Fall Arts 2016: Books

Here I Am, Jonathan Safran Foer
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Sept. 6, $28
It’s been 11 years since Foer’s last novel, the 9/11-themed Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Since then, he’s separated from his wife, novelist Nicole Krauss, and written a book about the perils of eating animals. In Here I Am, Foer plays it close to home with a story that covers four weeks in the life of a Washington, D.C., family immersed in turmoil. As he so dazzlingly demonstrated in his debut work, Everything is Illuminated, plots aren’t the main course here. That would be Foer’s impeccable prose, which has been sorely missed and is sure to contend for many year-end accolades.

Jerusalem, Alan Moore
Liveright, Sept. 13, $35
Alan Moore has made his name as the author of iconic graphic novels like Watchmen, From Hell, and V for Vendetta, but for the past 10 years he’s been hard at work on a book with no pictures. Jerusalem is his first “traditional” novel, but there’s nothing traditional about it. There are theoretical physics, centuries worth of narrative, angels, prostitutes, and all the literary allusions you can handle. A hefty read, to be sure, although fans of Moore and his groundbreaking work have long awaited the challenge that Jerusalem will surely present.

Commonwealth, Ann Patchett
Harper, Sept. 13, $27.99
It’s always cause for celebration when Ann Patchett has a new book on the horizon. Her last work, the nonfiction This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, was vintage Patchett, blending humor and heartbreak into something profound and ultimately uplifting. The same machinations are at play in Commonwealth, which follows two families over the course of five decades, sparked by a chance encounter at a christening party. If good, moving fiction is your thing, you’ll never do better than to settle into an armchair with the latest treasure from one of our country’s best writers.

The Seasoned Life: Food, Family, Faith, and the Joy of Eating Well, Ayesha Curry
Little, Brown and Company, Sept. 20, $27
If you follow Ayesha Curry on Twitter — or her husband, NBA superstar Stephen Curry — you’ve seen the delicious-looking meals she’s always cooking for the family. Finally, the rest of us can get in on the grub with Curry’s debut cookbook. The host of her own show on the Food Network, Ayesha has made a name for herself as a talented cook who can dish out eats that are both delicious and not a one-way ticket to clogged arteries. Get your Kitchen Aid properly greased and go grab this one.

Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders, Joshua Foer & Dylan Thuras
Workman Publishing Company, Sept. 20, $35
Did you know there’s an island in Japan where cats rule all, or that Las Vegas is home to a graveyard for retired neon signs? In a world of travel guides and online articles telling us what we absolutely can’t miss when visiting a new city, Atlas Obscura is here to remind us of all the weird, wonderful things hidden in the cracks. With a website that lists odd delights to be found in cities the world over, it’s about time Atlas Obscura turned their findings into a coffee table book that may do more than just collect stain rings.

Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
Simon & Schuster, Sept. 27, $32.50
Many musicians have taken a stab at writing down their craziest days — looking at you, Tommyland by Tommy Lee — but it appears that Bruce Springsteen has opted for the Bob Dylan path: an honest, reflective, insightful examination of his own career that is as much an extension of his art as it is an exploration of it. The Boss has always had a way with words, and it stands to reason that Simon & Schuster broke the bank to ensure they’d have the privilege of publishing Springsteen’s memoir this fall. Bonus points if you go for the audiobook edition, narrated by the man himself.

QB: My Life Behind the Spiral, Steve Young
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Oct. 11, $30
Recent days have not been kind to the lineage of San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks, so thank goodness Steve Young has written a memoir to distract us from the dumpster fire burning down at Levi’s Stadium. A man who once threw six touchdowns in a single Super Bowl, Young went from being the eighth-string quarterback at Brigham Young University to inheriting the team that Joe Montana built. A book you can give your dad that he might actually read, QB: My Life Behind the Spiral is a welcome journey back to the times when the red and gold were worn with pride.

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