If you like reading like I do, then you’re probably excited for the crisp fall weather, when you can curl up on the couch with a cup of coffee and crack open a new book! Here’s a list of books, old and new, to hopefully pique your interest or get you out of your prior summer reading slump.
New and Upcoming
“Shadow Ticket” by Thomas Pynchon
Available on Oct.7, “Shadow Ticket” follows private eye Hicks McTaggart as he’s tasked with tracking the heiress of a Wisconsin cheese fortune, only to find himself spiraling into a surreal and dangerous transatlantic odyssey through Europe amid 1930s intrigue.
“Billion-Dollar Ransom” by James Patterson and Duane Swierczynski
Released in early September, “Billion-Dollar Ransom” opens with a mass kidnapping of five members of a billionaire’s family, all abducted simultaneously from various locations. The patriarch of the family is willing and ready to pay any price to get his family back, but FBI Special Agent Nicky Gordon refuses to pay a dime to the assailants.
“The Secret of Secrets” by Dan Brown
Another mystery-thriller, “The Secret of Secrets” follows Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon as he races through Prague, London, and New York to unravel a lost scientific manuscript tied to human consciousness and recover the woman he loves after she disappears from their hotel room.
“The Killer Question” by Janice Hallett
Published last month, “The Killer Question” begins in a rural British pub famous for its weekly trivia nights. When a mysterious new team begins dominating the quizzes just as a body is found in a nearby river, the pub’s buried secrets start to surface.
Thrillers for Spooky Season
“Apostle’s Cove” by William Kent Krueger
In “Apostle’s Cove,” just before Halloween, Cork O’Connor reopens a decades‑old murder case when the accused murderer insists he’s innocent—and new killings begin haunting his small town.
“The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides
“The Silent Patient” follows a psychotherapist that becomes obsessed with uncovering what drove a celebrated painter to shoot her husband five times in the face and then never speak another word.
“Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil” by V.E. Schwab
Spanning centuries and perspectives, “Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil” follows three women intertwined by a single haunted land as they grapple with mortality, identity and the price of immortality in this vampire-themed thriller.
“The Boyfriend” by Freida McFadden
A young woman’s romantic escapade with a charming new man spirals into deception, danger and dark revelations about the things we do for love in “The Boyfriend,” another bestseller by author Freida McFadden.
Fall Romance
“The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller
Retelling the Trojan War through the eyes of Patroclus, “The Song of Achilles” explores intimacy, destiny and the tragic bond between Patroclus and Achilles.
“One to Watch” by Kate Stayman-London
Just as Bea Schumacher, a chic plus-size fashion blogger, gives up on love, an unexpected call from her favorite reality dating show pulls her into a whirlwind romance full of twists, laughs and irresistible drama in “One to Watch.”
“Attachments” by Rainbow Rowell
In “Attachments,” an office IT guy is reluctant to read coworkers’ emails, but he quickly becomes intrigued by the hilarious exchanges between two friends and ends up falling for one of them—without ever meeting her in person.
“Normal People” by Sally Rooney
Spanning years and social divides, “Normal People” follows two young people as they grapple with intimacy, misunderstanding and the gravity of their connection in this contemporary romance novel set in Ireland.
Oldies but Goodies
“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak
Narrated by Death, “The Book Thief” recounts how a German girl steals books and shares them amid the horrors of World War II, forging unexpected bonds.
The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
Through seven novels, a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, go on numerous adventures, fighting prejudice and dark forces at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
“Sunrise on the Reaping” by Suzanne Collins
“Sunrise on the Reaping” may have been published more recently, but you might want to go back and read the whole Hunger Games series before the movie adaptation comes out next year. This prequel follows Haymitch Abernathy as he maneuvers the deadly Hunger Games arena and desperately tries to get back to District 12 for his family and the girl he loves.
“The Secret History” by Donna Tartt
In “The Secret History,” a group of students in an elite New England college becomes embroiled in murder and moral corruption under the influence of their charismatic classics professor.
Nonfiction Essentials
“Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson” by Mitch Albom
In this memoir, Mitch Albom reflects on the conversations he had with his college professor 20 years ago, someone who was always able to give sound advice to help him find his way.
“Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism” by Sarah Wynn-Williams
“Careless People” takes a look inside one of the most influential companies on the planet, Facebook, through the eyes of a former employee, and explores the decisions that have shaped world events in recent decades.
“When Breath Becomes Air” by Paul Kalanithi
Through this memoir, a neurosurgeon facing terminal cancer confronts mortality and meaning while reflecting on life, medicine and what remains.
“Abundance” by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
Journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson join forces after publishing similar articles on major global issues like affordable housing, COVID-19, climate change and China, attempting to solve America’s central problem of abundance.
Written By Kate Jackson ’26, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
This article is for reference purposes only and is not deemed an endorsement by Syracuse University.