18 September Books the Goodreads Editors Can't Wait to Read

Posted by Cybil on September 1, 2025
 
Here at Goodreads World Headquarters, we sort through a lot of books each month. Our monthly Readers' Most Anticipated Books feature is exactly that—selections based on the data about the books that Goodreads members are placing on their Want to Read shelves. Essentially, these are the books that your fellow Goodreads regulars are excited about.
 
Of course, the Goodreads editorial staff gets excited about books, too. And we regularly come across specific new releases that we can’t wait to read—or “won’t shut up about,” to borrow a phrase from the colleagues who sit right next to us.
 
As to be expected, there are always way more great books each month than we have time to read, so we're passing our findings along to you, complete with genre tags, our unhinged commentary, and general enthusiasm. Think of this list as our intel on the books you might not be hearing about absolutely everywhere else, from two people who really, really want to help you find a great read.
 
Some of the stories on tap for September: high-finance werewolves in San Francisco, workplace despair in Madrid, and Cherokee scientists on the moon. Bonus pick: Sharon argues persuasively for a very special cookbook.
 
 


Sharon can't wait to read this book because: Yume Kitasei turns her attention from the deep space of her first two novels back toward more terrestrial matters in her newest book. Set on a near-future drowned Earth, Saltcrop follows two sisters who set off across the watery depths in search of their missing third sibling. Complicated family relationships + lyrical cli-fi is a winning combo for me these days.

Genre: Science fiction/climate fiction


Cybil can't wait to read this book because: This debut about a young woman’s relentless quest to become the first Cherokee astronaut is already garnering serious praise from early reviewers. This novel promises serious sweep, spanning decades and topics that include family, ambition, and belonging. 

Genre: Contemporary fiction 


Cybil can't wait to read this book because: This debut novel is a literary puzzle that examines the short and tumultuous life of a table tennis prodigy through the eyes of those pulled into his orbit. Early reviews include these notable takes: "A devastatingly heavy book about ping pong!!!!" and "E.Y. Zhao did the impossible: she made me enjoy reading a book about sports."

Genre: Literary fiction 


Cybil can't wait to read this book because: The author of Red Clocks is back this month with this very intriguing novel. Zumas follows a motley crew of characters living together in a dilapidated mansion perched on a river bluff. The house is a free intergenerational group home run by a former punk rocker, creating an unusual type of family for her charges. Early readers are saying this is a heartrending novel that explores what we owe to one another. 

Genre: Fiction 


Cybil can't wait to read this book because: A new novel from Patricia Lockwood (No One Is Talking About This, Priestdaddy) is an event. And she's at the top of my list of authors I will read when it comes to fictionalizing "these unprecedented times." Consider this her COVID novel, and I am so ready for it. 

Genre: Literary fiction 


Sharon can't wait to read this book because: For someone who personally dreads awkward workplace forced merriment, I can't seem to get enough of books set during ill-fated corporate retreats. In this one, a young woman's carefully crafted workplace persona threatens to crack during a team-building getaway in the Spanish mountains. Nightmare fuel!  

Genre: Literary fiction


Sharon can't wait to read this book because: A North Korean spymaster's protégé must investigate his death (and stay ahead of his South Korean and American counterparts) with only the cryptic final words "Soju Club, Dr. Ryu" as clues. Turns out the Soju Club is the only Korean restaurant in Oxford, England, run by an immigrant who's just trying to keep his head above water. I'll be reading to find out how it all fits together.

Genre: Spy thriller


Cybil can't wait to read this book because: The author of the short story collection How to Pronounce Knife's new novel takes a look at one day in the life of a nail salon owner. Throughout the day, our narrator deals with her clients as she thinks back on her life. Imagine if Mrs. Dalloway wasn't getting flowers—she was giving you a pedicure. 

Genre: Fiction 


Cybil can't wait to read this book because: I was lucky enough to read an early copy of this novel, and let me tell you this creepy, unsettling book told in short stories will stay in your brain long after you've finished the final page. It's chock-full of haunted highways, cursed corporate offices, and spooky night shift gigs. 

Genre: Horror/Sci-fi/Literary/Weird 


Cybil can't wait to read this book because: Alien meets Midsommar? You have my attention! White's adult debut (he's previously written YA horror novels, including Hell Followed With Us and The Spirit Bares Its Teeth), this one is definitely not for the squeamish. 

Genre: Horror


Sharon can't wait to read this book because: If an erotic horror novel featuring a parasitical sex monster that's just looking for, ahem, a warm place to stay sounds like it's right at the middle of the horny-scary-weird Venn diagram for your tastes, join me in anticipating the latest novella from speculative fiction author Sarah Gailey.

Genre: Horror


Cybil can't wait to read this book because: How about a zany werewolf horror novel that takes readers from the dust of the Wild West to the madness of venture capital boardrooms? Yes, werewolves do seem to be having a literary moment, and yes, this particular novel is from the wacky author of On Earth As It Is on Television. I mean, it's an automatic add to the ol' Want to Read shelf, am I right? 

Genre: Horror


Sharon can't wait to read this book because: Temple worker Nesi has been rejected by 96 of the Ninety-Nine Pillars of Heaven (so far) for patronage. With only War, Assassinations, and Tricks to pick from, she auditions for T'sidaan, the Fox of Tricks, who promptly sends her through time to alter history. I love a plucky heroine, love a trickster god, and especially love a cozy, funny fantasy.

Genre: Fantasy


Cybil can't wait to read this book because: This is not a drill: Ilana Masad just wrote an alien abductions novel! Beings follows three narratives: a couple in 1961 who have an alien encounter, a budding sci-fi writer in the 1960s who documents her life through letters, and a present-day archivist working to make sense of both those stories. 

Genre: Historical fiction/Sci-fi


Sharon can't wait to read this book because: We're gearing up for Hot Lady Knight Fall with a slew of books publishing in the coming months featuring medieval girls-who-whack-things-with-swords. I'm personally looking forward to kicking off the season with this epic fantasy about the undying bond between a knight and a mage, billed as being perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth

Genre: Fantasy


Sharon can't wait to read this book because: We're suddenly getting a lot of pitches for Midsommar-esque books, which is both fun and also makes me wonder if maybe we're all collectively not OK? In this dark tale, husband and wife duo Bohumil and Bohumila move with their son to a remote village to try to salvage their marriage. Genre-savvy readers will immediately clock that things can't end well for them.

Genre: Horror


Sharon can't wait to read this book because: "Sharon," you might be wondering, "are you really going to read a cookbook? Are you maybe cheating a tiny bit with this pick?" Look, I hear you, but I love the way Samin Nosrat talks about food, in any format. I've been looking forward to this cookbook for years, and yes, I will in fact be reading it cover to cover the moment I get my hands on it!

Genre: Cookbook


Cybil can't wait to read this book because: The hosts of the Witches of Scotland podcast take readers back into Scotland's witch-hunting past to unravel the grim yet absurdly bureaucratic process of identifying, accusing, trying, and executing women for supernatural crimes (or…just being a bit of trouble). Early reviewers are calling this nonfiction book a real page-turner. 

Genre: Nonfiction/History