Top Ten Reads for October
With festivities around the corner, October is when the publishers bring out the big guns! There's plenty of blockbusters due this month, from a rediscovered collection from Harper Lee to Philip Pullman's final Book of Dust. Look deeper though and there's a cavalcade of hot new books coming. So, without further ado—our Top Ten Reads for October.
Raise Your Soul
Raise Your Soul
02/10/2025
From the international bestselling author of Technofeudalism and Talking to My Daughter, a wonderfully evocative new book that combines memoir and modern Greek history to tell the story of what has shaped Varoufakis' political and personal life.
Shadow Ticket
Shadow Ticket
07/10/2025
On its surface, Shadow Ticket is a noir caper novel, set in the middle of the Great Depression, following a private detective in search of a cheese heiress. But this is Pynchon... Full of cryptic social commentary and literary gymnastics, disorientating layers of plot and compellingly odd characters, this is Pynchon alright. This is Pynchon at his very best.
Big Kiss, Bye-Bye
Big Kiss, Bye-Bye
09/10/2025
A woman confronts the unfathomable origins and potent afterlife of passion in a new novel by the brilliant author of Checkout 19 and Pond. The prose is as inventively compelling in its exploration of one woman's interior workings, as it is witty and seductive. A truly original voice in contemporary fiction, Claire-Louise Bennett is a must-read for lovers of literature.
The Four Spent the Day Together
The Four Spent the Day Together
09/10/2025
Loosely based around a real-life murder in Minnesota on the fringes of the so-called “meth community”, The Four Spent the Day Together explores obsession, addiction and economic inequality with impressive skill and empathy. Far from the whip-smart wit of I Love Dick, this is a quietly devastating, but unforgettable novel.
Enshittification
Enshittification
14/10/2025
A witty yet incisive look at the tech landscape, where platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Google start off great—before they inevitably turn terrible. Doctorow has become the go-to sage on digital activism and, combined with his talent as a writer, he's the most wonderfully coherent, entertaining and informative guide to the frightening world of tech monopolies and what we should be doing about it.
The Future of Truth
The Future of Truth
16/10/2025
A wonderfully unconventional, often provocative musing on art, poetry, spirituality, science, philosophy and, of course, truth. Through his eclectic mix of stories, aphorisms, and reflections, Herzog encourages readers to embrace the poetic and imaginative as vital components of truth and its relationship to time.
Motherland
Motherland
23/10/2025
A powerful telling of recent Russian history through the lens of women—Motherland reframes and refreshes modern history, from the fledgling feminisms of Communism to the conservative Christian values of Putin's autocracy. Ioffe uses personal experience and journalistic exploration to illuminate the crucial place of women throughout a century of social experiment and upheaval.
Jesus Christ Kinski
Jesus Christ Kinski
23/10/2025
Benjamin Myers is truly one of the most exciting writers we have, and Jesus Christ Kinski cements his reputation as an innovative and versatile author, able to write an astonishing range of styles while remaining utterly compelling and surprising. Here is Myers at his experimental and provocative best, raising questions of literary censorship, commercialism and the separation of one’s appreciation of an artist’s life and work.
Heap Earth Upon It
Heap Earth Upon It
30/10/2025
Howarth's debut Sunburn was a huge bookseller favourite here at Foyles and the advanced copies of novel number two have been passed around and devoured. Despite being very different from Sunburn, Heap Earth Upon It is an absolute winner. Following four siblings in 1960s Ireland trying to escape a mysterious past, Howarth masterfully combines gorgeous writing with a suspense filled plot.
A Complicated Woman
A Complicated Woman
30/10/2025
Rebecca Lucy Taylor (aka Self Esteem) is, without doubt, one of our most distinctly literary, erudite and interesting pop-stars. In her debut book, Taylor tackles what it is to be a woman today. With her signature lyrical wit and wisdom, this is a must-read for Self Esteem fans, book fans, women and, well, anyone really.
