The 2026 Fall Book Preview is here!
Our team is flying high after the release of our eighth annual Fall Book Preview yesterday! Fall Book Preview celebrates the abundance of fall titles on the horizon, but seeks to present them in a way that steers clear of overwhelm, to help you feel really good about how you spend your precious reading minutes this season.
Now that it’s here, you can enjoy instant book gratification: Visit our Fall Book Preview hub to get your digital lookbook and Unboxing video. (If you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers: check out our FAQ section if you’re wondering about purchasing a la carte access v receiving the preview as an included perk of MMD Book Club or WSIRN Patreon membership.)
If you’d like a physical copy of our lookbook to arrive in your mailbox, Will ordered some extras on top of our preorders but they’re going fast so stake your claim now.
It’s gonna be a great fall season. I hope you enjoy perusing our guide and companion, and thoroughly enjoy Unboxing. And that your reading list is exactly as long as you want it to be!
My favorite finds from around the web:
I offer gift links for articles whenever possible (you may still need to create an account with the publication); if there’s no gift link and you’re not a subscriber, check to see if your library carries the publication or use a bookmarking service.
TAIPEI STORY and laughing at yourself. (R.F. Kuang) “It’s good to be the butt of a joke. And what’s funnier than the language classroom? Almost every exercise undermines your respectable, adult self.” Kuang on her new novel and the inherent indignities of learning a new language as an adult.
Don’t Pick a Paint Color Until You Ask Yourself These 5 Questions, Designers Say. (Real Simple) I’ve been picking out paint recently and thought these were good tips.
What I’ve been reading lately: the new and the notable. (MMD) This month’s edition of Quick Lit includes a healthy variety including a nonfiction work in translation, a phenomenal audiobook that packs a big punch in just a little over five hours, a debut short story collection with ties to a 2026 MMD Minimalist Summer Reading Guide pick, and two slim 1960s classics I’ve been meaning to read forever.
Can Andre Agassi Enjoy Pickleball More Than He Hated Tennis? (The New York Times gift link) “I always promised Stef I would never be too busy or too bored, because I’m kind of dangerous in both environments.” I thought I wasn’t interested in this profile, but was immediately sucked in—and no wonder, because I adored his excellent memoir Open.
I posted to Instagram for the first time in forever, because What Should I Read Next? is in Times Square right now and I had to share!
Chop up your books. (Attainable Felicity) “It takes a few minutes and very few tools. You also can enjoy reading reasonably-sized volumes of big books. At the risk of parroting ‘you can just do things’, I’m telling you: You Can Just chop up your book. Nobody will call the cops.” I’m sure this will horrify some of you, but aren’t those little volumes of Lonesome Dove awfully cute?
Madewell is running a 25% off sale right now: I’m pouncing on the Lexie ankle boots (5-12) that were sold out in my size all last year. You might also like their cult classic Easy Shirt or Signature Woven Tote, which is the one I carry most days this time of year.
When Your Town Needs a Bookstore… Why Not Open One Yourself? (Literary Hub) “Swarthmore is a very small town. There are only about 7,000 residents, including the students at the local college. We do support a coffee shop, a pizza parlor, and a small grocery store, but just barely. Were we big enough for a bookstore? I wasn’t sure. Still, I didn’t hesitate.”
Nashville Is Renaming Its Airport for Dolly Parton. (Daily Passport) “While there are a few remaining hurdles to clear, authorities have been working ‘9 to 5’ to make this name change a reality.” (I giggled.)
Judge a Book by Its Cover! 6 Cover Art Trends We’re Spotting This Year. (Goodreads) “Is there a larger pattern here? Is the universe trying to tell us something by way of commercial publishing trends? DO THE CIRCLES MEAN ANYTHING? No one knows. But it sure is fun to talk about.”
I wore this dolman sleeve sweater last night for Fall Book Preview; it’s pretty and comfy. (XS–XL; available here in 1x–3X) I waited forever for the blue to come back in stock and it was worth the wait. I just ordered the brand-new deep brick red color for fall and am excited for it to arrive!
Annie Dillard, Meditative Author of ‘Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,’ Dies at 81. (New York Times gift link) We’ve sure lost some titans recently. Dillard’ holds a special place in my heart: she was the first literary writer I “discovered” on my own as a high school student (via assigned reading in my Norton anthology, believe it or not) and proceeded to fall wholly in love with.
The National Book Award longlists for fiction and nonfiction were announced this week. (National Book Foundation)
Why is my mustard spicier than normal? An investigation into a global Dijon mystery. (Toronto Star) “The strange thing about that night was no one liked my mustard chicken.” Thus launches an investigation that I thoroughly enjoyed reading about.
The delight of a reading rabbit hole. (What Should I Read Next?) Reading with curiosity and intentionality.
‘Pride and Prejudice’ Premiere Date Set at Netflix, Full Cast Photos Unveiled. (Hollywood Reporter) Dolly Alderton’s adaptation is coming to Netflix December 3. Will it be terrible? Maybe! Will I watch (at least the first episode)? YES.
An elegy for the Joseph-Beth that was. (Fisher the Bookseller) On this week’s Barnes & Noble purchase of a decades-old indie an hour down the road from me in Lexington: “Let me be clear. I am glad the booksellers there will be able to keep their jobs. I am glad that the store is not closing entirely. But I’m not going to pretend that a corporate space is the same as an independently owned and curated space.
Don’t miss these posts:
12 quiet novels for those seeking compelling character-driven reads. Novels that invite readers to savor the story.
20 easy and delicious go-to weeknight dinner recipes that count among our family’s greatest hits. The winning dinner recipes my family relies on.
20 Dark Academia novels for moody fall reading. Is Dark Academia a social media trend, aesthetic, literary genre? Yes, yes, and yes.
Have a great weekend!
One comment
I really can’t express how much or entirely why I’m so bummed about the Joseph-Beth Barnes & Noble acquisition, but this Substack did it well. I’m a fan of B & N, but I’ve been mourning all week. (And texted Lex native Shanwtaye that if they stop selling Blue Monday candies, I’ll riot.)
I think part of what sits uncomfortably with me is just because we have someone trustworthy(ish) at the helm of B & N for now, what happens when he inevitably leaves or retires. Sigh.