In October, the year is waning. Time plays tricks on us in October: the daylight lessening, the nights “endless.” It is the month of hauntings too — of extended twilights and sudden changes in the wind. It marks the beginning of the period in which we recount the year that has passed us by. It is the time to remember.

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Reads writers recommend fiction for the love-filled (or lonesome) holiday this Friday.

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National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is unique in that this challenge paradoxically leaves you simultaneously disheartened and reinvigorated with your creative writing.

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In honor of the upcoming holidays, Reads beat writers share some of their favorite works for the year's end.

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Emily X. R. Pan’s debut novel “The Astonishing Color of After” evocatively portrays the struggle to move past grief amidst a coming-of-age journey to understand one’s cultural roots.

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Reads writers gathered to discuss their favorite Halloween reads and recommendations.

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‘Exit West’ stunningly portrays the difficulties of emigration and the driving motivations behind those who choose to flee the countries of their birth. The novel begins in an unnamed city where refugees, militants and repressive government armies abound, and focuses on the developing love affair between Saeed and Nadia amidst their country being overrun with a civil war. From the start, they are two unlikely lovers: he lives with his parents, as per local custom since he is unmarried; she lives alone and drives a motorcycle, wearing a loose dark robe so “men don’t fuck with me.”

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A row of succulent fresh fish sits atop accompanying mounds of rice, sprinkled with orange tobiko and eel sauce and garnished with a dab of wasabi and thinly-sliced ginger. A nearby mug of hot tea wafts steam over your plate.

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A popular stop for delicious milk tea and house-made toppings, Boba Guys is easily accessible from Main Quad with a 25-minute walk, 15-minute Marguerite trip, or 7-minute bike ride. Located at Town & Country Village on El Camino Real, on the same journey you can pick up Trader Joe’s groceries for those late nights, purchase pints at Tin Pot Creamery, (window) shop at high-end boutiques, and even visit the UPS store.

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Naomi Novik’s novel “Spinning Silver,” published in 2018, is a spiritual sister (though not a sequel) to her much-lauded “Uprooted” (2016), and just as compellingly explores Eastern European folklore with her own refreshing twists.

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Whatever your relationship to literature, I hope we can at least agree on this: the coming-of-age story draws much of its appeal for how relatable its protagonists are to a young audience. It can reach the point where you come along for their journeys of self-discovery and survival.

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With two poetry collections and two novels spanning the Romantic era (c. 1800-1850), Reads writers Claire Francis and Shana Hadi respectively recommend these works that contemplate the intensity of emotion and the sublime beauty of nature within aesthetic experience, with references to their modern-day significance. “Poems” by Christina Rossetti An oldie but a goodie: 19th-century…

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Lysley Tenorio’s debut short story collection, “Monstress,” astonishes with its brilliance and profound insight into the human experience. Tenorio also places emphasis on truthfully depicting the complications of American and Filipino identities, and the struggle to unite them with a hyphen. Through his melodic prose, Tenorio — also a former Stegner Fellow at Stanford —…

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Over the weekend of May 4th and 5th, tens of thousands of readers gathered in downtown Berkeley, California, for the long-awaited Bay Area Book Festival. Hundreds of authors and speakers shared words of wisdom with eager fans in crowded auditoriums, with a free outdoor fair of rows of white-tipped tents showcasing publishers, literary organizations, authors…

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To celebrate the close of National Poetry Month, Reads writers gathered to rhapsodize on some of their favorite poems. Katherine Silk, Staff Writer “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth When I visited Williamsburg, Virginia, over spring break with a friend, one of the highlights for me included exclaiming in delight as I spotted patches of bright yellow…

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Quoting Emily Dickinson, Helen Oyeyemi’s first short story collection, “What is Not Yours is Not Yours,” begins with the epigraph of “open me carefully” and swiftly delves into an exquisite unravelling of storytelling and reality. To great effect, Oyeyemi explores and broaches the boundaries of traditional narrative expectations, balancing fantasy and the surreal over a…

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Sofia Samatar’s short story, “Selkie Stories are for Losers,” was a finalist for four major SFF awards in 2014 (the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy and BSFA), but beyond this recognition, it offers an emotive portrayal of how we integrate stories in our lives during periods of loss. Samatar explores the old Scottish myth of the…

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For all of the constant rain showers that help grow flowers, Reads writers share some of their favorite works exploring natural phenomena and environmental change. Katherine Silk, contributing writer “Emily of New Moon” (Lucy Maud Montgomery) “Anne of Green Gables” is a classic, but Lucy Maud Montgomery’s lesser-known counterpart, “Emily of New Moon,” is an…

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Continuing from yesterday’s paper, this article is Part 2 of Reads desk editor Shana Hadi’s interview with acclaimed speculative fiction authors Becky Chambers, S. L. Huang, and Yoon Ha Lee, who have written “The Vela” (a Serial Box Original story first released on Wednesday, March 6th) alongside Rivers Solomon; the concept was created by Lydia…

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“The Vela” is a space opera that examines the complicated issues of the refugee crisis, climate change and more through the powerful lens of speculative fiction.

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“Are you sure / That we are awake?” (4.1.178-179) As one of Shakespeare’s most iconic comedies, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” explores love and its potentially dreamlike manifestations, all while prompting us to consider the purpose of theater in bringing people together. On the eve of Duke Theseus’ wedding to Amazon queen Hippolyta, a fairy king…

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In celebration of this season of love, Reads writers share some of their favorite works that delve into the human heart and explore the depths of friendship, romance and more.   Audrey Mitchell, Contributing Writer “The Time Traveller’s Wife”  (Audrey Niffenegger) “Had we but world enough, and time…” The first time Clare and Henry meet…

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Carmen Maria Machado’s debut collection of short stories, “Her Body and Other Parties,” oscillates between the horrifying and humorous, the fantastical and psychologically troubling, the uncanny and original. All eight stories feature women on the verge of becoming “madwomen in the attic,” challenging genre archetypes and traditional notions of femininity with inspiration from fairy tales,…

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At the start of this year, Reads beat writers gathered together to discuss several works that have introduced them to new ways of thinking and being in the world.   Haemin Sunim’s “The Things You Can See Only See When You Slow Down” Eric Tang, Contributing Writer I came out of freshman year a mess.…

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