New month, new books! Book Light is our Dandelion Chandelier curated list of the most-anticipated new book releases every month, and next up is September 2020. If you ask us, the perfect September read is the perfect balance of light and heavy; silly and serious; sweet and sour; escapist yet filled with hard truths. So what are the best new books to read coming out in September 2020? Our intrepid team has been exploring and here’s what we found.
what are the most-anticipated new book releases for September 2020?
Wondering what to read in September 2020? We’ve surveyed the landscape, and rounded up a list of the best new books coming this September.
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Traditionally, September is the month for the Big Fall Books to arrive. And while it’s not quite the deluge of prior years, there are a lot of important new book releases coming in September 2020. COVID-19 may have thrown the entire world into the upside-down – but at least we’ll have some great reads to distract us as we head into the fall.
What are the best, most-anticipated new books coming in September 2020?
There are important new novels from the likes of Elena Ferrante, Yaa Gyasi, Marilynne Robinson, Nick Hornby and Sigrid Nunez. And a new story collection from Emma Cline.
There are several books of essays and other non-fiction designed to help us as flu season rears its ugly head and drives us back into more intense social distancing. Some directly address the issue of the pandemic. Others are lovely distractions, like a book about decorating the White House. And many more are engrossing histories of times even more difficult than the ones we’re living in now: how black women won the right to vote; how JFK came to be the man he was; and why the Millenial generation is so stressed out.
Finally, there are books with a lightness of spirit that’s welcome as summer draws to a close. A new family cookbook from Ayesha Curry; a rom-com set in Ghana; a comic novel about a hostage-taking at a luxury open house; and an energizing and inspiring look at successful entrepreneurs and how they achieved their dreams.
the best new books coming in September 2020
Here’s our pick of the top new book releases of September 2020 – novels, essay collections, and non-fiction – that we cannot wait to read. You can pre-order them now if you like.
What to read in September 2020. Courtesy Photos.
New books coming in the week of September 1, 2020
1. The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante.
This is undoubtedly one of the most-anticipated new books September 2020. The best-selling author of My Brilliant Friend and The Lost Daughter returns with The Lying Life of Adults, a novel set in “two kindred cities that fear and detest one another: Naples of the heights, which assumes a mask of refinement, and Naples of the depths, a place of excess and vulgarity.” A young girl’s father says she’s “turning ugly,” and beginning to resemble a mysterious aunt she’s never met. In search of her identity, she goes in search of her aunt – and in search of the truth – Publication Date: September 1, 2020
2. Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi.
In Transcendent Kingdom, the sophomore novel from the author of the best-selling Homegoing, a family of Ghanaian immigrants experiences a crisis of health and of faith. Gifty is a Stanford Med School graduate student, determined to discover the scientific basis for the suffering she sees all around her. But even as she turns to the hard sciences to unlock the mystery of her family’s loss, she finds herself hungering for her childhood faith, and grappling with the evangelical church in which she was raised in a small town in Alabama – Publication date: September 1, 2020
3. Daddy by Emma Cline.
From the bestselling author of The Girls, Daddy is a collection of 10 stories exploring the darker corners of human experience – Publication date: September 1, 2020
What to read next: the best new books coming in September 2020. Courtesy Photos.
4. Red Pill by Hari Kunzru.
We love Kunzru’s writing, so we’re excited to dive into his latest novel. After receiving a prestigious writing fellowship in Germany, the narrator of Red Pill arrives in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee. Instead of penning brilliant prose, though, he finds himself adrift. And spending too much time binge-watching Blue Lives – dystopian and violent cop show that is somehow weirdly compelling. After a chance meeting with the creator of the show, the narrator becomes convinced that the two of them are involved in some kind of cosmic battle. That the sinister figure is “red-pilling” his viewers and turning them toward a hateful, alt-rightish worldview. And also that he might be losing his mind – Publication date: September 1, 2020
5. Likes by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum.
In nine stories of friendship and parenthood, celebrity and obsession, race and class and the passage of time, Likes explores the full range and contradictions of modern life. Including unexpected visitors; school fairs; aging indie-film stars; the struggle survive at work; and the Instagram posts of a twelve-year-old – Publication date: September 1, 2020
6. Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie.
