The ReadDown

The Best Paperback Books to Read This Fall

If you’re looking for a lighter book to carry around (in terms of weight not content), we’ve got a book list for you. Find the latest beloved fiction and nonfiction reads to bring to a coffee shop or on a plane ride, wherever autumn takes you!

Discover more fall essentials from all your favorite genres.

1

Killing Commendatore

by Haruki Murakami

A tour de force of love and loneliness, war and art, Killing Commendatore is a stunning work of imagination from one of our greatest writers.

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2

Well Met

by Jen DeLuca

All’s faire in love and war for two sworn enemies who indulge in a harmless flirtation in a laugh-out-loud rom-com from debut author Jen DeLuca.

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3

Excuse Me

by Liana Finck

With her trademark, scratchy style and keen eye for the absurd, Liana Finck has amassed a large, devoted following who love the deeply insightful, delightfully odd way she describes how we all experience the world.

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4

The Handmaid’s Tale

by Margaret Atwood

An instant classic and eerily prescient cultural phenomenon, from “the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction” (New York Times). Now an award-winning Hulu series starring Elizabeth Moss.

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5

Someone Knows

by Lisa Scottoline

Bestselling and award-winning author Lisa Scottoline reaches new heights with this riveting novel about how a single decision can undo a family, how our past can derail our present, and how not guilty doesn’t always mean innocent.

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6

Killers of the Flower Moon

by David Grann

From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Lost City of Z, a twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history.

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7

Looking for Alaska

by John Green

Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another.

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8

Modern Love

by

The most popular, provocative, and unforgettable essays from the New York Times “Modern Love” column—now revised and updated, featuring stories from the upcoming anthology series starring Tina Fey, Andy Garcia, Anne Hathaway, Catherine Keener, Dev Patel, and John Slattery.

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9

The Godfather

by Mario Puzo

With its brilliant and brutal portrayal of the Corleone family, The Godfatherburned its way into our national consciousness. This unforgettable saga of crime and corruption, passion and loyalty continues to stand the test of time, as the definitive novel of the Mafia underworld.

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10

The O. Henry Prize Stories

by

The O. Henry Prize Stories 2019–continuing a century-long tradition of cutting-edge literary excellence–contains twenty prize-winning stories chosen from the thousands published in magazines over the previous year. The winning writers are an impressive mix of celebrated names and new, emerging voices.

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11

The Underground Railroad

by Colson Whitehead

The Underground Railroad is both the gripping tale of one woman’s will to escape the horrors of bondage—and a powerful meditation on the history we all share.

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12

A Spark of Light

by Jodi Picoult

The author of Small Great Thingsreturns with a powerful and provocative new novel about ordinary lives that intersect during a heart-stopping crisis.

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13

On Desperate Ground

by Hampton Sides

From the New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Soldiers and In the Kingdom of Ice, a chronicle of the extraordinary feats of heroism by Marines called on to do the impossible during the greatest battle of the Korean War.

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14

Gridiron Genius

by Michael Lombardi

Former NFL general manager and three-time Super Bowl winner Michael Lombardi reveals what makes football organizations tick at the championship level. From personnel to practice to game-day decisions that win titles, Lombardi shares what he learned working with coaching legends Bill Walsh of the 49ers, Al Davis of the Raiders, and Bill Belichick of the Patriots, among others, during his three decades in football.

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15

How to Invent Everything

by Ryan North

Bestselling author and time-travel enthusiast Ryan North shows you how to invent all the modern conveniences we take for granted–from first principles. This illustrated manual contains all the science, engineering, art, philosophy, facts, and figures required for even the most clueless time traveler to build a civilization from the ground up.

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