Beyond the bestsellers: 10 new fall books you’ll want to keep on your radar

Fall is one of the busiest times of year for new books. With major publishers releasing new books every week from multi-million-copy bestselling authors, it’s easy to overlook equally excellent titles from independent presses and self-published writers. Once in a while, one of these smaller books gets big, like the delightful A Sheepdog Named Oscar by Dara Waldron, which hit the USA Today Bestsellers list and was a Barnes and Noble Monthly Pick. Most of the following books haven’t broken out like Waldron’s lovely memoir, at least not yet. But there’s a good chance you’ll find at least one to love in the Libby app!

✨ Pro tip: These hidden gems are less likely to have a holds list, so you might be able to start reading right away! If your library hasn’t purchased a copy yet, you can express interest by recommending a title right in Libby.

FICTION

The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine
🎧 Audiobook

Actually, if any of these books has broken out, it’s this one, which was just named a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction.

Alameddine’s novel is about Raja, a late-middle aged gay man living in Lebanon with his elderly mother. Well, this is how old they are in the present day, but Raja, who is just as funny as he is gullible, tells the story of his life going back to his boyhood in Beirut in the 1980s, weaving in tales of his problems dealing with his useless brother, living arrangements, caring for an aging parent, and love.

Hollow Spaces by Victor Suthammanont

But not every book can be a laugh a minute, and Hollow Spaces is a fantastic thriller fans of the genre should know about.

Told in two timelines, the novel tries to solve the question of whether John Lo, a successful lawyer, husband, and father of two, murdered his mistress. In the older timeline, the reader quickly sees what the jury thinks, but decades later, John’s children still aren’t sure and they launch their own investigation to figure out if their father is a killer.

This is a debut novel, but Suthammanont’s writing is incredibly self-assured and a real pleasure to read.

The Cut by Richard Armitage

Another great choice for thriller readers who love dual timelines is the latest from Richard Armitage—yes, that Richard Armitage, the actor you know as Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit movies. Here in his second novel, he takes the reader on an exciting ride, perfect for Gen Xers looking for a little nostalgia.

The murderer of a teenage girl is about to get released from prison, and it throws Ben’s already troubled life for another loop, as the victim was his high-school girlfriend. Then a film production comes to town, but the movie’s plot connects uncomfortably to Ben’s past.

Looking for Tank Man by Ha Jin
🎧 Audiobook

Not another dual timeline, but Looking for Tank Man is a modern investigation of the past.

Pei Lulu is a Chinese student attending Harvard when the Chinese premier comes to campus for a visit. During the visit, a lone, loud protester insists the students don’t know truth of what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Most of Lulu’s fellow Chinese classmates think the protester is lying—how could there have been a massacre they’d never heard about? But Lulu is determined to uncover the truth of her country’s past.

Grace Period by Maria Judite de Carvalho, translated by Margaret Jull Costa

And now I’m starting to think that even when I haven’t picked dual timeline stories, I am tending toward books with a strong sense of nostalgia. (Are my grays showing?)

Grace Period is a lovely novella about Mateo Silva returning to his childhood home to sell the property so he can finance a bucket list trip to Greece for the woman who is his life partner. But does he really want to sell the house? Does he really love this woman? Is the daughter of his neighbor who bought the house actually his half sister? There are no easy answers as Mateo is forced to take stock of life.

🎧 In My Hockey Era by Kendall Ryan

Lucy has a fulfilling life as an EMT, dog mom (and shelter volunteer), and hockey podcaster. But she cannot sit back as her team launches the worst PR stunt imaginable—a hockey romance book club led by the team’s handsome star forward, Bennett Wilder. The team’s PR team quickly realizes the best way to handle their biggest superfan trashing their new book club is to bring her on board, setting up Lucy and Bennett as a sniping duo with so much chemistry, they just might be in a hockey romance of their own.

Cécé by Emmelie Prophète, translated by Aidan Rooney

Cécé’s life in a slum on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince has been hard from its beginning. Her mother died of AIDS when she was only 2, and when the grandmother who raised her dies, she has only sex work and social media to turn to. In fact, her Facebook account explodes as she photographs life, and death, in the Cité, which might be her ticket out of poverty.

As hard as the story might be, though, Prophète’s writing and Rooney’s translation actually make this a surprisingly beautiful read.

🎧 The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 1 by Beth Brower

And we’ve reached my favorite, the hilarious, amazing, and utterly charming Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion series! These self-published books have been out for a while, but they just made their way to audio, which given Genevieve Gaunt’s delightful narration, is such a good way to discover the series.

Emma Lion is a 20-year-old orphan in Victorian England about to come into her inheritance, at least what’s left of it after her terrible cousin has spent most of it. But Emma is indomitable, and not pesky aunts, mice in her attic, nor impending financial ruin will prevent her from keeping the most entertaining journal in London.

NONFICTION

The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald by John U. Bacon
🎧 Audiobook

It might be because I was born, raised, and still live in a Great Lakes state, but the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald is one that has always fascinated me. And now journalist Bacon has delved into the most famous, if still mysterious, disasters in Great Lakes history. In addition to reconstructing what happened on Lake Superior that horrible night in November 1975, Bacon compellingly explains the history of Great Lakes shipping and the region’s importance to the American economy. He also describes what makes the Great Lakes so unique and dangerous through many stories of other shipwrecks.

KIDS

Light of the World by Sophie DeMuth
🎧 Audiobook

This is a colorful and vivid picture book about the life of Jesus, as told through the eyes of boy named Josiah. Lessons about charity, friendship, and love really come through as Josiah tries to meet Jesus, a man who isn’t quite what Josiah had imaged.

Folks who enjoyed the film that came out earlier this year will like revisiting the story and vibrant visuals, but the book can certainly be appreciated by any young reader interested in Bible stories.

*Title availability may vary.

👇 Looking for more “under the radar” reads from 2025? 👇

Published Oct 20, 2025

Shelia Mawdsley

Shelia Mawdsley did everything from answering questions at the Reference Desk to tech training to running a classic lit book club in her 17 years in public libraries. Now she helps other public libraries make the most of their collections in Libby. In her spare time, she’s either writing or reading, usually with an opera playing in the background. If you ever run into her, ask Shelia about #WITMonth.