What to Read in October 2025

I am one of those people who likes seasons. And I don’t just mean winter, spring, summer, and autumn. I mean the seasons of life, the holiday seasons, etc. Which means that when Halloween is fast-approaching in the heart of harvest time, I am ordering spiced lattes, baking bone cookies, and streaming Wednesday. It also means I read to the season if at all possible (which means scary, yes, but also spooky or creepy and macabre in all sorts of ways, and even fall-y and cozy if I can find it). If you don’t read this way, then you may skip these first recommendations. But if you embrace the spooky with the chilly, then here are my recommendations, this year:

Among the Shadows, L. M. Montgomery (Victorian Canadian ghost short stories)
Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders (literary ghost novel)
The Witches, Roald Dahl (children’s)
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (original sci-fi-monster novel)
The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes novella)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson (classic American small town horror)
The Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling (MG-YA magical academia)
The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman (A Jungle Book adaptation, MG in a graveyard)
Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier (Gothic romance crime classic)
What Feasts at Night, T. Kingfisher (fairy tale horror novella)
North Woods, Daniel Mason (literary ghost novel)
How to Write a Mystery (writing guide)
Trail of Lightning, Rebecca Roanhorse (YA post-apocalyptic Native American monster horror)
Julie Chan Is Dead, Liann Zhang (unhinged new adult cult horror)
And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie (classic thriller mystery)
A Study in Charlotte, Brittany Cavarallo (new gen of Sherlock Holmes YA academia mystery)
In the Woods, Tana French (Irish crime thriller mystery)
The Slightly Spooky Tale of Fox and Mole, Cecilia Heikkila (picture book)
Bunny, Mona Awad (new adult academia horror)
The Honeys, Ryan La Sala (YA summer camp horror)
The Empusium, Olga Tokarczyk (literary historical fiction horror)
The Colony, Annika Norlin (Swedish satirical psychological cult novel)
Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Louis Sachaar (children’s creepy short stories)
My Teacher Is an Alien, Bruce Coville (children’s monster novel)
The Invisible Parade, Leigh Bardugo (picture book about death and Day of the Dead)
The Twilight Saga, Stephanie Meyer (YA vampire romance)
The Ghost-Eye Tree, Bill Martin Jr. (picture book)
A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket (MG dark humor novel series)
The Monster at the End of This Book (Sesame Street picture book classic)

The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson
Children of Solitude, Michael G. Williams
Long Live the Pumpkin Queen, Shea Ernshaw
What Moves the Dead and What Stalks the Deep (Sworn Soldier #1 and #3), T. Kingfisher
The Brides of High Hill (The Singing Hills Cycle), Nghi Vo
Ninth House and Hell Bent, Leigh Bardugo
Weyward, Emilia Hart
Hollow Kingdom and Feral Creatures, Kira Jan Buxton
Devolution, Max Brooks
Haunt Sweet Home, Sarah Pinsker
Perishables, Michael G. Williams
North American Lake Monsters, Nathan Ballingrud
Tales of Mystery and Imagination, Edgar Allan Poe
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Washington Irving
God of the Woods, Liz Moore
Dark Tales of the Eno River, David Cook
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, Michelle McNamara

Having nothing to do with Halloween or the autumn, here are some of the anticipated publications of October:

The Intruder, Freida McFadden
Mate (Bride #2), Ali Hazelwood
Good Spirits (Ghosted #1), B. K. Borison
The Everlasting, Alix E. Harrow
Dating After the End of the World, Jeneva Rose
Shadow Ticket, Thomas Pynchon
Ginster (reprint), Siegfried Kracauer
Enshittification, Cory Doctorow
The Wayfinder, Adam Johnson
Vagabond, Tim Curry
Girl Dinner, Olivie Blake
The Rose Field (The Book of Dust #3), Philip Pullman
A Guardian and a Thief, Megha Majumdar
Big Kiss, Bye-Bye, Claire-Louise Bennett
Wreck, Catherine Newman
The Irish Goodbye, Heather Aimee O’Neill
Twice, Mitch Albom
We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat, Syou Ishida
Heart the Lover, Lily King
The Black Wolf, Louise Penny
Christmas at the Women’s Hotel, Daniel M. Lavery
Crafting for Sinners, Jenny Kiefer (would make a good Halloween read)
Cinder House, Freya Marske
Queen Demon, Martha Wells
Writing Creativity and Soul, Sue Monk Kidd
Linger, Hetty Lui McKinnon
Good Things, Samin Nosrat
Six Seasons of Pasta, Joshua McFadden

The Will of the Many (Hierarchy #1), James Islington (with some qualifications)
Persuasion, Jane Austen
The Colony, Annika Norlin

The books I am reading for book clubs this month, half of which I have already read.

Monk and Robot, Becky Chambers (already read)
The Luminaries (The Luminaries #1), Susan Dennard
Jade City, Fonda Lee
Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout (already read)
The Dutch House, Anne Patchett
North Woods, Daniel Mason (already read. This will be my fourth book club with this book.)

I have kept my further month’s intended reads to a handful of Halloween-themed things. That doesn’t mean I’m not eying other things on the TBR shelf, however.

Children of Solitude, Michael G. Williams
Long Live the Pumpkin Queen, Shea Ernshaw
Minalima Harry Potters #1-#3 plus the brand new Interactive Illustrated Goblet of Fire
The Official Wednesday Cookbook, Mari Manusci and Jarrett Melendez
Butter, Asako Yuzuki
How to Get Away with Murder, Rebecca Philipson

BONUS: Here is a quick list of my fave October movies and shows.