Book tips
These 4 exciting novels are perfect for gloomy autumn days
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Fall is the perfect time for reading. Because what could be better when it’s cold and stormy outside than curling up at home with a good book? Four exciting suggestions.
The dark season is fast approaching. The days are getting shorter, the temperatures are falling, nature is preparing for winter rest. During this time we traditionally spend more time at home and make ourselves comfortable with a hot drink. All that’s missing is an exciting book that will make the dark hours fly by!
Are you still looking for inspiration for autumn reading material? Here are four novels that you’re guaranteed not to want to put down until you’ve read the last page. From fantasy to biting satire to classic crime thrillers, everything is there. The perfect read for gloomy days in the cold season!
4 exciting books for your autumn reading
1. “Yellowface” by Rebecca F. Kuang
The US author Rebecca. F. Kuang is best known for her fantasy novels, most recently “Babel”. Her current book “Yellowface” takes a different path and takes aim at the literary world in a satire. In it, the moderately successful author June steals the unpublished novel of her suddenly deceased friend Athena, the rising star of the literary scene. However, the manuscript by Athena, who is of Chinese descent, deals with Chinese workers in World War I – a problem because June is a white American. She revised the novel and published it under the Asian-sounding pen name Juniper Song. The story takes a surprising turn when June suddenly has the feeling that she is being haunted by Athena’s ghost.
With a lot of biting humor, Rebecca F. Kuang not only examines the literary scene, but also asks big social questions about how to deal with racism and cultural appropriation.
So far there is “Yellowface” only in the English original.
The novel will be published in German on February 24, 2024, but it is already available now available for pre-order.
2. “Murder on Gokumon Island” by Seishi Yokomizo
“Murder on Gokumon Island” is the second volume in the crime series about the private investigator Kosuke Kindaichi. The detective is supposed to deliver the sad news to a friend’s family on a small Japanese island that he died on the return journey after the Second World War. What remains in the investigator’s mind is the prophecy of his deceased comrade that his stepsisters’ lives will be in danger as soon as he dies. When Kindaichi arrives at Gokumon, a series of seemingly inexplicable deaths begins.
Author Seishi Yokomizo is hailed as “Japan’s answer to Agatha Christie.” Rightly so: the style and setting of the detective series can certainly keep up with the British crime queen.
3. “The Halloween Party” by Agatha Christie
Speaking of Agatha Christie: her mystery classic “The Halloween Party” can currently be seen in a new film adaptation in the cinema. Under the title “A Haunting in Venice” Kenneth Branagh investigates as Hercule Poirot; Tina Fey and Jamie Dornan can also be seen in the film.
In “The Halloween Party”, the Belgian detective Poirot is supposed to solve the mysterious death of a young woman who, before her death, told everyone at a Halloween party that she had witnessed a murder.
4. “Fourth Wing – Kissed by Flames” by Rebecca Yarros
the novel “Fourth Wing – Kissed by Flames” by Rebecca Yarros is the fantasy hype of 2023. The first volume in the series was published in the spring – and is still at the top of the bestseller lists. It takes place at the Basgiath War College, in which the protagonist Violet is supposed to take part in the dragon rider selection process against her wishes. The general’s daughter sees her chances of survival dwindling because dragons do not attach themselves to weak riders. The unscrupulous dragon rider Xaden could also become a bigger problem for Violet – among other things because he wants her dead because her mother killed his father.
Fortunately, if you haven’t had enough of the fantastic world of dragons and intrigue after reading “Fourth Wing”, you don’t have to wait long: volume number two, “Iron Flame – Kissed by Flames”will be released on December 1st, 2023 and can already be pre-ordered.