In the debut novel Fifty Words for Rain, the author spins a coming-of-age tale about a young woman’s quest for acceptance in post-war Japan. The child of a married Japanese aristocrat and her African American GI lover, Nori is an outsider from birth. Obedient to a fault, she accepts her solitary life, despite her natural intellect and curiosity. But when chance brings her older half-brother, Akira, to the estate, Nori finds in him an unlikely ally – Publication date: September 1, 2020
What are the best, most-anticipated new books coming in September 2020? Courtesy Photos.
7. His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie.
Billed as “Crazy Rich Asians for West Africa,” the charming novel His Only Wife might be the perfect transition read to ease us from summer to fall. Afi Tekple is a young seamstress in Ghana: smart, pretty,and newly married to a man she does not know. Elikem is a wealthy businessman whose mother has chosen Afi in the hopes that she will distract him from his relationship with a woman his family claims is inappropriate. When she moves to his home in Accra, despite her pledge to uphold the marriage so her mother will be financially secure, a question nags at her. Must she really see this arrangement through? – Publication date: September 1, 2020
8. Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19 by Jennifer Haupt.
A collection of essays, poems, and interviews, Alone Together is intended to serve as a lifeline for negotiating how to connect and thrive during this time of isolation and anxiety due to the coronavirus pandemic. More than 90 authors, including Andre Dubus III, Nikki Giovanni, Ada Limón and Dani Shapiro, contribute thoughts and lessons learned. Even better? All net profits from the sales of the book will be donated to The Book Industry Charitable Foundation, which benefits booksellers in financial need.
9. The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi by Richard Grant.
In The Deepest South of All, the bestselling travel writer offers an entertaining and profound look at Natchez, Mississippi. The city once had more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in America, their wealth built on slavery and cotton. Today, it has the greatest concentration of antebellum mansions in the South, and a culture full of unexpected contradictions – Publication date: September 1, 2020
What to read next: the best new books coming in September 2020. Courtesy Photos.
10. Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains by Kerri Arsenault.
The rural working class town of Mexico, Maine is the titular town of Mill Town, and it’s the lens through which the author guides us to see the history of working-class Americans up close. For over 100 years the community centered on a paper mill that employed most of the population. While providing livelihoods, however, the mill also contributed to the destruction of the environment and the decline of the town’s physical health. The slow-moving catastrophe earned the area the nickname “Cancer Valley.” The story of one American town illuminates the larger story of the rise and collapse of the working-class; the poignancy of leaving home; and the price we deem acceptable by way toxins and disease for one community to earn a living – Publication date: September 1, 2020
11. Designing History: The Extraordinary Art & Style of the Obama White House by Michael S. Smith and Margaret Russell.
Through photography, behind-the-scenes stories, and archival material, Designing History places the Obama White House within the context of the building’s past and its evolution over time. Smith documents the process of updating the country’s most iconic residence, revealing how he was able – through interior design and event planning – to reflect the youthful spirit of the First Family and their vision of a more progressive, inclusive American society – Publication date: September 1, 2020
New books coming in the week of September 8, 2020
12. What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez.
In What Are You Going Through, the brilliant author of the acclaimed bestseller The Friend returns with another story about the meaning of life and death, and the value of companionship. A woman describes significant encounters with people she’s met throughout her life: an ex she runs into by chance at a public forum; an Airbnb owner unsure how to interact with her guests; a stranger who seeks help comforting his elderly mother; a friend of her youth. Then one makes a request, leading her to a transforming experience of her own – Publication Date: September 8, 2020
What are the Best New Books Coming in September 2020?
