As temperatures drop and leaves begin to turn, what kind of books are you looking to read? We aren’t quite to Halloween yet, store displays aside, but some of our September recommendations might get you in the mood for that season. Throw in an in-depth look at the evolution of football and a detailed chronicle of the life and legacy of a cinematic legend, and you have some of the September books we’re most excited to read.
Werner Herzog, The Future of Truth (Sept. 30)
When you’re Werner Herzog, your autumn might be especially busy; this is certainly the case this year. The acclaimed filmmaker received a lifetime achievement award at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, and he’s also added to his growing bibliography with a new book, The Future of Truth. As one might expect from the filmmaker who coined the term “ecstatic truth,” this new volume — translated by Michael Hofmann — is an inquiry into what “true” means in a world where falsehood is ever-present.
P.E. Moskowitz, Breaking Awake: A Reporter’s Search for a New Life, and a New World, Through Drugs (Sept. 9)
Over the last few years, P.E. Moskowitz has assembled one of the most interesting bibliographies out there, covering everything from free speech issues to the uncanny appeal of Labubus. Their new book Breaking Awake tackles an especially weighty concept: the nation’s ongoing crisis in mental health and its relationship to drug use, whether medical or recreational. This combination of author and subject should make for an engaging and candid read.
Alice Vernon, Ghosted: A History of Ghost Hunting, and Why We Keep Looking (Sept. 2)
If you’ll pardon the left-field Raymond Carver reference, what do we talk about when we talk about ghosts? Often, the subjects raised go far beyond paranormal apparitions. Alice Vernon, whose previous book explored the world of night terrors, here ventures into a related topic: what makes people go in search of restless spirits? This is a work that blends personal observations with an incisive look at the role ghosts and ghosts hunters have played in popular culture.
Seth Wickersham, American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback (Sept. 9)
Seth Wickersham’s last book on football, the critically acclaimed It’s Better to Be Feared, explored the highs and lows of the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady era of the New England Patriots. For his new book, Wickersham traced the evolution of the quarterback over the years, talking with a wide range of players and getting some candid responses in the process. American Kings should be an insightful look into the evolution of a position — and a sport.
Jeff Chang, Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America (Sept. 23)
There are certain cultural histories that firmly establish their author as a skilled chronicler of virtually any subject imaginable. Jeff Chang’s Can’t Stop Won’t Stop is one of those books, offering a view of hip-hop at once panoramic and probing. Chang’s latest book sounds even more ambitious; it’s an in-depth look at Bruce Lee’s life that also explores the legacies he left behind — cinematic, familial and cultural. What happens when a skilled writer meets an ambitious subject? You’ll find that within these covers.
Ruby Tandoh, All Consuming: Why We Eat the Way We Eat Now (Sept. 9)
There aren’t a lot of critically acclaimed writers who have also competed on The Great British Bake Off. Ruby Tandoh, however, has unlocked both of these achievements (and recently wrote about the latter). Tandoh’s new book explores recent upheavals in food culture, including the way that social media has altered dining and eating. In an interview, Tandoh called it “an attempt to work through how we got to this point where we just have this proliferation of food content without any kind of structures for understanding it.”
Dan Chaon, One of Us (Sept. 23)
In a 2022 interview with The New York Times, Dan Chaon mentioned that “the book I’m working on now involves a traveling carnival.” Now that book is out in the world in the form of the novel One of Us. Chaon’s latest tells the story of twins who go on the run from a lethal relative in 1915 and wind up linking up with a strange carnival. If you’re looking for a disquieting read as fall sets in, this is a great place to start.
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David Wondrich and Dean Koch, The Comic Book History of the Cocktail (Sept. 23)
Few writers or historians know as much about the inner workings of cocktails as David Wondrich, whose writings on the subject have earned him plenty of praise from readers and bartenders alike. (Not that these two groups are mutually exclusive.) Wondrich’s latest project is a collaboration with artist Dean Koch, one that falls into the subgenre of comics about cocktails. It’s a fine concept with an excellent guide to the subject.
Philip Connors, The Mountain Knows the Mountain: A Fire Watch Diary (Sept. 16)
Philip Connors has been writing memorably about the outdoors for years now; his acclaimed Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout won a National Outdoor Book Award in 2011. Connors’s latest book follows his return to working as a lookout in the Gila Wilderness after illness forced him to miss a year. Here, in evocative language, he chronicles the daily routines and sights of his work, giving readers a window into a singular experience.
Leni Zumas, Wolf Bells (Sept. 16)
Plenty of writers have written fiction set in the music world; far fewer have pulled off the task of making those depictions convincing. Leni Zumas, who has plenty of experience in those subcultures, has written memorably about it before, including in the fantastic novel The Listeners. Her new book Wolf Bells incorporates punk rock even as it also tells a compelling tale of the search for community. Kirkus Reviews had good things to say about it, noting that “Zumas seamlessly balances the novel’s lyricism with character building, backstory, and forward momentum.”
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