As fall settles in, it’s time to reach for a mug of hot cider and a fistful of Halloween candy as you settle into your favorite reading nook with a good book. This month, celebrity tell-alls are hot on the most anticipated new release list, with memoirs from rock stars, actors and journalists, as well as political thrillers and new releases from bestsellers like John Grisham and David Sedaris.
Ready to get reading? We’ve rounded up 22 new October book releases to read now, all available to purchase or preorder on Amazon.
‘A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003–2020)’ by David Sedaris (starting at $15.99; amazon.com)
The bestselling humorist returns with his second uproarious collection of personal diary entries that take note — and aim — at everything from a prepresidential Donald Trump to global travels to family issues to the pandemic. A must for Sedaris fans.
‘The Lincoln Highway’ by Amor Towles (starting at $14.99; amazon.com)
The latest from bestselling author Towles (“A Gentleman in Moscow“) takes place over the course of 10 days in 1950s America, when Emmett Watson, just released from a juvenile work farm, returns to his home in Nebraska, ready to move on. But once there, he finds that two escapees from the farm have different ideas for his future.
‘Fight Night’ by Miriam Toews (starting at $8.90; amazon.com)
Told in the voices of 9-year-old Swiv and her grandmother, Elvira, Toews (“All My Puny Sorrows“) tells the story of female struggles and empowerment in this heartwarming book that’s winning praises for being funny, honest and wickedly smart.
‘The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music’ by Dave Grohl (starting at $14.99; amazon.com)
For those with Nirvana and the Foo Fighters on repeat, it’s time to dive into Grohl’s memoir that spans his upbringing in Virginia to his days touring the world’s biggest rock stages. Candid, humble and full of stories about big-time stars (Paul McCartney, Joan Jett, Tom Petty, Iggy Pop and Little Richard to name a few), music lovers will want to put this one in heavy rotation.
‘My Monticello’ by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson (starting at $13.99; amazon.com)
Johnson’s collection of stories explores race and belonging. The namesake “My Monticello” follows a descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings who is forced to flee her Charlottesville home when attacked by supremacists. “Control Negro” examines a college professor whose racism studies are centered on his own son’s life. “Buying a House Ahead of the Apocalypse” is written as a checklist by a single mom in search of salvation. Need more convincing? Colson Whitehead (“The Nickel Boys“) calls it “a badass debut by any measure — nimble, knowing and electrifying.”
‘Crossroads’ by Jonathan Franzen (starting at $14.99; amazon.com)
In that unique Franzen fashion, “Crossroads” weaves together the dramas of the Chicago-based Hildebrandt family, each facing his or her own moral crisis. Set in late 1971, a church pastor and his wife with a secret life end their marriage, while their children are all dealing with their own issues. If you thought “The Corrections” was brilliant, you must read this book.
‘Taste: My Life Through Food’ by Stanley Tucci (starting at $14.99; amazon.com)
The acclaimed actor (“Julie & Julie,” “Big Night”) releases his third book on cooking, this time a memoir in which he shares stories from his Italian American upbringing in Westchester, New York, filming food-based films and cooking for his family. In two words: deliciously charming.
‘Say Their Names: How Black Lives Came to Matter in America’ by Curtis Bunn, Michael H. Cottman, Patrice Gaines, Nick Charles & Keith Harriston (starting at $14.99; amazon.com)
In this detailed look at racial disparities, the modern civil rights movement and the killings of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans, five award-winning journalists examine racism, white supremacy, the Black Lives Matter movement and other issues facing Black communities.
‘State of Terror’ by Louise Penny & Hillary Rodham Clinton (available Oct. 12, starting at $14.99; amazon.com)
The former secretary of state and first lady teams with bestselling mystery writer Penny for a page-turning political thriller that uses Clinton’s insider knowledge to inform the fictional story of a, you guessed it, secretary of state fighting terrorist attacks, nuclear weapons, the Russian mob and more while unraveling a detailed conspiracy. Called “rip-roaring,” “brilliant” and “heart-stopping,” consider this your fall escape.
‘To Rescue the Republic’ by Bret Baier & Catherine Whitney (available Oct. 12, starting at $14.99; amazon.com)
Fox News anchor and bestselling author Baier collaborates with Whitney to tell the story of Ulysses S. Grant and his rise from Civil War general to president of the United States and leader of Reconstruction. If you were enthralled by Baier’s biographies on Reagan, Eisenhower and Roosevelt, you’ll want to add this one to your American history collection.
‘Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life’ by Sutton Foster (available Oct. 12, starting at $14.99; amazon.com)
In a charming memoir imbued with crafting projects, recipes and more, Foster, the Tony Award-winning actress and star of the TV show “Younger,” shares not only her love of cross-stitch, crochet, collage and drawing, but tales of growing up with an agoraphobic mother, dealing with a public divorce and fertility issues, her breakthroughs to gain stage and screen stardom and adopting her child. Fans of “Younger” will find Foster just as endearing as her character, Liza.
