Book Club · 7 min read · September 30, 2025

12 cosy books for Gilmore Girls season

Looking for some cosy reads this Autumn? Discover 12 autumnal-feeling books inspired by Gilmore Girls season, candles, cardigans, and pumpkin spice lattes.

Short on time? Let us summarise this guide for you.

Celebrate autumn as more than just a season. It's a mood, a lifestyle, and the ultimate excuse for cosy reading. Set the scene with cardigans, mugs, candles, and TikTok's I am an Autumn trend, and read on for a list of 12 books perfect for crisp days and pumpkin spice lattes. Classics like Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, and Persuasion bring timeless comfort. Magical favourites such as Practical Magic and A Discovery of Witches capture witchy, autumnal charm. Cosy contemporary picks like The Pumpkin Spice Cafe and Legends & Lattes add warmth with coffee, cinnamon, and found-family themes. Atmospheric reads including Rebecca and The Secret History provide moody dark academia notes for stormy nights. Autumn reading is about mood as much as the book itself.

Autumn isn't just a season – it's a personality. It's cardigan weather, cosy autumnal reading ambience, another new autumn mug added to the collection and the faintly rebellious joy of buying more candles than you can possibly burn in three months. TikTok's I am an Autumn trend has nailed the vibe perfectly – think Gilmore Girls marathon meets a cinnamon bun the size of your face.

So, grab your biggest mug of pumpkin spice latte (Luke would roll his eyes, but pour it anyway), and let's talk about our twelve cosiest books to read when the air turns crisp, the leaves crunch, and your reading chair becomes the best place in the world.

1. Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

Wholesome, witty, and overflowing with autumn leaves. Anne is the perfect bookish companion – imaginative, romantic, and with enough sass to rival Lorelai on her caffeine high. Avonlea practically smells like spiced apples.

2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

An all-time favourite. We've watched every film adaptation and read it more times than we can count, and still cry every time. The March sisters feel like family, and their fireside chaos and sisterly bonds are pure wholesome comfort. The residents of Stars Hollow would approve.

We'll find your next holiday read

Tell us your favourite book, or where you're going on your next trip, and we'll come up with the perfect holiday read for you.

In Holiday Reads Jul 29, 2025

3. The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore

Yes, the author's surname is Gilmore, and this small-town romance feels like stepping into the cosiest cafe you've ever known – you can positively smell the cinnamon in the mugs. Cosy with just a touch of spice – what would Emily say?

4. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

It may not necessarily be set in the ber months, but it is pure cosy happiness. Found family, seaside cottages, and magical children – it's like being wrapped in the world's fluffiest blanket. Rory would read this one cover to cover in one night.

5. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

A high fantasy novel about opening a coffee shop. What could be cosier? Throw in dragons drinking flat whites, cinnamon rolls (obvs) and found family – what more could you want? Stars Hollow should have this shop right across the street from Luke's.

6. Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Witches, family, and New England charm – there's no doubt this is the definition of an autumn essential. With magic, love, grief and those fabulous midnight margaritas – everything you need is in here. Even better: it's the start of a series, so the magic keeps going. And with a new film on the way, there's no better time to revisit (or discover) this spellbinding classic. If Stars Hollow had a coven, Sally and Gillian Owens would be running it.

7. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Ahh cosy cardigan crime – perfection. Joyce would absolutely bake you a pumpkin-spiced cake in a heartbeat, handing you a slice while gossiping about suspects. A mystery with the perfect mix of intrigue, humour, and warmth – imagine Babette, Miss Patty and Emily ran a book club and stumbled into an actual mystery.

8. Persuasion by Jane Austen

Another personal favourite – a yearly re-read for many of us. Anne Elliot's quiet strength and Wentworth's swoon-worthy letter never fail. Emily would adore the refinement, but Lorelai would sigh and pour herself another coffee. It's wistful, atmospheric and best paired with a large cup of your favourite cosy beverage. Honestly, just take us to Bath immediately.

Sign up for Audible

You're never too old for a crunch through the leaves. Take a walk in the autumnal sunshine, pop your headphones in and let a cosy story take you away.

If you sign up through this link we may earn a small commission.

9. Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling

Whatever your Hogwarts house (Hufflepuff forever), there's something eternally autumnal about boarding the train on 1st September, scarves, pumpkin pasties and candlelit feasts under floating candles. These books are autumn. The ultimate back-to-school comfort read. Paris would be Ravenclaw, with maybe a touch of Slytherin.

10. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Set in Oxford, it blends ancient libraries, magical secrets, and scholarly intrigue. Candlelit halls and spellbooks give it a gothic edge, but it's also a story of romance tangled with mystery. If Rory had stumbled across this in Yale's stacks, she'd have devoured it in one caffeine-fuelled weekend. It's also the first in a trilogy, so lots to get your vampire professor's teeth into.

11. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Sweeping Cornish coastlines, chilly corridors, and a sense of unease linger like fog – or like Mrs Danvers. The perfect 'cosy but a little unsettling' read for those stormy nights when you want your book to match the weather. You just know it's a Rory favourite.

12. The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The ultimate dark academia novel – you'll turn the last page and want to start all over again. Ancient libraries, tweed jackets, and morally questionable students. It's pure Rory-at-Yale energy.

Find your perfect autumn read.

Any of these books float your pumpkin? Buy it now on the Waterstones website, grab your favourite blanket, put the kettle on and prepare to get cosy.

If you buy something through this link we may earn a small commission.

Final sip of pumpkin spice

Some days you want a cinnamon bun, a steaming mug, and to snuggle under a blanket on the sofa. Other days, you want a moody novel in a warm cafe while it's raining outside. Whether you're sipping lattes (with dragons?) in a Pumpkin Spice Cafe, wandering through Tartt's classics clique, or practising spells with the Owens sisters, these books will make your autumn feel like peak Stars Hollow – reading on a bench in the square, surrounded by falling leaves.

What to read next

The Practical Magic series will keep the enchantment alive, while TJ Klune's Under the Whispering Door offers another hug-in-a-book. And if you're looking for more witchy autumnal vibes, try The Familiars by Stacey Hall for a spell of historical magic. For cosy crime with a seasonal twist, dip into Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party or her Autumn Chills collection – perfect for reading when the nights draw in and the pumpkins are glowing on the porch.