Happy biggest new release day of the fall! It’s Halloween season now, so the number of scary reads being released today is exponentially larger than the rest of the months. (Which is awesome, imo.) At the top of my list to acquire today are Death Valley by Melissa Broder, Alebrijes by Donna Barba Higuera, and Starling House by Alix E. Harrow. You can hear about some more of the fabulous books coming out today on this week’s episode of All the Books! Danika and I talked about some of the books we’re excited about, including How to Say Babylon, A Haunting on the Hill, and In the Form of a Question.
Today, I am doing a round-up of several exciting books from the first Tuesday of October 2023. Below, you’ll find titles (loosely) broken up into several categories, to make it easier for your browsing convenience. I hope you have fun with it! And as with each first Tuesday newsletter, I am putting asterisks *** next to the books that I have had the chance to read and loved. YAY, BOOKS!
Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy — whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.
Biography and Memoir
Making It So: A Memoir by Patrick Stewart
Hell If We Don’t Change Our Ways: A Memoir by Brittany Means
Lou Reed: The King of New York by Will Hermes***
The Loneliness Files by Athena Dixon
Foolish: Tales of Assimilation, Determination, and Humiliation by Sarah Cooper
A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial by Viet Thanh Nguyen***
In the Form of a Question: The Joys and Rewards of a Curious Life by Amy Schneider***
How to Say Babylon: A Memoir by Safiya Sinclair***
Fiction
The List by Yomi Adegoke
Company: Stories by Shannon Sanders
A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens by Raul Palma
The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann by Virginia Pye
Deliver Me by Elle Nash
Brooklyn Crime Novel by Jonathan Lethem
Mister, Mister by Guy Gunaratne
The Oceans and the Stars: A Sea Story, A War Story, A Love Story by Mark Helprin
Standing Heavy by Gauz’, Frank Wynne (translator)
Monica by Daniel Clowes***
Death Valley by Melissa Broder
Middle Grade
Eli Over Easy by Phil Stamper
Alebrijes by Donna Barba Higuera
The First Cat in Space and the Soup of Doom by Mac Barnett, Shawn Harris***
Mystery and Thriller
Midnight Is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead
Kill Show: A True Crime Novel by Daniel Sweren-Becker
One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Critchley***
Glory Be: A Glory Broussard Mystery by Danielle Arceneaux
Nonfiction
A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy by Nathan Thrall
The Hank Show: How a House-Painting, Drug-Running DEA Informant Built the Machine That Rules Our Lives by McKenzie Funk
In Light of All Darkness: Inside the Polly Klaas Kidnapping and the Search for America’s Child by Kim Cross
The Blue Machine: How the Ocean Works by Helen Czerski
Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon
Book Riot has podcasts to keep your ears listening for days! Check them out and subscribe.
Romance
Love in Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello
Becoming Calder (Acadia Duology Book 1) by Mia Sheridan
Finding Eden (Acadia Duology Book 2) by Mia Sheridan
A Winter in New York by Josie Silver
Sci-fi, Fantasy, and Horror
The Dead Take the A Train (Carrion City Book 1) by Richard Kadrey & Cassandra Khaw
The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror edited by Jordan Peele***
Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson
The Crypt: Shakedown by Scott Sigler***
The Quiet Room: A Rabbits Novel by Terry Miles
Let Me Out by Emmett Nahil and George Williams***
The Night House by Jo Nesbo, Neil Smith (translator)
Edenville by Sam Rebelein***
A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand
The Night Eaters: Her Little Reapers (The Night Eaters Book #2) by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon
Menewood (The Hild Sequence) by Nicola Griffith
The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon
The Girl Who Cried Diamonds & Other Stories by Rebecca Hirsch Garcia
Let Him In by William Friend
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu***
Young Adult
The Broke Hearts by Matt Mendez
Curious Tides (The Drowned Gods Duology) by Pascale Lacelle
Beholder by Ryan La Sala
Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson
The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson
This week: I’m currently reading Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt and The Hive and the Honey: Stories by Paul Yoon. Outside of books, I haven’t had much time to watch anything in the last week or so, but I am excited about the new seasons of Switch and Jeopardy. And I’m so excited the NBA preseason starts this weekend (even if the Celtics are trying to break my heart with all these trades.) The song stuck in my head right now is “Am I Wrong” by Love Spit Love. And here’s a cat photo: Once again, Zevon shows us how he can sit like a person on the couch. (Related: Any (older) New Englanders remember that commercial for the aquarium where the kid says, “I can walk like a penguin?”)
That’s it for me today, friends. I am sending you love and good wishes for whatever is happening in your life right now. Thank you, as always, for joining me each week as I rave about books! See you next week. – XO, Liberty