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The best books out in October

The best books out in October

by Stephen Carlick

1 October 2026

min read

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The weather is beginning to cool, school’s back in session, and spooky season beckons – the reasons to sink into a good book are piling up like autumn leaves.

This month brings a host of excellent reads: the sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife, a selection of new white-knuckle thrillers from the genre’s biggest names, and, of course, a collection of new ghost stories from some of our best-loved authors, guaranteed to make your blood run cold.

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Best new fiction

Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger

Out 13th October

In this long-awaited sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife, Henry DeTamble’s daughter Alba has the same chrono-impairment, with added complexity: she is in love with both Oliver, who shares her condition, and Zach, who lives in the present. As she slips through time in this graceful novel, Alba must find meaning amidst the urgent issues facing her present and future.

Read it if you like: The Time Traveler’s Wife, Before the Coffee Gets Cold

In One Brief Moment All Eternity by Elif Shafak

Out 15th October

This latest thought-provoking epic from Elif Shafak wonders: what if Emma Bovary herself held Flaubert’s quill and, along with other women history has overlooked, rewrote her own story? Dazzlingly inventive and captivating, In One Brief Moment All Eternity plays with the rules of time, art and literature to pose bold questions about who gets to shape their own fate, and how.

Read it if you like: Madame Bovary, Hamnet

Chain Reaction by Lee Child and Andrew Child

Out 20th October

When a member of her covert team is found murdered, Pentagon-based General Susan Turner can no longer trust anyone on her team. She needs somebody on the outside, a fixer who can return to the shadows when the job is done, and there’s only one person who fits the bill: Jack Reacher. But in a remote town, with more data centres than people, trouble is about to find both of them…

Read it if you like: James Patterson, Michael Connelly

The Family Cross by James Patterson

Out 19th October

Nana Mama is proud of her grandson Alex Cross, a criminal psychologist tasked with hunting criminals for the DC Metro Police and FBI, and she’s made him swear that he’ll stay out of danger. But this latest case – in which a man has been killed and burned beneath a busy overpass – is putting Cross’s promise to the ultimate test. Can he solve this grisly murder without putting his family in harm’s way?

Read it if you like: Lee Child, David Baldacci

Storm Caller by Nisha J. Tuli

Out 22nd October

Having established her romantasy bona fides with the yearning, slow-burning enemies-to-lovers epic Storm Breaker, Nisha J. Tuli returns to the post-apocalyptic world of New Manhattan, where Poet Graves has already fallen for a strange outsider. Choosing him might mean the end of her world as she knows it. Poet has the power to control storms, but does she have enough to deny this irresistible connection?

Read it if you like: Fourth Wing, The Poison Daughter

A Ghostly Little Book by Olga Ravn, Roddy Doyle, Eliza Clark, Tom Crewe, and Helen Oyeyemi

Out 1st October

Arriving just in time for spooky season is this perfect compendium of soon-to-be-classic ghost stories from five of the most acclaimed authors writing today. Whether you’re telling stories around the fire or settling into your comfy chair for a night’s reading, this clothbound hardback (complete with gold foil and a ghostly embossed hand) is a beautiful addition to you autumnal to-read pile.

Read it if you like: Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe

Best new non-fiction

The Third Eye by George Harrison

Out 8th October

He may have been dubbed “The Quiet Beatle”, but George Harrison’s penchant for speaking through his art finds further expression in this collection of photographs, curated by his widow Olivia. Spanning 1963 to 1969, when the band were at the height of its fame, The Third Eye beautifully depicts moments of stillness amid the madness of Beatlemania and beyond.

Avid Beatles fans can visit the Penguin Shop for a deluxe edition of The Third Eye, complete with a seven-inch vinyl of a never-before-released George Harrison song, four photo prints, and signed, numbered cards from Olivia Harrison.

Read it if you like: The Lyrics and 1964: Eyes of the Storm by Paul McCartney

Abandoning a Cat by Haruki Murakami

Out 20th October

Japan’s best-loved author recounts his relationship with his father in this elegant, deeply personal and affecting illustrated memoir. Despite some commonalities (his father was, after all, a poet and teacher), the two were estranged for a significant portion of Murakami’s life. Touching on themes of father- and sonhood, and told against the backdrop of the Second World War, Abandoning a Cat is a must-have for any Murakami fan.

Read it if you like: Fun Home, Haruki Murakami’s non-fiction

Good Mood Food by Tim Spector

Out 22nd October

The UK’s foremost food scientist and authority on gut health returns with a new cookbook that highlights the scientifically proven relationship between food and mental well-being. Whether you’re looking for easy dinners, batch-cooking inspiration that's easy on the wallet, or breakfasts to start your mornings right, this recipe book will put you in the mood to cook meals that nourish your body and mind.

