Autumn is a season of transformation — not just in the colors of the leaves, but in thought and perspective. Reading is one way to meet that change head-on.
This fall’s selection offers a range of worldviews: From a quiet manicurist observing the world around her to a woman confronting the aftershocks of COVID-19; from a young Margaret Atwood navigating a nomadic childhood in the Canadian wilderness to Kamala Harris confronting the high stakes of the 2024 election.
Across continents and generations, these books explore ambition, identity, memory and connection. They may prompt you to reconsider your own path — or simply offer fresh ways to see the world this season.
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"All the Way to the River" by Elizabeth Gilbert (Sept. 9)
From Elizabeth Gilbert, bestselling author of “Eat, Pray, Love,” comes a new memoir recounting her relationship with Rayya Elias, which began as friendship and deepened into love after Elias’s cancer diagnosis. Gilbert left her marriage to be with her, only to find herself navigating the twin challenges of terminal illness and addiction — Elias’s relapses and her own dependence on love and validation. The memoir weaves through moments of devotion, denial and grief, capturing the beauty of their bond as well as the ways it unraveled. After Elias’s death, Gilbert confronts her sorrow and guilt, ultimately finding a new sense of clarity in their wake.
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"The Wilderness" by Angela Flournoy (Sept. 16)
Angela Flournoy’s “The Wilderness” follows five Black women — Desiree, Danielle, January, Monique and Nakia — as they navigate early adulthood in New York and Los Angeles. Desiree and Danielle wrestle with sibling estrangement; January navigates an unexpected pregnancy; Monique gains online fame for challenging injustice; Nakia fights to launch her restaurant independently. Over two decades, their lives intertwine amid political upheaval, economic strain and environmental instability. Flournoy captures the push and pull of friendship and ambition, showing the sparks of wisdom and the deep losses that accompany one’s ascent from early adulthood to middle age.
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"107 Days" by Kamala Harris (Sept. 23)
Kamala Harris’s new tell-all revisits the turbulent 2024 presidential race, offering a blunt assessment of what went wrong. She details her frustrations with the Democratic Party’s handling of her candidacy, recalling instances of marginalization inside the administration and blind spots that left her vulnerable to relentless media attacks. Behind closed doors, Harris fought to maintain visibility while navigating the personal and strategic strains of the campaign. Alongside her candid view of Biden’s leadership and fitness, she delivers an insider’s portrait of loss and resilience during a time of political turbulence. The book will launch with a tour across the U.S., U.K. and Canada.
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"Will There Ever Be Another You" by Patricia Lockwood (Sept. 23)
From Booker Prize finalist Patricia Lockwood, this novel follows a young woman whose mind unravels after contracting COVID-19. She fears her own floorboards, hears “WHAT IS LOVE? BABY DON’T HURT ME” looping in her head and can no longer recognize her friends. Memories slip through her, time feels fluid and she questions whether the illness has stolen her old self or offered a chance to start anew. As she navigates this disorientation, she attempts to rebuild her life and sense of identity from scratch. Lockwood blends surreal humor with acute observation, capturing the strangeness of surviving an illness that reshapes the mind and body.
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"Heart the Lover" by Lily King (Sept. 30)
Lily King’s newest novel follows Jordan, an aspiring writer in her senior year of college, who becomes entangled in a deepening relationship with two brilliant classmates, Sam and Yash. Their intense bond, marked by intellectual fervor and emotional depth, leads to a love triangle that challenges Jordan’s understanding of herself and her desires. Years later, as a successful writer with a family, Jordan is confronted with the past when a surprise visit brings the unresolved emotions and decisions of her youth back into her life. King’s prose captures the nuances of love and loss, exploring how formative experiences shape our identities and relationships for years to come.
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"Pick a Color" by Souvankham Thammavongsa (Sept. 30)
This story follows Ning, a retired boxer working as a manicurist under the name “Susan.” On a typical summer day, she clips, buffs and polishes nails while listening to clients’ gossip alongside her coworkers, also called “Susan.” Beneath her calm exterior, Ning is sharp, thoughtful and haunted by opportunities she never took. She navigates subtle rivalries and hidden ambitions among the other women in the salon. As the day unfolds, the tension between her quiet labor and keen observation intensifies, pushing toward a reckoning. Every interaction reveals how privilege shapes perception. Told over a single day, this new novel from Souvankham Thammavongsa captures the layered complexities of identity, work and the immigrant experience.
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"A Guardian and a Thief" by Megha Majumdar (Oct. 14)
“A Guardian and a Thief” follows two families in a near‑future Kolkata, India, beset by climate disaster and scarcity. Ma and her young daughter are on the brink of emigrating when her purse — containing all their immigration documents — is stolen, forcing a desperate search against the backdrop of a collapsing city. Meanwhile, the teenage thief Boomba navigates his own struggles, driven to crime to protect his family and survive the encroaching famine. Majumdar’s narrative moves between these intertwined lives with empathy and moral complexity, exploring how ordinary people cling to family, duty and hope even when the world around them is unravelling.
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"The Land of Sweet Forever" by Harper Lee (Oct. 21)
“The Land of Sweet Forever” is a posthumous collection of eight previously unpublished short stories and eight nonfiction pieces by Harper Lee. Discovered in her New York City apartment after her death in 2016, these works offer a rare glimpse into Lee’s early literary development before she wrote “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The stories, set in both Alabama and midcentury Manhattan, showcase Lee’s sharp wit, Southern roots and evolving voice. The nonfiction pieces, spanning from 1961 to 2006, include reflections on politics, equality, travel, love and art. This collection provides a broader perspective on Lee’s celebrated talent and offers insights into her development as a writer.
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"Bad Bad Girl" by Gish Jen (Oct. 21)
In “Bad Bad Girl,” Gish Jen reimagines the life of her mother, Agnes, who grew up in a wealthy Shanghai household before emigrating to the United States in the 1940s. Marked from childhood by the scolding refrain “Bad bad girl,” Agnes is clever, ambitious and unwilling to fit neatly into the roles expected of her. In America, she struggles with displacement and thwarted ambitions, setting aside her own dreams even as she tries to raise a daughter who will flourish on new soil. The novel unfolds across generations, charting how cultural inheritance, sacrifice and rebellion shape the bond between mother and daughter — and how love endures in the gaps between who we are told to be and who we truly are.
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"Book of Lives" by Margaret Atwood (Nov. 4)
Long before “The Handmaid’s Tale” or “Cat’s Eye,” there was a child growing up in the Canadian wilderness, the daughter of nomadic parents, her days shaped by books and imagination. In her debut memoir, Margaret Atwood turns inward, retracing the experiences that forged her into one of literature’s defining voices. She begins with her early years and continues through university, artistic circles and her life with writer Graeme Gibson, mapping the connections between her private world and the works it later inspired. Told with wit and candor, the book reflects on how solitude and community, hardship and joy, became the raw material for her art.
