The Best Books to Cozy Up with This October

October brings cooler temperatures, shorter days, Halloween decorations, and pumpkin spice everything. Celebrate the official start of sweater weather with one of the month’s great reads from authors old and new.

Dunbar

by Edward St. Aubyn

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Part of Hogarth Shakespeare’s retelling of classic plays by contemporary authors, this reimagining of King Lear by novelist St. Aubyn casts the gloomy king as a former media titan trying to protect his fortune from his rapacious daughters. Expect St. Aubyn to make a case for why this family drama is not only timely, but prescient.
(On Sale: 10/3/17)

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Manhattan Beach

by Jennifer Egan

This eagerly awaited new novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author is set against the backdrop of World War II, and told from the perspective of a woman who, trying to solve the mystery of her father’s disappearance, uncovers secrets about America itself. Sure to be unmissable.
(On Sale: 10/3/17)

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We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

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To call this collection of essays by National Book Award winner Ta-Nehisi Coates “highly anticipated” is an understatement. In the follow-up to Between the World and Me, his searing, influential examination of race, Coates reports from Obama's America. Eight essays describe life in this country during the former president's two terms and the final, ninth essay tackles what that world looks like now, after the election of what Coates terms “America's first white president.” Prepare to be sobered.
(On Sale: 10/3/17)

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Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver

by Mary Oliver

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Mary Oliver published her first book of poems 55 years ago — at the age of 28. She hasn’t stopped writing since, focusing on the natural world and small moments of grace in a life of quiet observation. Here she collects 200 of her favorite poems, making this book a perfect primer for someone looking for a place to start exploring her body of work.
(On Sale: 10/10/17)

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American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West

by Nate Blakeslee

The heroine of writer Blakeslee’s nonfiction saga is a fiercely protective mother, a wily strategist, and a tireless fighter. She’s also a wolf, one of her species reintroduced to the Rockies in an effort to combat near-extinction, and her survival is anything but assured. Her story will have you rooting for these ferocious yet noble animals.
(On Sale: 10/17/17)

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The Lost Art of Good Conversation: A Mindful Way to Connect with Others and Enrich Everyday Life

by Sakyong Mipham

Who wouldn’t like to learn to be a better listener? Who wouldn’t like to feel like they’re actually heard when they speak? In this straightforward and reassuring guide to mindful conversation, spiritual leader Sakyong Mipham applies the principles of Shambhala meditation to connecting to others in daily life.
(On Sale: 10/17/17)

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Seven Days of Us

by Francesca Hornak

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When it comes to togetherness, the line between not enough and way too much is different for every family. But for the family in Hornak’s fiction debut, seven days in the same house — without Wi-Fi, no less — definitely falls into the way, way too much camp. Yet by week’s end, they’ll have learned things about each other they never could have imagined, and the reader will be grateful for the time spent with them.
(On Sale: 10/17/17)

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American Radical: Inside the World of an Undercover Muslim FBI Agent

by Tamer Elnoury with Kevin Maurer

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Following 9/11, FBI agent Tamer Elnoury (not his real name) signed up with a counterterrorism unit to infiltrate terrorist cells. The fact that he himself is an Arabic-speaking, practicing Muslim made his cover all the more convincing — and his job that much more dangerous. In this book, he describes taking on terrorism from the inside, and makes us glad we have patriots like him fighting for our safety.
(On Sale: 10/23/17)

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The River of Consciousness

by Oliver Sacks

No slouch when it came to publishing, neuroscientist and intellectual omnivore Oliver Sacks was working on two books at the time of his death in 2015. One of them was this collection of essays, in which he explores, well, everything, from evolution to creativity to the very nature of memory and time in his usual graceful and insightful tone.
(On Sale: 10/24/17)

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Unqualified

by Anna Faris

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Fans of the comedic actress’s podcast, “Anna Faris Is Unqualified,” will love this memoir in which the author describes her own awkward childhood and grown-up dating disasters. She offers humorous, practical advice about finding true love, and encouragement that it is in fact possible — as long as you steer clear of magicians.
(On Sale: 10/24/17)