Be Still My Bookish Heart: All the Spectacular Books Out this September 2020

Stranger Things meets World War Z in this heart-racing conspiracy thriller as a lonely young woman teams up with a group of fellow outcasts to survive the night in a town overcome by a science experiment gone wrong.

Turner Falls is a small tourist town nestled in the hills of western Oregon, the kind of town you escape to for a vacation. When an inexplicable outbreak rapidly develops, this idyllic town becomes the epicenter of an epidemic of violence as the teenaged children of several executives from the local biotech firm become ill and aggressively murderous. Suddenly the town is on edge, and Lucy and her friends must do everything it takes just to fight through the night.

“The Agatha Christie of our generation.” —David Baldacci, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Diabolically clever.” —Riley Sager, author of Final Girls

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Turn of the Key and In a Dark Dark Wood returns with another suspenseful thriller set on a snow-covered mountain.

Getting snowed in at a luxurious, rustic ski chalet high in the French Alps doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world. Especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a full-service chef and housekeeper, a cozy fire to keep you warm, and others to keep you company. Unless that company happens to be eight coworkers…each with something to gain, something to lose, and something to hide.

When the cofounder of Snoop, a trendy London-based tech startup, organizes a weeklong trip for the team in the French Alps, it starts out as a corporate retreat like any other: PowerPoint presentations and strategy sessions broken up by mandatory bonding on the slopes. But as soon as one shareholder upends the agenda by pushing a lucrative but contentious buyout offer, tensions simmer and loyalties are tested. The storm brewing inside the chalet is no match for the one outside, however, and a devastating avalanche leaves the group cut off from all access to the outside world. Even worse, one Snooper hadn’t made it back from the slopes when the avalanche hit.

As each hour passes without any sign of rescue, panic mounts, the chalet grows colder, and the group dwindles further…one by one.

Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn’s YA contemporary fantasy Legendborn offers the dark allure of City of Bones with a modern-day twist on a classic legend and a lot of Southern Black Girl Magic.

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her previous life, family memories, or her childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at a local university seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

A flying demon feeding on human energies.

A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.

And a teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.

The mage’s failure reveals Bree’s own, unique magic and unlocks a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that she knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, Bree will do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn by becoming one of their initiates. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur and his knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.

This vivid, terrifying, and galvanizing novel reveals our future world after previous generations failed to halt climate change—perfect for fans of The Drowned World and World War Z.

2084: Global warming has proven worse than even the direst predictions scientists had made at the turn of the century. No country—and no one—has remained unscathed. Through interviews with scientists, political leaders, and citizens around the globe, this riveting oral history describes in graphic detail the irreversible effects the Great Warming has had on humankind and the planet.

In short chapters about topics like sea level rise, drought, migration, war, and more, The 2084 Report brings global warming to life, revealing a new reality in which Rotterdam doesn’t exist, Phoenix has no electricity, and Canada is part of the United States. From wars over limited resources to the en masse migrations of entire countries and the rising suicide rate, the characters describe other issues they are confronting in the world they share with the next two generations. Simultaneously fascinating and frightening, The 2084 Report will inspire you to start conversations and take action.

Nicole's Pick #3 From the moment I learned about this book, I was hooked. And then gorgeous cover art came out and somehow my excitement increased even further. In Grown, the mysterious death of a R&B star Korey Fields rocks the world of Enchanted Jones, an aspiring singer and mentee of Korey’s. When Enchanted wakes up with blood on her hands and no memory of what transpired the night before, she’s beyond confused. Before the murder though, Enchanted was a teenager trying to fit in as the only Black person at her school and dreaming of a future as a famous singer. Grown is a gripping look at how misogyny and rape culture affect young Black girls, and has been described as required reading for the current era. Publication Date: September 15, 2020

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and “writer of astonishing depth” (The Washington Times) comes a poignant, charming novel about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined.

Looking at real estate isn’t usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can’t fix their own marriage. There’s a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can’t seem to agree on anything, from where they want to live to how they met in the first place. Add to the mix an eighty-seven-year-old woman who has lived long enough not to be afraid of someone waving a gun in her face, a flustered but still-ready-to-make-a-deal real estate agent, and a mystery man who has locked himself in the apartment’s only bathroom, and you’ve got the worst group of hostages in the world.

Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them—the bank robber included—desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises these reluctant allies will reveal surprising truths about themselves and set in motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.

Rich with Fredrik Backman’s “pitch-perfect dialogue and an unparalleled understanding of human nature” (Shelf Awareness), Anxious People is an ingeniously constructed story about the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope—the things that save us, even in the most anxious times.

“A darkly funny untangling of national and sexual identity.” —The Guardian * “Transgressive...Incendiary.” —The New Yorker * “A furious comic monologue...with a disregard for propriety worthy of Alexander Portnoy.” —The New York Times Book Review * “Sexy, hilarious, and subversive.” —The Paris Review

For readers of Ottessa Moshfegh and Han Kang, a whip-smart debut novel in which a woman on the verge of major change addresses her doctor in a stream of consciousness narrative.

In a well-appointed examination in London, a young woman unburdens herself to a certain Dr. Seligman. Though she can barely see above his head, she holds forth about her life and desires, her struggles with her sexuality and identity. Born and raised in Germany, she has been living in London for several years, determined to break free from her family origins and her haunted homeland. But the recent death of her grandfather, and an unexpected inheritance, make it clear that you cannot easily outrun your own shame, whether it be physical, familial, historical, national, or all of the above.

Or can you? With Dr. Seligman’s help, our narrator will find out.

In a monologue that is both deliciously dark and subversively funny, she takes us on a wide-ranging journey from Hitler-centered sexual fantasies and overbearing mothers to the medicinal properties of squirrel tails and the notion that anatomical changes can serve as historical reparation. The Appointment is an audacious debut novel by an explosive new international literary voice, challenging all of our notions of what is fluid and what is fixed, and the myriad ways we seek to make peace with others and ourselves in the 21st century.

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

For the first time in seven years, Allie Brosh—beloved author and artist of the extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller Hyperbole and a Half—returns with a new collection of comedic, autobiographical, and illustrated essays.

Solutions and Other Problems includes humorous stories from Allie Brosh’s childhood; the adventures of her very bad animals; merciless dissection of her own character flaws; incisive essays on grief, loneliness, and powerlessness; as well as reflections on the absurdity of modern life.

This full-color, beautifully illustrated edition features all-new material with more than 1,600 pieces of art. Solutions and Other Problems marks the return of a beloved American humorist who has “the observational skills of a scientist, the creativity of an artist, and the wit of a comedian” (Bill Gates).

Praise for Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half:
“Imagine if David Sedaris could draw….Enchanting.” —People
“One of the best things I’ve ever read in my life.” —Marc Maron
“Will make you laugh until you sob, even when Brosh describes her struggle with depression.” —Entertainment Weekly
“I would gladly pay to sit in a room full of people reading this book, merely to share the laughter.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer
“In a culture that encourages people to carry mental illness as a secret burden….Brosh’s bracing honesty is a gift.” —Chicago Tribune

From the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Tiger Woods comes the definitive inside story of the New England Patriots—the greatest sports dynasty of the 21st century.

It’s easy to forget that the New England Patriots were once the laughingstock of the NFL, a nearly bankrupt team that had never won a championship and was on the brink of moving to St. Louis. Everything changed in 1994, when Robert Kraft acquired the franchise. Since then, the Patriots became a juggernaut, making ten trips to the Super Bowl, winning six of them, and emerging as one of the most valuable sports teams in the world with an estimated value of $4 billion. Led by Kraft, head coach Bill Belichick, and quarterback Tom Brady, the Patriots’ twenty-year reign atop the NFL was the longest in league history, surpassing previous dynasties by the Packers, the Steelers, and the 49ers. The sports world has wondered: How was the Patriots dynasty built? And how did it last for two decades?

