24 October Book Releases We’re Excited About

Plus, what's new in paperback

Reading ahead 

Our TBR piles may be taller than small children, but there are always new books that we want to add to the stack. From literary luminaries to fantasy series finales to heartrending romance, October’s most anticipated list is packed with must-reads! Here are 24 upcoming releases across a mix of genres. These titles are available for preorder, but in the meantime, we have recs for similar reads that you can enjoy now.  

Plus, find out what's new or coming soon in paperback. 

Literary and contemporary

Every Story is a Love Story by Imbolo Mbue (Oct. 6) 

Three years ago, Wolo's wife was killed in a tragic car accident. Now the woman responsible for his wife's death has sent him a letter asking to meet. Against the advice of his family and friends, Wolo agrees to see her. This deeply moving novel charts the uneven path from heartbreak to healing.    

What to read while you wait: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones 

Partita by Barbara Kingsolver (Oct. 6) 

Livia Cable has made peace with leaving behind life as a pianist for marriage and a modest farm livelihood, until a shocking phone call from a past lover shakes her to the core. From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Demon Copperhead, comes an unforgettable new novel exploring the life-changing power of art.  

What to read while you wait: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett 

Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus (Oct. 13) 

The bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry returns with a novel set in the publishing world of 1980s New York City about a young man whose life turns upside down when he's hired by the most prestigious, secretive, and dysfunctional poetry journal in the world. 

What to read while you wait: The World According to Garp by John Irving 

The Brightness by Chad Harbach (Oct. 27) 

The much-anticipated follow-up to The Art of Fielding, this electric novel follows the chaotic lives of Pella and her best friend, Irma, as they fumble their way out of their sleepy, Midwestern college and into a larger world that will upend everything they thought they understood about their own place within it. 

What to read while you wait: Wellness by Nathan Hill 

Thrills and chills

The Witch by Freida McFadden (Oct. 6) 

When Julia Barlow loses her job and her apartment, she goes to Pemberton, her family's seventeenth-century estate in rural Massachusetts. Officially, she's there to check in on her aging grandmother. But she also hopes the old house will give her a place to disappear. Instead, Pemberton begins to unravel her. 

What to read while you wait: The Only One Left by Riley Sager 

Look What the Cat Dragged In by Jason Rekulak (Oct. 13) 

Meet Penny Padgett, a twenty-seven-year-old cartoonist in Philadelphia who agrees to pet-sit a very peculiar cat named Godfrey in her home. But when strange things start happening all around her, and even within her, Penny begins to think that Godfrey is no ordinary cat. 

What to read while you wait: Nestlings by Nat Cassidy 

The Family Cross: An Alex Cross Thriller by James Patterson (Oct. 19) 

Alex Cross is a brilliant psychologist—and a relentless hunter of killers for the FBI and DC Metro Police. In the newest thriller of this bestselling series, Cross investigates a series of baffling murders while balancing a family crisis that threatens to upend his entire world. 

What to read while you wait: Along Came a Spider by James Patterson 

Miss Wolcott's Ghost by Louise Penny (Oct. 20) 

"There's a body in Lost Nation." "Where?" demands Armand as he scribbles on the pad by his bed. But the line goes dead... After receiving a phone call in the wee hours at his home in Three Pines, Quebec, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is propelled into the investigation of yet another puzzling murder. 

What to read while you wait: The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman 

Sci-fi and fantasy

Victorious by V. E. Schwab (Oct. 6) 

Eli Ever. Victor Vale. Two men, first best friends, then mortal enemies, each destined to be the other's shadow. One left standing—but the game isn't over yet. Allies and rivals meet on a chess board set by an opponent they couldn't have predicted in the thrilling conclusion to the Villains series. 

What to read while you wait: The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake 

Other Worlds Than These by Stephen King and Peter Straub (Oct. 6) 

Readers first met Jack Sawyer at age twelve in The Talisman. Now, in the series finale, an older Jack must stop a rampaging gang of infected teenagers from America-side, and the forces of the mysterious Gullet at the edge of Mid-World, before it destroys our world and all worlds. 

What to read while you wait: How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu 

Dark Reading Matter by Jasper Fforde (Oct. 6) 

Ex-Literary Special Ops Agent Thursday Next is embarking on her eighth and final fictional adventure, and she is well aware of the fact. The problem is, others are aware of it, too. Old foes and new are plotting their revenge. Thursday can't let that happen. Will she find her happy ending?  

What to read while you wait: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde 

This Shattered Tempest by Thea Guanzon (Oct. 6) 

The highly anticipated conclusion to the bestselling Hurricane Wars trilogy makes landfall. And as the winds of war sweep through Lir, Talasyn and Alaric must confront the truth of their hearts and decide whether duty or desire will lead them forward. Preorder now to receive the stunning limited deluxe edition. 

What to read while you wait: The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon 

A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas (Oct. 27) 

As Prythian picks up the pieces in the wake of the devastating Hybern War, an insidious threat is stirring. To make matters worse, those who rule and protect the Night Court are reeling from recent betrayals and revealed truths. Romance, danger, and intrigue return in the sixth book of the ACOTAR series.     

What to read while you wait: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas 

To Dream in Darkness by Ann Liang (Oct. 27) 

China in the age of brilliance, where gods freely wander the three realms. Amongst them, the cruel and beautiful Death God has never failed to collect a soul on time. But when he seeks out Rujia, the noble god of healing—the one god he is fated to kill with his own hands—she makes him an offer he can't refuse. 

