To help guide your reading this fall and into winter, here’s a sampling of new releases worth your attention.
September
“The Year of the Flood,” by Margaret Atwood (Doubleday/Nan A. Talese). The last from acclaimed novelist Margaret Atwood examines a dystopic world ravaged by a natural disaster.
“The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns (Knopf). The companion to Burns’ new film celebrating the preservation of America’s natural spaces.
“Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression,” by Morris Dickstein (W.W. Norton & Co.). From grim proletarian novels to over-the-top screwball comedies, this examination of 1930s culture high and low provides a comprehensive look at the heartbeat of an era still felt today.
“Homer & Langley,” by E.L. Doctorow (Random House). The latest from the author of “Ragtime” tells the true story of the infamous New York hermits known as the Collyer brothers.
“Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains With the Smith Center Redmen,” by Joe Drape (Times Books). Follows a Kansas town’s obsession with its perfection-seeking high school football team.
“The Adderall Diaries,” by Stephen Elliot t (Graywolf Press). Details the author’s adderall-fueled obsession with Hans Reiser, the computer mogul convicted of murdering his wife.
“American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot,” by Craig Ferguson (Harper). The host of CBS’ “The Late, Late Show,” stand-up comedian, and all-around funnyman Ferguson recounts his journey from the working-class neighborhoods of Scotland to Hollywood stardom and U.S. citizenship.
“Vanished,” by Joseph Finder (St. Martins). The inaugural book in a series featuring the adventures of a tough, Special Forces-trained intelligence investigator.
“Scary Stuff,” by Sharon Fiffer (Minotaur). The latest in the Jane Wheel Mystery series follows the antique collector as she stumbles upon a troubling case of mistaken identity that hits a little too close to home.
“Worse Than War: Genocide, Eliminationism, and the Ongoing Assault on Humanity,” by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen (PublicAffairs). A comprehensive investigation of genocide and how the world community can work toward its prevention.
“A Separate Country,” by Robert Hicks (Grand Central). This historical novel follows a man in post-Civil War New Orleans crippled by his war wounds and unable to confront his past.
“Juliet, Naked,” by Nick Hornby (Riverhead). From the hilarious New York Times best-selling author, a story about life, love, music, superfandom and the lies we all rely on to get by.
“Blame,” by Michelle Huneven (Sarah Crichton Books). In the latest from novelist Huneven, a young, wisecracking history professor wakes up from an alcoholic bender to find herself in jail for murder.
“Normal People Don’t Live Like This,” by Dylan Landis (Persea). Debut novel about a young girl growing up on the Upper West Side of New York City in the 1970s.
“Her Fearful Symmetry,” by Audrey Niffenegger (Scribner). When their elderly aunt dies, twin sisters inherit a London apartment and are forced to confront issues of identity, love and sisterhood.
“Hardball,” by Sara Paretsky (Putnam Adult). In this latest novel featuring gutsy private eye Vic Warshawski, Paretsky puts Chicago’s stormy racial and political history center stage as Vic searches for a man who has been missing for decades.
“The Murder of King-Tut: The Plot to Kill the Child King — A Nonfiction Thriller,” by James Patterson and Martin Dugard (Little, Brown). The authors use X-rays, forensic files and ancient stories to construct their own version of the life and death of the mysterious boy king.
“Generosity: An Enhancement,” By Richard Powers (Farrar, Straus & Giroux/Frances Coady). This novel from National Book Award winner Powers follows a famous geneticist as he tries to unravel the mysteries surrounding the happiness gene.
“Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?” by Michael J. Sandel (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). Drawing on the subject of his popular course at Harvard, the author examines how philosophy can help inform decisions concerning justice and morality.
“The Death of Conservatism,” by Sam Tanenhaus (Random House). The editor of the New York Times Book Review traces the history of conservatism as a political movement and the current state of two-party politics in America.
“Love and Summer,” by William Trevor (Viking). In Trevor’s 14th novel, a traveler looking for a new beginning and a young girl married to an older widower develop a reckless attachment that threatens to upend a small Irish town.
