During summer we search for light and uplifting books to keep us company during a long beach day, or to occupy our mind while traveling to a vacation destination far, far away. Inspiring memoirs, romantic love stories, engaging mysteries, and even a motivational autobiography here and there; our summer reading list reflects the carefree and rejuvenating intention of the season itself.

Yet as autumn approaches, we must get back to business, in more ways than one. Although our days of going back to school are over, at least for now, we can still engage the art of education through meaningful literature. After a chaotic reality check in the office, let your imagination run wild with Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day, a debut collection from Ben Loory. If you’re feeling less than stimulated in your current job, challenge yourself to open your mind with The Devil All The Time, a powerful new novel from Donald Ray Pollack. Who says the classics are only for college? Dare to reconnect with your true passion and discover how you relate to James Joyce’s alter ego in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

Read, share, discuss, and reflect with our top picks for your fall reading list.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Take a trip into the future with Ready Player One, a novel by Ernest Cline set in the year 2044. As we can imagine, the world is less than beautiful in 2044, with cities overpopulated, energy sources depleted, and everyday life full of hardship. To the rescue is OASIS, an electronic visual world in which billions of people escape. When the OASIS creator dies, he leaves his fortune to the first avatar to complete three virtual quests within OASIS. Ready Player One follows the pursuit of Wade Watts, an unlikely teenage misfit, in a unique format that is at once an adventure novel, love story, and a parable for the electronic age. Publication Date: August 16, 2011

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Now a major movie in theaters this fall, The Help is a powerful, uplifting 2009 American novel by Kathryn Stockett that tells the real story of African American maids working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi during the nascent civil rights movement. In the early 1960s, black women were trusted to raise white children but were not allowed to use the household bathroom or to ever polish the silver. When Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan returns to her high society home from college, anxious to become a writer, she follows her social activist instinct and begins to collect stories from the black women in her community, launching an incredible force of change and awareness. The Help, the movie, stars Emma Stone as Skeeter, and is now playing in theaters as of August 10, 2011.

Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close
I think I know a few San Diego ladies who will be able to relate to Jennifer Close’s debut novel, Girls in White Dresses. This fun read follows a group of young women trying to navigate post-college life, while doing all the things they know they shouldn’t, such as falling for your boss, dating gay men, and drinking too many cocktails at friend’s weddings. It’s a reflection of twenty-something life in New York City, from first jobs and big parties, to weddings and baby showers, and every juicy detail in between. We’ve all been there – drunken nights at the club, hungover mornings at the office, impossible bosses, and dramatic breakups.

Read the full fall reading list and more on DiscoverSD.com.