15 Books You Must Read This Fall As Recommended by Our Members

Fall is here! We’re excited for cooler days, tall boots, and reasons to stay in (hello cozy book by the fire!) and get out (apple picking, anyone?) To celebrate the season, we asked our Fervent Wellness community members and followers on Instagram and Twitter, which books they are currently reading. Here are their recommendations (may contain affiliate links):

15 Books To Read This Fall

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

Considered by some as the most important and most famous military treatise in Asia in the past two thousand years, The Art of War is a meditation on the rules of war. Our Fervent Wellness member says she’s reading this to “prepare for her divorce”.

According to History.com:

Historians don’t know the exact date of the book’s publication (though they believe it to be in the 4th or 5th century); in fact, they don’t even know who wrote it! Scholars have long believed that The Art of War’s author was a Chinese military leader named Sun Tzu, or Sunzi. Today, however, many people think that there was no Sun Tzu: Instead, they argue, the book is a compilation of generations of Chinese theories and teachings on military strategy. Whether or not Sun Tzu was a real person, it’s clear that “he” was very wise: The Art of War still resonates with readers today.

He better be ready for the fight of his life!

Becoming by Michelle Obama

One of our members recommended this book (and the next one) and I have to agree that Becoming is a must-read. In her memoir, former United States first lady Michelle Obama writes about how experiences from her childhood in Chicago helped guide her life path, how she found her voice, as well as her time in the White House, her public health campaign, and her role as a mother.

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

I watched this on Netflix (um hello Robert Redford and Jane Fonda—my best friend Grace in my head). and didn’t put two and two together that it was a book.

Goodreads says:

A spare yet eloquent, bittersweet yet inspiring story of a man and a woman who, in advanced age, come together to wrestle with the events of their lives and their hopes for the imminent future.

Their brave adventures - their pleasures and their difficulties - are hugely involving and truly resonant, making Our Souls at Night the perfect final installment to this beloved writer's enduring contribution to American literature.

The Piano Lesson by August Wilson

This book was recommended by a teacher who is also teaching it to her students. I hadn’t read this book in eons so I am going to pick it up (or see if my local library has it) and revisit. Here’s Wikipedia’s take on this Pulitzer winner:

Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, The Piano Lesson follows the lives of the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the family piano, which is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor. The play focuses on the arguments between a brother and a sister who have different ideas on what to do with the piano.

We Cast A Shadow BY MAURICE CARLOS RUFFIN

This Afro-futuristic book is an “electrifying, hallucinatory novel is at once a keen satire of surviving racism in America and a profoundly moving family story. At its center is a father who just wants his son to thrive in a broken world.”

“The premise seems interesting”, says our Fervent Wellness member. To say the least!

The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor

Conventional wisdom holds that if we work hard we will be more successful, and if we are more successful, then we’ll be happy. But recent discoveries in the field of positive psychology have shown that this formula is actually backward: Happiness fuels success, not the other way around. In The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor, who spent over a decade living, researching, and lecturing at Harvard University, draws on his own research—to fix this broken formula. Using stories and case studies, Achor explains how we can reprogram our brains to become more positive in order to gain a competitive edge at work.

Our community members exclaims that “So many of us take being happy for granted because we are chasing success to get to the happy place. This book reminds you that a happy mindset is the set up for success in every area of your life. Live life Happy!”

Lead From The OUTSIDE by Stacey Abrams

Via Amazon: Lead from the Outside discusses candidly what Stacey has learned over the course of her impressive career in politics, business, and the nonprofit world: that differences in race, gender, and class provide vital strength, which we can employ to rise to the top and create real and lasting change.

This was recommended “because if Joe Biden wins, he’s picking Stacey Abrams as his VP! History making!”

The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav

The Seat of The Soul has sold millions of copies around the world. According to the publisher, “The Seat of the Soul encourages you become the authority in your own life. It will change the way you see the world, interact with other people, and understand your own actions and motivations.”

This comes recommended by one of our Fervent Wellness Instagram followers who is “trying to read it slow to take it all in but also zipping through...so good. Very impactful. I see why mama Oprah praises it so much!”

Wolfpack by Abby Wambach

Radical Candor by Kim Scott

Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman

Our “resident librarian” recommended #8, 9, and #10 and I always take her recommendations to heart. Looking to create radical change in your workplace? Go for Radical Candor. Lady In The Lake may be the psychological thriller you’ve been looking for. If you are searching for an empowering book for women, opt for Wolfpack. Or go for all three!

Braiding Sweetgrass BY Robin Wall kimmerer

If you love plants, Braiding Sweetgrass is calling your name. You just didn’t hear it yet. Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. Again, if you love plants (and even if you don’t) you’ll gain indigenous wisdom and scientific knowledge from this book.

How to Be Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

Our Fervent Wellness ‘gram follower, who is also a phenomenal author and doula, recommends these two books (in addition to the aforementioned Braiding Sweetgrass). If you want to fight racism and explore feminist ideology, cop both of these.

Night by Elie Wiesel

Night, first published in 1960, is Elie Wiesel's memoir, “a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps”. Oprah considers it “required reading for all of humanity.”

My Sister The Serial Killer

According to the New York Times:

“My Sister, the Serial Killer” is a bombshell of a book — sharp, explosive, hilarious. With a deadly aim, Braithwaite lobs jokes, japes and screwball comedy at the reader. Only after you turn the last page do you realize that, as with many brilliant comic writers before her, laughter for Braithwaite is as good for covering up pain as bleach is for masking the smell of blood.

This is the book I brought on vacation and haven’t finished yet. It’s a short read too so I’m adding this to the list as my motivation to just finish.the.darn.book.

more Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth

I follow Elaine Welteroth on Instagram, heard her speak, and loved her on Black’ish and Project Runway. Seeing the many glowing reviews, I had to read this New York Times bestselling book. But I’m a little late to the party. She is a phenom and if you’re craving a great, inspirational, and funny (at times) read More Than Enough.

Looking for #15? We want to know what you are currently reading!