Jordan Baker said it best: “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” In just one short sentence, the character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” sums up that wonderful feeling of anticipation that comes with autumn. For bookish people, the season comes with its own set of expectations; some of the year’s biggest books are released in September and October. On this episode of the “Book Review” podcast, Joumana Khatib and MJ Franklin join our host, Gilbert Cruz, to go over some of the titles they’re most looking forward to. Books discussed on this episode: • “The Disappearers, (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/30/books/review/the-disappearers-marlon-james.html) ” by Marlon James • “The Radiance,” by Ayad Akhtar • “American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn’s Dark Journey From Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump,” by Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark • “Switzy,” by Emma Cline • “The Vanishing Family: Love, Fate, and the Quest to End Dementia,” by Robert Kolker • “Dead Beat,” by Leigh Bardugo • “American Hagwon,” by Min Jin Lee • “Mazywood,” by Tananarive Due • “Public Access Afterworld,” by Jane Schoenbrun • “Other Worlds Than These,” by Stephen King and Peter Straub • “Partita,” by Barbara Kingsolver • “Music Against the Night,” by Yiyun Li • “The Rush: California Gold, the Civil War and the Making of the Modern World,” by Nathaniel Philbrick • “The Occidental Book of the Dead,” by T. Geronimo Johnson • “The Brightness,” by Chad Harbach • “Stations,” by Louise Kennedy • “On the Calculation of Volume (Book V),” by Solvej Balle • “Dodge City,” by Patrick DeWitt • “Under Story,” by Chloe Benjamin • “Our Noble Selves,” by Kate Atkinson • “Taipei Story,” by R.F. Kuang • “Exit Party,” by Emily St. John Mandel • “Ply,” by Hernan Diaz • “Hollywood, Ending,” by John Green • “No Land to Stand On: Notes From Detention,” by Mahmoud Khalil • “Life Out of Order,” by Audrey Niffenegger • “Every Story Is a Love Story,” by Imbolo Mbue • “Peck & Peck,” by Bonnie Garmus • “A Court of Splintered Harmony,” by Sarah J. Maas • “Take My Word for It,” by LeVar Burton • “Promise Me, America,” by Joe Biden Listen to and Follow ‘The Book Review’ Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-book-review/id120315179?mt=2) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1q3tsOS9XhqgSslnyZyKV6) | Amazon Music (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d9314635-147c-409a-ae6a-fdf8358caee5/the-book-review) | YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdMrbgYfVl-vT4J7V1XT3MD5GCSebQJay) | iHeartRadio (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/326-the-book-review-28076603/) Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts (http://nytimes.com/podcasts) or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. We Want to Hear From You We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, and about the Book Review’s podcast in general. You can send them to thebookreview@nytimes.com. Credits The “Book Review” podcast is hosted by Gilbert Cruz and produced by Amy Pearl, Sarah Diamond and Patricia Sulbarán. The show is mixed by Pedro Rosado. Special thanks to MJ Franklin, Dahlia Haddad and Brooke Minters. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts (http://nytimes.com/podcasts) or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.