September
Epilogue….Out Now
by Anne Roiphe, Harper
The essayist memoirizes her widowhood, and the process of moving on—with the help of a daughter and Match.com.
The Heretic’s Daughter….9/3
by Kathleen Kent, Little, Brown
A debut novel from the descendant of a Salem woman hanged as a witch.
The Sacred Book of the Werewolf….9/4
by Victor Pelevin, Viking
A sinister Slavic romance—werewolf, meet werefox—from the Russian neo-absurdist.
The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006–2008….9/8
by Bob Woodward, Simon & Schuster
Right on the heels of the GOP convention.
Fine Just the Way It Is….9/9
by Annie Proulx, Scribner
Nine more stories from Brokeback Mountain territory.
Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America….9/10
by Paul Tough, Houghton Mifflin
The story of an educational maverick (whose work to end poverty goes well beyond education).
The Butt….9/16
by Will Self, Bloomsbury
Another postapocalyptic tale from Self, set in a brave new world where smoking is among the greatest sins.
State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America….9/16
edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey, Ecco
William T. Vollmann on California, Dave Eggers on Illinois, etc.
Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency….9/16
by Barton Gellman, Penguin Press
Title almost says it all.
Goldengrove….9/16
by Francine Prose, Harper
Prose’s fifteenth novel, a coming-of-age story, is quieter and more tender than her usual satire.
The Forever War….9/16
by Dexter Filkins, Knopf
The New York Times reporter’s dispatches from Afghanistan and Iraq.
October
The Flying Troutmans….10/1
by Miriam Toews, Counterpoint
How many screwball family-travel novels feature a child obsessed with New York Times Magazine interrogator Deborah Solomon?
Death With Interruptions….10/6
by José Saramago, Harcourt
The latest from the Portuguese Nobelist.
Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession….10/7
by Anne Rice, Knopf
The recovered atheist who forsook vampires for Jesus stories explains herself.
Chicago….10/7
by Alaa Al Aswany, Harper
The Egyptian novelist’s sprawling testament to post-9/11 immigrants’ lives.
Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief….10/7
by James M. McPherson, Penguin Press
Examines Lincoln’s talents as a military strategist during one of the nation’s true 3 a.m. moments.
The Development….10/7
by John Barth, Houghton Mifflin
The merry trickster turns out nine (relatively accessible) stories, all set in or around an older gated community near Chesapeake Bay.
I See You Everywhere….10/14
by Julia Glass, Pantheon
A novel about two sisters from the National Book Award–winning author of Three Junes.
The Shadow Factory….10/14
by James Bamford, Doubleday
That factory would be the wiretapping NSA.
Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer….10/28
by Fred Kaplan, Harper
Not just Lincoln’s speeches but his love letters, legal briefs, and free-verse poetry on agriculture.
November
The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V. S. Naipaul….11/4
by Patrick French, Knopf
Already highly touted in the U.K.
Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt ….11/4
by H.W. Brands, Doubleday
The season’s doorstop presidential bio.
The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For….11/4
by Alison Bechdel, Houghton Mifflin
From the cartoonist who wrote the graphic memoir Fun Home.
Friendly Fire….11/10
by A.B. Yehoshua, Harcourt
An alienated Jewish expat digs up old hominid bones in Africa.
Le Corbusier: A Life….11/11
by Nicholas Fox Weber, Knopf
The first full-scale biography of the late, great beloved and maligned architect.
The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World….11/13
by Niall Ferguson, Penguin
Moolah, from Renaissance Italy to post-Katrina New Orleans.
Outliers: The Story of Success….11/18
by Malcolm Gladwell, Little, Brown
Another surefire hit with the business-guru set: A catalogue of the environmental factors that created the world’s outstanding people.