‘Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer’s Guide’ by Cecily Wong & Dylan Thuras (available Oct. 12, starting at $16.71; amazon.com)
Love good food and global travel? Indulge in this gem of a book that takes you on an international culinary tour of all seven continents. From a Texas vending machine that sells entire pecan pies, to the Thailand Monkey Buffet Festival, to making beer using fog in Chile, it’s full of culture, cooking and celebrating through our favorite thing ever: food.
‘The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family’ by Ron & Clint Howard (available Oct. 12, starting at $14.99; amazon.com)
Cue “The Andy Griffith Show” and “Happy Days” theme songs. Ron Howard, who gained early fame playing Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham, and later became one of Hollywood’s biggest directors, has written a memoir with his brother, Clint, who acted on shows like “Star Trek” and “Gentle Ben” as a child and later as a character actor. The siblings give us a look at what it was like growing up on TV in this nostalgic coming-of-age story that examines life in showbiz, fun adventures and, perhaps above all, the importance of family.
‘Set the Night on Fire’ by Robby Krieger (available Oct. 12, starting at $14.99; amazon.com)
Obsessed with The Doors? It may have taken 50 years since Jim Morrison, the band’s iconic lead singer, died at the age of 27, but guitarist Krieger has finally written his tell-all. From early teenage antics, days with Morrison and the band, touring the world and more, it covers drug addiction, a battle with cancer, famous encounters and a career fans will be eager to devour.
‘The Judge’s List’ by John Grisham (available Oct. 19, starting at $14.99; amazon.com)
Grisham fans, rejoice! The No. 1 bestselling author is back with “The Whistler” protagonist investigator Lacy Stolz, who is fed up with her job with the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. Then she meets a woman with evidence of a murderous sitting circuit judge set on revenge.
‘Oh William!’ by Elizabeth Strout (available Oct. 19, starting at $14.99; amazon.com)
In the third part of Pulitzer Prize-winner Strout’s Amgash series (“My Name Is Lucy Barton,” “Anything Is Possible“), protagonist Lucy examines her relationship with her ex-husband, William, unpacking secrets, betrayals and insecurities, along with love and understanding.
‘The Pioneer Woman Cooks — Super Easy!’ by Ree Drummond (available Oct. 19, starting at $16.99; amazon.com)
Fall is the perfect time to turn on the oven and get cooking. And Drummond, aka the Pioneer Woman, is ready to help you serve up some Southern hospitality. Her latest features 120 recipes filled with shortcuts to speed things up. If White Chocolate Berry Pancakes, Teriyaki Chicken Sheet Pan Supper or Chicken Curry in a Hurry sound up your alley, it’s time to dig in.
‘Act Like You Got Some Sense’ by Jamie Foxx (available Oct. 19, starting at $14.99; amazon.com)
Subtitled “And Other Things My Daughters Taught Me,” this memoir from comedian/actor/singer Foxx is an ode not only to his girls but also to the grandmother who raised him. Focused on parenting and “dad rules,” and, of course, really funny, it also touches on his early life in Terrell, Texas, breaking into Hollywood and dealing with mega-stardom. If you weren’t already a fan, you’ll be one after reading this heartfelt and honest book.
‘Renegades: Born in the USA’ by Barack Obama & Bruce Springsteen (available Oct. 26, starting at $17.99; amazon.com)
If you adored the “Higher Ground” podcast series from the former US president and the Boss that touched on everything from fatherhood to race to music to chasing the American dream, you’ll be first in line to snap up this book. Building on the conversation between the two pals, it includes 350-plus photos, rare archival content, annotated Obama speeches seen for the first time, handwritten Springsteen lyrics and more.
‘Going There’ by Katie Couric (available Oct. 26, starting at $15.99; amazon.com)
She’s anchored “The Today Show” and “CBS Evening News,” penned a bestseller (“The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons from Extraordinary Lives“), co-founded Stand Up To Cancer and much more. Now Couric can add a memoir to her long list of accomplishments. Funny, sincere, heartbreaking — Couric chronicles her upbringing, career in TV journalism, cutthroat pressures and boys club hazing of the biz, the downfall of her co-anchor Matt Lauer, as well as the death of her husband at the young age of 42 and finding love again. Looking for a new BFF? You’ll find one here.
‘As the Wicked Watch’ by Tamron Hall (available Oct. 26, starting at $14.99; amazon.com)
The TV host and journalist ventures into the fiction world with the first part of her new series featuring protagonist Jordan Manning, a crime reporter covering a serial killer who’s targeting Black girls.
‘Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life’ by Alan Cumming (available Oct. 26, starting at $14.99; amazon.com)
Cumming follows up his first memoir, “Not My Father’s Son,” with another autobiographical book, following his life as a film, stage and TV actor, marriages (to both a woman and a man), celebrity run-ins and more. Witty and candid, he writes of transcending trauma and the struggles he faced to become the man he is today. In his words: “a happy, flawed, vulnerable, fearless middle-aged man, with a lot of baggage.”