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The Goodreads Editors' 16 Book Picks for September
Here at Goodreads World Headquarters, we sort through a lot of books each month. Our monthly Readers' Most Anticipated Books feature is exactly that—selections based on the data about the books that Goodreads members are placing on their Want to Read shelves. Essentially, these are the books that your fellow Goodreads regulars are excited about.
Of course, the Goodreads editorial staff gets excited about books, too. And we regularly come across specific new releases that we can’t wait to read—or “won’t shut up about,” to borrow a phrase from the colleagues who sit right next to us.
As to be expected, there are always way more great books each month than we have time to read, so we're passing our findings along to you, complete with genre tags, our unhinged commentary, and general enthusiasm. Think of this list as our intel on the books you might not be hearing about absolutely everywhere else, from two people who really, really want to help you find a great read.
On the docket for September: Cantonese cooking in California, prescription cats in Japan, and polycule horror in space. Bonus pick: psychic jury duty in a strange, Kafkaesque future.
Of course, the Goodreads editorial staff gets excited about books, too. And we regularly come across specific new releases that we can’t wait to read—or “won’t shut up about,” to borrow a phrase from the colleagues who sit right next to us.
As to be expected, there are always way more great books each month than we have time to read, so we're passing our findings along to you, complete with genre tags, our unhinged commentary, and general enthusiasm. Think of this list as our intel on the books you might not be hearing about absolutely everywhere else, from two people who really, really want to help you find a great read.
On the docket for September: Cantonese cooking in California, prescription cats in Japan, and polycule horror in space. Bonus pick: psychic jury duty in a strange, Kafkaesque future.
Cybil can't wait to read this book because: Spoiler here…I have already read this book! I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of this fantastic new novel. Get ready for a good and proper skewering of Hollywood and half-hearted corporate diversity pledges as well as enough twists and turns to keep you guessing throughout.
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Cybil can't wait to read this book because: The author of John Dies at the End is back with a darkly humorous thriller with this very intriguing premise: A man is offered $200,000 cash to transport a young woman and a large black box across the country. However, there are rules to this offer: Don't look in the box. Don't ask questions. Don't tell anyone. No trackable devices. That sounds…intriguing!
Genre: Sci-Fi/Humor
Genre: Sci-Fi/Humor
Cybil can't wait to read this book because: My love for the Aliens movie franchise is well documented. If you agree and have not started reading space horror, well, welcome to an awesome subgenre. Here the author of last year's space opera The Splinter in the Sky transports readers to a new planet where a highly dysfunctional team is attempting to set up a colony. However, the planet is quite deadly and there's a rival already setting up home.
Genre: Sci-Fi/Space Horror
Genre: Sci-Fi/Space Horror
Cybil can't wait to read this book because: Johnny Compton (The Spite House) returns with his sophomore novel—a Southern gothic horror set in the sticky Texas where devils, angels, and assorted monsters walk among us. Compton's latest was inspired by creatures from 17th-century French literature, early-aughts anime films, Romanian folktales, and San Antonio’s urban legends. If you love your modern horror with some historical roots, this one is for you!
Genre: Horror/Gothic
Genre: Horror/Gothic
Sharon can't wait to read this book because: As someone who grew up eating my mom's (delicious) Chinese food made with American grocery store ingredients before "fusion food" was really a thing, I'm so hyped for Kristina Cho's take on Cantonese cooking by way of California and the Midwest!
Genre: Cookbook
Genre: Cookbook
Sharon can't wait to read this book because: Let's be real: Any book with the subtitle "A Health Resort Horror Story" is going to be an auto-buy for me. The fact that this particular health resort horror story is a hallucinatory historical novel written by none other than Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk? That puts it at the very top of my Want to Read pile!
Genre: Horror/historical fiction/literary fever dream???
Genre: Horror/historical fiction/literary fever dream???
Sharon can't wait to read this book because: This ripped-from-the-headlines novel features a cat-and-mouse relationship between a socialite grifter turned social media darling (think Anna Delvey) and the disgraced journalist determined to expose her once and for all. Early readers are abuzz about the book's shock ending that they say we won't see coming. Challenge accepted!
Genre: Fiction/Satire
Genre: Fiction/Satire
Sharon can't wait to read this book because: Pitching a book as "Franz Kafka meets Yorgos Lanthimos" is a bold move. In the surrealist bureaucratic future of this novel, the justice system has evolved (or devolved) to allow a single juror to inhabit the defendant's lived experiences in order to pass a verdict.
Genre: Literary speculative fiction
Genre: Literary speculative fiction
Cybil can't wait to read this book because: Full disclosure, I am a dog person. Despite this, I am looking forward to this charming novel that has already won over readers in Japan. A mysterious clinic promises to help those struggling with their lives by—you guessed it—prescribing them a specific cat tailored to cure what ails them.
Genre: Literary Fiction/Cats
Genre: Literary Fiction/Cats
Cybil can't wait to read this book because: This novel is being described as a "harrowing haute couture thriller." A young woman takes a dream job at a fashion house and soon discovers that the gig not only has a dark side—but a very sinister side. Gotta watch out for those dream jobs, right??
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Cybil can't wait to read this book because: Rebecca Nagle's reporting traces the history of the United States' forced removal of Native Americans onto treaty lands and the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case that resulted in the largest restoration of tribal land in U.S. history. It's a story that exposes both grave injustices as well as Indigenous resistance and perseverance.
