The Fall titles are starting to stream in and we don’t know where to begin. We’ve got some heavy-hitting literary luminaries cranking out surefire bestsellers, a new title from a former BookPeople bookseller, and a few titles that’ll be featured in Texas Teen Book Festival panels and showcases. We can barely keep up!
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood’s long-awaited sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale is finally here! Taking place fifteen years after the events of the original, The Testaments sets us up in a Gilead that is slowly starting to crumble. It is at this crucial moment that the lives of three radically different women converge with potentially explosive results.
For two of them, life before the reigning order is nothing but a dream, and for the other, she survives through the accumulation and deployment of secrets.
As the narratives converge, Atwood reveals a Gilead seldom seen in her original work, spinning a narrative that may answer the questions left by the former’s surprise ending or unravel a whole new set of mysteries and puzzles.
At last, we can all find out together!
The Institute by Stephen King
It wouldn’t be a proper Fall season without a new title from Stephen King, the Master of All Things Frightening and Spooky! The Institute plays with some familiar Stephen King tropes (i.e. kids with extraordinary powers a-la Carrie and Firestarter), but presents a wholly original and terrifying vision of a sinister organization hellbent on extracting the extranormal abilities of a collective of youths.
The troubles begin when Luke Ellis is kidnapped in the dead of night from his comfortable suburban home and wakes up in a complex surrounded by other young people taken in similar circumstances. When they are confronted by the institution’s director, Mrs. Sigsby, Luke and his gang find themselves between a rock and a hard place – acquiese to Sigsby’s staunch rule or do everything in their power to escape the inpenetrable institute? The Institute is a book of psychological terror as well as a gut-wrenchingly dramatic struggle between good and evil. And in this one, the good guys may not win.
Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo
While most self-help books offer quick fixes, Everything is Figureoutable will retrain your brain to think more creatively and positively in the face of setbacks.
If you’re having trouble solving a problem or reaching a dream, the problem isn’t you. It’s that you haven’t yet installed the one belief that changes everything.
Whatever the case may be, Marie Forleo believes that everyhing is figureoutable, and she’s going to show you how with her fool-proof methods. This one’s already gotten a ton of love from the likes of Cheryl Strayed and Elizabeth Gilbert, but now you can read for yourself what all the buzz is about.
If you were lucky enough to grab tickets, don’t forget to join us on September 24th at 7PM for a sold out show featuring Marie Forleo in conversation with Rachel Hollis! We’ll see you there!
The Years That Matter Most by Paul Tough
Does college still work? Is the system designed just to protect the privileged and leave everyone else behind?
The Years That Matter Most tells the stories of students trying to find their way, with hope, joy, and frustration, through the application process and into college. Drawing on new research, the book reveals how the landscape of higher education has shifted in recent decades and exposes the hidden truths of how the system works and whom it works for.
Insightful, groundbreaking, and full of new studies, Paul Tough answers the burning questions we’ve all probably had about the shady inner-workings of the college admissions process. SATs. Entrance exams. Tuition. Scholarships. Ah!
You’ll definitely want to be here for our event with Paul Tough on September 29th at 5PM if you’ve ever had even an inkling of curiosity about what goes on behind those administrative doors.
The Truth About Magic by Atticus
The Truth About Magic builds on the pains and joys of romance explored in Love Her Wild and the New York Times bestseller, The Dark Between Stars—heartbreaks and falling in love, looking back and looking inwards—by taking a fresh, awakened journey outward. An adventure into the great unknown. It’s about finding ourselves, our purpose, and the simple joys of life. It’s about lavender fields, drinking white wine out of oak barrels on vineyards, laughing until you cry, dancing in old barns until the sun comes up, and making love on sandy beaches.
The Truth About Magic is a vibrant, transcendent journey into growth, which will leave you energized and eager to explore the wider world.
All Atticus super-fans be aware, we’re hosting the poet once again here at BookPeople this Friday, September 13th at 7PM! Grab your copy now to reserve a signing line ticket!
Frankly In Love by David Yoon
From Kids Events & Marketing Manager: “Frank Li is dealing with some pretty typical high school stuff – senior year, applying to college, stressing the SATs, having fun with friends, pining after a girl, etc. But beyond that, Frank is also contending with his cultural identity – is he Korean, American, or something else? Tied into that, Frank recognizes that his Korean parents are racist. This is complicated for Frank. He loves them because they are his parents, but he is ashamed that they are the way they are. This goes way beyond the trope of embarrassing parents.
The book left me with plenty to think about. Have I ever done some of the things the white characters do? How would I react to my parents, friends, if I was in Frank’s shoes? Do I agree with everything Frank thinks or evaluates? The book rings true, and deeply personal. A fantastic emotional, funny, and smart read sure to spur discussion and thought.”
Three-Fifths by John Vercher
Three-Fifths is a riveting debut novel about a bi-racial man whose world is turned upside down when his best friend is released from prison, raising not only his own but old family demons and forcing him to reckon with the past he only thought he knew.
This is a compelling and timely debut novel from an assured new voice. An early fan of the novel, Scott M., our crime fiction coordinator says, “Vercher captures the lives and emotions of his working class people in this meditation on race, friendship, and comic books.”
John Vercher stops by the store on September 29th at 2PM to present Three-Fifths alongside Jamie Mason and her book, The Hidden Things, that came out earlier this year.
Codependence by Amy Long
Codependence is a book so many of us here at BookPeople are buzzing about. It’s author, Amy Long, used to push books alongside us as a bookseller and so, naturally, we’re all so delighted to see her publishing her first big book!
In Codependence, Long recounts her years-long struggle to be a writer all while coping with chronic headaches and a partner with an opioid addiction.
Fearless, haunting, and transcendentally honest, the essays that comprise Codependence craft a narrative both intimate and deeply relevant. An essential book for the opioid era.
Be sure to come by the store on September 21st at 2PM when Amy Long presents Codependence and discusses it with local writer, Amy Gentry!
PET by Akwaeke Emezi
From Art Director, Tomoko: “This book is SO GOOD. Profound and insightful, PET naturally brings to life a diverse world that has moved itself past the era of “monsters”. The monsters are gone, and the systems that enabled them have been dismantled. So when a frightening creature springs to life from a painting and claims that one has escaped justice, no one but Jam believes. Using fantastic devices in a familiar world, Akwaeke Emezi explores the fear, denial, and action involved in exposing abuse. I love the world Emezi built–a utopic what-if setting that holds so much hope (and warning)–and I LOVE their protagonist Jam, a trans girl who prefers to speak in Sign, who finds a way to power past the fear and see the unseen.”
Are You Listening? written and illustrated by Tillie Walden
Fans of Spinning and On a Sunbeam, rejoice! Tillie Walden’s back with a brand new graphic novel that is just as intimate and whimsical and affecting as her previous efforts.
Are You Listening? finds Lou and Bea on the road and on the run searching for…something. Shelter. A moment to grieve. Relief. The paths of these two almost-strangers takes us across the strange Texas landscape and in the sights of a shady road bureau after the duo stumble upon a stray cat.
Bookseller Lilli swears that, “You will get lost alongside the pair as miles upon miles turn out behind them,” while Willow thinks that it’ll “leave you shaken, delighted, and gasping for more!”
The escape that you’ll find in these mesmerizing pages is sure to bring you an endless sense of delight.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Bookseller favorite, Gideon the Ninth, is finally here! Tamsyn Muir’s vision of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers in space is sure to be the most fun you’ll ever have reading about a skeleton.
Readers find Gideon at the outset of a new life, ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service. The emperor has called his necromancers to action, and Harrowhark is set on Gideon attending her as bodyguard. If Gideon survives, she’ll be a hero, and a free woman. If not, she can look forward to eternity as a shambling bone-servant.
A book like this only comes around once in a while and our booksellers know it! Inventory Manager Maya calls this book, “so shockingly good that the only thing on my mind is that I want to start reading it all over again!” Christine loves how “oh-so deliciously original” it is, while Will B. marvels at Muir’s ability to construct “one of the most interesting worlds I have been thrown into in years.” Rachel R. kept “laughing out loud” and Joe has nothing but “MAD LOVE” for Gideon the Ninth.
Grab yourself a copy of the book that our booksellers can’t seem to get enough of now!
The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Olympic medalist and social justice activist Ibtihaj Muhammad brings us a powerful, beautifully illustrated picture book about two sisters on their first day of school. Told from Faizah’s perspective, she observes her older sister Asiya as she goes through her first day wearing a hijab.
Be sure to come meet Muhammad at The Texas Book Festival this October!
Astronuts by Jon Scieszka
Astronuts follows AstroWolf, LaserShark, SmartHawk, and StinkBug, animals that have been hybridized to find other planets for humans to live on once we’ve ruined Earth. So off they rocket to the Plant Planet! Will that planet support human life? Or do Plant Planet’s inhabitants have a more sinister plan?
Jon Scieszka has been making us laugh for decades, and Astronuts is no exception! The perfect silly, goofy title for fans of Mac Barnett and Dave Pilkey. Don’t miss your chance to meet Jon Scieszka at this year’s Texas Book Festival the last weekend of October!
Match Made in Mehendi by Nandini Bajpai
Fifteen-year-old Simran “Simi” Sangha comes from a long line of Indian vichole– matchmakers, and when Simi accidentally sets up her cousin with a future lawyer, her whole family thinks she has “the gift”. This is the last thing Simi wants! She’s an artist, after all, and is zero interested in relationship drama. But soon Simi and her best friend Noah realize this is just the thing to elevate their social status, turning Simi’s “gift” into a matchmaking app. Great for fans of When Dimple Met Rishi, this is fun, refreshing contemporary teen fiction that is sure to charm the most skeptical hearts! Plus, the author will be at TTBF this year!
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? by Caitlin Doughty
Every day, funeral director Caitlin Doughty receives dozens of questions about death. The best questions come from kids. What would happen to an astronaut’s body if it were pushed out of a space shuttle? Do people poop when they die? Can Grandma have a Viking funeral?
These questions and so many more are answered in Doughty’s candid but playful exploration of death in its many forms. She details the lore and science of what happens to, and inside, our bodies after we die – Why do corpses groan? What causes bodies to turn colors during decomposition? And why do hair and nails appear longer after death? – to hilarious effect.
Inventory Manager Maya loves this new release, she says, “Doughty’s book shows us that death doesn’t always have to be hidden away or spoken about in whispers, it can be weird and gross and important and interesting and accessible at any age.”
Cracking open this one will be a delight from page one!
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
The latest from New York Times bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell is a riveting and insightful new book about our inability to read and communicate effectively with total strangers.
How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain think he could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual assaults on the rise? Do television sitcoms teach us something about the way we relate to each other that isn’t true? Both challenging and controversial, Gladwell’s excursion through history, psychology, and scandals expose the conundrums we experience daily when trying to make sense of situations and people we interact with.
Our Event Logistics Manager, Uriel, was so captivated by Gladwell’s writing, saying, “Gladwell’s razor-sharp prose and ideas make these essential lessons about communication accessible to all readers. You’ve got to read this now!”
We hope you got your tickets early, because Gladwell’s talk at the Texas Book Festival this year is already sold-out. We hope to see you there!
The tidal wave of much anticipated Fall titles is just beginning. Be sure to check back next week for the titles we can’t wait to get in your hands and stop by the store to see other titles our new release shelves are outfitted with.
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