memory, culture, and identity. Required reading for Good Eats fans and food lovers who want their reading with a side of genuine reflection.
Read The Silmarillion Before Rings of Power Season 3
Rings of Power returns November 11, and almost none of Season 3 comes from The Lord of the Rings. It comes from The Silmarillion – the Tolkien book most readers start and never finish. You have three weeks, and you only need the right 100 pages.
Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson
Marcus Samuelsson's memoir Yes, Chef traces his path from Ethiopia to Sweden to Red Rooster Harlem, and the cost of getting there.
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
The first book in Rachel Gillig's Stonewater Kingdom series. A dark fantasy following a Seer bound by the world she knows and a knight bound by duty and a magic far older than either of them understands.
Elf Unwrapped by Andy Richter and Aaron Karo
A history of the 2003 holiday film Elf, told by the cast, crew, and creatives who made it. For anyone who's watched it on repeat every December and wants the full story behind the magic.
Take My Word For It by LeVar Burton
LeVar Burton traces a life built on storytelling, from coming of age during the Civil Rights Movement to Roots, Reading Rainbow, and everything the cameras didn’t show. Compassionate, vulnerable, and anchored in family, ancestors, and a lifelong commitment to liberation.
Books That Feel Like a Walk in the Woods
The right book can do what a walk in the woods does: slow your breathing, quiet your inner monologue, and pull your attention down to something small and worth noticing. These ten – a mix of nature writing and fiction – are the ones on my shelf most likely to produce that shift.
Four Witchy Fantasy Books Worth Reading
There’s a lot of witchy fantasy out there, and most of it uses magic as a shortcut instead of a system. These four don’t.
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
A time-traveling dark satire about a woman who slips back into a picture-perfect 1850s life that reveals itself to be a gilded trap.
Liars, Cheats and Copycats by James O'Hanlon
Turns out the animal kingdom's most successful survival strategy is a very convincing lie.
My Pressures by Andy Serkis
I came out of reading My Pressures having laughed (quite a lot) and realizing how important it is to take big risks when you know it’s the right thing to do.
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
Our main character, Sera, is grumpy but charming and the cast of supporting characters had me laughing out loud throughout the book.
Sea of Charms (Spellshop #3) by Sarah Beth Durst
A cargo runner, a fake boyfriend deal, and a revolution at sea. Sea of Charms is Sarah Beth Durst's cozy fantasy romance, third in the Spellshop series.
The Best Cozy Fantasy Books for Autumn 2026
Autumn is not when I want to be challenged by a book. September or October is not the time for dense historical epics or anything that requires a family tree in the front matter.
The best cozy fantasies don't sacrifice stakes for comfort. They just locate those stakes somewhere intimate: a relationship, a business, a sense of belonging. That's harder to write than it sounds, which is why the books on this list stand out.
The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore
A cozy small-town romance set in the charming Dream Harbor, where a woman inherits a beloved café and finds herself falling for the grumpy local farmer who wants nothing to do with her plans. Autumn in book form.
The Book Community Has an Entitlement Problem
Reader entitlement is out of hand. From demanding trigger warnings (to avoid a small bit of discomfort) to misunderstanding literary devices, we’re losing the plot (pun intended).
Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
She doesn't frame her mistakes as redemption arcs. A choice was made, lessons were learned, it worked out or it didn't. You go forward.
The Faerie Handmaid by Louisa Morgan
In a cast of women, the character who felt most fully realized was a young boy. Should you read it? Only if you’re a committed Arthurian.
Witchcraft by Marion Gibson
Thirteen trials. Five centuries. One uncomfortable argument: the impulse to hunt witches never disappeared, it just changed shape. Marion Gibson's Witchcraft is a deeply researched global history that delivers on scholarship and falls short on story.