It’s most definitely Autumn now. September has started, the leaves are dropping their assumed green for their glorious real selves and September Small Things is almost a week done already.

I’ll be absent for the next few days because Peter and I are taking our traditional (fourth year running makes a tradition) September city break, this time to….. COPENHAGEN! Yes, it’s my first time, yes, I’ll take lots of photos and yes, of course, I’ll share everything on my return. But for now, I’m loading up my Autumn reading list ready to take away with me. Some I’ve bought in hardback, so they’re waiting for my return, but the Kindle copies are definitely coming and being read by the harbour at Nyhavn, in the park at Rosenborg, on the ramparts of Elsinore…. and many, many more!

In No Particular Order:

• Abundance by Mark Diacono. I’ve pre-ordered this one to read because the write-up sounded good: “With his days distracted by the ping of communication and the tug of commitments, Mark Diacono wondered how he might better savour this one precious life. He started to write and photograph each week, hoping that this simple commitment might sharpen his appreciation of the magic in the everyday and his time spent in the kitchen. It reminds us that abundance comes in many forms – the passing of the seasons, our connection to the world around us, and the wealth that a garden, a town and its surrounding landscapes offers.” I like recipe books that are more than a list of recipes… I think this is why Nigel Slater is a perennial favourite, because you get a glimpse of the life as well as the lovely food.
• The Judge’s List by John Grisham. I think I’ve read almost every John Grisham at some time or another. The perils of being married to a lawyer, I suppose. This one is a pacey and exciting hunt for a serial killer who appears to be… surprise!… a judge. I rampaged through this in a couple of days last week. It’s not clever or complex, but it’s fun.
• The Light a Candle Society by Ruth Hogan. I may leave this until October to read. It’s about a recently widowed man who finds himself moved by a public health funeral, in other words a funeral of someone with no money, no relatives and no mourners, and decides that everybody deserves to have their passing marked. We’re coming up to the anniversary of my Mum’s accident and death, so it seems meet to spend some time in mourning vicariously. Why am I crying? Well, you see, I’m reading this book….
• Falling Into Autumn by Angela Harding is a pure treat for the eyes. I love Angela’s prints of nature and the natural world, so when I saw she had a series based on the seasons… I figured a treat of a book to place on the coffee table was not excessive. It was released at the end of August, so just right for the new season. I’m saving it for After Copenhagen.
• Restoring the Woven Cord by Michael Mitton is about Celtic spirituality, especially with regard to the Christian church. The early Celtic saints were great Panentheists: they believed that through the world, we could see God but that God was above, beyond and distinct from His creation. It’s different from pantheism, when God is everything or everything is a god. I start training as a lay reader this month, so it seemed sensible to bone up on something religious.
• The Thirteenth Child by Erin A Craig is a book that I am going to read with my daughter, Sarah. We both have a copy (hers is paper, mine on Kindle) and we read a few chapters at a time and then discuss plots, characters, settings over a pot of tea. We’re both studying now, so having our own little reading group is just enough of a break.
• The Players by Minette Walters is the follow up to The Swift and the Harrier that I read this summer. It’s set during the Monmouth Rebellion, and has Hanging Judge Jeffries as a character. I heard Minette Walters talking about it at a history festival this year, so it will be good to see whether her promotion matches the actual book.
• And finally: Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge by Alison Sherlock. I think Alison is one of my favourite writers of soft fiction: the sort that needs a free Sunday, pots of tea and a decent stew bubbling away. Alison writes series of books set around a particular location, like a hall or a railway station or a short street. This first in a new series is based at a Cotswold Hotel called Maple Lodge. It will be good, and very suitable for reading in Tivoli gardens, or at a coffee shop window during a sharp but brief shower.

It’s good to have my autumn reading planned. I may not (indeed very rarely actually do) complete the list, or at least not in the season I planned to, but it’s good to know there is a new book waiting for me.

I’m alos planning to get back into Book Fridays this year. The last year was so disjointed, so completely a nuclear blast of my life that I could not have concentrated on anything as cosy as a book review. I like cosy. I need cosy.

September Small Things: So Far:

1st Sept: Starting a rewatch of Gilmore Girls right.from.the.start. And I will finish it this time, even if it takes me to next September and a re-watch.

2nd Sept: I broke into a past copy of Bella Grace and remembered how lovely a magazine it is. The Cosy Issue should arrive soon: another reminder to burrow down and rest.

3rd Sept: I treated myself to a small but intense bar of orange chocolate. Delicious, and all the better fo rbeing eaten a small square at a time over the length of a day.

4th Sept: Writing this blogpost! How to Hygge the British Way always reminds me to appreciate my life, to look for the glimmers and remember them, and to enjoy the small things in life because they’re too important to miss.

How to Hygge the British Way is my gift to the world. I don’t get paid for writing it, I’m not in it for the kudos, financial rewards, to become an influencer, work with brands or otherwise make any money from the blog. That’s why there are no ads, and any products I mention and recommend have either been gifted to me or bought by me with my everyday wages or donations from supporters. Every book I review has been bought and read by me, unless stated otherwise.

I do get a couple of pennies each time someone buys from the Amazon links on my page, as an Amazon Affiliate, but otherwise if you’d like to support me, I like to give something back in return. That’s why I write books. It always feels good if you get a book back in return for some money. You can find a full list of my books at my Author’s Page on Amazon, but especially recommended for this time of year are:

Cosy Happy Hygge: Setting up a rhythm to life and rituals to enjoy it to make for a more balanced life that handles waves and storms better. The book has small and easy ways to make your life flow with grace and happiness, which lead to more hygge.

Happier: Probably my most personal book, it’s the story of how I used hygge and the little things in life to help boost my happiness. I still go back and reread to remind myself what I need to do to be a happy human. And it’s always the little things.

My Christmas books are always available: Have Yourself a Happy Hygge Christmas is a good place to start, on how to make the season cosier, happier but Enjoying a Self-Care Christmas may be a faster and more seasonally appropriate read.

I’m currently working on two book projects: I have a hankering to rewrite 50 Ways to Hygge the British Way, so it’s not available at the moment, but even dearer to my heart and my next stated aim is to finish and publish my next book, Simple Plus Cosy = Hygge. It will be about homemaking and how the home we create shapes the hygge we have. Hopefully it will be finished by the end of Winter 2026.

If you’d like to support me, but don’t want to buy a book, I have a Paypal.Me account as Hygge Jem. Every little helps, so even a few pence goes towards the books, goods and courses I use and recommend on the site. I’m grateful for every little bit that brings me closer to my dream of full-time writing, and I know I couldn’t still be writing if it weren’t for the support of many readers and friends out there. Thank you all for every little bit of support, emotional, physical and financial, you give me.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, don’t forget to share it or save it so others can enjoy reading, thinking about and living hygge as well.

The photo between post and promotions by Svitlana on Unsplash. It just screams autumn: the rainy window, the teapot and a chunky mug, the pumpkin decoration and the bowl of autumn’s fruits. The only thing that’s missing is a stove or woodburning fire.