10 New Books for September
Say Hello to Fall with These 10 Must-Read September Releases.
This September, the newest nonfiction books cater to a wide range of interests. From essays to personal growth to social justice issues, there is a book on the list for every reader. As we enter the fall season, look for books that expand your knowledge, challenge your perspectives, and engage you with the world through these compelling reads. Happy reading!
Essays
The Book of (More) Delights: Essays by Ross Gay (9/19/23) Algonquin Books | In this new collection of genre-defying pieces, again written over the course of a year, one of America's most original voices continues his ongoing investigation of delight. For Gay, what delights us is what connects us, what gives us meaning, from the joy of hearing a nostalgic song blasting from a passing car to the pleasure of refusing the "ubiquitous, nefarious" scannable QR code menus, from the tiny dog he fell hard for to his mother baking a dozen kinds of cookies for her grandchildren.
Inverse Cowgirl: A Memoir by Alicia Roth Weigel (9/26/23) Harper One | From a celebrated activist on the forefront of fighting for intersex representation and rights—and a subject of the forthcoming documentary Every Body, from the filmmakers behind RBG—a funny, thought-provoking collection of essays about owning your identity and living your truth.
Memoir
Up Home: One Girl's Journey by Ruth J. Simmons (9/5/23) Random House | Born in 1945, Ruth J. Simmons grew up the twelfth child of sharecroppers. Her first home had no running water, no electricity, and no books to read. Yet despite this—or, in her words, because of it—Simmons would become one of America's preeminent educators. Simmons, the former president of Smith College, Brown University, and Prairie View A&M, Texas's oldest HBCU, has inspired generations of students as she herself made history.
Omega Farm: A Memoir by Martha McPhee (9/12/23) Scribner | A masterful exploration of a complicated family legacy and a powerful story of environmental and personal repair, Omega Farm is a testament to hope in the face of suffering and a courageous tale about how returning home can offer a new way to understand the past.
Thicker Than Water: A Memoir by Kerry Washington (9/26/23) Little Brown Spark | In Thicker than Water, Washington gives readers an intimate view into both her public and private worlds—as a mother, daughter, wife, artist, advocate, and trailblazer. Chronicling her upbringing and life's journey thus far, she reveals how she faced a series of challenges and setbacks, effectively hid childhood traumas, met extraordinary mentors, managed to grow her career, and crossed the threshold into stardom and political advocacy, ultimately discovering her truest self and, with it, a deeper sense of belonging.
Personal Growth
Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier by Oprah Winfrey and Arthur C. Brooks (9/12/23) Portfolio | Equipped with the tools of emotional self-management and ready to build your four pillars, you can take control of your present and future rather than hoping and waiting for your circumstances to improve. Build the Life You Want is your blueprint for a better life.
Good Awkward: How to Embrace the Embarrassing and Celebrate the Cringe to Become the Bravest You by Henna Pryor (9/26/23) IdeaPress | Awkwardness isn't a weakness to fix - it's your greatest asset for professional and personal growth. In a time of blurred realities and filtered faces, embracing your awkwardness may seem counterintuitive. As 2x TEDx Speaker and Executive Coach Henna Pryor shows, relishing your "Good Awkward" is essential to becoming more bold, boosting your confidence, and taking the necessary professional risks at work that help you be braver and meet your true potential.
Scarcity Brain: Fix Your Craving Mindset and Rewire Your Habits to Thrive with Enough by Michael Easter (9/26/23) Rodale Books | Michael Easter, author of The Comfort Crisis and one of the world's leading experts on behavior change, shows that the problem isn't you. The problem is your scarcity mindset, left over from our ancient ancestors. They had to constantly seek and consume to survive because vital survival tools like food, material goods, information, and power were scarce and hard to find. But with our modern ability to easily fulfill our ancient desire for more, our hardwired "scarcity brain" is now backfiring.
Social History
Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America by Michael Harriot (9/19/23) Dey Street Books | In Black AF History, Michael Harriot presents a more accurate version of American history. Combining unapologetically provocative storytelling with meticulous research based on primary sources as well as the work of pioneering Black historians, scholars, and journalists, Harriot removes the white sugarcoating from the American story, placing Black people squarely at the center.
Sports Memoir
Take the Lead: Hanging On, Letting Go, and Conquering Life's Hardest Climbs by Sasha Digiulian (9/26/23) St. Martin’s Press | For readers of Cheryl Strayed's Wild and Megan Rapinoe's One Life, Take the Lead ultimately emphasizes the power of perseverance, fearlessness, and positivity in tackling some of the most daunting and fearsome climbs—on and off the wall.
Looking for more September releases? This is only a fraction of the nonfiction books that will be released in September. Check them all out here:
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