Athena Recommends: Our Top 13 Fall Reads

Oct 6, 2022 | From the Breakroom

By Kristin Detterline, Director

Athena-Recommends

If you’ve been following our Month in Review column, you already know that the Athena team loves to talk about national and international news. But we also like to discuss podcast picks, industry apps, life hacks, newsletter tips, charitable organizations and (inevitably) the best spots for lunch in Philadelphia. Every first Friday of the month starting in October, Athena is sharing our water-cooler conversations with the world. We hope you’ll leave comments with your own recommendations.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

“Usually, I like the quick reads. The books that keep you on the edge of your seat, the page turners that you finish in a weekend. This is not that kind of book. However, it is excellent and so thoughtfully written! Anthony Doerr’s level of descriptiveness brought the emotional and haunting WWII story to life and made you fall in love with each of the main characters.” Jessica Repici

The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier

“I enjoyed the many characters, thought experiments, and unexpected complications in this witty speculative fiction work.” Carson Schatzman

Chickens, Gin, and a Maine Friendship:
The Correspondence of E.B. White and Edmund Ware Smith

“Fascinating to see the care and attention that went into letter writing between two well-known authors. Takes you back to another era!” Maggy Wilkinson

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Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

“If you liked All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr continues to wow in Cloud Cuckoo Land. It’s an awesome blend of historical fiction and fantasy, and it is also relevant to current societal issues.” Katherine O’Donnell

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

“My favorite thing about The Dresden Files is there always seems to be order to the chaos, no matter what happens. Not often found in fantasy books. Great read.” Shira Leibman

Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld

“This is a light read that you can pick and put down at any moment. I enjoyed it on and off throughout the summer when I needed a good laugh. I found myself retelling some of his jokes with my friends and family—great conversation starters.” Christine Rudloff

Malibu Rising by  Taylor Jenkins Reid

“As a member of a big family, I related to the characters on an emotional level almost immediately. Sibling rivalry, a murder, and famous faces kept me interested as the themes were woven throughout the overarching story.”
 Jen Chronister

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

“Author Philip K. Dick writes a book about an alternative history: a world where the Axis powers win WWII. In that book, he includes a book about an alternative history: an alternative world where the Allied powers win WWII. Very meta!” Mike Cloppse

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

“This book taught me about having resilience through any situation, adapting the teaching to everyday life and work.”
Diana Rios Orozcof

The Palace Papers by Tina Brown

“It is a 600-page episode of Keeping Up With The Windsors and I just could not get enough.” Raven Frankel

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

“This book is a classic, giving food for thought about morality, beauty, and the consequences of choices. Wilde’s literary fluency is energizing and simply pleasant to read—and it makes for a great gift!” Liz Dolan

Things No One Else Can Teach Us by Humble the Poet

“What I love about this book is the necessary shift in perspective on human experience and mindset. He encourages us to stop seeing the negative and start seeing the lesson or positive spin. There are things no one else can teach us—we must figure them out on our own, often through difficult and heartbreaking experiences.” Wafa Labadi

The Vanity Fair Diaries by Tina Brown

“My three-year streak of reading biographies continues with Tina Brown’s deliciously dishy collection of diary entries during her time as editor-in-chief at Vanity Fair in the ‘80s. The book recalls a glittering time in magazine publishing.” Kristin Detterline

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