What We're Reading: Fall 2022

"I just finished the new Elizabeth Strout, Lucy by the Sea (a gem about COVID lockdown and how relationships can change), and will soon start the new Maggie O’Farrell, The Marriage Portrait, because…because I read all of her books!" –Deb Futter, President and Publisher

"I’m looking forward to reading The Marriage Portrait. I was given Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet while I was on a trip and truly expected it not to be my thing. But I loved it! It was a surprise departure for me, and I’m looking forward to seeing if The Marriage Portrait has the same effect." –Randi Kramer, Assistant Editor

"This is my favorite book of the year so far. I would call it a surprising offshoot of The Glass Hotel with a speculative twist and mind-bending metafiction. It’s a good read when you need a reminder that most people are inherently good." –Jaime Noven, Senior Marketing Manager

"I picked up The Dead Romantics after seeing a bookseller recommend it on Instagram. Although I read this during the summer, it’s actually the perfect October book: A ghostwriter who can see actual ghosts returns to her family’s funeral home after the death of her beloved father. The book is darkly humorous and deeply sad but delivers a poignant message of accepting friendship and love in the midst of grief and loss." –Jennifer Jackson, Executive Director, Marketing

"Up on my list is Sarah Miller’s Marmee. I loved her Caroline, which is about Caroline Ingalls-Wilder from the Little House series; her works are always so gorgeously researched and bring history close to the mind’s eye in such a beautiful way. So as a long-term Little Women fan, I’m really looking forward to seeing how she handles the figure of Marmee!" –Sandra Moore, Marketing Assistant

"I’ve loved Ling Ma’s writing since I read Severance years ago and can’t wait to dig into these stories, which promise uncanniness and strangeness to the max!" –Cecily van Buren-Freedman, Assistant Editor

"Autumn is the perfect time of year to read The Secret History by Donna Tartt. If you like dark academia, classical studies, murder mysteries, unlikable but compelling characters, and great prose, you’ll love it." –Rebecca Ritchey, Social Media Manager

"The dark academia aesthetics in Babel by R.F. Kuang are perfectly suited to the backdrop of an autumn day. This historical fantasy dives into a world of translation, academic bureaucracy, and colonization. I find the importance of translation, and how its role contributes to control, such a fascinating and widely overlooked concept." –Yelizaveta Rogulina, Ad Promo and Social Media Intern

"I’m excited to fall down the rabbit hole of Bunny by Mona Awad! An eccentric observation of female friendship, it follows a shy MFA student drawn into the strange world of the Bunnies, a clique who conjure up monstrous creations in their free time. A cross between Frankenstein, The Craft, and Heathers, Awad’s novel is perfect to curl up with this fall." –Sarah Berg, PR and Marketing Intern