I didn’t read as much this summer as I’d hoped to, but I think I’m finally coming out of my reading slump. With my daughter back in school, my days are my own again, and I’ve already been able to start reading and writing more. I’m not 100% certain about what I’ll be doing this fall, as I am beginning to look for a new day job after a couple of years of staying home, but right now my fall reading plan is pretty ambitious, mostly because there’s just an amazing amount of great stuff coming out over the next few months.

Currently, I’m finishing up Cixin Liu’s The Dark Forest, which was on my summer reading list. I should be done with it in a day or so, and then I’ll be moving along to Margaret Atwood’s The Heart Goes Last so I can be sure to have it finished and post my review prior to its September 29 release date.

After that, I’ve got an ARC of An Apprentice to Elves by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette that archives on NetGalley on October 13th, so that’s kind of a priority. I didn’t realize that one was the third book in a trilogy (I was drawn in by the gorgeous cover, mostly), so I’ll probably have to read the first two books as well. Unfortunately, I’ve recently read some negative reviews of the first two books that make me think this series might not be my cup of tea. If I do read these, it will be before the end of September, but I might not.

Probably my biggest plan and the thing I’m most looking forward to this fall is to read all of Tor.com’s new novellas that are being published one every week or so between now and November. The one I can’t wait for is Binti by Nnedi Okorafor, but I’m excited about all of them. There are ten in total, with publishing dates from September 1 to November 17. The big question, for me, is do I want to collect all the paperbacks or do I want to just buy the ebooks, which are much cheaper, and only get paper copies of my favorites?

In any case, the tentative plan (in the hopes that I really am out of my slump) is that I want to read one novella plus one or two novel-length works (or sometimes graphic novels/comics) each week between now and Thanksgiving. On the list so far:

• Updraft by Fran Wilde
  A much-buzzed debut with an interesting premise.
• Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
  Fourth book in a series that I mistakenly read, thinking that it was a finished trilogy, and got hooked on.
• The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
  Another heavily promoted debut novel that sounds great.
• Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente
  I will read literally anything by Catherynne Valente, but I also feel like “decopunk pulp SF alt-history space opera mystery” is the most amazing book description ever.
• Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie
  Loved the first two books in this trilogy. Dying to see what happens next.
• City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett
  Apparently this is a book that a lot of folks would have liked to see on the Hugo ballot this year, so I thought I’d check it out.
• The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
  I’ve had like five people recommend this to me.
• Alice by Christina Henry
  Dark re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland? Yes, please.
• Archivist Wasp by Nicole Corner-Stace
  Another often-recommended book.
• The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Abdieh
  Arabian Nights inspired YA seems to be popular right now, but this one sounds good and has been well-reviewed.
• The Shattered Sea Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie
  I was so angry at the end of the First Law trilogy that I didn’t want to read any more Abercrombie ever, but reading some of his blog made me feel a bit better about him. I think I’m ready to give him another chance.
• You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day
  I don’t love Felicia Day, actually, but I thought this might be a nice bit of light reading.
• Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
  I DO love Mindy Kaling, and I’m pretty excited about her new book.
• Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein
  I also really like Carrie Brownstein, and I hope she’s got some great stories about the 90s.

Comics/graphic novels:

• The Wicked + The Divine
• Ms. Marvel
• Ody-C
• Rat Queens
• Lumberjanes

A few leftovers from my summer reading list that aren’t necessarily priorities but that I do intend to read soonish:

• The Magicians by Lev Grossman
• The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

I am also super stoked about the Nightmare Magazine Queers Destroy Horror special issue in October. Queers Destroy Science Fiction was really excellent, and I loved all of last year’s Women Destroy issues, so I expect this one to be up to the same high standard. And just in time for Halloween!

My fall list isn’t quite as diverse in terms of authors as my summer one was, but it’s a good mix of different types of books. I’m really looking forward to having some comics in the mix as well. It’s going to be a good season, I think.