Top 10 New Books for Cosy Autumn Evenings

If you’ve already taken out your raincoats, wellies, and woollen blankets, and stocked up on nasal sprays, teas, and preserves, you could say you’re more or less prepared for the damp and chilly autumn ahead. But make sure you also have an engrossing book at hand for those long evenings while you steam your soaked feet and listen to the relentless rain outside – because there are no better remedies for the autumn blues.

The latest novel from Haruki Murakami, the debut memoirs of Cher, new civilisational warnings from Yuval Noah Harari, as well as a Polish homage to The Magic Mountain, an intriguing meditation guide for mortals, gloomy prophecies of Japanese science fiction, and physics-lyric essays on the beauty of the universe – this is just a small part of the brilliant new books awaiting us this autumn.

For Those Who Fear Artificial Intelligence

Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari

While global corporations in the tech industry race to create the best artificial intelligence, and the uninformed celebrate each of their novelties with enthusiasm, sensible people are nervously biting their lips, fearing what the AI arms race might lead to. In his characteristic analytical manner, Yuval Noah Harari examines past information revolutions to understand how humanity has dealt with such upheavals before. Sometimes societies and political regimes have used new opportunities to significantly improve life, but more often than not, it ended badly. Thus, only by studying the lessons of previous generations can we navigate the AI era, which clearly threatens the very existence of humanity.

For Fans of The Magic Mountain

The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story by Olga Tokarczuk

A century after Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, Polish Nobel Prize laureate Olga Tokarczuk follows in his footsteps. Once again, we find ourselves in a tuberculosis sanatorium in the mountains, with a young hero surrounded by a gallery of colourful characters who, over hallucinogenic liqueurs, philosophise on current socio-political issues in the evenings. But soon the young man starts to feel that disturbing things are happening at the sanatorium, and worse – someone or something sinister is watching from the surrounding hills, threatening both him and all of humanity. This novel will appeal to everyone: horror fans, comedy lovers, ethnography enthusiasts, and especially modern feminists.

For Eco-Spies

Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner

Here lies the greatest danger for any spy: the longer you watch someone, the closer you get to them, and the more you infiltrate their trust, the more you yourself fall under the influence of your object of interest. In Rachel Kushner’s new spy novel, the FBI sends an agent to infiltrate a commune of eco-terrorists operating under the guise of a farming cooperative in rural France. At first, no one imagines that the group's leader – an 80-year-old man who only communicates by email, is obsessed with Neanderthals, and despises modernity – will quickly find a way into the heart of a 34-year-old woman and lure her to his side. If you dutifully sort your recycling, love deep philosophy, and enjoy thoughtful, leisurely reading, this book is just what you need.

For Those Who Want to Live Slowly

Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

British journalist and author Oliver Burkeman continues to urge humanity to slow down. In his bestseller Four Thousand Weeks (the approximate lifespan of an 80-year-old), he helped us realise that time is limited and definitely shouldn't be wasted on scrolling through social media. In his new book, Burkeman not only insists on focusing on important tasks but advocates that we should take on as few tasks as possible. Endless to-do lists and the promotion of success-oriented philosophies lead to neurosis. Meditations for Mortals is a guide with 28 lessons that will make you calm and happy in four weeks.

For Those Who Are "Strong Enough"

Cher: The Memoir, Part One by Cher

At 78, Cher has spent her entire life fighting to remain a unique individual in the entertainment industry, where an artist’s independence is often seen as unnatural, all while playing strictly by her own rules. The result? Our grandparents admired Cher over half a century ago, then our parents, and now we do – and it’s certain that at least our children will too. So, to the joy of several generations, Cher has decided to release her debut memoirs. This autumn, the first part will hit the shelves, focusing on Cher’s difficult childhood, her struggles with dyslexia, and her tumultuous relationship with musician Sonny Bono, which first made them both global stars and then led to their breakup.

For Those Who Support Humanity

Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami

The problem with many futurists is that they scare us with horrific visions of the future but almost never offer any practical solutions to humanity's decline – essentially saying, "Here’s what will happen, now live with it." But renowned Japanese speculative fiction author Hiromi Kawakami stands apart from many modern "Nostradamuses." In her 2016 book, which is finally being released in English, she presents 14 stories that not only depict a troubling future where humanity is battling extinction but also offer her own prescription for how the inevitable catastrophe can be avoided.

For Lovers of Family Secrets

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave

There was a thrice-married hotel tycoon, Liam Noone – until he fell off a cliff by his oceanfront home. No one doubted it was just a tragic accident. No one except architect Nora and former baseball player Sam – his estranged daughter and son. These two became suspicious: what if their father’s death was somehow linked to the business interests of those around him? As they begin their amateur investigation into the final days leading up to the tragedy, Nora and Sam gradually uncover a 50-year-old secret that will completely alter their perception of their father, and the readers will be treated to a gripping finale that is impossible to predict.

For Those in Love with the Universe’s Beauty

The Miraculous from the Material by Alan Lightman

Remember the way Ricky Fitts in American Beauty stared at a plastic bag swirling in the wind with awe? If you want to learn to see the world with such wonder yourself, there’s no need to deal marijuana to your neighbours or promise your girlfriend to kill her miserable father. Instead, read the new book by American physicist and author Alan Lightman, which can make even a depressed person ready to commit suicide fall in love with the universe. Rainbows and snowflakes, cobwebs and soap bubbles, the Grand Canyon and Saturn’s rings – Lightman’s beautifully illustrated scientific-philosophical-lyrical essays on the idea that everything, both ordinary and grand, essentially shares the same nature and follows the same laws, achieve the impossible: they unite the spiritual and material approaches to perceiving the beauty of the universe.

For Sociologists

Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Since the release of the groundbreaking The Tipping Point in 2000, Canadian journalist Malcolm Gladwell has established himself as an expert on the era of social upheavals that cascaded upon humanity in the third millennium. But a quarter-century later, a revision is needed: some things must be added, others reconsidered, and some discarded as errors. In the sequel to his bestselling work, Gladwell delves into a wide range of topics: the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis, the phenomenon of Los Angeles as the birthplace of successful burglars, the connection between cheetahs and child-rearing, and a forgotten 50-year-old television show that subtly changed the world.

For Those Who Have Lost Their Sense of Security

The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami

Remember what you were doing during the pandemic? Contemporary Japanese literary giant Haruki Murakami recalled, while in quarantine, that he had an obscure short story from 40 years ago that could use some revising. As he began editing it amidst the backdrop of deaths from COVID-19 and later the deaths caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the short story expanded into his first novel in six years, reflecting emotional impressions of “two great events that converged and dramatically changed the world.” Murakami says that the sense of security that came with the belief in globalisation and economic-cultural interdependence “burst with the sudden invasion of Russia into Ukraine.” How to restore it? Of course, the best way is to persuade your politicians to send as much weaponry to Ukraine as possible. Meanwhile, you can dive into Murakami’s world of fantasies, which this time consists of high walls, watchtowers, dark libraries, nostalgic dreams, and, as always, a love story.