Ep. 205: Fall 2025 Book Preview with Catherine GIlmore (@GilmoreGuide)

Welcome to the Fall 2025 Book Preview with Catherine of Gilmore Guide to Books!  

Today, Catherine and Sarah share 14 of their most anticipated books releasing from mid-August through December.  

This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).

CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog.

Announcement

• One of the many benefits to supporting the podcast through either our Patreon Community or our Substack Community (both for just $7/mo) is that you get access to several bonus podcast episode series, including Book Preview Extras! In these episodes, Catherine and I share at least 4 bonus books we are excited about that we did not share in the big show preview episode. Get more details about all the goodies available and sign up here for Patreon and here for Substack!

Highlights

• A lightning round of some big releases coming this fall that we’re not featuring in today’s preview.
• Odd fall pickings meant they both chose to feature 7 books each.
• Catherine’s choices are a grab bag mix: academia, mysteries, a love story, and a snarky lighter read.
• Of Sarah’s seven books, there are 3 debut authors and 1 repeat author — and 2 sports books!
• Some of Sarah’s picks slide her right from sad girl summer into sad girl fall. 
• Sarah has already read and rated one of her picks — and it was a success!
• Plus, their #1 picks for fall.

Big Fall Releases

• Wreck by Catherine Newman (October 28) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [1:15]
• King Sorrow by Joe Hill (October 21) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [1:22]
• Son of the Morning by Akwaeke Emezi (November 4) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:25]
• What We Can Know by Ian McEwan (September 23) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:29]
• Palaver by Bryan Washington (November 4) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [1:32]
• Replaceable You by Mary Roach (September 16) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:35]
• Circle of Days by Ken Follett (September 23) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [1:51]
• People Like Us by Jason Mott (August 5) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [2:14]
• The Black Wolf by Louise Penny (October 28) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [2:33] 
• All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert (September 9) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [2:38] 
• Queen Esther by John Irving (November 4) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [2:46] 
• Hot Wax by M. L. Rio (September 9) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [3:02] 
• Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite (November 4) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [3:51] 
• Among the Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon (September 16) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [3:55] 

Other Books Mentioned

• Sandwich by Catherine Newman (2024) [1:18] 
• The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (1989) [2:06] 
• Hell of a Book by Jason Mott (2021) [2:20] 
• If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio (2017) [3:06] 
• The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (2019) [4:04] 

Fall 2025 Book Preview [7:26]

August

Sarah’s Picks

• Dominion by Addie E. Citchens (August 19) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [8:09]
• We Loved to Run by Stephanie Reents (August 26) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[14:09]

Catherine’s Pick

• Katabasis by R. F. Kuang (August 26) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [11:19]

Other Books Mentioned

• God Spare the Girls by Kelsey McKinney (2021) [9:49]
• Search by Michelle Huneven (2022) [9:58]  
• The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw (2020) [10:08]
• Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González (2022) [10:12]  
• Inferno by Dante (c. 1321) [11:36]  
• Babel by R. F. Kuang (2022) [13:30] 
• Yellowface by R. F. Kuang (2023) [13:32]
• Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel (2024) [14:57] 
• The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue (2023) [14:59] 
• Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett (2022) [15:53] 
• The Mothers by Brit Bennett (2016) [15:54] 
• Good For a Girl by Lauren Fleshman (2023) [16:20] 
• The Longest Race by Kara Goucher (2023) [16:22] 

September

Sarah’s Picks

• Buckeye by Patrick Ryan (September 2) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [19:17]
• Hot Desk by Laura Dickerman (September 2) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [24:31]
• The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy (September 16) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[29:23]
• Underspin by E. Y. Zhao (September 23) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [37:14]

Catherine’s Picks

• The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai (September 23) | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [17:08] 
• Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent (US release: September 30) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [22:07]

Other Books Mentioned

• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (2022) [18:15] 
• Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (2023) [20:05] 
• Slanting Towards the Sea by Lidija Hilje (2025) [20:38] 
• The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary (2019) [24:46] 
• Younger by Pamela Redmond Satran (2005) [26:10] (The book upon which the television series is based.)
• Writers & Lovers by Lily King (2020) [26:12] 
• The Turner House by Angela Flournoy (2015) [29:49] 
• Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel (2024) [38:49] 

October

Catherine’s Picks

• Workhorse by Caroline Palmer (October 14) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [27:25]
• The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson (October 14) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:14]

November

Sarah’s Pick

• Lightbreakers by Aja Gabel (November 4) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:31]

Catherine’s Pick

• Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino (November 25) | Amazon | Bookshop.org[40:02]

Other Books Mentioned

• The Ensemble by Aja Gabel (2018) [43:57] 

December

Catherine’s Pick

• The Day I Lost You by Ruth Mancini (US release: December 2) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:19]

Other Books Mentioned

• The Woman on the Ledge by Ruth Mancini (2024) [47:22]