12 Books Worth Staying Home To Read This Fall

Given that we've already spent much more time at home than we ever expected to this year, the idea of hunkering down for winter doesn't have the appeal it normally does. One silver lining is that the publishing industry is pulling out all the stops right now, releasing such an impressive array of books that you may just feel okay about staying home to read the day away. Between new releases by best-selling authors like Fredrik Backman and Alice Hoffman, highly anticipated memoirs from Jerry Seinfeld and Kiese Laymon, and buzzy debuts by Susie Yang and Christie Tate, there's a little something for everyone hitting shelves. Here are just a few of the books that the team at Simon & Schuster (a ViacomCBS Company) can't wait to introduce to you this fall.

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

"A bank robbery. A hostage drama. A stairwell full of police officers on their way to storm an apartment. It was easy to get to this point, much easier than you might think. All it took was one single really bad idea." So begins Fredrik Backman's latest novel, Anxious People, and who wouldn't want to read on to find out what the really bad idea was? Once the puzzle pieces of this locked-room mystery, comedy, and character study start to come together, you will be racing toward an exceptional conclusion. Along the way, you will laugh and cry and perhaps even shout at your book, but in the end, it's all totally worth it. In a year in which we thought the election would be the most anxiety-inducing topic, it turns out that this novel about anxious people getting through a day—and its ultimate message of hope and how being kind to one another can change lives—could not be more timely. —Ariele

Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld

The first book in 25 years from one of the world's most beloved and recognized comedians, Is This Anything? takes readers into the mind of a comedy great. Since his first performance at a New York City comedy club in 1975, Jerry Seinfeld has saved every piece of material he's ever written throughout his career—almost all written out on yellow legal pad pages and archived in accordion folders. Now he's selected his favorite bits and presented them, decade by decade, in this hilarious collection where readers can experience the evolution of one of the greatest comedians of all time. Taking the title from the line comedians say to one another before testing out new jokes, Is This Anything? brilliantly showcases Jerry Seinfeld's comedic genius as well as the thrilling–yet sometimes unforgiving–art of writing stand-up. —Elizabeth

One by One by Ruth Ware

Ruth Ware is the queen of locked door thrillers, but you've never seen her like this before! One by One follows a trendy but dysfunctional music start-up on a corporate retreat at a luxurious ski lodge. But when a devastating avalanche traps everyone inside and a cold-blooded killer begins picking them off one by one, survival trumps synergy. Get ready for a fast-paced game of cat-and-mouse set in the French Alps! —Anne

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

I love the movie Groundhog Day. And Sliding Doors. AND the holidays! So of course I was destined to love In a Holidaze, the newest book from romcom author duo Christina Lauren. I think this might be their most charming book yet—Mae spends the Christmas holiday with her extended family for what she thinks may be the last time...but on her way back to the airport, she gets in a car crash and wakes up...at the beginning of vacation again! As she repeats her holiday over and over, she figures out that this is the perfect opportunity to finally take the chances she never dared to before—including admitting to her best friend how she really feels about him. Full of Lauren's typical heart and humor, plus a newfound emotional heft, all tied up with a Christmas bow? Slide this one into your TBR stocking today! —Abby

Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell

Invisible Girl follows an involuntary celibate or "incel" whose life is falling apart, a 17-year-old girl who becomes infatuated with her therapist, and a family whose secrets get them mixed up in both of these questionable character's lives. As one early reviewer put it, "The cliche 'could not put this book down' gets thrown around a lot in reviews, but I...literally could not put this book down and finished it in less than 24 hours. I devoured this book with the same breakneck pace in which the plot unfurled." Creepy surprises and twists abound in this new winner from the queen of domestic suspense, Lisa Jewell, and this read is already being praised by JoJo Moyes as "her best yet." —Ariele

How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America by Kiese Laymon

How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America is essential reading from Kiese Laymon, whom NPR calls a "star in the American literary firmament, with a voice that is courageous, honest, loving, and singularly beautiful." This new edition, with six new essays and seven original essays, looks inward while also examining the world—Mississippi, the South, the United States. With subjects that range from an interview with his mother to reflections on Ole Miss football, Outkast, and the labor of Black women, these thirteen insightful essays highlight Laymon's profound love of language and his artful rendering of experience, trumpeting why he is "simply one of the most talented writers in America" (New York magazine). —Ashley

