Each month, a wealth of interesting new books hit the shelves.
Here are some standout novels, nonfiction, YA, children’s and more to put them on your reading radar.
- “I Will Do Better” by Charles Bock. Widowed novelist Bock writes in this memoir about raising his young daughter on his own after the death of his wife from leukemia. (Oct. 1.)
- “The Message” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The bestselling author and National Book Award winner has a new book of three entwined essays that take him to Africa, South Carolina and Palestine. (Oct. 1.)
- “The Mighty Red” by Louise Erdrich. The author, bookseller and recipient of the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize returns with a novel set in the Red River Valley of North Dakota. (Oct. 1.)
- “Mojave Ghost” by Forrest Gander. The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet has written “a novel poem” that finds him dealing with grief by walking along the 800-mile San Andreas Fault toward his hometown in California’s Mojave Desert. (Oct. 1.)
- “The Great When: A Long London Novel” by Alan Moore. The comics legend behind “From Hell,” “Watchmen” and “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” kicks off a new novel series set in a fantastical post-World War II London. (Oct. 1.)
- “John Lewis: A Life” by David Greenberg. Author and historian Greenberg has written a mammoth biography of the Civil Rights icon, who survived being beaten and nearly killed on the march in Selma to become a respected congressman, leader and moral force. (Oct. 1.)
- “Into the Uncut Grass” by Trevor Noah, illustrated by Sabina Hahn. The comedian, former “Daily Show” host and bestselling author of “Born a Crime” returns with a picture book for all ages. (Oct. 8)
- “Sonny Boy: A Memoir” by Al Pacino. The acclaimed actor and film icon writes about his South Bronx upbringing and more in this memoir. (Oct. 8)
- “The Bletchley Riddle” by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin. In this middle-grade historical adventure, bestselling authors Sepetys and Sheinkin team up for a World War II story about a pair of siblings and the codebreakers at Bletchley Park. (Oct. 8)
- “The Waiting: A Ballard and Bosch Novel” by Michael Connelly. The icon of Los Angeles crime writing is back with a new novel about a cold case that gets reactivated with a fresh DNA match. (Oct. 15)
- “Midnight and Blue: An Inspector Rebus Novel” by Ian Rankin. Rankin’s detective John Rebus finds himself disgraced and locked up in prison when a fellow prisoner turns up dead. (Oct. 15)
- “Brothers” by Alex Van Halen. Van Halen’s drummer shares the personal story of growing up with his guitar-hero sibling Edward and launching a band in Pasadena that would achieve worldwide fame. (Oct. 22)
- “Absolution” by Jeff VanderMeer. The award-winning “Annihilation” author returns to Area X with a new novel to add to his Southern Reach series. (Oct. 22)
- “The Wood at Midwinter” by Susanna Clarke. Illustrated by Victoria Sawdon, this Christmas-set short story is a new offering from the author of “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell” and “Piranesi.” (Oct. 22)
- “The Grey Wolf” by Louise Penny. In the 19th novel of the long-running series set in the Québec village of Three Pines, detective Armand Gamache takes on a new case. (Oct. 22)
