When we think of our favorite fall books, we crave contemplative, enticing reads to get lost in. Currently trending on TikTok, “thought daughter books” are defined as literature for women who overthink everything. To us, this subgenre is perfect for cozying up with on a crisp day.
Classic examples include My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath, Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion, Walking Through Clear Water in a Pool Painted Black by Cookie Mueller and Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen. From party girls to introverts, iconic authors like Simone de Beauvoir, Eve Babitz, Maggie Nelson, Clarice Lispector, Mary Oliver, Emma Cline and Melissa Broder have shaped this literary wave.
Here are our recommendations – from the ones you may have missed last year to this season’s hottest reads.
Last Year’s Favorite Books
Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
Depicted through the changing seasons, Moshfegh presents a medieval tale of darkness and destruction that ravages a village. As time passes, the villagers soon realize faith in God begets disillusionment with their reality. Divinity and depravity unravel as distinctions between the natural and spiritual world make themselves known, confronting the truth of mortality and religion.
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
In this novel, 22-year-old Tess leaves the mundane Midwest for chaotic city life. Working in a restaurant, she encounters the challenges of the service industry and navigates her twenties in New York.
Bunny by Mona Awad
Mean Girls for people who’ve thought about getting their MFA, Bunny brings you to the highly selective fiction program at New England’s Warren University – featuring a clique of twee, cool-girl writers who have a dark pastime outside of class. We don’t want to give it all away, but it’s the perfect Dark Academia read (with a dash of body horror).
Translated Literature
Farewell, Ghosts by Nadia Terranova, translated by Ann Goldstein
Haunted by the past, Ida returns to her childhood home in Messina, where her father disappeared some 23 years prior. Ida attempts to reconcile this grief with her identity as a woman who remains trapped in her father’s absence and abandonment. Farewell, Ghosts is about our attachment to memories; to moments in time; and to the objects that define them, as well as how to redefine our futures and relinquish them from our pasts.
Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan, translated by Irene Ash
Spoiled and unconcerned 17-year-old Cécile vacations on the French Riviera with her father and his many romantic interests. Angered by her father’s engagement to plain Anne, Cécile devises an immature plan to separate them, ending in something worse than heartbreak.
Água Viva by Clarice Lispector, translated by Stefan Tobler
This collection of fragmented thoughts and meditations follows a form as the title, translated from Portuguese, suggests: “living water.” Lispector touches on the intangibility of life and the complications that arise from living a truthful one. Through the brief mortality that we experience, we also find insurmountable pleasure and pain – allowing us to witness the gift of memories as they unfold in front of our very eyes.
The Lover by Marguerite Duras, translated by Barbara Bray
Set in French colonial Vietnam, The Lover tells of the repercussions of war and the search for home that’s often confused for love. The loss of innocence and attachment to past versions of the self are revealed in this stream-of-consciousness story of a young French girl who finds herself hiding a relationship with a much older, wealthy Chinese man.
Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux, translated by Tanya Leslie
Ernaux’s recollection of an unrequited love affair reveals the universal lengths we will go to for connection and intimacy. The narrator becomes impassioned by her relationship with a married man who disappears for long lengths of time. This leaves his lover to spiral in his absence and question who she is without him.
Books We Love
Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass by Lana Del Rey
Philosophical and lyrical, iconic singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey’s poetry collection is a self-professed “eclectic and honest” reflection of the life that has resulted in so many beloved songs from the artist. The book is a departure from Del Rey’s discography in form, but the themes of love, lust and life remain consistent. The book of short writings is a perfect, noncommittal read.
Sex and Rage by Eve Babitz
Set in the 1970s, bohemian Jacaranda dances in and out of the lives of the Hollywood elite and posers – from actors and rockstars to sex and drugs. Babitz writes of Los Angeles’ seductive haze that blurs the lines between feeling important and having importance. This is one of our all time favorite books.
What We’re Excited For
One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon
From the New York Times-bestselling author comes a utopia in California built upon blissful ignorance and perfect skin. Upon moving into the gated community designed for Black families, Jasmyn and King Williams experience a divide in their marriage as King assimilates to Liberty’s oppressive ethos that Jasmyn cannot accept. The neighborhood seems great on the surface, but Jasmyn soon discovers a secret about its founders that threatens her safety.
Men Have Called Her Crazy by Anna Marie Tendler
Recently released, Anna Marie Tendler’s debut memoir follows her experience as a girl-turned-adult, halted by psychological crises. The memoir reckons with self-destruction and other repercussions of misogyny and sexism, providing a glimpse into Tendler’s life in the public eye.
Kaia Gerber’s Favorite Books
For more reading inspiration, we love Kaia Gerber’s book club called Library Science. Created by the model-actress alongside Alyssa Reeder, the venture first started on Instagram Live in 2020 and in March 2024 evolved into an online community for avid readers and book enthusiasts. With a mission to get young people reading, they offer debut fiction, short stories, translations, essays, memoirs, plays and poetry recommendations to help find your next favorite books.