Read it if you like: Channel 4’s What Not to Eat, Ultra-Processed People

Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It? by Judi Dench

Out 22nd October

Ninety years in the making, this winsome, illuminating memoir follows one of the world’s most celebrated actresses as she recounts the defining moments of her life and storied career. Spanning everything from onstage (and off-stage) antics to near-death adventures, Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It? is funny, poignant, and an absolute joy to read.

Read it if you like: Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

Michael Gambon by Jasper Rees

Out 29th October

Nobody has interviewed Michael Gambon, the stage and screen actor perhaps best known for his role as Dumbledore, more than arts journalist and author Jasper Rees. Accordingly, this authorised biography – assembled from those interviews and hundreds more with Gambon’s peers (Penelope Wilton, Brian Cox and more) and written with exclusive access to Gambon’s personal archive – is the most complete account yet of his illustrious career and dedication to his craft.

Read it if you like: Biographies of classic actors, One Helluva Ride

The Sunny Side of Franz Kafka by Maria Moreira and Franz Kafka

‘Kafkaesque’takes on a whole new meaning in this pocket-sized book collecting optimistic, light-hearted advice and encouragement from the author typically synonymous with unsettling, menacing complexity. Sourced from letters to lovers, friends, and family by the creator of the popular X account of the same name, The Sunny Side of Franz Kafka contains nuggets of wisdom that cast the Bohemian author in a new, much brighter light.

Read it if you like: Letters to Milena, Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?

Blockers by Michael Lewis

Out 6th October

In early 2025, following Trump’s deployment of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a cadre of Musk’s tech-bro acolytes infiltrated the US government offices in search of precious sensitive data. They came up against what Musk termed the ‘Blockers’: a list of government employees he knew would stand in the way. This is the captivating story of their all-important, hard-fought victory.

Read it if you like: The Big Short, Who Is Government?

The Fall of the West by Owen Jones

Out 1st October

In this unsparing new book, political journalist Owen Jones digs into the real cause of the oft-mentioned ‘decline of the West’: not immigrants, wokeness, or the erosion of ‘Christian values’, but something much simpler. This is the story of how a quarter-century of political and economic decision-making has brought about The Fall of the West – and what might be done about it.

Read it if you like: Naomi Klein, The Invisible Doctrine

Grand: The Autobiography of Gromit by Nick Park and Gromit

Out 22nd October

The nation’s favourite claymation canine is finally breaking his silence – and until Wallace finishes the construction of his memoir-writing machine, this is the most complete autobiography you’re going to get from either of the loveable man-and-dog duo. Fans of Wallace and Gromit will relish the wit and whimsy of this delightful book, making it the perfect gift for the festive season.

Read it if you like: Wallace and Gromit, Creature Comforts

A History of The World in Ten Wars by Terry Deary

Out 8th October

Nobody likes war, but few would deny that it has had a powerful role in shaping our world. In this eye-opening book, Horrible Histories author Terry Deary uses ten famous wars to illustrate the many ways war has influenced society and vice versa, from the Greeks allying with neighbouring cities in the Trojan War to the development of supply chains by the Mongols.

Read it if you like: A History of Britain in Ten Enemies, Horrible Histories

Devil on My Shoulder by Alice Cooper

Out 8th October

Who is Alice Cooper? Well, first it was a band, featuring singer Vincent Furnier; then, it was Vincent himself. Since then, as this tell-all memoir reveals, Cooper has been: a rockstar, an addict, an icon, a survivor of blackouts, car crashes and house fires, a married man for 50 years, and a hopeless romantic. This is his crazy story, in his own words.

Read it if you like: A Thousand Threads, Light My Fire: My Life with The Doors

New paperbacks out this month

Discover more reading inspiration with our roundup of the best new paperbacks of 2026.

Dungeon Crawler Carl

Matt Dinniman (Author)

Buy from:

Pride and Prejudice (with a new introduction by Dolly Alderton) cover

Amazon
Blackwells
Bookshop.org
Foyles
Hive
Waterstones
TGJones

Wings

Paul McCartney (Author) , Ted Widmer (Edited by)

Buy from:

Best new audiobooks

These new audiobooks feature famous narrators, a full cast of actors bringing characters to life, and heartfelt narrations from the authors themselves – making them the perfect choice for an immersive listening experience.

The Queerest of Folk

Russell T Davies (Author) , Russell T Davies (Read by)

Buy from:

The Fall of the West

Owen Jones (Author) , Owen Jones (Read by)

Buy from:

Blockers

Michael Lewis (Author) , Michael Lewis (Read by)

Buy from:

A History of The World in Ten Wars

Terry Deary (Author) , Terry Deary (Read by)

Buy from:

The best books out in October

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Best new fiction

The best books of 2026

Debut novels to read this year

New paperbacks to read in 2026

Best new non-fiction

New autobiography books and memoirs to read this year

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A beginner’s guide to translated fiction

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