There is a very specific moment every year when my reading brain decides summer is finished.
Please understand that this moment has absolutely nothing to do with the actual weather.
It could be 31°C outside. I could be sitting directly in front of an air conditioner questioning every life choice that led me to live somewhere where September still requires SPF 50. None of this matters.
My brain has seen the word September on the calendar.
Therefore, it is autumn.
And if it is autumn, apparently I can no longer read the same books I happily inhaled three weeks ago. Suddenly I want witches. I want forests. I want complicated romances and old houses and suspicious villages. I want magic with consequences. I want somebody to make a terrible bargain with a fae male who has absolutely no business being that attractive.
Basically, my September TBR has entered its autumn era, and there is no negotiating with her.
If yours has too, come sit with me. We need to discuss what we’re reading.
Why Does September Completely Change Our Reading Mood?
There is something about September that feels like a reset even when absolutely nothing in our lives has reset.
January gets all the publicity for fresh starts, but September has always felt more convincing to me. New notebooks. New routines. Slightly earlier evenings. That first morning when the air feels different. The vague urge to reorganise something despite knowing perfectly well that the cupboard will descend into chaos again within seventeen working days.
Our reading habits often follow that shift.
Summer lends itself beautifully to books that feel quick, bright and escapist. Then September wanders in and suddenly atmosphere matters.
We don’t necessarily want heavier books. That’s an important distinction. Sometimes autumn readers want exactly the opposite. We want comforting fantasy, small towns, magical kitchens and people whose greatest problem is that their enchanted bakery has developed an attitude.
What changes is that we want to feel somewhere.
Give us fog. Give us candles. Give us libraries with questionable safety standards. Give us witches making tea. Give us a fantasy kingdom where everyone clearly needs therapy but instead they have swords.
We’re not asking for much…. are we?!?!
First: Decide What Kind of Autumn Reader You Are
Before throwing fourteen new books onto your September TBR because somebody on TikTok placed them next to a decorative pumpkin, it helps to work out what you’re actually craving.
Because “autumn reading” isn’t really one genre.
Maybe you’re entering your cozy autumn era. You want magic without relentless catastrophe, found family, gentle romance, charming settings and a book that isn’t going to emotionally mug you in an alley.
Maybe you’re entering your witchy era. Herbs, rituals, magical communities, old traditions, forests, kitchens, spells and women who have finally decided they’ve had quite enough of everyone’s nonsense.
Perhaps September activates your romantasy brain. You want fae, witches, supernatural politics, enemies who are suspiciously interested in each other’s mouths and at least one man whose moral compass appears to have been purchased second-hand.
Or perhaps you want the full dark autumn package: gothic houses, secrets, morally grey characters, dark academia, ancient magic and the creeping suspicion that somebody in this beautifully described manor is absolutely going to die.
All of these count.
The point isn’t to construct the Perfect Autumn TBR.
The point is to notice what kind of reading sounds delicious right now.
If You Want Cozy, Choose Comfort Over Hype
I am formally giving you permission not to read the enormous fantasy novel everybody else is reading.
You’re welcome.
If September has arrived while your brain is still recovering from summer, school schedules, work, children, travel, family chaos or simply existing as a human being in 2026, you may not want 800 pages of political intrigue and twelve kingdoms whose names all begin with A.
You might want a book you can fall into without taking notes.
This is where cozy fantasy, magical romance, witchy fiction and lower-stakes fantasy really earn their shelf space.
Look for intimate settings. Magical shops. Found families. Witches. Small communities. Food. Books about rebuilding a life rather than saving an entire universe.
And don’t confuse “cozy” with “nothing happens.”
A book can have emotional stakes, romance, grief, identity, change and genuine character growth without requiring the protagonist to prevent an apocalypse before Tuesday.
Sometimes the fantasy is simply getting to live a meaningful life.
Frankly, I’m beginning to think that’s the most unrealistic fantasy premise of all.
If You Want Romantasy, September Is Basically Showing Off
Then there are those of us whose definition of autumn comfort includes supernatural creatures making catastrophically poor romantic decisions.
No judgement. I live here too.
September and fantasy romance work ridiculously well together because romantasy gives us exactly the combination autumn reading seems to crave: immersive worlds, atmosphere, danger, magic and relationships intense enough to make us temporarily forget we’re sitting on the sofa with laundry waiting.
If you’re currently in an ACOTAR-shaped reading phase, this is also an excellent time to explore why those books scratch the itch rather than endlessly searching for an exact replica.
Maybe you loved the fae.
Maybe it was found family.
Maybe you want magical politics.
Maybe you want a heroine discovering that she’s considerably more powerful than everybody expected.
Maybe you want dangerous attraction, morally complicated supernatural people and the persistent feeling that kissing this person is objectively a poor decision.
That last category is particularly well catered for in fantasy romance. Humanity has apparently found its calling.
This is also where I’d send you toward my Untamed Hearts of Rowan Grove series if witches, supernatural romance, dangerous attraction and complicated magical relationships are your particular flavour of bad decision.
I wrote Witch, Unleashed for readers who like their magic tangled up with desire, danger and characters who could make considerably healthier choices but have collectively decided not to.
I respect their commitment.
If You’re Craving Witches, Don’t Wait for October
Every September, we collectively behave as though witches are contractually forbidden from appearing before October 1.
I reject this bureaucracy.
September is arguably the better witchy-reading month because it sits right on the transition. Summer hasn’t entirely disappeared, autumn hasn’t fully settled in, and everything feels slightly between worlds.
That’s witch territory if I’ve ever seen it.
You can go fictional and disappear into witchy romances and magical fantasy, or you can let your reading become part of your actual seasonal practice.
This is where my own autumn bookshelf starts getting particularly crowded.
