The Most Anticipated Books to Read This Fall

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.

“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.

“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.”

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.

“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.”

“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.”

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.

“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.

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.

“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.

“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.

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

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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.”

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