Fall Audiobook Preview

The weather is cooling off, the leaves are changing color, and the kids are back in school. That means it’s time to put away the beach books and take a look at what’s coming this fall.

Fiction
For fiction lovers, there is a lot to look forward to this fall.

First up, a number of series are scheduled for new installments. Among the notables: Lee Child brings Jack Reacher back for another investigation in The Affair, due September 27. John Grisham returns to the courtroom on October 25 with The Litigators. On November 1, Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp is back in Kill Shot. Detective Alex Cross is back in James Patterson’s Kill Alex Cross on November 14. Stephanie Plum returns on November 22 in Janet Evanovich’s Explosive Eighteen. Nora Roberts also begins a new trilogy on November 1 with The Next Always.

Of course, there are also plenty of standalones coming from popular authors. Neal Stephenson spins a tale of an online gaming world that spills into the real world in Reamde, releasing September 20. Marisa de los Santos offers Falling Together, a story of old college friends reunited, on October 4. Stephen King takes a shot at rewriting history with 11/22/63, which drops on November 8. That same day, Umberto Eco releases The Prague Cemetery and Don DeLillo offers nine short stories in The Angel Esmeralda. And Michael Crichton’s posthumous novel Micro comes out on November 22.

Beyond the bestseller shelves, quite a few exciting works are coming out from new or under-the-radar authors. First up, Erin Morgenstern debuts with The Night Circus on September 13. It’s a tale of magic and love in a circus that opens only at night, which Library Journal says, “will be big.” Man Booker Prize winner Aravind Adiga’s new novel Last Man in Tower explores a battle of wills in modern Mumbai, and will be available September 20. Amitav Ghosh follows up the critical darling Sea of Poppies with River of Smoke, the second installment of his Ibis Trilogy, on September 27. On October 4, look for music critic and essayist Chuck Klosterman’s novel The Visible Man, in which a therapist gets drawn into a patient’s delusions. 1Q84 is an epic ode to George Orwells’ 1984 from Haruki Murakami, available October 25.

Nonfiction
There’s just as much to be excited about in the nonfiction arena.

Up first is a memoir from former Vice President Dick Cheney, In My Time, which comes out August 30. Sticking with the political theme, Joe McGinniss’s profile of Sarah Palin, The Rogue, will be available September 20. And in That Used to Be Us, available September 5, Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum examine four major problems facing the United States.

Moving on from politics, Dave Ramsey offers advice to business leaders in EntreLeadership on September 20. Popular journalist and author Michael Lewis examines world finance in Boomerang, available October 4. And Joan Didion offers Blue Nights, a heartbreaking account of losing her daughter, on November 1.

If this all sounds a little heavy, how about we check out some entertainment profiles? September 20 sees the release of Pearl Jam Twenty, a chronicle of the band’s twenty years in the music business. Also on September 20, Jeopardy! powerhouse Ken Jennings offers Maphead, charting his and others’ love of geography. On October 4, the stories of two iconic female stars arrive. My Week with Marilyn tells of the week Colin Clark spent with Marilyn Monroe in 1956; and popular comedian Ellen DeGeneres presents her memoir, Seriously…I’m Kidding. Not to be forgotten just because he was a dog, Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend comes out that same day.

Children’s and Young Adult
One of the biggest publishing events this fall comes with the long-awaited conclusion to Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle when the fourth book, Inheritance, comes out November 8. There are several other upcoming titles that kids will want to get their hands on, though.

For sheer star power, it’s going to be hard to beat The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, a collection of short stories by such authors as Walter Dean Myers, Lemony Snicket, Kate DiCamillo, and Stephen King. That comes out on October 25. Model and television personality Tyra Banks tries her hand at writing for young adults with Modelland, available September 13.

Kids will be lining up for the latest books in some of their favorite series. On August 30, the 39 Clues series moves into a new mode with Cahills vs. Vespers Book 1: The Medusa Plot. Then Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus series continues with The Son of Neptune on October 4. James Dashner’s Maze Runner trilogy reaches its conclusion in The Death Cure on October 11. And Diary of a Wimpy Kid carries on with Cabin Fever on November 4.

As with adult fiction, there are quite a few standalone books to be excited about as well. One is Perfect by Ellen Hopkins, the story of four teens struggling to be perfect. Look for that one on September 13. Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone, available September 27, is a tale of dark fantasy. Maggie Stiefvater’s latest, The Scorpio Races, comes out October 11.

Keep Up With What’s Coming!
Obviously, this is just a small sampling of the rich offerings in store for us this fall. To stay current with everything that’s coming, keep an eye on the calendar feature on our homepage. And for more fall reading previews, check out these links:

Bookpage
EarlyWord
More Magazine
Publishers Weekly

What titles are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments section below.