There’s something about fall that feels like a fresh start. For years, September marked the beginning of a new school year, and that rhythm often stays with us well into adulthood. Perhaps that’s why, when the cooler weather arrives, I find myself, like many others, signing up for classes, exploring new interests, and creating a reading list for the fall and winter months. I’ve curated a list of new books to add to your reading list for fall 2026. Let me know what you think in the comment section:
Whistler by Ann Patchett
Pulitzer Prize finalist for The Dutch House, Ann Patchett has written a new book that focuses on memory, perception, reconciliation and aging. Daphne Fuller lives in New York City with her husband. While visiting The Metropolitan Museum of Art, they run into her former stepfather, whom she has not seen for 45 years after a serious car accident. Through flashbacks to the past, Patchett slowly and expertly reveals the events surrounding the accident and how childhood perceptions can cause heavy emotional burdens into adulthood. A sub-theme addresses the hypocrisy of secret, complicated relationships. Patchett displays a beautiful insight into intricate relationship dynamics while showcasing the strong bonds of love.
Published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, CAN $39.00
ISBN No. 978-0-06-351163-7
Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang
Best-selling authors Kate Quinn and Janie Chang have partnered up to write a page-turning historical fiction novel set in 1906 San Francisco. The story focuses on four women: Gemma, an up-and-coming opera singer; Suling, a Chinese embroideress trying to avoid an arranged marriage; artist Nellie Doyle; and real-life figure, Alice Eastwood, who was head of botany at the California Academy of Sciences. The women’s lives become intertwined when they meet Henry Thornton, a railroad magnate who collects antiques including the famous Phoenix Crown. When the earthquake happens, it causes chaos and destruction and Thornton disappears, leaving the women’s lives in turmoil. Having read several of Kate Quinn’s previous novels, I highly recommend this well-researched and entertaining collaboration.
Published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2024.
ISBN No. 9780063339972
Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls
This Pulitzer-Prize winning graphic memoir from Tessa Hulls is a deeply personal dive into the past in order to heal her intergenerational trauma. Hulls’s grandmother, Sun Yi, was an award-winning journalist in Shanghai reporting on the 1949 Communist takeover. After being threatened by the government, she fled to Hong Kong and wrote a celebrated book before experiencing a mental breakdown. The burden fell on her daughter, Rose, to care for her. Rose, however, was accepted into an elite boarding school where she learned proper English, which allowed her to win a scholarship to a college in the U.S. She brought Sun Yi with her, but since Sun Yi did not speak English, she suffered in isolation. Rose did marry and had a daughter, Tessa, who again carried the burden of the emotional gravity of her mother’s and grandmother’s traumatic experiences. Tessa found her mother’s protection too suffocating and traveled to far off places including Antarctica before returning home to, as she puts it, “feed the ghosts” of her past rather than ignore them.
Published by MCD Books, an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux under Macmillan Publishers, 2024
ISBN No. 9780374601652
Definitely Thriving by Kerry Clare
This novel about a woman who leaves her marriage to pursue the life she reads about in Eat, Pray, Love (without the love) is a hilarious read. Clare has created a quirky character in Clemence Lathbury, who, seeking solitude, moves into the top floor of a triplex in Toronto’s Roncesvalles neighbourhood and gets a job at a bookstore. The single life does not last long for Clemence as she finds herself attracted to both her landlady’s athletic son and the awkward staff member at the bookstore. More colourful characters infiltrate this novel including bookstore owner Crampton, a cranky lady who also owns the local grocery store. Toronto residents will enjoy reading about the High Park area, but from a broader perspective, readers will enjoy following Clemence’s journey into independence, with all the laugh-out-loud moments and flawed interactions.
Published by House of Anansi Press Inc., CAN $26.99
ISBN No. 978-1-4870-1393-6
The Chambermaid’s Key by Genevieve Graham
In this historical fiction novel, Graham uses the Fairmont Royal York Hotel (although she has changed the name to “The Dominion Hotel”) as the backdrop of a dual-timeline story that begins in 1929 – the year of the stock market crash. Rosie Ryan is an Irish immigrant living in Toronto’s The Ward, an overcrowded slum densely populated by immigrants. Wishing to escape her impoverished roots, she seeks employment at The Dominion as a chambermaid. She quickly becomes attached to Damian Ward, one of the waiters working at the hotel. The hotel, however, has some powerful yet unsavoury guests including Marco Carboni with whom Rosie and Damian become entangled. And things get messy very quickly. Graham is known for her in depth research and glorious descriptive details, particularly at they relate to the ornate Royal York Hotel with all of its secret rooms and tunnels. These qualities are on display again here, and are one of the reasons I kept turning the pages on this engrossing murder mystery.
Published by Simon & Schuster, CAN $25.99
ISBN No. 978-1-6682-0342-2
Wishes Fulfilled: Mastering The Art of Manifesting by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
There’s a good chance you’ve read one of Dr. Wayne W. Dyer’s books: he’s had 21 New York Times bestsellers, but if you haven’t this one is a great book to add to your fall 2026 reading list. I picked up Wishes Fulfilled: Mastering The Art of Manifesting at my local library because I’ve been focusing on manifesting my goals. Dyer has a wonderfully relatable way of writing and includes many personal examples of his own manifestation successes. In this book, he illustrates how powerful our imaginations are: our brains cannot distinguish between what you imagine is real and what is real; therefore, it’s important to imagine our goals and embrace the feeling as if they have already happened. As in other books, Dyer emphasizes how we are all connected – to one another and to the source. This perspective allows us to treat others as we would ourselves.
Published by Hay House, 2012.
ISBN No. 978-1401937270
I hope you found something interesting to add to your fall 2026 reading list. Let me know in the comment section if you’ve read any of these books!
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