September means Mabon, the autumn equinox, changing routines and that strange cultural pressure to suddenly become a woman who makes soup from scratch, decorates her house beautifully, journals every morning and owns twelve aesthetically coordinated blankets.
Meanwhile, some of us are trying to remember whether we put the laundry in the machine yesterday.
That is exactly why I wrote Mabon When You’re Out of Spoons and Too Tired to Mabon.
I wanted an autumn book for witches who love the season but don’t necessarily have unlimited energy, money, mobility or executive function available for performing it.
You don’t need an elaborate altar to notice the season changing.
You don’t need to bake bread.
You don’t need to forage.
You certainly don’t need to purchase forty-seven tiny decorative pumpkins unless tiny decorative pumpkins genuinely bring you joy, in which case I support your miniature orange empire.
Seasonal magic can be small.
Your September reading can be too.
Try Building Your TBR by Mood Instead of Genre
One of my favourite ways to build a seasonal TBR is to stop thinking entirely in genres.
Instead, ask:
What do I want this book to make me feel?
Maybe you want something funny because reality has already provided sufficient emotional complexity, thank you very much.
Maybe you want to be frightened.
Maybe you want to fall violently in love with fictional people and then become irritated that they do not exist.
Maybe you want something that makes you want to light a candle, make tea and remember that your life doesn’t have to be productive every second to count as a life.
That’s a much more useful question than “What books are popular this September?”
Popularity tells you what everyone else is reading.
Mood tells you what you might actually finish.
Your September TBR Does Not Need to Be Enormous
This is my annual intervention.
Step away from Goodreads.
Put the seventeen-book stack down.
Nobody is coming to audit your autumn reading.
A seasonal TBR is supposed to make reading more fun. The moment it becomes another productivity challenge, we have somehow managed to turn recreational reading into unpaid administrative work, which is impressively human of us.
Pick three books if three feels exciting.
Pick one.
Pick ten and abandon eight.
Read the same comfort book you’ve already read six times.
Start something because the cover is pretty.
DNF it because Chapter Three annoys you.
Your reading life belongs to you.
There are enough places in life where we have deadlines, expectations and measurable outcomes. Your bookshelf does not need a performance review.
So, What’s Going on My September TBR?
My ideal September stack has variety.
I want one comforting book for tired evenings. One witchy book because September without witches feels administratively incorrect. One romance or romantasy capable of destroying my standards for fictional men. One atmospheric book that makes autumn feel properly underway.
And then I leave space.
Because the most dangerous thing you can do around readers is recommend another book.
There is always another book.
There will be something somebody mentions halfway through September that immediately destroys whatever responsible reading plan I thought I had.
Good.
A TBR should be an invitation, not a contract.
A Little Autumn Magic for Your Bookshelf
If September is pulling you toward seasonal magic as much as seasonal reading, Mabon When You’re Out of Spoons and Too Tired to Mabon was written specifically for the version of us who wants autumn magic without turning it into another obligation.
It’s part of The No-Spoons Witch Series: Tiny Rituals for Tired Brains & Tender Bodies, and the whole point is that you get to meet the season where you actually are.
Tired counts.
Disabled counts.
Overwhelmed counts.
“I would genuinely love to perform an elaborate Mabon ritual but I am currently horizontal” counts.
Magic isn’t cancelled because you couldn’t make it Pinterest-worthy.
And neither is autumn.
FAQ: Building Your September and Autumn TBR
What books are good to read in September?
September is perfect for atmospheric books that bridge summer and autumn. Cozy fantasy, witchy fiction, romantasy, gothic fiction, dark academia, mysteries and autumn-set romances all work beautifully. The best choice, though, is whatever matches the mood you’re naturally moving toward as the season changes.
What is a fall TBR?
A fall TBR is simply a “to be read” list for autumn. Readers often build seasonal TBRs around books with autumn settings, witchy or spooky themes, cozy atmosphere, fantasy, gothic stories, mysteries and seasonal romances. It doesn’t need to contain a specific number of books, and nobody will confiscate your library card if you ignore half of it.
Why do people read cozy and witchy books in autumn?
Autumn naturally lends itself to atmospheric reading. Cooler weather, earlier evenings and seasonal traditions can make comfort, nostalgia and immersive settings particularly appealing. Witchy and cozy books also frequently use the imagery readers associate with autumn: forests, herbs, baking, old houses, small towns, harvest traditions and magic.
What should I read if I like ACOTAR?
Instead of searching only for books identical to ACOTAR, think about which parts you loved most. If it was the fae, look for fae fantasy romance. If it was found family, search specifically for found-family romantasy. If you loved supernatural relationships, magic and dangerous romantic tension, witchy and paranormal romance series such as Untamed Hearts of Rowan Grove may be more satisfying than trying to find an ACOTAR clone.
How many books should be on a monthly TBR?
As many as make you excited rather than mildly threatened. For some readers that’s two or three books. For others it’s twelve. Your TBR is a collection of possibilities, not evidence to be presented before a reading tribunal.
What is a good witchy book for Mabon?
For readers interested in actually celebrating the autumn equinox rather than only reading witchy fiction, Mabon When You’re Out of Spoons and Too Tired to Mabon focuses on accessible seasonal practices, reflection and small rituals designed for real life, particularly when energy, mobility or executive function is limited.
Welcome to Your Autumn Era
September doesn’t need to arrive with a dramatic reinvention.
You don’t need a perfect autumn morning routine, a colour-coded reading tracker or an aggressively photogenic mug. You need a book you’re excited to open. Maybe a blanket. Possibly a witch…. (aloha!!) Almost certainly a fictional person whose romantic decisions concern you.
That seems like a perfectly respectable way to begin autumn.
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Sonia M. Rompoti, MSc, Bsc 
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