Autumn is here. And it is the only season with two names: Autumn and Fall.
“Autumn is a noun.” It is an old word that has origins in Latin, and carried through to modern use through Middle English. It is a term more commonly used in British English. “Fall,” of course, has several meanings, many of which mean to slip or to drop, but it is also used as a synonym of autumn—namely, as a noun that refers to a season. Fall is also a very old word, and has been used to describe the autumnal season for several centuries, and is more popular in American than British English. At least in the context of seasons, these words are more or less interchangeable.
I myself use the term “fall” rather than “autumn” but I felt compelled, at least in this case, to use “autumn” instead. The use of autumn provides bit of formality and dignity in the crazy world we now seem to live in.
Autumn is here and with it, a new season of reading. Writers use symbols related to seasons to express ideas such as feelings, and the passing of time and age. In literature, autumn often refers to ripeness, change, maturity, beauty, sadness or preparing for an end or decline. As the season progresses, autumn acts as a gleaner that decomposes summer flowers and produce left in the fields. The crisp fall air and changing leaves personify the changing nature of life. The change we find in ourselves.
I love to read all year round, but there is certainly something to be said about autumn. The smell of freshly fallen leaves. Curling up with a good book and a hot cup of coffee: heaven.
Sure, summer reading is fine. The days are longer, and you can match your paperbacks to your vacation spot. But autumn, with its rich colors and brisk air, is truly the best season for reading.
Why? Perhaps the biggest difference between summer and fall reading is that summer invites adventure, a flirtatious fling with books you may not necessarily read, and will probably forget when finished. But as the weather changes, you can’t help but crave for something more serious. Autumn. New releases from favorite authors. Beloved re-reads. Back indoors, you settle in your favorite chair or flop on the couch; maybe play music in the background, snack on fresh-baked cookies, a slice of pie, and read. No distractions. Just read. It’s just you, the words on the page, and your vivid imagination work.
Still need some convincing? Here are some great 2Leaf Press to help get you started for your autumn reading:
The Fourth Moment, Journeys from the Known to the Unknown, A Memoir by Carole J. Garrison
THE FOURTH MOMENT, JOURNEYS FROM THE KNOWN TO THE UNKNOWN is a memoir by Carole J. Garrison. A child of humble beginnings, Garrison paved the way for herself to accomplish great things, but for her, the journey was far from your typical “rags to riches” tale. Eschewing the formulaic conventions of autobiography, THE FOURTH MOMENT consists of short stories—vignettes—that move back and forth across time and space to describe in vivid detail events and observations from a fascinating life. THE FOURTH MOMENT is a remarkable series of recollections from a woman whose experiences cover an extraordinary range of places, people, and interests.
The Beauty of Being, A Collection of Fables, Short Stories & Essays by Abiodun Oyewole
THE BEAUTY OF BEING, A COLLECTION OF FABLES, SHORT STORIES AND ESSAYS, is Abiodun Oyewole’s debut collection of prose. Oyewole writes frankly about his experience as a young poet and activist, and provides life lessons with fables and a fascinating travelogue that promotes resilience and self-care to his readers. Throughout THE BEAUTY OF BEING, Oyewole brilliantly yet subtly interweaves mediations on race, class, culture, life and death, illusion and reality, while deftly showcasing several points of view in a contained space. In THE BEAUTY OF BEING, Oyewole connects to readers with sincerity, humor, heart and grace.
Adventures in Black and White by Philippa Schuyler, edited with an Introduction by Tara Betts
ADVENTURES IN BLACK AND WHITE, a memoir-travelogue first published in 1960, is being reissued with a critical introduction, including minor edits and annotations of the original text by scholar Tara Betts. Schuyler’s witnessing first-hand the dissemblage of European colonies in Africa and the Middle East is the focus of ADVENTURES IN BLACK AND WHITE. This narrative connects the Harlem Renaissance to the prelude of the Civil Rights Movement at a time when the public conversation on interracial identity in America was just beginning. As Schuyler writes about Africa—”the homeland of her ancestors”—readers can begin to understand how the young musician would eventually find her way as an author and a journalist, and the books that followed.
A Country Without Borders, Poems and Stories of Kashmir by Lalita Pandit Hogan
A COUNTRY WITHOUT BORDERS, POEMS AND STORIES OF KASHMIR is the debut collection of Lalita Pandit Hogan, an expatriate Kashmiri scholar and poet who shares with readers the loss of identity and home, culture, migration, womanhood, otherness and exile. Blooming with intense lyricism and fertile imagery, these full-blooded poems are elegant, mythic, and intricately woven, evoking a home no longer accessible.
Happy reading!
