It’s officially Fall—a time for pumpkin spice, changing leaves, sweater weather, and curling up with a good book. To celebrate the move from beach reading to spooky season, we asked some local Indy bookstore teams to share their recommendations. Here’s what they shared.
For the Mavens who were inspired by Reading Rainbow as a kid…
“My Friend LeVar” by Ezra Edmond
“I am excited to add ‘My Friend LeVar’ by Ezra Edmond to our shelves this fall! LeVar Burton has left a lasting imprint on our communities through his passion and creativity, creating a ripple effect that continues to inspire change. This picture book will allow us to share his legacy with a new generation while celebrating the many years he has inspired us all.” — Natalie, Founder/CEO of Black Worldschoolers Mobile Bookstore
SUMMARY: Ezra’s friend LeVar always has a book to share. From playing in the snow to decorating eggs to eating pancakes with Paul Bunyan—Ezra and LeVar explore all different kinds of stories. Through imaginative play, they discover new worlds, learn to be curious, and revel in reading. One day young Ezra meets LeVar Burton in real life! Soon afterward, Ezra discovers that his friends know LeVar from TV, too.
This joyous celebration of LeVar Burton’s impact on kids during his years on television stems from the author’s real-life admiration of LeVar Burton and their chance meeting when Ezra was a child.
For the Mavens ready to pack their bags for an international adventure…
“A Song to Drown Rivers” by Ann Liang
“Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, this is an epic novel steeped in myth about womanhood, war, sacrifice, and love against all odds as the fate of two kingdoms hangs in a delicate balance.”
SUMMARY: Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue—convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor, Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister’s murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within.
“Where the Library Hides” by Isabel Ibañez, Release Date: Nov. 5, 2025
“This is the stunning conclusion to the story that started in What the River Knows. A lush immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure and a rivals-to-lovers romance like no other!”
SUMMARY: Inez Olivera traveled across the world to Egypt, seeking answers to her parents’ recent and mysterious deaths. But all her searching led her down a perilous road, filled with heartache, betrayal, and a dangerous magic that pulled her deep into the past. When Tío Ricardo issues an ultimatum about her inheritance, she’s left with only one option to consider.
— Katherine, Bookstore Manager of Indy Reads
For the Mavens WHO ALREADY HAVE their Halloween decorations OUT…
“A Sunny Place for Shady People” by Mariana Enriquez
“She (Enriquez) is an Argentinian author and excellent storyteller. I am a huge fan and will read everything she ever writes. These stories were bizarre, creepy, and chilling and included a lot of information about Argentine culture and history. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes international or horror reads. Also, it triples as a good selection for Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month.” — Lena, Wonder of The Whispering Shelf
SUMMARY: Welcome to Argentina and the fascinating, frightening, fantastical imagination of Mariana Enriquez. In twelve spellbinding new stories, Enriquez writes about ordinary people, especially women, whose lives turn inside out when they encounter terror, the surreal, and the supernatural. A neighborhood nuisanced by ghosts, a family whose faces melt away, a faded hotel haunted by a girl who dissolved in the water tank on the roof, a riverbank populated by birds that used to be women—these and other tales illuminate the shadows of contemporary life, where the line between good and evil no longer exists. Lyrical and hypnotic, heart-stopping and deeply moving, Enriquez’s stories never fail to enthrall, entertain, and leave us shaken.
For the Mavens who debated team Jacob vs team Edward in the early 2000s
“The Bog Wife” by Kay Chronister
“According to Author Paul Trembley, it’s supposed to be ‘A hauntingly brilliant Appalachian folktale,’ about a mysterious cranberry bog and the humans that have forged a supernatural relationship with it. I almost exclusively read horror anymore so that makes spooky season especially delightful for me.” — Elysia, Owner of Irvington Vinyl & Books
SUMMARY: Five siblings in West Virginia unearth long-buried secrets when the supernatural bargain entwining their fate with their ancestral land is suddenly ruptured. Since time immemorial, the Haddesley family has tended the cranberry bog. In exchange, the bog sustains them. The staunch seasons of their lives are governed by a strict covenant that is renewed each generation with the ritual sacrifice of their patriarch, and in return, the bog produces a “bog-wife.” Brought to life from vegetation, this woman is meant to carry on the family line. But when the bog fails—or refuses—to honor the bargain, the Haddesleys, a group of discordant siblings still grieving the mother who mysteriously disappeared years earlier, face an unknown future.
For Mavens channeling their feminist energy (with a dash of supernatural)…
“So Thirsty” by Rachel Harrison
“It’s a vampire/horror novel w/ a feminist angle. It’s perfect for the spooky season!” — Julia, Owner of Tomorrow Bookstore
SUMMARY: Sloane Parker is dreading her birthday. She doesn’t need a reminder she’s getting older, or that she’s feeling indifferent about her own life. Her husband surprises her with a birthday weekend getaway—not with him, but with Sloane’s longtime best friend, troublemaker extraordinaire Naomi. Sloane anticipates a weekend of wine tastings and cozy robes and strategic avoidance of issues she’d rather not confront, like her husband’s repeated infidelity.
