Autumn has well and truly arrived, and we’re here to inspire you with our book recommendations for a cosy night in. Find out which titles Faber staff are loving and looking forward to reading in the coming months.

Ruby Bamber, Senior Sales and Commercial Operations Executive

Life Among the Savages
Shirley Jackson

Originally published as separate short stories in women’s magazines, this is a witty snapshot of domestic life in small-town 1950s Vermont (the perfect fantasy for autumn evenings, surely?). The narrator is a (slightly) fictionalised version of Jackson herself, and her intelligent, penetrating, caustic insight is completely addictive. Her daughter’s imaginary daughters are a highlight.

Square Haunting
Francesca Wade

I have grand visions of taking myself off to a quiet pub where I can sit by a roaring fire and immerse myself in this book, which chronicles the lives specifically the years between the wars of five women who all lived, at points, in Mecklenburgh Square. Virginia Woolf is probably the headline act for many, but I’m also hugely looking forward to learning more about H.D., the modernist poet, and Eileen Power, the historian.

Publishing 16 January 2020

Jude Gates, Production Director

Pet
Akwaeke Emezi

Such a great, important book. Representation without making that the story; a message about believing in children and not hiding from the past. A gripping story, weighty with memorable detail and characterisation – tense and satisfying.

Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 01
John Wagner

I’m looking forward to reading Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 01 because we need escapism from this shambolic world to an even more shambolic one. R.I.P. Carlos Ezquerra.

Louisa Joyner, Publishing Director

This is Not Propaganda
Peter Pomerantsev

I genuinely have a stash of this book because pretty much every time I have a conversation, the altered reality of Bojo, Trump, Putin or even Mark Francois (who I avoid conversationally and in every other way as much as I humanly can) pops up, and, I say ‘You need to read this book.’ Essential reading for this autumn, I think.

Trick Mirror
Jia Tolentino

I am looking forward to reading Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino, on recommendation, as more insight on self-delusion feels like something we could all do with a bit more of…

Hannah Marshall, Marketing Manager

Dear Girls
Ali Wong

If you’re a fan of Wong’s Netflix specials Baby Cobra and Hard Knock Wife, then you’re sure to enjoy this forthcoming book from the comedian, with each chapter penned as a letter to her daughters and covering everything from ‘trapping’ her husband to being a working mother. Very entertaining, no-holds-barred fun.

Daisy Jones & The Six
Taylor Jenkins Reid

As a massive fan of oral history books (I could recommend Edie: An American Biography, Meet Me in the Bathroom and This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else to name but a few), I love the fact that this fictional account of a seventies rock band is written as oral history. Also, according to the blurb, Dolly Alderton can’t remember the last time she read a book that was so fun, which seems like a good enough recommendation to me!

Sarah Garnham, Children’s Publicist

The Time of Green Magic
Hilary McKay

It’s very different to The Skylarks’ War but is equally beautiful and the ending made me cry. It’s all about how magical books are, especially when you’re young, and reminds me of the first time I read The Magician’s Nephew.

Explorers on Black Ice Bridge
Alex Bell

As the weather gets colder, I can’t wait to curl up and read the third book in the Polar Bear Explorers’ Club series. It’s set to be the most dangerous, page-turning adventure yet.

Rachel Darling, Trade Marketing Executive

Strange Hotel
Eimear McBride

I’m still giddy from a second reading of Eimear McBride’s forthcoming Strange Hotel and have been extolling it at every conceivable (and inconceivable) opportunity.

Publishing 6 February 2020

Photo Credit: JMA Photography

The Topeka School
Ben Lerner

Ben Lerner is one of my faves and his new novel, The Topeka School, promises to be a radical new take on the American family saga. I’ve been saving this for my long overdue summer holiday and am frantic with anticipation.

Nicci Cloke, Communications Executive

Missing Person
Sarah Lotz

I’ve loved all of her previous books but this is something quite different: a really great murder mystery, following an online group of true crime enthusiasts who’ve been secretly joined by the killer themselves…

Imaginary Friend
Stephen Chbosky

I can’t wait to read Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky, which sounds incredibly chilling and yet really emotional, and is therefore right up my street.

Angus Cargill, Editorial Director

Devotion
Madeline Stevens

Devotion by Madeline Stevens is the book I’m recommending to everyone at the moment: a mesmerising, beautifully written, hard-to-second-guess debut novel about the intense relationship between two twenty-six-year-old women: a young, privileged Brooklyn mother and the nanny she employs.

Olive, Again
Elizabeth Strout

One of my favourite writers continuing the story of one of her very best characters, the funny, ornery, heart-breaking Olive Kitteridge. Can. Not. Wait.