Special Report

The Most Anticipated Books to Read This Fall

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Many people have been reading a lot more because of COVID-19. The pandemic is far from over and summer is winding down, so it’s a safe bet that people will still be looking for good material going into the fall. 24/7 Tempo has created a list of 20 must-read books that will be released in the coming months.

There’s something for everybody on our list, including the just-released “Beautiful World, Where Are You” from Irish writer Sally Rooney. Her previous novel “Normal People” and the television series based on it were lockdown favorites. 

There’s a new legal thriller, “The Judge’s List,” from the dependable John Grisham, and another installment in the Jack Reacher franchise, “Better Off Dead,” from Lee Child and his brother Andrew.

For readers looking for more serious fare there’s “The 1619 Project” from Nikole Hannah-Jones. It’s about the impact of slavery and the neglected contributions of Blacks to American life. 

If you’re looking to the future, there’s “AI 2041,” which considers how the world will be shaped by artificial intelligence in two decades. (These are the most popular autobiographies of all time.) 

There’s also a debut work by Qian Julie Wang about the experience of an undocumented immigrant child, and a long-awaited new novel from Wole Soyinka. Soyinka is a Nobel Laureate and there are several Pulitzer Prize winners on our list too. (Here are 23 of the most famous classic children’s books.)

To identify the 20 must-read books coming out in the fall, 24/7 Tempo consulted multiple online sources to find the most anticipated books scheduled for release this fall.

Click here to see the most anticipated books to read coming out this fall

Courtesy of Amazon

1. Beautiful Country
> Author: Qian Julie Wang
> Release date: September 7, 2021

Qian Julie Wang’s debut memoir “Beautiful Country” describes her childhood in New York as an undocumented immigrant from China. She overcomes poverty and other obstacles to graduate from Yale Law School.

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Courtesy of Amazon

2. Beautiful World, Where Are You
> Author: Sally Rooney
> Release date: September 7, 2021

“Beautiful World, Where Are You” is Irish writer Sally Rooney’s follow-up to the hugely successful “Normal People,” which was adapted into a 2020 television series by Hulu and the BBC.

Courtesy of Amazon

3. Courage is Calling
> Author: Ryan Holiday
> Release date: September 7, 2021

“Courage is Calling” is the first in a series of books examining the Stoic virtues. Author Ryan Holiday has had a string of inspirational-themed successes, including “The Obstacle Is the Way,” “Ego Is the Enemy,” and “The Daily Stoic.”

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Courtesy of Amazon

5. AI 2041
> Author: Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan
> Release date: September 14, 2021

Described as a work of scientific fiction, “AI 2041” is a collaboration between Kai-Fu Lee, the former president of Google China and author of “AI Superpowers,” and novelist Chen Qiufan. They imagine how the world of 2041 will be shaped by artificial intelligence.

Courtesy of Amazon

6. Harlem Shuffle
> Author: Colson Whitehead
> Release date: September 14, 2021

“Harlem Shuffle” is an intricately plotted crime novel set in mid-20th-century Harlem. Author Colson Whitehead won back-to-back Pulitzer Prizes for his two previous novels, “The Underground Railroad” and “The Nickel Boys.”

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Courtesy of Amazon

7. Bewilderment
> Author: Richard Powers
> Release date: September 21, 2021

“Bewilderment” is the story of astrophysicist Theo Byrne, who simulates worlds outside our solar system as part of lobbying efforts for a new spaceborne telescope, and his relationship with his talented but troubled son. Among other things, it features experimental neurotherapy and speculations about alien life. Powers won a Pulitzer for his last book, “The Overstory.”

Courtesy of Amazon

8. Chronicles from the Land of the Happiness People on Earth
> Author: Wole Soyinka
> Release date: September 28, 2021

The first Black winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Wole Soyinka’s first novel in nearly half a century has been described as a fictional meditation on how power and greed can corrupt the soul of a nation.

Courtesy of Amazon

9. Cloud Cuckoo Land
> Author: Anthony Doerr
> Release date: September 28, 2021

“Cloud Cuckoo Land” has five protagonists, “dreamers and outsiders who find resourcefulness and hope in the midst of peril.” Two are on opposite sides during the 1453 siege of Constantinople; two are caught up in an attack on a public library in present-day Idaho; and one is on an interstellar ship bound for an exoplanet.

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Courtesy of Amazon

10. Please Don’t Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes
> Author: Phoebe Robinson
> Release date: September 28, 2021

This is a collection of essays from author, comedian, and actress Phoebe Robinson. She takes on a wide range of topics, from parental values to Black Lives Matter to hair care.

Courtesy of Amazon

11. Crossroads
> Author: Jonathan Franzen
> Release date: October 5, 2021

“Crossroads” is the first volume of a comic trilogy, “A Key to All Mythologies,” that will span three generations and trace the inner life of our culture through the present day. It begins in 1971, when the Hildebrandt family is at a crossroads. Patriarch Russ, a church pastor, is poised to leave a joyless marriage — unless his wife Marion breaks free first.

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Courtesy of Amazon

12. The Lincoln Highway
> Author: Amor Towles
> Release date: October 5, 2021

“The Lincoln Highway” is a story spanning 10 days and told from multiple points of view. In 1954, 18-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home after serving fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter. He discovers that two escapees have hidden in the trunk of the warden’s car.

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13. Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World
> Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
> Release date: October 12, 2021

This is a sequel to “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s 2012 coming-of-age young adult novel, in which two boys in a “border town” fall in love.

Courtesy of Amazon

14. The Every
> Author: Dave Eggers
> Release date: October 19, 2021

This is a follow-up to Dave Eggers’ book “The Circle,” which was about the world’s largest search engine/social media company. The company merges with the biggest e-commerce site to create the most threatening monopoly ever known: The Every.

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Courtesy of Amazon

15. The Judge’s List
> Author: John Grisham
> Release date: October 19, 2021

“The Judge’s List” is the latest novel from John Grisham, who has written a series of hugely popular legal thrillers. Investigator Lacy Stoltz is on the trail of a serial killer and discovers that the suspect is a sitting judge.

Courtesy of Amazon

16. Better Off Dead
> Author: Lee Child and Andrew Child
> Release date: October 26, 2021

“Better Off Dead” is the latest Jack Reacher thriller. Reacher is a former US Army military policeman who roams the country investigating suspicious and dangerous situations. It’s co-written by series creator Lee Child and his brother Andrew Child.

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Courtesy of Amazon

17. On Girlhood
> Author: Glory Edim
> Release date: October 26, 2021

“On Girlhood” is an anthology of 15 stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library Series, featuring works by writers such as Rita Dove, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker.

Courtesy of Amazon

18. The Sentence
> Author: Louise Erdrich
> Release date: November 9, 2021

“The Sentence” is a funny ghost story from Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich. A small independent bookstore in Minneapolis is haunted by its most annoying customer after she dies on All Souls’ Day.

Courtesy of Amazon

19. The 1619 Project
> Author: Nikole Hanna-Jones
> Release date: November 16, 2021

“The 1619 Project” is an undertaking by investigative journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and writers from “The New York Times” which “aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the United States’ national narrative.”

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Courtesy of Amazon

20. These Precious Days: Essays
> Author: Ann Patchett
> Release date: November 23, 2021

“These Precious Days” is a collection of essays on such topics as home, family, friendship, marriage, failure, and success — and what it all means.

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