The Reading Lounge : Fall Book Lists

An Extravaganza of Fall 2023 Book Lists, plus 3 of my most anticipated fall books

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Hi Friends,

Despite the continued heat here in Ohio and throughout much of the US, fall is upon us and with it - Fall Reading! I’ve lived in the Ohio my whole life and fall is my favorite season. I’m ready for sweater weather, for the vibrant colors of the leaves when they change, for crisp morning walks in the woods, cinnamon spice candles, and for reading fall new releases under a cozy blanket. Of course, I’ll still be reading backlist here and there, but I’m very excited about many of fall’s new books - specifically literary mystery/thrillers, nonfiction, and literary fiction.

Today’s post is all about new and upcoming fall books and I’ve compiled as many lists as I could find and put them all here for you! I love lists -making them as well as reading them- and I hope you enjoy browsing all of these fall 2023 book lists. My goal is not to overwhelm your to-be-read (TBR) lists; rather, I hope you’ll find that this post is a helpful resource for you to check out the variety of upcoming books (these lists are by no means exhaustive) so you can pre-order, get library holds in, plan for your books clubs etc. The goal is to enhance our fall reading, not overwhelm it:)

I’ll also be sharing three of my most anticipated fall releases below and I’d love for you to leave a comment about a book YOU’RE excited to read

FALL 2023 BOOK LISTS

She Reads Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2023

24 Books We Can’t Wait to Read This Fall (Vulture)

35 Best Books of Fall 2023 (Bustle)

The 5 Novels You Need To Read This Fall (Oprah Daily)

Must Read Books for Fall 2023 (People.com)

Fall Book Preview 2023 (Library Journal)

29 Books to Read in Fall 2023 (Washington Post)

13 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2023 (Good Housekeeping)

28 New Fall Books to Put On Your Reading List (Country Living)

Adult Books for Fall 2023 (Publisher’s Weekly)

The 36 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2023 (Time Magazine)

Lit Hub’s Most Anticipated Books of 2023 Part 2 (LitHub.com)

Reader’s 55 Most Anticipated Books of Fall (Goodreads)

Big Indie Books of 2023 (Publisher’s Weekly)

33 Nonfiction Books to Read This Fall (New York Times)

12 New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books to Grab In Fall 2023 (Polygon)

30 Books We Can’t Wait to Read This Fall (Los Angelos Times)

74 Works of Canadian Fiction to Read in Fall 2023 (CBC)

What to Read This Autumn (The Guardian)

The Best New Thriller Books of Fall 2023 (Booklist Queen)

Most Anticipated Book Preview of 2023 -Second Half- (The Millions)

15 of the Best Fall 2023 Cozy Mysteries (Book Riot)

50 of the Best Fall Books to Read for a Cozy Autumn (The Literary Lifestyle)

3 OF MY ANTICIPATED FALL 2023 READS

The Book of (More) Delights: Essays by Ross Gay (Sept 19)

In this new collection of genre-defying pieces, again written over the course of a year, one of America’s most original voices continues his ongoing investigation of delight. For Gay, what delights us is what connects us and gives us meaning… As always, Gay revels in the natural world—sweet potatoes being harvested, a hummingbird carousing in the beebalm, a sunflower growing out of a wall around the cemetery, the shared bounty from a neighbor’s fig tree—and the trillion mysterious ways this glorious earth delights us.

I loved both of his previous books The Book of Delights and Inciting Joy. I have print copies for highlighting but I highly recommend listening to his writing on audio if you can because Roos Gay narrates and he’s a poet so the audio is chef’s kiss in my opinion

Penance by Eliza Clark (Sept 26)

It's been nearly a decade since the horrifying murder of sixteen-year-old Joan Wilson rocked Crow-on-Sea, and the events of that terrible night are now being published for the first time. Eliza Clark manoeuvres us through accounts from the inhabitants of this small seaside town. Placing us in the capable hands of journalist Alec Z. Carelli, Clark allows him to construct what he claims is the 'definitive account' of the murder - and what led up to it. Built on hours of interviews with witnesses and family members, painstaking historical research, and most notably, correspondence with the killers themselves, the result is a riveting snapshot of lives rocked by tragedy, and a town left in turmoil.

The only question is: how much of it is true?

A Very Inconvenient Scandal by Jacquelyn Mitchard (Nov 14)

Frankie Attleboro returns home to Cape Cod with thrilling news. She’s met the love of her life, they’re getting married and have a baby on the way. Her talented, charismatic father overshadows her with his own he’s also getting married. To Frankie’s best friend, Ariel, who is also pregnant, and due soon. In an instant, he upends Frankie’s life. Her father’s choices will have profound implications for her, for her family and for her unborn child.

Before Frankie and Ariel can adjust to this new reality, Ariel’s estranged mother, Carlotta, returns after a decade-long absence. Carlotta’s presence is unsettling—where has she been all these years? Why did she come back now? Frankie is suspicious. She digs into Carlotta’s past, where she finds multiple identities, unexplained illnesses and a mysterious house fire that was never solved. As her mother's dangerous behavior intensifies, Frankie must untangle the threads of Carlotta’s past to protect Ariel’s future—and her own.

I’m looking forward to these books and many more, what are you looking forward to reading this fall? Did you find any of the above lists especially helpful?