Autumn Reading Prep

Summer is steadily melting in to autumn and everything seems to be in a transitional stage at the moment. From putting away our summer dresses and digging out our beloved jumpers, to swapping iced coffees for the warming comfort of pumpkin spiced lattes. September is that month in the year where everything feeling as though it’s starting afresh - it’s like having a spring clean in the latter half of the year. With that thought in mind I thought I would write a post about prepping for autumn. More specifically, preparing our autumnal reading.

These are some of things I’ve started doing to help me get ready for those cosy September/October days:

Bookshelf TLC

With the cooler weather here after a long, hot summer, I felt my bookshelves were in dire need of a damn good clean. The summer months had caused dust to settle more easily and my shelves needed more than just a quick going over with a cloth and Mr Sheen. It took me a full afternoon but I removed all of my books, dusted them down, wiped the shelves, and reorganised them before putting them back. It was a tiring job – books are heavy – but it was worth it because now my shelves are lovely and clean, ready to see me through another season.

Un-hauling books

I’m no stranger to un-hauling books. In fact, I find it quite liberating. There’s something strangely pleasing about taking those tomes of your shelves that are no longer as well loved as they should be and sending them off to a better home. Plus, it leaves room to buy other books that you’re more excited about. I have a pile in my room that I’m going to donate to my local charity shop. I might do a little un-haul post about the books I’ve decided to no longer keep before they go off to a new home.

Pick out some autumnal reads

A subjective one because autumnal reads can be different for everyone. It might mean you want to pick up the next instalment to that fantasy series you’ve been meaning to carry on with, or a maybe a crime thriller to keep you on your toes. My perfect idea of autumnal reading involves Daphne du Maurier (shocker), historical fiction – particularly if it’s set in a cold climate, and the occasional thriller. I’ve currently got Burial Rites by Hannah Kent on the go and there a few unread du Maurier’s on my shelf, but Jamaica Inn is calling to me to be reread. Early nineteenth-century in Cornwall? Yes please.

Figure out my reading goals for the rest of the year

Now that we’re well in to the latter half of the year, I've been thinking about my reading goals for the next few months. How are my goals for 2018 looking? How's my GoodReads challenge going? Which books do I absolutely want to get to before the year is up? Lots to think about. In regards to the latter, I'm going to try and get around to picking up a Sarah Waters novel because autumn sounds like the perfect time of year to delve in to one of her books. I must get my hands on a copy of The Little Stranger *makes mental note*.

Organise my virtual shelves

If you’re an avid user of GoodReads (like me) you’ll love organising your reading. Over the last few days I’ve really been getting on top of documenting my books and making sure my virtual shelves match up with what I’ve got on my physical TBR. I also use a spreadsheet designed by Sophie from Portal in the Pages, but it’s been neglected these last few months and it’s in desperate need of being updated. My organised little brain loves to document everything.

                                                            

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And there we have it, my autumn reading prep. I’ve plenty of reading material to keep me busy over the next few months and I’m excited to get in to those novels that I’ve been saving for now. What are your autumn reading plans? Do you have an autumn TBR planned?

If you’d like to read more of my book related posts, you can check them out here.

Happy reading, booklovers!