In The Dynasty, acclaimed sportswriter Jeff Benedict provides richly reported answers to those questions. Beginning with training camp in 2018, he secured unprecedented exclusive access to the Patriots team and organization. Over the next two years he conducted interviews with more than 200 insiders, including team executives, coaches, players, players’ wives, team doctors and lawyers, league officials, network television executives, sports agents, politicians, and entertainers. He also had access to hundreds of hours of video and audio recordings, as well as thousands of pages of legal documents, business records, emails, text messages, and minutes from phone calls and meetings.

From his interviews and exhaustive research, Benedict uncovers surprising new details about the inner workings of a team notorious for its secrecy. Readers are in the room when Robert Kraft outmaneuvers a legion of lawyers and investors in his quest to buy the team. We observe the heated disagreements between Kraft and legendary coach Bill Parcells that led to their breakup. We listen in on the phone call when the greatest trade ever made—Bill Belichick for a first round draft choice—is negotiated. We are in the emergency room when doctors scramble to save franchise quarterback Drew Bledsoe as his chest is filling up with blood from a lacerated artery. And we look over the shoulder of forty-year-old Tom Brady as a surgeon performs a procedure on his throwing hand on the eve of the AFC Championship game in 2018.

What emerges is an intimate portrait that captures the human drama of the dynasty’s three key characters—Kraft, Belichick, and Brady. The result is perhaps the most compelling and illuminating book that will ever be written about the greatest professional sports team of our time.

Heather’s Pick #4 I placed my pre-order for this weeks ago—that’s how ready I am to read the follow-up to Anne Helen Petersen’s viral Buzzfeed article “How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation.” As someone who experiences a constant hum of low-grade anxiety, and especially during the pandemic, Petersen’s relatable article about “errand paralysis” and its root cause was strangely comforting. While I’ve already braced for the fact that there’s no cure for this type of burnout, I know that Can’t Even will at least remind me that I’m not alone in wondering if my generation can ever really attain the American Dream we grew up believing was within reach. You know, before multiple “once-in-a-lifetime downturns,” stagnating wages, mountains of student debt, and skyrocketing housing prices caught up with us.  Publication Date: September 22, 2020

Sara’s Pick #3 We’re all probably more than a little sick of being stuck inside, but if you lived in Piranesi's house, you’d never get bored. He’s got infinite doors and hallways to explore, though he never gets lost. The only other person in this strange house is a man called the Other, who helps Piranesi with his bizarre research. However, the two might not be as alone as they think, and slowly the labyrinth they call home becomes more and more sinister. A twisting tale of a world within a house with its own set of rules and mysteries, this book is very different from Clarke’s hit Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, but it’s just as immersive and satisfying. If you’re looking for a fantasy that will challenge you and bring something unique to your reading list, Piranesi fits the bill with style to spare. Publication Date: September 15, 2020

In the hotly anticipated sequel to the beloved Younger—now a hit TV series from the creator of Sex and the City starring Sutton Foster and Hilary Duff—Liza Miller is torn between two cities and two hearts when her bestselling novel is picked up by a major television network.

New York or Los Angeles? Romance or commitment? Younger…or older?

Liza Miller never dreamed that anyone would be interested in her life, let alone buy a book about it. But everything changes when, on the eve of her fiftieth birthday, she publishes a thinly veiled novel about a woman posing as a millennial called Younger—which her old friend Kelsey wants to turn into a TV show.

Liza is off to Los Angeles to help Kelsey write the pilot. But that means leaving behind her on-again off-again boyfriend Josh, her pregnant daughter, and her best friend Maggie. Can Liza find happiness in her new adventure if it means leaving everyone she loves?

Yet as Liza is swept up in the heady world of Hollywood, she finds herself thinking less and less of her life back home in New York. And when she meets Hugo Fielding—the devastatingly handsome and incredibly flirtatious Brit playing her boss on the show—she toes the line between having a crush and falling in love.

Torn between New York and Los Angeles, a familiar love and a risky one, an established career and a shot at stardom, Liza must decide if it’s too late to go to the ball...and if she even wants to. From the author of the beloved Younger, this is an endearing, hilarious, and relatable tale of second chances and new beginnings that proves: the best thing about getting Older is that you finally get to be yourself.