13. Dear Ann by Bobbie Ann Mason.
In another novel in which a woman looks back on the myriad relationships in her life, Dear Ann sees a woman recall her passionate first love as she faces a life crisis. Seeking escape from her problems, she tries to imagine where she might be if she had chosen differently years ago. Like, what if she had gone to Stanford, as her mentor had urged, instead of a small school on the East Coast? It’s a meditation on how brooding over long-ago choices can illuminate, and sometimes sabotage, finding meaning in the present – Publication Date: September 8, 2020
14. The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons.
At eighty-five, Eudora is done with it all. In The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett, she and makes a plan for a civilized exit from this world to the next with the assistance of a clinic in Switzerland. Then she meets ten-year-old Rose, and they embark on a series of adventures along with their affable neighbor, the recently widowed Stanley. Now that her joy for life has been rekindled, how can she possibly say goodbye? – Publication Date: September 8, 2020
15. Just Us: An American Conversation by Claudia Rankine.
A collection of essays, poems, and images, Just Us: An American Conversation is intended as a road map to launch the discussions that might open pathways through this divisive and stuck moment in American history. It’s a plea for people to cultivate an “empathetic imagination” – Publication Date: September 8, 2020
What are the Best New Books Coming in September 2020?
16. Eat a Peach by David Chang and Gabe Ulla.
In Eat a Peach, the chef behind Momofuku and star of Netflix’s Ugly Delicious gets real. In this poignant memoir, the chef lays bare his self-doubt; ruminates on his mental health; and explains the ideas that guide him. It’s a cri de cœur about the power of cuisine to advance the cause of equality for all – Publication Date: September 8, 2020
17. Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All by Martha S. Jones.
In Vanguard, an acclaimed historian offers a new history of African-American women’s political lives. How they defied both racism and sexism, and how they wielded political power. This is a powerful history of the lives and work of black women, including Maria Stewart, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and Fannie Lou Hamer, who were the vanguard of women’s rights. And the pioneers who made the diversity of today’s generation of political leaders possible. – Publication Date: September 8, 2020
18. JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956 by Fredrik Logevall.
This first volume in a planned 2-part biography, JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956, spans the first thirty-nine years of JFK’s life. From birth through his decision to run for president. It highlights his early relationships; formative experiences during World War II; his ideas and writing (including his Harvard college senior thesis); and his political aspirations.
Importantly, though, the biographer also tells the parallel story of America’s rise in this time period. The charged debate between isolationists and interventionists in the years before Pearl Harbor. The tumult of the Second World War. The outbreak and spread of the Cold War. The scourge of McCarthyism. And the growth of television’s influence on politics, which would prove so pivotal in Kennedy’s meteoric rise – Publication Date: September 8, 2020
What to read: the best, most-anticipated new books coming in September 2020. Courtesy Photos.
19. On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist by Clarissa Ward.
The recipient of multiple Peabody and Murrow awards, Ward is a world-renowned conflict reporter, and On All Fronts is a memoir of an incredible career. She has taken assignments in Syria, Egypt, and Afghanistan. Ward speaks seven languages and has been based in Baghdad, Beirut, Beijing, and Moscow. To say she’s a badass would be a vast understatement – Publication Date: September 8, 2020
New books coming in the week of September 15, 2020
20. Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar.
Crafted by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, the new novel Homeland Elegies blends fact and fiction to tell an epic story of longing and dispossession in the post-9/11 era. This story about one family takes us from the American heartland to palatial suites in Central Europe and onward to guerrilla lookouts in the mountains of Afghanistan. Ultimately, it’s about a tangled relationship between a father and a son – one is liberal, and the other a Trump supporter – Publication Date: September 15, 2020
21. The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations by Daniel Yergin.
In this latest book, The New Map, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and global energy expert offers a revelatory new account of how energy revolutions, climate battles, and geopolitics are mapping our future. The “shale revolution” in oil and gas that’s been made possible by fracking technology has transformed the American economy. The “era of shortage” in the U.S. may be ending, but abundance is introducing a turbulent new era all its own – Publication Date: September 15, 2020
What are the best, most-anticipated new books coming in September 2020? Courtesy Photos.
22. How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs by Guy Raz.
Based on the highly acclaimed NPR podcast How I Built This, the host and author has compiled a selection of the insights and inspiration he’s gleaned from interviewing many of the world’s top entrepreneurs. With over 200 sources, this is an excellent primer on how to start, launch, and build a successful venture, straight from the founders of brands like Allbirds, Headspace, Stacey’s Pita Chips and Peloton – Publication Date: September 15, 2020
New books coming in the week of September 22, 2020
23. Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen.
