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Catch Up on Earlier Books from This Fall's Biggest Authors
In the world of books, as in life itself, we occasionally encounter odd little storm fronts when things get unreasonably busy. These periods of time really do blow in like the weather. Suddenly, there’s a lot going on.
Such is the case with the squall of high-profile titles blowing in this autumn. In the next few months, you’ll find the virtual aisles swirling with new books from a wide range of acclaimed, award-winning authors. These are the heavy hitters—the Pulitzer Prize winners, the National Book Award recipients, the literary celebrities, and household names.
The upside of all this is that it also gives readers a new point of entry to discover these authors’ previous works. Here we’ve collected a dozen new titles coming this fall, along with recommended earlier books from the archives. It’s a chance to double back and discover classics from, say, Jonathan Franzen (The Corrections), Colson Whitehead (The Underground Railroad), or Louise Erdrich (The Round House).
Scroll over the book covers to learn more about each title, and be sure to add the books that pique your interest to your Want to Read shelf!
Such is the case with the squall of high-profile titles blowing in this autumn. In the next few months, you’ll find the virtual aisles swirling with new books from a wide range of acclaimed, award-winning authors. These are the heavy hitters—the Pulitzer Prize winners, the National Book Award recipients, the literary celebrities, and household names.
The upside of all this is that it also gives readers a new point of entry to discover these authors’ previous works. Here we’ve collected a dozen new titles coming this fall, along with recommended earlier books from the archives. It’s a chance to double back and discover classics from, say, Jonathan Franzen (The Corrections), Colson Whitehead (The Underground Railroad), or Louise Erdrich (The Round House).
Scroll over the book covers to learn more about each title, and be sure to add the books that pique your interest to your Want to Read shelf!
If glowing book reviews were cornflakes, Lauren Groff would be General Mills. Generally acknowledged as one of America’s great new writers, Groff stays busy with both novels and short story collections, each new book invariably landing on all of the year’s best-of lists. Her new novel, Matrix, is an ambitious work of historical fiction set in 12th-century England, and readers will want to root around in Groff’s previous stories concerning old family secrets (The Monsters of Templeton) and the unknowable territories of marriage (Fates and Furies).
Matrix publishes on September 7.
Matrix publishes on September 7.
Her earlier books to check out:
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Irish author Sally Rooney often gets tagged with the rather reductive title of “millennial writer,” but her combination of critical and popular appeal would be remarkable with any label attached. Rooney’s new novel—Beautiful World, Where Are You—continues a kind of ongoing discussion with her previous books Normal People and Conversations with Friends, chronicling personal and political dynamics in the ongoing strangeness of the 21st century.
Beautiful World, Where Are You publishes on September 7.
Her earlier books to check out:
Beautiful World, Where Are You publishes on September 7.
Her earlier books to check out:
After 50 years of marriage, Stan and Joy Delaney are finally ready to settle into their golden years. But when Joy goes missing and Stan is the prime suspect, the Delaneys’ four grown children find themselves split down the middle on what to do next. As she’s ably demonstrated with previous blockbusters like Big Little Lies and The Husband’s Secret, veteran author Moriarty has a way with complex characterizations and the corrosive power of deception.
Apples Never Fall publishes on September 14.
Her earlier books to check out:
Apples Never Fall publishes on September 14.
Her earlier books to check out:
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Colson Whitehead may be the single most reliable name in all of publishing. When Whitehead writes a book, we are all well-advised to clear a few days on the calendar. His new book, Harlem Shuffle, set in 1960s New York, is ostensibly an old-school heist story. But as usual, Whitehead has stitched in multiple layers of social observation, playful humor, and richly drawn characters. You’ll find the same with previous books like The Underground Railroad and Nickel Boys or, for some additional genre fun, the improbably clever zombie story Zone One.
Harlem Shuffle publishes on September 14.
His earlier books to check out:
Harlem Shuffle publishes on September 14.
His earlier books to check out:
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With his Pulitzer Prize tucked under one arm and his National Book Award under the other, Richard Powers has made a long career exploring the borderlands of literature and science. His new novel, Bewilderment, features speculation on exoplanets and neurofeedback technology. But check his back catalog and you can find similarly intense inquiries into sentient flora (The Overstory) and the essential dubiousness of our perceived reality (The Echo Maker).
Bewilderment publishes on September 21.
His earlier books to check out:
Bewilderment publishes on September 21.
His earlier books to check out:
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Cloud Cuckoo Land, the latest from restlessly innovative writer Anthony Doerr, features three different timelines. You could technically file the book under historical fiction, contemporary fiction, and science fiction. Doerr’s previous books tend to defy categorization as well, unless you count insanely ambitious as a category. His debut short story collection, The Shell Collector, transports readers to strange new territories around the planet, and his World War II novel All the Light We Cannot See won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2015.
Cloud Cuckoo Land publishes on September 28.
His earlier books to check out:
Cloud Cuckoo Land publishes on September 28.
