A bounty of fall books

09/29/23 • 29 min

1 Listener

This week, R. Eric Thomas, TV writer and author of Congratulations, The Best Is Over!, and Alex Abad-Santos, senior correspondent for Vox, joined us to reflect on the end of the writers’ strike and the 20th anniversary of the pumpkin spice latte.

Then, we revel in the best new books coming out this fall! We called up some of our favorite readers and writers to find out what they’re most excited to read.

Here are the titles in order of when they were mentioned in the episode. For links and full descriptions, head to our website!

‘The Woman in Me’ by Britney Spears

‘Same Bed Different Dreams’ by Ed Park

‘How to Be Multiple: The Philosophy of Twins’ by Helena de Bres

‘Iron Flame’ by Rebecca Yarros

‘Rouge’ by Mona Awad

‘Organ Meats’ by K-Ming Chang

‘A Haunting on the Hill’ by Elizabeth Hand

‘Edith Holler’ By Edward Carey

‘The Reformatory’ by By Tananarive Due

‘The Vaster Wilds’ by Lauren Groff (Nerdette Book Club pick!)

‘Land of Milk and Honey’ by C Pam Zhang (Nerdette Book Club pick!)

‘Roaming’ by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki

‘Vampires of El Norte’ by Isabel Cañas

‘The Iliad’ translated by Emily Wilson

‘The Vulnerables’ by Sigrid Nunez

‘Family Lore’ by Elizabeth Acevedo

‘North Woods’ by Daniel Mason

‘The Unsettled’ by Ayana Mathis

Then, we revel in the best new books coming out this fall! We called up some of our favorite readers and writers to find out what they’re most excited to read.

Here are the titles in order of when they were mentioned in the episode. For links and full descriptions, head to our website!

‘The Woman in Me’ by Britney Spears

‘Same Bed Different Dreams’ by Ed Park

‘How to Be Multiple: The Philosophy of Twins’ by Helena de Bres

‘Iron Flame’ by Rebecca Yarros

‘Rouge’ by Mona Awad

‘Organ Meats’ by K-Ming Chang

‘A Haunting on the Hill’ by Elizabeth Hand

‘Edith Holler’ By Edward Carey

‘The Reformatory’ by By Tananarive Due

‘The Vaster Wilds’ by Lauren Groff (Nerdette Book Club pick!)

‘Land of Milk and Honey’ by C Pam Zhang (Nerdette Book Club pick!)

‘Roaming’ by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki

‘Vampires of El Norte’ by Isabel Cañas

‘The Iliad’ translated by Emily Wilson

‘The Vulnerables’ by Sigrid Nunez

‘Family Lore’ by Elizabeth Acevedo

‘North Woods’ by Daniel Mason

‘The Unsettled’ by Ayana Mathis

Previous Episode

Nerdette Book Club: ‘Happiness Falls,’ discussed!

Nerdette Book Club is back to dig into our September pick, Angie Kim’s novel 'Happiness Falls.' During the lockdown era of COVID, college student Mia is stuck at home with her parents and two brothers. Her father, Adam, stays at home to take care of the youngest son Eugene, who has autism and does not speak. One day, Adam and Eugene leave to go on a walk, but only Eugene comes back. The more the family looks for Adam, the more secrets they uncover. It’s a mystery that also grapples with ableism, personal fulfillment, and how much you can really know the people closest to you.

We’re joined by two of our favorite readers, Ted Talks Daily host Elise Hu and Northwestern University’s audio journalism director Arionne Nettles. If you have not read the book yet and do not want to hear spoilers, go back and listen to our conversation with Angie Kim in the feed!

Next Episode

Nerdette Book Club: Lauren Groff on ‘The Vaster Wilds’

It is the month of October and Nerdette Book Club’s selection is ‘The Vaster Wilds’ by three-time National Book Award finalist Lauren Groff. This historical novel is about a servant girl who is on the run from her corrupt, smallpox-riddled colonial settlement. She struggles to survive in the unforgiving wilderness. In this spoiler-free interview with the author, we talk about changing the narrative of the American frontier by putting a young girl at its center.

We invite you to read along and participate in the book club! We’ll be back with another episode on the last Tuesday of the month to debrief on what we read. You can contribute your thoughts to the discussion by recording a voice memo. Send your files to [email protected] and you will get the chance to hear your voice in the episode!