October
“Barack and Michelle,” by Christopher Andersen (Morrow). An inside look at the story of America’s first couple.
“Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son,” by Michael Chabon (Harper). The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” ponders what masculinity means today with his usual wit and lyricism.
“And Another Thing,” by Eoin Colfer (Hyperion). The sixth installment in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” series, to be released on the 30th anniversary of the first book.
“The Pattern in the Carpet: A Personal History With Jigsaws,” by Margaret Drabble (Haughton Mifflin Harcourt). This novelist’s first memoir delves into her life, past and present, through the prism of her lifelong love of jigsaw puzzles.
“Reading Jesus,” by Mary Gordon (Pantheon). Gordon offers a personal journey through the Gospels, exploring differing beliefs among Christians and some of the mysteries surrounding Jesus.
“Last Night in Twisted River,” by John Irving (Random House). The author of “The Cider House Rules” and “The World According to Garp” offers another epic novel about a fugitive father and son on the run across North America.
“Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home,” by Rhoda Janzen (Henry Holt). After a messy breakup and a scary car accident, the author returns to her close-knit Mennonite family for some offbeat, often hilarious, guidance.
“The Swan Thieves,” by Elizabeth Kostova (Little, Brown). A psychiatrist’s life is turned upside down when a famous painter becomes his patient after attacking a canvas hanging in the National Gallery of Art.
“Chronic City,” by Jonathan Lethem (Doubleday). The latest novel from the author of “Motherless Brooklyn” and “The Fortress of Solitude” follows a handsome man in Manhattan’s high society, as he lives off the residuals from his career as a child star.
“Last Man Standing: The Ascent of Jamie Dimon and JP Morgan Chase,” by Duff McDonald (Simon & Schuster). A chronicle of the rise and staying power of relatively young CEO Jamie Dimon, who has weathered the financial crisis and put JP Morgan at the top of the global banking world.
“O Is for Obama: An Irreverent A-Z Guide to Washington and Beltway Politics,” by Dana Milbank(Triumph Books). Nobody is spared in this unrelenting examination of the political class and its Beltway blustering by Washington Post political reporter and columnist Dana Milbank.
“Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife,” by Francine Prose (Harper). This work of literary criticism examines the enduring influence and importance of Anne Frank’s beloved, heartbreaking diary.
“The Queen Mother: The Official Biography,” by William Shawcross (Knopf). A comprehensive biography of England’s Queen Elizabeth, drawing on her private correspondence and previously unpublished material from the royal archives.
“Half Broke Horses,” by Jeannette Walls (Scribner). The author of the best-selling memoir “The Glass Castle” presents the story of her grandmother, who lived through the Great Depression, natural disasters and heartbreaking tragedy.
November
“Robert Redford: The Biography,” by Michael Feeney Callan (Knopf). Through the actor’s personal papers, Callan paints a vivid portrait of one of Hollywood’s most beloved leading men.
“In His Shadow: A Daughter Remembers Orson Welles,” by Chris Welles Feder(Algonquin Books). Memoir of growing up as the daughter of the tormented and celebrated Hollywood legend.
“Under the Dome,” by Stephen King (Scribner). A town in Maine is suddenly and inexplicably separated from the rest of the world by an invisible force field.
“The Lacuna,” by Barbara Kingsolver (Harper). The first novel in nine years from the acclaimed author of “The Poisonwood Bible” details a man’s search for identity over a life spanning some of the past century’s most tumultuous events.
“The Art Students War,” by Brad Leithauser (Random House). In his sixth novel, Leithauser offers a vivid historical portrait of Detroit in its prime as he affectionately chronicles the life of a young female artist.
“Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker,” by James McManus (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). The author of “Positively Fifth Street” and former World Series of Poker contestant traces the history of poker and the game’s importance in American culture.
“The Humbling,” by Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). The master of American letters follows an aging actor as his confidence begins to unravel.
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Compiled by Elizabeth Taylor and Joe D. Babcock, Tribune Newspapers
