Entertainment Books The 20 Best Books to Read This Fall A medieval kingdom? Truman Capote's New York? With these new titles you can choose your own escape. Edited by Kim Hubbard By People Staff Published on September 10, 2021 09:58AM EDT Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos 01 of 20 Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead "Slightly bent" furniture salesman Ray Carney navigates crime and family in a beautifully rendered 1960s Harlem. Another triumph from Pulitzer winner Whitehead. — reviewed by Lynn Brown (Sept.) FICTION Buy it: Amazon, Bookshop.org 02 of 20 Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King A masterful, enchanting collection of stories illuminating the spectrum of human love — the platonic, the unrequited, the forbidden and the unconditional. — reviewed by Emma Dries (Nov.) FICTION Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 03 of 20 Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty Moriarty (Big Little Lies) has an eye for the telling detail that rivals Anne Tyler's — and a knack for building suspense. This tale of a tennis mom gone missing will keep you guessing. — reviewed by Kim Hubbard (Sept.) FICTION Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 04 of 20 The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles Heading for a new life in California in 1954, a Nebraskan and his little brother are detoured to unexpected adventures in New York. An enthralling odyssey from the author of A Gentleman in Moscow. — reviewed by Robin Micheli (Oct.) FICTION Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 05 of 20 Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr Doerr connects seemingly disparate story lines — from the 15th century, modern Idaho and a spaceship in the future — with a Greek myth about the search for utopia. Epic and profound. — reviewed by Claire Martin (Sept.) FICTION Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 06 of 20 Three Girls From Bronzeville by Dawn Turner They grew up in the same South Side Chicago neighborhood. The author succeeds; her sister and best friend don't. A remarkable memoir about their bond — and Turner's refusal to leave them behind. — reviewed by Benilde Little (Sept.) NONFICTION Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 07 of 20 These Precious Days by Ann Patchett The beloved novelist and bookstore owner invites us into her world in 22 essays about family, friendship and the writing life, with guest appearances by Tom Hanks and Snoopy. — reviewed by Marion Winik (Nov.) NONFICTION Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 08 of 20 Capote's Women by Laurence Leamer Babe Paley, Slim Keith, C.Z. Guest... they were the stars of '50s and '60s society. They were also the women Truman Capote loved, flattered — and betrayed. A fascinating look at their world. — reviewed by Judith Newman (Oct.) NONFICTION Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 09 of 20 Smile by Sarah Ruhl With a show opening on Broadway and newborn twins in her arms, this MacArthur-winning playwright lost the ability to smile. Her long journey with Bell's palsy is recounted with humor and wisdom. — reviewed by Marion Winik (Oct.) NONFICTION Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 10 of 20 Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang The author and her mother came to the U.S. as undocumented immigrants, hungry and terrified as they worked in a sweatshop in New York's Chinatown. Now she honors their long-buried story. — reviewed by Marion Winik (Sept.) NONFICTION Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 11 of 20 We Know You Remember by Tove Alsterdal A suspicious death in her hometown sends Swedish cop Eira Sjödin back to a crime that haunted her childhood. Beautifully elegiac and intricately plotted, this is Nordic noir at its best. — reviewed by Ellen Shapiro (Sept.) MYSTERY/THRILLER Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 12 of 20 The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman The septuagenarian sleuths of The Thursday Murder Club don't miss a beat as they track down stolen diamonds, tangle with killers and debate the merits of adopting a dog named Alan. — reviewed by Ellen Shapiro (Sept.) MYSTERY/THRILLER Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 13 of 20 State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny This pulsating thriller — coauthored by a mystery master and the ultimate government insider — pits a novice Secretary of State against evildoers both worlds away and terrifyingly close to home. — reviewed by Ellen Shapiro (Oct.) MYSTERY/THRILLER Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 14 of 20 These Toxic Things by Rachel Howzell Hall Mickie Lambert is creating a digital scrapbook for the owner of an L.A. curio shop. When the client dies, the objects she's left behind point in an ominous direction. A gripping original. — reviewed by Ellen Shapiro (Sept.) MYSTERY/THRILLER Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 15 of 20 Silverview by John le Carré This splendid, posthumously published finale to the spy writer's legendary career follows a bookstore owner caught in the machinations of a dysfunctional British intelligence service. — reviewed by Ellen Shapiro (Oct.) MYSTERY/THRILLER Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 16 of 20 Home Alone by Barbara Nascimbeni When Frido's owner leaves for work, the party starts! A stylish day-in-the-life account of a peppy pup who knows how to entertain herself. — reviewed by Sue Corbett (July) KIDS/TEENS, 3-5 Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 17 of 20 Change Sings by Amanda Gorman A pied piper (with a guitar) collects a band of kids, spreading kindness and promoting changes to the way we treat one another and the planet. — reviewed by Sue Corbett (Sept.) KIDS/TEENS, 4-8 Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 18 of 20 The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo A monk finds a girl in a barn. She can't remember her name, but she can read, which means she belongs to someone rich and important. Could she be the girl prophesized to "unseat a king?" — reviewed by Sue Corbett (Sept.) KIDS/TEENS, 8-12 Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 19 of 20 Borders by Thomas King A boy and his mom are stuck at the U.S.-Canada border when she insists their citizenship is "Blackfoot" and guards say it must be either Canadian or American. A timely graphic novel about identity. — reviewed by Sue Corbett (Sept.) KIDS/TEENS, 8-12 Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org 20 of 20 When We Were Strangers by Alex Richards Seventeen-year-old Evie Parker is shattered by her father's unexpected death — and then by the shocking secrets she learns he had been keeping. — reviewed by Sue Corbett (July) KIDS/TEENS, Young Adult Buy It: Amazon, Bookshop.org