Genre: Nonfiction/History/Social Justice
Genre: Nonfiction/History/Social Justice
Sharon can't wait to read this book because: I confess I'm a "seasonal reader," in that there are certain genres I gravitate toward at certain times of the year. Fall tends to be the time I most crave a whodunit. If you're like me, then this new slow-burn mystery centering on the disappearance of Indigenous women from the author of the acclaimed Cash Blackbear series looks like just the ticket.
Genre: Mystery
Genre: Mystery
Sharon can't wait to read this book because: Speaking of mysteries, I'm excited to see Janice Hallett (The Appeal) is back on shelves this month with another one of her clever multimedia whodunits. Told in emails, texts, and essays, this book follows six hapless graduate students and the examiner hired to grade their work as murder most foul lurks in the hallways of their university.
Genre: Mystery
Genre: Mystery
Sharon can't wait to read this book because: I like everything about the official jacket copy for this book that's "set in a world ravaged by ancient magic, where…a young woman searching for her missing sister will do anything to find her—even lead a rebellion against the gods themselves." But I especially like that Stewart has also promised us "a huge grump of a winged man with an inexplicable fondness for cats" through unofficial channels.
Genre: Fantasy
Genre: Fantasy
Sharon can't wait to read this book because: I can't say I know much about Minneapolis in 1894, but I plan to remedy that with this historical mystery based on a real-life crime. A new guest arrives at the Bethany House for Unwed Mothers and sets the refuge abuzz with rumors of dark magic. Sounds perfect for our upcoming spooky season!
Genre: Historical fiction/mystery
Genre: Historical fiction/mystery
Sharon can't wait to read this book because: Longtime readers of our editors' picks columns will know I'm a sucker for nonfiction that gets described as "part memoir, part cultural criticism, part history," so I am very much looking forward to this book of essays with the provocative subtitle "How I Stopped Being a Model Minority." Same, Anne, same!
Genre: Nonfiction/essays/memoir/cultural criticism
Genre: Nonfiction/essays/memoir/cultural criticism
Which new releases are you looking forward to reading? Let's talk books in the comments!
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"We'll Prescribe You a Cat"...society was bound to arrive here.catchy title.
this one is full of cat propaganda and i for one am here for it
I loved the ARC of “We’ll Prescribe You A Cat” so much that I ordered a hardback edition. It just arrived today and I’m already excited to dive into it again!
Dog person here waiting for dog prescription while reading about prescribed cats :)
Did you hear about the cat who swallowed a ball of wool? She had mittens.
We'll Prescribe You a Cat sounds so intriguing. I might read that one.
"We'll Prescribe you a Cat" is so wholesome and a must for cat lovers!
While many readers anticipate books about cats, my interests lie elsewhere. I am drawn to mysteries and historical fiction, which is why I am eager to read Caroline Woods's The Mesmerist.
Syou Ishida catering to the voting 'Single Cat Ladies' out there.
Currently reading We'll Prescribe You A Cat and it's so cute!
Charles wrote: "Did you hear about the cat who swallowed a ball of wool? She had mittens."
That is terrible! 😂😅🤣
I loved it.
Usually when I add books from these...blogs? it is because I am drawn to the covers.
But Colored Television & We'll Prescribe You a Cat genuinely sound like books I want to read!
Many years ago one of my uncles was prescribed a dog & Teddy changed his early retirement due to ill health, from depressing to enjoyable.
The Repeat Room You had me at: "In the surrealist bureaucratic future of this novel, the justice system has evolved (or devolved) to allow a single juror to inhabit the defendant's lived experiences in order to pass a verdict."Also makes me want to read Kafka's "The Trial" again...
So male writers published nothing worth noticing?
Harri wrote: "So male writers published nothing worth noticing?"There are several male authors on this list..
Harri wrote: "So male writers published nothing worth noticing?"LOL, try to be more of a stereotype of a butthurt fragile white man next time. It'll be tough but I believe in you!
"We'll Prescribe You a Cat". Me: Take.My.Money.Now
Charles wrote: "Did you hear about the cat who swallowed a ball of wool? She had mittens."
LOL
read ANY book lists and it's 80% or more female writers
Colored Television is one of my September picks from Aardvark book club! We'll Prescribe You a Cat sounds absolutely adorable and right up my cat lady aisle! 😻
Gosh!!Everyone's going crazy over we will prescribe you a cat 🐈
Now i wanna read it
The blurb sounds catchy too
Absolutely LOVED We'll prescribe you a cat!
Michaelmoseley wrote: "read ANY book lists and it's 80% or more female writers"Your point?
Anyway, when my goddaughter was in her early to mid-teens she was fanatic about Jane Austen. I recommended that she read George Eliot. Her response was analogous to yours: "I only want to read female authors." I never told her that George Eliot was a pseudonym for Marianne Evans.
So. What's your excuse?
Harri wrote: "So male writers published nothing worth noticing?"Nearly a quarter of these books (including one of my most anticipated) was written by a man. If you want to see more male representation, put out an APB to the Man Network & tell them to start writing more interesting books. Or cast your mind back to the halcyon days of the 3000 years preceding the last five or so, build a bridge, & get over it.
Michaelmoseley wrote: "read ANY book lists and it's 80% or more female writers"While it has never, in the history of book lists, been 80% (or more) male writers. Right?
I would love to be a patient at the clinic that prescribes cats according to what ails you.
Harri wrote: "So male writers published nothing worth noticing?"It feels bad to be underrepresented, doesn't it? I'm sorry that you feel that way. I and many other people can relate to feeling like that from experiences like book lists, employment, theater, movies, housing, etc. Let's all do better :)
Back on topic, the Cat book looks AMAZING and I can't wait to read it!
God that would be such a great profession.