Fall 2024 Book Preview
Sharing highly anticipated fall releases with beloved backlist favorites!
Prepare for an overflowing To Be Read pile as we welcome this year’s cozy vibes of fall publishing! In today’s main feed episode, we’re thrilled to blend highly anticipated new releases with beloved backlist books and classic novels. We compiled a list that has something for everyone, covering genres like historical fiction, gothic tales, coming-of-age stories, and even fantasy. You'll find themes of family, personal growth, and societal expectations, along with a mix of suspenseful mysteries and deep literary explorations. Whether you're in the mood for classic novels or modern narratives that push boundaries, there’s a rich variety here to dive into!
Listen to today’s episode wherever you download your podcasts.
Make this season super nerdy and join us for our upcoming events on Patreon!
We want to remind our community that Chelsey will be on maternity leave this fall. As a small (very small!) business, this requires significant planning and adjustments. To best manage our schedules while preserving the community we've created, we will take a short break from the main feed while focusing on providing fun, nerdy new content on Patreon at patreon.com/novelpairings.
We aim to return to the main feed in December or January with a special episode featuring the best books of 2024, along with a thrilling spring season. On Patreon, we will continue to offer bonus episodes, discussion-based classes, and book club events. You can join us at either the $5 or $10 level, depending on your desired level of participation.
Here’s a quick review of our Patreon tiers:
Literature Lover $5/month:
Friday Bonus Episodes to enhance your reading experience, including:
Educational Mini Episodes featuring historical, cultural, biographical, and literary context for our monthly classic book selections.
Personal Pairings Episodes featuring Chelsey and Sara’s individual book recommendations paired with their current literary or pop culture interests.
Literary Landscape Episodes featuring conversations on publishing trends, education, and hot topics in the book world.
Bonus TBR Toppler Episodes featuring themed book lists (ex: Women in Mythology).
Seasonal Announcement Episodes featuring our upcoming book selections and themes, released weeks before we announce the line-up to the public.
Access to our Novel Pairings Spreadsheet featuring pairings from every Classic Books episode on the main podcast feed.
Occasional Treats like book selection polls, behind-the-scenes tidbits, and discounts on Novel Pairings merchandise.
Literature Scholar $10/month:
This tier includes the same content as the $5 tier, PLUS:
Monthly Classes and Events featuring our English teacher expertise (ex: Literary Lenses 101, Deciphering the Classics, and A Guide to the Gilded Age). We record these events for those who cannot attend live and publish them as podcast episodes for easy-to-access content on the go.
NOTE: during Chelsey’s maternity leave, classes will be replaced with seminars, a discussion-based, book club-style meet-up that will not be recorded. This is just temporary until Chelsey and Sara return to recorded webinars this winter.
Monthly Book Club Discussions featuring a vibrant community of nerdy readers who love to learn from one another. In these casual video meet-ups, on-screen member participation is encouraged but not required.
Biannual Recap Episodes featuring summaries, close reading, and analysis questions for our winter and summer “Big Book” readalongs (ex: The Odyssey recaps).
Access to exclusive Literature Scholars Discord Threads for those who want to discuss our book selections in real time or share insights and reflections from our book club discussions.
Novel Pairings Producer $20/month:
If you want to support Novel Pairings and our mission to create accessible public scholarship for passionate readers with a generous donation, we cannot thank you enough. This tier includes the same content as the $5 and $10 levels, PLUS:
Executive Producer Credit on the Novel Pairings podcast.
Annual State of the Podcast Meeting with Chelsey, Sara, and your fellow producers to learn about what we’re working on behind-the-scenes, upcoming book selections, and our goals for the show.
Upcoming Events
Classics We Love & Loathe (Available to $5 Literature Lovers and All Paid Tiers)
Get ready for a brand new bonus episode series exploring the classics we love and loathe, along with special guests and contemporary book discussion. These bonus episodes, along with personal pairings and other nerdy discussions, will exclusively air on the Patreon feed this fall. We can’t wait to hear what you think of this new episode format!
Gothic Novels Seminar (Available to $10 Literature Scholars & $20 Producers)
Looking ahead to October, we'll host a seminar on Gothic novels on Wednesday, October 16 at 7 PM ET. The Gothic Novel is one of the most enduring genres of fiction, and one that has only regained popularity in recent years. In this seminar, we will outline the common themes, tropes, and plot devices of Gothic Novels and consider why these texts remain popular and have experienced a resurgence. Additionally, we will discuss favorite Gothic tropes and novels to build our own autumnal TBRs. Again: during Chelsey’s maternity leave, classes will be replaced with seminars, a discussion-based, book club-style meet-up that will not be recorded. This is just temporary until Chelsey and Sara return to recorded webinars this winter.
Fall Reading Series (Available to $10 Literature Scholars & $20 Producers)
This month, we’re excited to kick off our fall reading series with Kazuo Ishiguro's poignant novel, The Remains of the Day. We encourage everyone to read along and share your thoughts on Discord! This classic delves into themes of memory and regret, setting the stage for rich conversations about human relationships and the passage of time. We’ll discuss it at our book club on Wednesday, September 25 at 7 PM ET.
In October, we will delve into Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. While we have previously featured episodes on this iconic text, we have yet to engage in a discussion with our Patreon community. This significant work examines themes of creation and accountability, making it perfect for stimulating thought-provoking conversations. We’ll discuss it at our book club on Wednesday, October 30th at 7 PM ET.
As we approach November, we will enjoy Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle. This enchanting novel whisks readers away to a dilapidated castle nestled in the British countryside, narrated by a witty and bookish protagonist. It serves as a delightful escape and a charming way to ease into the year's end. Book Club TBD.
Before we go…
Here are a few links to click through if you just can’t get enough of all things fall literature:
Backlist book pairings for an abundant Autumn reading season (Novel Pairings)
Indies Introduce Summer / Fall 2024 Titles (American Booksellers Association)
Sounds, Signs, and Elegies: Seven New Poetry Collections to Read This September (Lit Hub)
Books on Deck: September 2024 (Traci Thomas)
The Best Books of Fall 2024 (Book Bub)
Until then, we declare after all, there is no enjoyment like reading. How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!
Thank you for supporting the podcast and our work to make public scholarship fun and accessible. If you would like to stay connected to what’s happening at Novel Pairings, make sure to subscribe to this Substack and follow us on Instagram. Make sure you never miss an episode by subscribing to the show wherever you get your podcasts. And if you love the work we’re doing, please consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts!