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I know summer is in no way officially over, but I head back to work next week, so it’s beginning to feel a lot like fall around here. With the season of falling leaves, Halloween and Thanksgiving just around the corner my mind can’t help but turn to fall books. Typically fall is a time when publishers release some of their most highly anticipated books and this year is no exception. With luck, the books on this preview will bring me as much success as those on my 2019 Summer Preview. Of the 15 there, eight I loved, including 3 that will easily be in the running for best books of the year, and I only DNF’d 2. Fingers crossed fall releases are just as good. I hope you find a few here to add to your own “to be read” list!
September Releases
The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
Knopf (9/3)
368 pages
The Draw
– Cold War era historical fiction.
– Smuggling Doctor Zhivago INTO the USSR.
– Debut novel using multiple narrators.
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
Atria Books (9/3)
464 pages
The Draw
– I adored Ordinary Grace by Krueger.
– Four orphans during the depression.
– An epic novel steeped in Americana.
Akin by Emma Donoghue
Little, Brown and Company (9/10)
352 pages
The Draw
– Retired professor taking in a wayward nephew.
– Travels through France.
– I enjoyed both The Room and The Wonder (my review).
How to Be A Family by Dan Kois
Little, Brown and Company (9/17)
336 pages
The Draw
– I’ve not read much nonfiction this year.
– A family’s year long journey around the world.
– The search for a different way of being a family.
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
Riverhead Books (9/17)
208 pages
The Draw
– I’ve never read Woodson and it’s time.
– Pregnancy joining two very different families.
– A shorter book in a loaded month.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Harper (9/24)
352 pages
The Draw
– Need I say more than ANN PATCHETT?
– Decades long story of siblings exiled from their home.
– Fairy tale-like themes to the story.
The Liar by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen
Little, Brown and Company (9/24)
288 pages
The Draw
– A lie growing out of control.
– Touted as both darkly funny and slightly cynical.
– Sounds like a perfect audiobook choice for me.
The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman
Simon & Schuster (9/24)
384 pages
The Draw
– I’m up and down on Hoffman, but ready to try again.
– A fantastical story of three young women during WWII.
– Elizabeth Strout gave a glowing endorsement.
October Releases
Right After the Weather by Carol Anshaw
Atria Books (10/1)
288 pages
The Draw
– A woman in her 40’s trying to finally grow up.
– An ex-husband living in her guest room.
– An unexpected turn toward violence.
The Topeka School by Ben Lerner
Farrar, Strass and Giroux (10/1)
304 pages
The Draw
– 1990’s midwest setting.
– Boy unknowingly befriending a patient of his psychologist father.
– Told from multiple perspectives, deeply layered.
The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy
Bloomsbury Publishing (10/15)
208 pages
The Draw
– An accident changing the trajectory of a man’s life.
– 1988 Europe setting.
– Nice to have a short novel this time of year.
Wild Game by Adrienne Brodeur
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (10/15)
256 pages
The Draw
– Memoir that “reads like fiction.”
– A teen made complicit to her mother’s affair.
– Audiobook narrator: Julia Whelan.
All This Could Be Yours by Jami Attenberg
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (10/22)
304 pages
The Draw
– Attenberg’s last book, All Grown Up (my review) was great.
– A family full of secrets and lies.
– Described as “dysfunction at its peak.” Yay!
Holding On To Nothing by Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne
Blair (10/22)
272 pages
The Draw
– A couple trying to survive in rural Appalachia.
– Character driven story.
– Another debut novel. I love new authors!.
November Releases
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Doubleday (11/5)
512 pages
The Draw
– I loved Morgenstern’s debut, The Night Circus.
– Another story with a hidden, mysterious world.
– November is a good month for such a LONG book.
They Will Drown in Their Mothers’ Tears by Johannes Anyuru
Two Lines Press (11/5)
272 pages
The Draw
– Swedish-Ugandan novelist begins story with a terrorist attack.
– Dystopian elements.
– Winner of The August Prize, Sweden’s top literary award.
What books are you most looking forward to reading this fall?
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What a great post; all of these sound great – different too.
Thanks so much, Diane. I hope you’ve found a few books you’ll enjoy.
Susie, So many of these sound really good. Thank you! I was able to place holds for several at my library.
That’s great, Katie. It’s always great to get a jump on those library holds.
Good stuff!! We have a lot of overlap…not surprisingly! And, The Liar looks good…I might add that to my list!
I’m excited to see/hear your list. I know I’ll come away with a few more books to add to my TBR list.
The Starless Sea is probably my most anticipated book for the fall. And I haven’t read Alice Hoffman in awhile, so I’m looking forward to hers, too!
I’m excited for The Starless Sea, too, but the length has me a little nervous.
So you mentioned your 2019 summer preview and said that of the 15, 3 could be best books of the year etc. I reread that article but can’t find where you said the 3 best, 8 you loved etc. Where did you discuss that? Would love to know!
Oh, sorry that was confusing. What I meant was that in reading my reviews of the books that had been on my Summer Preview over the last couple of months, you’d see my thoughts, but I’m happy to share. The ones in running for best books of the year would be The Dearly Beloved, The Most Fun We Ever Had, A Prayer for Travelers, and actually a fourth one – After the End. Others that I liked a lot were How Could She, The Wolf Wants In, Marilou is Everywhere, The Need.
If you go back through the “more recent posts” at the bottom of my homepage, you’ll find reviews of all or you can go to “By Title” in the drop down menu when you click reviews at the top the homepage. Hope that helps.
Some of these were already on my radar, but there were also a few new ones I could add to my list. I can’t wait to get my hands on these books!
Happy you found some you’re excited to try.
I love that we have some overlap, but you still have books I hadn’t heard about and now want to read!
You had a great summer of reading!
Looking forward to seeing more of your fall book recs.
I love your season preview editions — so thanks! The Secrets We Kept interests me — and I’m glad you told me about the Ben Lerner book — he’s a quirky author but with a lot of talent — I liked parts of his book 10:04. The Starless Sea is probably a must …. and I might check out Atwood’s sequel The Testaments. I’m only number 333 on the library wait list for it in Canada. Ha!
Wow! 333, that’s crazy! I didn’t put that on my list because I want to find the time to go back and reread (or maybe listen to) The Handmaid’s Tale before taking on The Testament. Right now I’m thinking that might not happen until November or December. Nice to hear you’ve enjoyed Ben Lerner since I’ve not tried him before.
Ooo… Some new to me books here. I had no idea Emma Donoghue had a new book coming out, and I’m quite interested in the nonfiction title of How To Be A Family. I have already preordered (something I rarely ever do) The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern.
Thanks for sharing this round up!
FYI, your link at That Artsy Reader Girl’s list for TTT blogs lead me here. I’m not sure if that’s something you intended or not, but just thought you should know. 🙂
And The Dutch House looks super interesting.
My TTT.