Fall is finally here, and we're bringing you the ultimate Fall Reading Guide! 🍂 This week on Books Around the Block, each of us picks two fall bookish categories and assigns the perfect book to each one. From cozy mysteries and darker reads to historical fiction, elite drama, and unexpected autumn oddities, we've got book recommendations for every kind of reader.

Whether you're looking for your next fall read, building your fall TBR, or searching for the perfect cozy book to curl up with, we've got you covered!

Tune in for our Fall Book Recommendations, an extensive Fall Reading Guide, and 6 fall bookish categories that will help you find your next five-star read.

Three neighbors, six categories, and plenty of opinions. Let's get reading! 📚

The Throughbreds by Elin Hildebrand

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff

Trust Fall by Lynn Painter

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

The Wonder by Emma Donahue

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead

The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman

Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison

Book-to-screen adaptations are everywhere, and we’re talking about the end-of-year 2026 movies and TV shows we’re most excited to watch! In this episode of Books Around the Block, each of us picks one upcoming book adaptation we cannot wait to see on screen. Will we choose one you're also looking forward to (Verity... Harry Potter... Hunger Games) or will we bring an adaptation to your attention you didn't know about?

We’re chatting about the plots, the casts, and the reads you loved coming to your screen in October, November, and December 2026. Do we think these stories will live up to the books we loved? Tune in now! If you love books, movies, TV shows, BookTok, and seeing your favorite novels brought to life, this episode is for you!

Which 2026 book-to-screen adaptation are YOU most excited to watch?

Seek Immediate Shelter by Vincent Yu

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

Sunrise on The Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Verity by Colleen Hoover

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Strangers by Belle Burden

The final months of 2026 are here, and we’re looking ahead to new books coming in October, November, and December 2026! Each host is sharing her top 3 most anticipated new book releases for Quarter 4, giving you 9 books to add to your fall and winter TBR.

From highly anticipated new releases and bestselling authors to hidden gem picks and books we think you’re going to be talking about all season, we’re breaking down the October, November, and December 2026 book releases we can’t wait to read. If you’re looking for your next great read, want to build your TBR list, or love knowing which new books are worth watching, this episode is for you!

We also dive DEEP into the true crime documentary Death of the Pastor's Wife on Netflix.

Good People by Patmeena Sabit

The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand

Slasher Summer by E.L. Chen

Back Where We Started by Becca Freeman

Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson

It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Murder by Ally Carter

The Betrayal of Cora Wexford by Bethany Joy Lentz

The Witch by Freida McFadden

When They Find Me by Carter Wilson

Whale Harbor by Mary Beth Keane

A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J Maas

Wolf Point by Lisa Howells

Strangers by Belle Burden

It’s time for our August book club discussion! In this episode of Books Around the Block, we’re diving into Whistler by Ann Patchett, sharing our ratings and discussing the book in full, including characters, relationships, major themes, favorite moments, and all of our thoughts on the ending. Warning: this episode contains full spoilers for Whistler.

We’re also announcing our September book club pick, so stick around to find out what we’ll be reading next! If you love book club discussions, Ann Patchett books, book reviews, spoiler discussions, book recommendations, and finding your next great read, this episode is for you.

What did you think of Whistler? Did it live up to the hype? Listen in for our full review, ratings, and spoiler-filled discussion!

Five by Ilona Bannister

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hildebrand

Strangers by Belle Burden

It's time to go back to school! In this episode of Books Around the Block, we're sharing 6 must-read books set in schools, colleges, boarding schools, and academic settings, or books that are academia adjacent. Each of us brings two books to the table, covering everything from school drama and campus life to academia, boarding schools, dark academia, secrets, friendships, and more.

Whether you're looking for back to school books, books set at school, campus romance, or dark academia reads, we've got plenty of books to add to your TBR.

You don't have to go back to school to read these books!

My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney

Whistler by Ann Patchett

The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hildebrand

The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman

Heart the Lover by Lily King

The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen

The Academy by Elin Hildebrand

Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

What happens when a book takes over BookTok and Bookstagram, everyone is talking about it, and you finally read it?

In this episode of Books Around the Block, each host brings a viral, trending, or hugely hyped book from social media and gives the ultimate verdict: loved it or loathed it? We’re talking about the books that dominated BookTok, flooded our feeds, made it onto everyone’s TBR, and had readers everywhere talking. We’re breaking down whether these popular books actually lived up to the hype. If you love BookTok books, Bookstagram recommendations, trending books, popular books, and honest book reviews, this episode is for you!

P.S. We are also tackling a LOT of True Crime in our Read, Watch, Obsessed segment, so don't miss the first 25 minutes of this episode, especially if you're paying attention to the Lindsay Clancy trial.

Take What You Can by Naima Coster

We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark

Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt

25 Days by Per Jacobson

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin