13 Books Everyone Will Be Talking About This Fall
by Jennifer Ridgway
For many parents, fall means that the kids are back in school … and, of course, that some fantastic new grown-up reads are about to hit the shelves! Whether you’re looking for literary fiction, sci-fi, nonfiction, thrillers, or anything in between, this fall has it all. Here are some bookish highlights to watch for this season.
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September
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The Salt Line
Available from:Dystopian literature has found continued success in the last few years with hits such as Station Eleven. With amazing world-building, great character development, and a thrilling pace, Jones’s newest book is one to add to the list. The story takes place in a U.S. in which citizens are forced to live in zones deemed safe from killer ticks, and follows a group of wealthy adventurers who pay to journey beyond the safe zones to experience wilderness and relics of the past.
(On Sale: 9/5/17)Also available from: -
The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too)
Available from:Fans of Better Than Before and The Happiness Project will be thrilled to pick up Rubin’s new book that sets out to help readers understand how they process both internal and external expectations. You’ll first identify which of the Four Tendencies you are, then learn about how your personality type comes into play in your everyday life and in your interactions with the people around you.
(On Sale: 9/12/17)Also available from: -
Little Fires Everywhere
Available from:Ng’s sophomore effort lives up to the bar she set with her 2014 debut breakout, Everything I Never Told You. The perfectly planned suburb of Shaker Heights plays backdrop to four families whose lives intersect in a combustible way. Ng’s perceptive writing explores privilege, class, race, family, and motherhood with empathy and insight.
(On Sale: 9/12/17)Also available from: -
Love and Other Consolation Prizes
Available from:From the bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet comes a novel inspired by the true story of a young boy raffled off as a prize during the Seattle World’s Fair in 1909. Ford has proven he’s a master at creating heartbreaking yet hopeful stories about little-known events in history and, like his other works, the themes of this novel are sure to resonate long after you finish reading.
(On Sale: 9/12/17)Also available from: -
Five-Carat Soul
National Book Award-winning author James McBride has assembled a collection of never-before-published short stories in his first book since The Good Lord Bird. The stories reflect the struggle we face in finding both ourself and our place in the world.
(On Sale: 9/26/17)
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October
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Origin
Available from:It has been four years since Dan Brown’s last book starring symbologist Robert Langdon, Inferno, hit the shelves. In this installment, chaos erupts at an event featuring one of Langdon’s former students, leading Langdon on a chase across Spain. Prepare yourself for another thrilling page-turner filled with clues steeped in art and history.
(On Sale: 10/3/17)Also available from: -
Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II
For years the story of the women who served as cryptographers during World War II was kept confidential, and it is still a story largely unknown. Yet these women, who couldn’t even tell their families about their work, played a vital role in the war effort and helped make history. Meticulously researched, Mundy has done justice to these groundbreaking women.
(On Sale: 10/10/17) -
Endurance: A Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery
Astronaut Scott Kelly holds the record for the number of consecutive days spent in space; he volunteered to spend a year at the International Space Station despite knowing the toll it would likely take on his body. His memoir covers not only this trip and his previous trips to space, but also his life growing up and his thoughts about the future of space exploration. A fascinating look at an extraordinary life and experiences that the vast majority of us can only dream about.
(On Sale: 10/17/17) -
Uncommon Type: Some Stories
Available from:First things first: Yes, the author is THE Tom Hanks, Oscar-winning actor. In this collection of 17 short stories, Hanks proves that not only can he act and direct, but he can also write great fiction. While the stories are all very different — with a variety of narrators, settings, and time periods — they are all connected by one thing: the typewriter. Whether a minor mention or the main star of the narrative, a typewriter appears in each story, and they are all based on typewriters in Hanks's own extensive collection.
(On Sale: 10/17/17)Also available from:
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November
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Bonfire
Available from:Another new book from a talented actor — and Bonfire demonstrates that Ritter can write a heck of a page-turner. When the protagonist ends up going back to her childhood town to investigate a plastics company, her past begins catching up with her. With great storytelling and lots of suspense, this novel is one you’ll have a hard time putting down.
(On Sale: 11/7/17)Also available from: -
L’Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home
Available from:After publishing bestselling cookbooks over the last few years, chef David Lebovitz is back with another memoir, this time recounting his travails in rehabbing his Parisian apartment. While providing the experience of armchair travel, his stories are also relatable to anyone who has attempted to renovate. And, for those that are also fans of his cookbooks, he includes 20 never-before-published recipes.
(On Sale: 11/7/17)Also available from: -
Spineless: The Science of Jellyfish and the Art of Growing a Backbone
Available from:After having been completely captured and fascinated by The Soul of an Octopus, I was immediately drawn to this upcoming book about jellyfish. Berwald is a marine scientist by nature and she spent five years researching and writing this book, globe-trotting to track down jellyfish blooms and interview jellyfish scientists and biologists. You will never look at jellyfish or the ocean in the same way.
(On Sale: 11/7/17)Also available from: -
Artemis
Available from:The Martian became a bestselling book and blockbuster movie that even people who don’t typically read sci-fi absolutely loved. Weir has followed up his huge debut with another science fiction tale, this time starring a teenage girl, Jazz, who has lived on the moon in the city of Artemis since she was six years old. Its fast-paced plot and Weir’s signature science-inspired writing style make Artemis a worthy successor to The Martian.
(On Sale: 11/14/17)Also available from:
Which books from this list are you looking forward to picking up this fall?