10 books to read in September, including a Lost retrospective and a Sally Rooney novel

Release date: September 3

Publisher: Reel Art Press

For film fans, this isn’t a book you read so much as pore over from cover to cover. The publisher touts it as “the most comprehensive collection of movie posters ever published” and we’re inclined to believe them. This massive coffee-table tome boasts 640 pages of poster designs, from the silent era to Barbie. Curated by Tony Nourmand, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Reel Art Press and an authority on the art of movie posters, it includes iconic images and never-before-published advertisements for films like Metropolis, Casablanca, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Jaws, Star Wars, Taxi Driver, Pulp Fiction and more, spanning 20 countries and more than 120 years. Well-known artists like Saul Bass, Paul Rand, and Drew Struzan are represented alongside art directors, illustrators, and graphic designers whose work is more familiar than their names. Through these posters, you can trace the evolution of artistic movements and their influence on cinema across an entire century. 

Release date: September 3

Publisher: Amistad

Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent, can now add the title of author to his growing list of accomplishments which includes rap artist, actor, producer, manager, and businessman. For his debut novel, he teamed up with award-winning thriller author Aaron Philip Clark (the Detective Trevor Finnegan series) to pen a sprawling mystery set deep in the heart of Texas. It centers on Nia Adams, the first Black female Texas Ranger, as she follows the trail of blackmailer Desmond Bell, who is determined to get rich or die tryin’ (sorry, we couldn’t resist). After Desmond steals the secrets of one of the richest and most powerful families in the country, Nia finds herself caught in the crossfire. If you happen to land in the center of the Venn diagram of rap music fans and mystery readers, The Accomplice was made for you. 

Release date: September 3

Publisher: Riverhead Books

When Jane, a biracial novelist and mother of two, gets the opportunity to house-sit for a friend who lives in the hills above Los Angeles, she eagerly moves her family into the spacious home, hoping the opportunity will inspire her to finish her book. It doesn’t exactly work out as planned, so she turns to Hollywood as an alternative career path and starts developing a streaming comedy with a biracial protagonist. That’s when things really start spiraling out of control. Senna brings her own lived experience to this story of identity, appropriation, creativity, and the commodification of them all by the Hollywood system specifically, and our culture in general. 

Release date: September 3 

Publisher: Berkley

Originally published in Japan in March of 2023, We’ll Prescribe You A Cat went on to become an award-winning bestseller. Now the book has been translated into English (and several other languages) so the rest of the pet-loving world can discover its cozy joys. The book features a series of loosely connected stories about troubled characters who find their way to Kokoro Clinic for the Soul, a mysterious facility hidden away in a Kyoto backstreet. As the title implies, each patient is sent home with a cat chosen specifically for them. These cats are more than just therapy animals; they work in miraculous ways to help their owners find a sense of peace and healing. The translated prose is simple and direct, but the bond between humans and animals is a theme that transcends any language.

Release date: September 10 

Publisher: Crown

The latest twisty novel from Liane Moriarty, author of Big Little Lies, Apples Never Fall, and Nine Perfect Strangers, begins with an unusual plane flight in which one passenger tells the others how and when they’re going to die. It’s all just a silly diversion until the predictions start coming true a few months later. With that enticing opening, Moriarty hooks you into a story about the choices we make and what we might do differently if we knew exactly how much time we had left. The chapters alternate between a handful of characters from the flight, as well as the “Death Lady” herself, who may or may not be clairvoyant. Moriarty is especially good at handling dark material with a light touch, making for a smooth transition from fizzy summer beach reads to the more sober vibes of early fall. 

Release date: September 10 

Publisher: Del Rey

New takes on Bram Stoker’s Dracula are all the rage, it seems. Last month saw the release of The Madness by Dawn Kurtagich, a modern retelling centered on Mina Murray. And coming out this September is Kiersten White’s Lucy Undying, which turns the spotlight on her best friend, Lucy Westenra. In this sequel set in the present day, Lucy, Dracula’s first victim in Stoker’s novel, lives on as a vampire in search of her place in the world outside of the Count’s influence. Things start to look up when she meets Iris, an American heiress who has fled to London, to escape her family legacy and dismantle it. Through letters, diary entries, and therapy session notes, White seeks to give Lucy the voice Stoker never bothered to, while weaving a story of destiny, betrayal, and love.

Release date: September 17 

Publisher: Abrams Books

The A.V. Club wouldn’t be the site it is today without the contributions of Emily St. James and Noel Murray. So yeah, we’re admittedly a little biased in recommending Lost: Back To The Island. But as you can see from this excerpt, their observations remain as keen and fun to read as ever. The book includes essays, episode summaries, and cultural analysis examining Lost‘s lasting impact and legacy. With 20 years of hindsight to unpack there’s still a lot to be said about this groundbreaking show, and there are few critics better equipped to do it than St. James and Murray.

Release date: September 17 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

If you only know Kelly Bishop as Emily Gilmore, you’re missing out on six decades of performances by a talented actor with plenty of stories to tell. In her new memoir, The Third Gilmore Girl, Bishop herself fills you in on her life in show business, from her Tony Award-winning performance in the original cast of A Chorus Line to her role as Baby’s mom in Dirty Dancing to her reunion with frequent collaborator Amy Sherman-Palladino (who wrote a foreword for the book) in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. If you want juicy personal details, you’ll get those too. Bishop writes about her relationships, marriages, family, and friends, as well as her activism and advocacy for women’s reproductive rights. Come for the Gilmore Girls anecdotes, stay for the revealing truths about what it takes to build a lifelong career in and out of Hollywood.

Release date: September 24 

Publisher: Berkley

We all take fandom a bit too far sometimes, but what happens when obsession crosses the line from healthy to deadly? That’s the premise of Stephanie Wrobel’s The Hitchcock Hotel, a suspense thriller about a dedicated Hitchcock fan who opens a themed hotel filled with props, memorabilia, and even an aviary with live birds. A year after opening his hotel, Alfred Smettle invites a group of friends from his old college film club, each of them with a secret to hide. Though he hasn’t spoken to them in 16 years, Alfred hopes to impress them with an immersive experience. But the weekend’s events might mimic his favorite director’s body of work a little too faithfully. Now that’s a clever setup for a mystery.

Release date: September 24 

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

A new Sally Rooney novel? Yes, please. The Irish author of Normal People and Conversations With Friends is now on her fourth novel and she hasn’t missed yet. This time she’s less interested in exploring romantic relationships and more focused on the bond between two brothers, Peter and Ivan. Peter, the eldest, is a successful lawyer pursuing relationships with two women simultaneously. Ivan, who is 10 years younger, is a competitive chess player and a bit of a socially awkward loner. Following the death of their father they each grieve in their own messy ways, and must find a way to move forward through a better understanding of each other and themselves. Rooney writes about interpersonal relationships with a delicate intimacy that sets her apart in the world of literary fiction. Prepare for the kind of emotional wallop only Rooney can deliver.