Despite all of the above, I do not love actual Halloween. But that’s probably a whole other blog post (and probably a bit more niche reading!) So I’ll stop rambling and instead share some of our favourite autumnal picks, whether you prefer a cosy night snuggled up under a blanket with a book (hot chocolate optional) or you want to get in the mood for All Hallows’ Eve with some (friendly) ghost stories (or a ghostly broom) these should tick all the boxes of what a great season-specific book should be (there are some out there where the seasonal setting seems to have superseded the storyline!)

This is me dipping my toe in the book world water. I’ve talked about opening a picture bookshop for a very long time. For most of that time having the notion of it was enough though, an idyllic daydream to escape into every now and then (the full fat, full sugar daydream is a cosy wee bricks and mortar place somewhere in the East Neuk, with lots of fairy lights, snug seating & decent free coffee for the grown ups, with an old fashioned bell that cheerily chimes as you come in and you kind of feel like you’re in another world where it’s calm and hopeful…not that I’ve thought about it much…) But then the day dream became frustrating and I kept thinking well, why can’t it ever be real?

To celebrate launching the store today (AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!) and with Christmas not very far off, let’s talk about the Icelandic Christmas Eve tradition of Jólabókaflóðið (pronounced YO-lah-bok-ah-flod).  Not to be confused with the (terrifying) Icelandic Christmas creature, Jólakötturinn (the giant Yule Cat who eats children)