Gather ’round — we have some fall reading recommendations for you. Above, children listen to a story in Central Park on Oct. 23, 2017.
Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images
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Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images
The fall to-do list is long: There are apples to be picked, Oktoberfest beers to sip, elections to vote in, and of course — so many new books to read! We sorted through the current and upcoming releases to find 16 titles you should watch out for this fall. Dive in!
Fiction
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner (Sept. 3) Kushner’s new novel is about a spy named Sadie Smith (great spy name), infiltrating an eco-extremist group in southern France. The book’s already being met with great reviews, including a spot on the longlist for the Booker Prize, the UK’s fanciest literary award.
Guide Me Home by Attica Locke (Sept. 3) Darren Matthews is a detective pulled out of retirement for one last case. This time it’s the case of a Black college student missing from an all white sorority. Locke is a longtime hand at writing crime novels, and this is the conclusion of her Highway 59 trilogy.
A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowell (Sept. 17) Enriquez has made a name for herself blending supernatural horrors (ghosts, haunted houses, witches, that sort of thing) with the concrete horrors of everyday life in Argentina. Her last novel was a nearly 600-page tome, but this newest one is a collection of shorts – like a pillowcase full of trick-or-treat candies.
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich (Oct. 1) The newest Erdrich release (which is always a big deal in the literary world) will take place during the economic crisis of 2008. There’s something of a love triangle in this book, with a woman named Kismet at the center. But Kismet’s mother has reason to worry about Kismet’s future.
The Great When by Alan Moore (Oct. 1) The legendary comic book writer returns with his first novel since 2016’s Jerusalem. This new one takes place in postwar London, following a young bookshop employee named Dennis who find a copy of a book from a different, more fantastical London.
Bull Moon Rising by Ruby Dixon (Oct. 15) Dixon is the author behind the Ice Planet Barbarians series, a world of romance/erotica books with a fairly outlandish premise (Women land on a planet of sexy aliens. They do stuff together). Her new book is the start of a whole new world where our hero Aspeth Honori marries a minotaur.
Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer (Oct. 22) The popular Southern Reach trilogy becomes a quadrilogy nearly 10 years after the original series was released. This newest book is a prequel, exploring the origins of the mysterious Area X.
The City and its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel (Nov. 19) The latest novel from Japanese writer Haruki Murakami comes out in English this fall. It’s his first in six years, taking place in a fantastical realm where people read dreams and shadows can become untethered from their source. In classic Murakami fashion, the book touches on themes of loss, loneliness, and isolation.
Nonfiction
Lovely One: A Memoir by Ketanji Brown Jackson (Sept. 3) America’s first Black female Supreme Court justice writes a memoir detailing her early childhood, and the hurdles she faced coming up in the legal world.
We’re Alone: Essays by Edwidge Danticat (Sept. 3) This essay collection finds Danticat looking back at her native country of Haiti. Not with the naive rose-colored glasses of nostalgia, but with full awareness of the complicated nature of “resilience” and the mixed feelings anyone has about where they came from.
Reagan: His Life and Legend by Max Boot (Sept. 10) For the person in your life obsessed with presidential biographies, Boot’s newest book is a deeply reported look into the life of Ronald Reagan. Covering his childhood, his Hollywood years and, of course, his presidency, Boot portrays a man that is somehow both more ideological and more pragmatic than we might think.
Connie: A Memoir by Connie Chung (Sept. 17) Connie Chung is a broadcast legend. As the first woman to co-anchor the CBS Evening News as well as the first Asian to anchor a national news broadcast in the U.S., Chung has got loads of stories to share about breaking into the industry and dealing with rivals and the other men in her way.
The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Oct. 1) Coates’ 2015 book Between the World and Me made a huge splash, winning awards and audiences as it addressed race in America. Since then, Coates has written comics, a novel, and did some reporting. And this new book is the result of that reporting, documenting his travels everywhere from the West Bank to Columbia, South Carolina, in order to come to terms with the myths we tell ourselves.
Sonny Boy: A Memoir by Al Pacino (Oct. 15) It was Pacino’s mom that first used the nickname Sonny Boy. It comes from an Al Jolson song she used to sing to him. The book digs deep into old memories like this one, detailing his childhood in the South Bronx and how he fell in love with the craft of filmmaking.
War by Bob Woodward (Oct. 15) The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist continues his run of deeply reported portrayals of what’s going on in the upper echelons of American government. This new book examines President Biden’s handling of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and how former president Trump has been spending his time in the run-up to this November’s election.
High and Rising: A Book About De La Soul by Marcus J. Moore (Nov. 19) It’s been a little over a year now since the influential hip hop group De La Soul made its way onto streaming platforms. Which means we’re overdue for a big book about them. Music writer Marcus J. Moore tells the story of what made this band work, re-contextualizing them for old heads and introducing them to new listeners alike.