What to read while you wait: A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang 

Historical fiction

Royal Witch by Philippa Gregory (Oct. 20) 

1420. Eleanor Cobham arrives at the court of Henry V. Pretty but not highborn, she hopes for nothing more than to marry well. But betrayals and shifts of power change the flourishing world Eleanor has stepped into. As the safe, comfortable future she'd envisioned begins to shift, Eleanor changes with it.

What to read while you wait: The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo 

Romance

Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson (Oct. 6) 

Parker Navarro expected his debut novel to define his career—until critic Selina Chan's blistering review made it the flop of the decade. Four years later, when his new book is met by Selena's second takedown, it ignites a viral feud. But as the literary world feeds on their public sparring, a quieter dialogue begins. 

What to read while you wait: Writers & Lovers by Lily King 

Broken Rival by Tessa Bailey (Oct. 6) 

Magnolia Brown loves Friday night football games, volunteering and dominating at high school swim meets. Just your average everyday eighteen-year-old. Except for one thing: She's from fifty years in the future. This time-traveling, sci-fi romance centers on a girl trapped in a new reality.  

What to read while you wait: This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub 

The Mother-In-Law Book Club by Kate Hash (Oct. 13) 

On the plane to Durham for her next big gig, traveling consultant and soon-to-be divorcée Andi gets into an argument that will change her life forever. When her seventy-something adversary unexpectedly extends an olive branch invitation to her book club, Andi does something completely out of character: she says yes. 

What to read while you wait: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry 

A Married Little Christmas by Abby Jimenez (Oct. 20) 

Bring on the holiday cheer in this delightful collection of three feel-good novellas from the bestselling author of The Night We Met. With bonus recipes and full-page illustrations, perfect for gifting, the limited, one-time printing, deluxe edition has designed edges and color endpapers. 

What to read while you wait: Lovelight Farms by B. K. Borison 

The Seventh Ribbon by Gus Krieger (Oct. 27) 

Alone in her snowbound oceanfront cottage, Caroline Ora mourns the loss of her beloved husband Forest, killed earlier that year in a violent hit-and-run. Once a celebrated poet, Caroline now spends her days drowning in grief. But then an unlikely discovery changes everything. 

What to read while you wait: In Five Years by Rebecca Serle 

Nonfiction

One Helluva Ride by Michael Douglas (Oct. 6) 

Beginning with his fractured childhood and a complex relationship with his superstar father, the Hollywood icon gives the full and uncensored account of a remarkable life. His memoir reveals incredible behind-the-scenes stories, with an unflinching honesty about his sometimes bad-boy life. 

What to read while you wait: Sonny Boy by Al Pacino 

Vibe: The Secrets of Strong Connections in a Lonely World by Adam Grant (Oct. 13) 

When we vibe with other people, it fuels our happiness and success. Yet building meaningful ties is one of the most pressing problems of our time and the loneliness crisis shows no signs of slowing. This book, illuminating the science of chemistry and closeness, will change how you interact with people. 

What to read while you wait: The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker 

Kids/YA

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Fight or Flight by Jeff Kinney (Oct. 20) 

When a secret binder filled with Greg's notes on the school's biggest bullies falls into the wrong hands, his world quickly begins to unravel. Now it's a race against time before the truth comes out. In #21 of the hit middle-grade series, Greg's ability to navigate the world of middle school is put to the test. (Ages 8–12) 

What to read while you wait: Big Nate: In a Class by Himself by Lincoln Peirce 

The Sixth Faction by Veronica Roth (Oct. 6) 

Beatrice Prior, aka Tris, stands on the brink of a monumental decision. She has a plan, but when tragedy strikes, everything changes. This deluxe limited edition of book #1 in a bold new Divergent spinoff series features a gorgeous exclusive cover, designed edges, a foiled case, and special endpapers. (Ages 14–17) 

What to read while you wait: Red Rising by Pierce Brown 

New or coming soon in paperback! 

• Bread of Angels: A Memoir by Patti Smith —From the iconic singer-songwriter and the author of the National Book Award winning Just Kids, comes her most intimate memoir yet. 

• Nash Falls by David Baldacci —When Walter Nash is recruited by the FBI to help bring down a global crime network his life is turned completely upside down. 

• Circle of Days by Ken Follett —From the bestselling author of The Pillars of the Earth comes the deeply human story of one of the world's greatest mysteries: the building of Stonehenge. 

• Buckeye by Patrick Ryan —A mesmerizing novel that weaves the intimate lives of two midwestern families across generations, from World War II to the late twentieth century.. 

• The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy — An era-defining novel about five Black women over the course of their twenty-year friendship. 

• Family of Spies: A World War II Story of Nazi Espionage, Betrayal, and the Secret History Behind Pearl Harbor by Christine Kuehn — A propulsive, never-before-told story of one family's shocking involvement as Nazi and Japanese spies during WWII. 

• All The Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert — From the bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love and Big Magic, comes a new memoir about how to break free. 

• My Beloved: A Mitford Novel by Jan Karon —The newest installment in the Mitford Years series is a heartwarming Christmas tale. 

• Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon — The new novel from the bestselling author of Gravity's Rainbow and The Crying of Lot 49. 

• Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum by Michael J. Fox — A poignant, heartfelt, and funny memoir about how, in 1985, the author/actor embodied two iconic roles simultaneously. 

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Read more by Ashly Moore Sheldon