The origin of Can’t Even is a viral article penned by the author, a BuzzFeed culture writer and former academic, in January 2019. In this expansion of the conversation, she argues that burnout is at epidemic levels for the millennial generation. Why? Distrust in institutions that have failed those who trusted them; the unachievable expectations of the workplace; and the constant pressure to “perform” life online. Perhaps more important than the root causes, though, is the more pressing matter: what can we do about it? – Publication Date: September 22, 2020
24. The Full Plate: Flavor-Filled, Easy Recipes for Families with No Time and a Lot to Do by Ayesha Curry.
Filled with family-friendly recipes that are ready in no time, The Full Plate is a great new resource for working parents heading into the fall. If your Lockdown recipe file needs a refresh, you’re in luck – Curry’s approach is no-nonsense and no-fuss, and it’s sure to give you a boost when it’s time to get dinner on the table . . . again – Publication Date: September 22, 2020
What to read: the best new books coming in September 2020. Courtesy Photos.
25. Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America by Laila Lalami.
The author became an American citizen in 2000, and in Conditional Citizens, she shares her experiences as a Muslim Arab woman in post-9/11 America. She argues that despite their legal status, some immigrants who become naturalized citizens are made to feel as if America welcomes and believes in the story of immigration – but only the “acceptable” kind (from nations that are wealthy, white and Christian).
New books coming in the week of September 29, 2020
26. Just Like You by Nick Hornby.
In his new novel, Just Like You, the author of High Fidelity explores the unfolding of an unexpected love. Not-quite-divorced 42-year-old Lucy is thrown for a loop when she realizes that 22-year-old Joseph—the man she’s hired to babysit her kids—just may be her perfect match. – Publication Date: September 29, 2020
27. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
Between life and death there is a library . . . every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?” So begins The Midnight Library. Nora Seed is granted the possibility of changing her life for a new one. She must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to choose what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place – Publication Date: September 29, 2020
28. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
The author of A Man Called Ove returns with Anxious People, a comic novel about what happens when a failed bank robber storms an apartment open house and takes a group of strangers hostage. Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them—the hostage-taker included—desperately crave some sort of rescue – Publication Date: September 8, 2020
What to read: most-anticipated new books in September 2020. Courtesy Photos.
29. Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader’s Guide to a More Tranquil Mind by Alan Jacobs
Breaking Bread with the Dead is a literary guide to engaging with the voices of the past to stay sane in the present. W. H. Auden once wrote that “art is our chief means of breaking bread with the dead.” engaging with the strange and wonderful writings of the past might help us live less anxiously in the present
30. Jack by Marilynne Robinson.
Jack is the fourth novel in the author’s beloved and highly-acclaimed series set in the mythical world of Gilead, Iowa. This installment is the story of John “Jack” Ames Boughton, the prodigal son of Gilead’s Presbyterian minister. And his turbulent, star-crossed interracial romance with Della Miles, a high school teacher who is also the child of a preacher – Publication Date: September 29, 2020
31. Whale Day: And Other Poems by Billy Collins.
In Whale Day, a new collection from the former U.S. Poet Laureate, more than fifty poems take a stroll through the wonders of life and the mysteries of death. From a walk with an impossibly ancient dog to an encounter with an Irish spider, this is a continuation of the style that has made Collins one of the most popular living poets today – Publication Date: September 29, 2020
What to read: the most-anticipated new books in September 2020. Courtesy Photos.
best new book releases in September 2020
Those are our picks for the best and most-anticipated new book releases coming in September 2020. And an overview of options to answer the pressing matter of what to read in September 2020. What’s at the top of your list?
join our community
For access to insider ideas and information on the world of luxury, sign up for our Dandelion Chandelier newsletter, here. And see luxury in a new light.
Join our community
For access to insider ideas and information on the world of luxury, sign up for our Dandelion Chandelier newsletter. And see luxury in a new light.