11 New Books To Read This Fall

A mega roundup of enthusiastic recs from our favorite bookish people.

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 Fall isn’t just pumpkin spice season—it’s reading season. Publishers stack their calendars with new releases this time of year, overflowing bookstores and libraries alike with countless excellent reads to curl up with and get lost in. It’s exciting and a little overwhelming, so we collected an all-star list of recs from some of our favorite #BookTok people, newsletter writers, and bookstores. Some are already out and some are available for preorder (one of the best ways to support authors!), but all are worth your time. Whether you’re fixated on fantasy, romance, historical fiction, or horror, there’s something new to love.–Aliza

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Bonus: We’re doing a giveaway! Paid subscribers are automatically entered into the giveaway to win five books from this roundup: The Fraud by Zadie Smith, People Collide by Isle McElroy, Candelaria by Melissa Lozada Oliva, Vengeance Is Mine by Marie NDiaye, and Thank You For Sharing by Rachel Runya Katz. Stay tuned for a winner announcement next week. 

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Vengeance Is Mine, Marie NDiaye (Oct. 17)

French author Marie NDiaye stuns yet again with her latest novel, Vengeance Is Mine, told from the point of view of a lawyer trapped in her struggle to meet her parents' expectations to rise above their working-class status and who takes on the case of another woman who commits the most horrifying crime of all—but nothing is as it seems. With NDiaye's masterful sinister touch we delve into the mind of a woman whose self unravels with terrifying quickness and exposes the ragged edges of the French patriarchal class system. I guarantee you won't be able to put this book down, and you won't be the same when you've finished!

Elektrik: CaribbeanWriting (Sept. 26)

As someone with family roots not only in Puerto Rico but Martinique, I've been sitting on my hands in excitement over this gorgeous firecracker of a book (I mean, look at that cover!), which brings together eight brilliant writers from Haiti, Martinique, and Guadeloupe. Each section gives us a distinctive voice that swallows you whole in the best way, bringing the deep rhythms of the islands and its peoples fully alive through their stories and poetry. Two Lines Press is always high on our list of translated literature and Elektrik might be our favorite book from them yet.

Recs by Duende District bookstore owner Angela María Spring

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The Wake Up Call, Beth O'Leary (August 26) 

This book follows two hotel receptionists who go on a quest to return lost wedding rings to their owners and discover their own love story along the way. I love O'Leary's writing and the antics she puts her characters through, but I always know there's a happily ever after at the end.

Let Us Descend, Jesmyn Ward (October 3) 

A beautiful story following Annis, a slave who has been sold by her white enslaver father as she journeys from the Carolinas to New Orleans. It's a story of Black grief but also joy, and Ward's prose is unmatched. 

Iron Flame, Rebecca Yarros (November 7) 

The follow-up to the explosive Fourth Wing fantasy novel following the trials and tribulations of Violet and Xaden, two star-crossed lovers sworn to hate each other; Violet's brother was killed in the rebellion waged by Xaden's father, who was subsequently executed for his crimes by Violet's mother. I've personally given in to the hype and have not been disappointed; I can't wait to see where the story takes us this fall!

Recs by Taylor Choi x @bookswithtay