She Come By It Natural by Sarah Smarsh

Dolly the icon. Dolly the businesswoman. Dolly the girl from small-town Tennessee. Dolly the feminist. In She Come By It Natural, Sarah Smarsh, the New York Times bestselling author of Heartland, focuses her laser-sharp insights on a working-class icon and one of the most unifying figures in American culture. From "Jolene" to "9 to 5," Dolly's songs gave working-class women a language to talk about life, men, hard times, and surviving. With her sense of humor and humanity, Smarsh writes a tribute to Dolly Parton and her organic brand of feminism. —Zoey

White Ivy by Susie Yang

In this must-read debut from prize-winning Chinese American writer Susie Yang, a young woman whose yearning for assimilation into white American culture culminates in an obsession with a wealthy classmate, the golden boy of a tony political family. Years after Ivy Lin's teenage crush, a chance encounter places her back in Gideon Speyer's orbit and she leaps at the chance to cultivate the privileged life and romantic relationship she's always wanted. As Ivy molds herself to Gideon and his family's expectations, a ghost from her past resurfaces, threatening the perfect life she's worked so hard to construct. Perfect for readers who loved Everything I Never Told You and mind-bending identity narratives like The Talented Mr. Ripley, White Ivy also offers sharp insights into the immigrant experience, thoughtful coming-of-age elements and a page-turning love triangle that will keep you guessing till the very end. —Elizabeth

Group by Christie Tate

"You don't need a cure, you need a witness." This is the nine-word prescription that changes everything for Christie Tate, a guarded, over-achieving, self-lacerating young lawyer who reluctantly agrees to get psychologically and emotionally naked in a room of six complete strangers—her psychotherapy group. Group is a deliciously addictive read, and with Christie as our guide—skeptical of her own capacity for connection and intimacy, but hopeful in spite of herself—this debut memoir is a front row seat to the daring, exhilarating, painful, and hilarious journey that is group therapy, an under-explored process that breaks you down and then reassembles you so that all the pieces finally fit. —Morgan

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Game of Thrones fans, rejoice! Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse has been dubbed "a must-read for fans of N.K. Jemisin…and those who love George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series but want more diverse worlds" by Booklist. Equal parts political thriller and immersive fantasy, Black Sun is set in a world inspired by the Indigenous American civilizations that existed before European colonization. Roanhorse, the New York Times best-selling author of Star Wars: Resistance Reborn, takes readers to Tova, a city plagued with unrest, on the eve of a rare celestial event that is prophesied to end the world. Amid this chaos, four matriarchies battle for power and control over not just the city, but the entire continent. Political intrigue and forbidden magic abound as earth and sky converge, in darkness, under the Black Sun. —L.J.

Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman

Magic Lessons is the latest installment in novelist Alice Hoffman's best-selling series that began with Practical Magic (made into cult classic film starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock). It also includes Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick The Rules of Magic, a prequel that invites readers to be part of the Owens family's adventures in 1960s Greenwich Village. Magic Lessons is another prequel, this one tracing the origins of the family line back to the Salem witch trials, and features an unforgettable heroine in the form of family matriarch Maria Owens who journeys from 17th century England to the Dutch Caribbean and finally to a dangerous Puritan New England in pursuit of love. Although each novel can be read as standalones, Magic Lessons gets at the heart of the series' themes of family, fiercely independent women, and the magic of falling in love. —Elizabeth

Uplifting Stories by Ione Butler

Right when we need it most, Ione Butler's Uplifting Stories is here to help restore our faith in humanity, one inspirational story at a time. Butler, the founder of the social media platform Uplifting Content, has curated a collection of powerful narratives about everyday people who are making a difference in their communities and spreading messages of positivity around the world. Get to know Kyle Maynard, who made history as the first quadruple amputee to climb Mount Kilimanjaro without prosthetics; Destiny Watford, a young activist who stepped up to help save her town from being "the most polluted zip code in America"; and so many more individuals whose inspiring experiences will bring a smile to your face. —Heather

Want more recommendations? Visit SimonandSchuster.com to see what else is new this month.