There are too many good books coming out in September
An incomplete list of the most exciting new releases
There are so many exciting new fiction and nonfiction releases coming out in the next month or so that I’m changing things up and delivering a roundup of the ones I’m most looking forward to.
I am stoked (and overwhelmed) by the prospect of inhaling all the books on this list, presented in order of release date. Disclosure: I haven’t read any of these yet and can’t vouch for how they actually stand up, but they’re all by tried and true authors whose past works have stayed with me, in some cases for years.
Could a best of the year be lurking on this list? Stay tuned.
Happy reading!
Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
Coming August 29
What to expect: Literary mystery, family drama, luscious prose, surprising twists and turns
The author of Miracle Creek (2019) returns with another story about a Korean American family, this time centering around a missing father and his relatives’ desperate search to find him.
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
Coming September 12
What to expect: Juicy details about Musk’s life and loves, all the Twitter stuff, lots of (650+) pages
Arguably my most anticipated nonfiction of the year, I absolutely cannot wait for this one from the biography master himself. Isaacson reportedly shadowed Musk for two years to write this book, so expect there to be some juicy, never before revealed tidbits in here.
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
Coming September 19
What to expect: Suspense, meditations on the media’s coverage of women and violence, true crime investigations
Jessica Knoll’s Luckiest Girl Alive was made into a sultry, sinister movie starring Mila Kunis, so expect more of that vibe here. This one depicts a sorority in 1978 terrorized by a serial killer, inspired by true events, and the two women who try to determine the truth behind the headlines. More than a few early readers have referred to it as her strongest work to date.
Wellness by Nathan Hill
Coming September 19
What to expect: Marriage drama, parenting problems, toxicity disguised as wellness
The author of the Nix — which I still think about despite the fact that I read it in 2016 — is releasing his second book, which centers on a pair of college sweethearts 20 years into their marriage. We’ve been promised an abundance of new age mindfulness, culty gurus and all the drama inherent in a modern love story.
Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World by Mary Beard
Coming September 28
What to expect: Men behaving badly, theses on the nature of power, a dash of humor
The queen of Ancient Rome’s latest spotlights a subset of emperors who ruled the Empire, including Julius Caesar, to determine just how much power these men had and what it was like in the most privileged seat of the Eternal City.