His earlier books to check out:
With The Wish, Nicholas Sparks returns once more to one of his favorite locales, the quietly beautiful coastlands of North Carolina. He also returns to his favorite narrative—the unabashed love story—as teenager Maggie Dawes makes a deep connection in a small Outer Banks village. Sparks has penned 20-plus novels now in his long career, several of which are instantly recognizable by title alone: The Notebook. A Walk to Remember. Dear John. Sparks is a natural-born storyteller, and he’s assembled a rich archive for readers to explore.
The Wish publishes on September 28.
The Wish publishes on September 28.
His earlier books to check out:
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Jonathan Franzen writes novels in the old-fashioned spirit of carefully crafted plotlines, vividly drawn characters, and Big Ideas. His new book dials back the clock 50 years to the winter of 1971, when the complicated Hildebrandt family of Chicago finds itself at, yes, a crossroads. It’s a story about one family, but it’s a book about America, too. Take a leisurely scroll though Franzen’s archives and you’ll find plenty of instances where small-scale depictions contain big-picture insights. His 2001 book, The Corrections, a consensus modern classic, is probably the best starting point.
Crossroads publishes on October 5.
His earlier books to check out:
Crossroads publishes on October 5.
His earlier books to check out:
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Amor Towles’ The Lincoln Highway finds the author exploring new landscapes with the story of two orphaned brothers navigating the open roads of 1950s America. Towles is a versatile storyteller who can create vivid historical fiction in seemingly any time and place. His 2016 bestseller, A Gentleman in Moscow, follows the fate of a Russian aristocrat at the turn of the 19th century, while his debut, The Rules of Civility, wanders around New York City just after the Great Depression. Bonus tip: His books are quietly funny, too.
The Lincoln Highway publishes on October 5.
His earlier books to check out:
The Lincoln Highway publishes on October 5.
His earlier books to check out:
Fans of Elizabeth Strout’s brand of elegant and insightful characterizations will be happy to hear that Lucy Barton is back. Following on her 2016 novel, My Name Is Lucy Barton, Strout’s new novel, Oh William!, details Lucy’s complex relationship with her first husband, William, from their college years through children and divorce and all that comes after. If you like what you find here, don’t miss Strout’s acclaimed 2008 novel, Olive Kitteridge, and its companion book, Olive, Again. Bonus trivia: Yet another Lucy Barton story can be found in the 2017 short story collection Anything Is Possible.
Oh William! publishes on October 19.
Oh William! publishes on October 19.
Her earlier books to check out:
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One of the season’s most flat-out intriguing books, The Sentence finds author Louise Erdrich combining magical realism with old-fashioned grim realism. As the city of Minneapolis endures the year 2020—a year of grief, isolation, and societal reckoning—a bookstore worker discovers she has a stubborn ghost wandering the aisles of her shop. Author Erdrich, a member of the Anishinaabe nation, is affiliated with a literary movement known as the Native American Renaissance, nicely represented in earlier books such as The Round House and The Night Watchman.
The Sentence publishes on November 9.
The Sentence publishes on November 9.
Her earlier books to check out:
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If Jodi Picoult’s new novel sounds timely, well, that’s on purpose. Alpha achiever couple Diana and Finn have a bright future planned out, until a worldwide pandemic brings everything to a screeching, chaotic halt. Picoult is an old pro at assembling these kinds of books: popular fiction that also stitches in contemporary issues and simmering moral dilemmas. From the archives, Small Great Things contemplates race and class issues in America, while the inventive The Book of Two Ways delivers a new perspective on second chances.
Wish You Were Here publishes on November 30.
Wish You Were Here publishes on November 30.
Her earlier books to check out:
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Which of these books would you recommend to your fellow readers? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Check out more recent articles:
Goodreads Members' Most Anticipated Fall Books
The Biggest Mysteries and Thrillers for the Rest of the Year
Back to School with 33 Tales of Campus Life
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Sep 06, 2021 01:58AM
All the Light We Cannot See is actually on my physical TBR!
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Looking forward to reading the new Sally Rooney because I enjoyed Normal People so much, I also watched it when shown on TV.
The Sentence. Louise Erdrich is an amazing author.
How about some LGBTQ authors like TJ Klune? Instead of the same old, same old?His new book drops in September "Under the Whispering Door" and his previous wonderful book from last year was "The House in the Cerulean Sea".
S810 wrote: "All the Light We Cannot See is actually on my physical TBR!"It's beautiful, one of my favorites!
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff. Is not to be missed.
Karen wrote: "How about some LGBTQ authors like TJ Klune? Instead of the same old, same old?His new book drops in September "Under the Whispering Door" and his previous wonderful book from last year was "The Ho..."
I'm so excited for his new book, already preordered it! Cerulean Sea was a gem of a book that i believe every person should read
I read ALL of Jodi Picoult’s books! Always an excellent story!
All the Light We Cannot See. One of the most beautifully written novels I've ever read, penned in a style that took my breath away with its eloquence.
