Beyond ushering in the end of feral girl summer, a seasonal switch offers us a chance to indulge in autumnal activities like curling up in front of a roaring fire (see: space heater) and thumbing through a thought-provoking novel or two.
Plus, with Halloween right around the corner, October means a string of new spooky stories are hitting the shelves, meaning horror fans can dive into the deluge of disturbing tales on offer with zero judgement from the wider world.
However, if reading about gruesome true crime or tummy-turning ghost tales isn’t your bag, fear not, as Team R29 has plenty of other genres on their radars this month, too.
To discover everything that R29 staff are reading this October, click through the slideshow ahead…
Refinery29’s selection is purely editorial and independently chosen – we only feature items we love! As part of our business model we do work with affiliates; if you directly purchase something from a link on this article, we may earn a small amount of commission. Transparency is important to us at Refinery29, if you have any questions please reach out to us.
Book: Bliss Montage by Ling Ma
Why? Let’s be real: Severance was one of the best things to hit our TV screens this year. And the dystopian work sci-fi series was actually adapted from Chinese-American novelist Ling Ma’s book of the same name. She’s back with a collection of satirical and surreal short stories, including one where a woman lives in a house stocked with hundreds of her exes, and another where a new recreational drug “G” makes its user invisible.
Ling Ma Bliss Montage, $, available at Waterstones
Book: Haunted Houses by Lynne Tillman
Why?
Lynne Tillman Haunted Houses, $, available at Peninsula Press
Book: Orpheus Builds A Girl by Heather Parry
Why? Promising to be dark, chilling and sinister, this tale of sisterly love, obsession and power — a reimagining of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth — sounds like the perfect spooky season read. Allegedly, Orpheus Builds A Girl is also based on a real life story, which only adds to the disturbing element.
Heather Parry Orpheus Builds A Girl, $, available at Amazon
Book: Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi
Why? This book is wild. It follows the life of Shibata – the only woman in her office – as she reaches a breaking point of being expected to just deal with menial tasks. And so she pretends to be pregnant. You follow her as her lies morph into a truth and then back into performance, all while navigating what pregnancy means for Japanese women. In short: I loved it.
Emi Yagi Diary of a Void, $, available at Amazon
Book: Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
Why? If, like me, you were captivated by Little Fires Everywhere, then Celeste Ng’s latest novel has probably been on your pre order list for some time now. Discussing parenthood, power and societal injustice, the story follows 12-year-old Bird as they navigate a new dystopia where laws enforce the “preservation of American culture”. Amongst these oppressive rulings (that includes displacing children), is the banning of books that seem unpatriotic. This means that Bird has never read any of his mother’s work, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine. One day, after receiving a mysterious letter that may hold some key information about her life, Bird decides to head out into the world to find answers to the questions about his mother that he’s always been told not to ask.
Celeste Ng Our Missing Hearts, $, available at Waterstones
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