For Mavens who think they’d win at Indianapolis trivia night…
“An Unusual Urban History of Indianapolis: The Unsung, Underappreciated, or Lost-to-Memory People, Places, and Culture of the Capital City” by Connie Zeigler
“We are so excited to have received a new publication from the Indiana Historical Society Press! There are so many stories about Indianapolis that we never knew. Connie Ziegler’s research is incredibly detailed. It is our top-selling book in the Basile History Market right now.” — Becke, National and Retail Sales Manager of Indiana Historical Society
SUMMARY: Taken from columns that appeared monthly in the Urban Times newspaper between November 2007 and October 2016, An Unusual Urban of Indianapolis features the unsung, underappreciated, or lost-to-memory people, places, and culture of the Hoosier State’s capital. Readers of this book will also learn about the city’s restaurants, how the New Deal shaped the urban environment, battles between the Ku Klux Klan and the Knights of Columbus, the effect of the influenza pandemic, how the holidays were celebrated, and the way pageants marked the community’s past, present, and future.
For the Mavens that kick off their morning with a horoscope reading…
“The Crescent Moon Tearoom” by Stacy Sivinski
“We are excited to help launch Indiana native Stacy Sivinski’s debut novel “The Crescent Moon Tearoom!” It’s a cozy fall read about three sisters who need to break a curse while running their enchanted tea shop. It is charming and fans of “Practical Magic” will love it.” — Tiffany, Owner of Wild Geese Bookshop
SUMMARY: Ever since the untimely death of their parents, Anne, Beatrix, and, Violet Quigley have made a business of threading together the stories that rest in the swirls of ginger, cloves, and cardamon that lie at the bottom of their customers’ cups. Their days at the teashop are filled with talk of butterflies and good fortune intertwined with the sound of cinnamon shortbread being snapped by laced fingers.
That is until the Council of Witches comes calling with news that the city Diviner has lost her powers, and the sisters suddenly find themselves being pulled in different directions. As Anne’s magic begins to develop beyond that of her sisters’, Beatrix’s writing attracts the attention of a publisher, and Violet is enchanted by the song of the circus—and perhaps a mischievous trapeze artist threatening to sweep her off her feet—it seems a family curse that threatens to separate the sisters is taking effect.
With dwindling time to rewrite their future and help three other witches challenge their own destinies, the Quigleys set out to bargain with Fate. But in focusing so closely on saving each other, will they lose sight of themselves?
For the Mavens leading for their next book club pick…
“State of Paradise” by Laura van den Berg
“This came out in July, but it’s still the book I can’t stop recommending to our customers. It’s strange, whip-smart, and sits perfectly in the confusing, sometimes otherworldly world we live in.”
SUMMARY: It’s another summer in a small Florida town. After an illness that vanishes as mysteriously as it arrived, everything appears to be getting back to normal: soul-crushing heat, torrential downpours, sinkholes swallowing the earth, ominous cats, a world-bending virtual reality device being handed out by a company called ELECTRA, and an increasing number of posters dotting the streets with the faces of missing citizens. Living in her mother’s home, a ghostwriter for a famous thriller author tracks the eerie changes. On top of everything else, she’s contending with family secrets, spotty memories of her troubled youth, a burgeoning cult in the living room, and the alarming expansion of her own belly button.
Then, during a violent rainstorm, her sister goes missing. She returns a few days later, sprawled on their mother’s lawn and speaking of another dimension. Now the ghostwriter must investigate not only what happened to her sister and the other missing people but also the uncanny connections between ELECTRA, the famous author she works for, and reality itself.
“The Lottery and Other Stories” by Shirley Jackson
“No one does it better than the original spinner of eerie, uncanny tales, and this collection features all of her hits. Perfect for reading before you dive into the film adaptations of her work.”
SUMMARY: One of the most terrifying stories of the twentieth century, Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” created a sensation when it was first published in The New Yorker in 1948. “Power and haunting,” and “nights of unrest” were typical reader responses. Today it is considered a classic work of short fiction, a story remarkable for its combination of subtle suspense and pitch-perfect descriptions of both the chilling and the mundane.
The Lottery and Other Stories, the only collection of stories to appear during Shirley Jackson’s lifetime, unites “The Lottery” with twenty-four equally unusual short stories. Together they demonstrate Jackson’s remarkable range—from the hilarious to the horrible, the unsettling to the ominous—and her power as a storyteller.
— Sara, Owner of Golden Hour Books
So whether your preference is fiction or nonfiction, spooky or sweet, local or global, there’s magic in between these pages waiting for you to discover.
Allison Barkel is a lifelong bookworm, who is passionate about positively contributing to her local community, including exceeding her budget at local, independent bookstores!
SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM
All of our content—including this article—is entirely free. However, we’d love it if you would please consider supporting our journalism with an Indy Maven Membership.