As the air turns crisp, nothing feels more like fall than curling up with a good book and getting lost in the worlds held between its pages. Books have a way of shaping our perspective, often influencing us far beyond what we realize. With a new season ahead, V reading ahead on the literary releases worth knowing, spotlighting the fantastical new titles making their way to bookstores this fall. Sharing has always been a love language, and V can’t help but put you on.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER’S LIFE AND LEGACY TRACED IN ARNOLD

Few people embody “larger than life” more perfectly than Arnold Schwarzenegger. With a career in the spotlight spanning nearly six decades, Schwarzenegger has become an iconic face (and body). His immensely interesting and highly photographed life is now collected in a new edition of the coffee table book Arnold, published by Taschen.  

This new edition contains portraits by legends like Annie Leibovitz, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Andy Warhol as well as vintage bodybuilding photos from Schwarzenegger’s personal collection. Arnold will also feature exclusive interviews with the bodybuilder himself and others who helped him achieve his unrivaled fame. 

MARTIN WONG: CHINATOWN USA SHOWCASES THE LATE ARTIST’S FORMATIVE RELATIONSHIP TO ASIAN-AMERICAN CULTURE

Identity is a persuasive influence, as late-20th century artist Martin Wong knew well. If you’re unfamiliar with Wong’s work, now’s the time to pick up the catalog Martin Wong: Chinatown USA, based on the exhibition of the same name at Chicago gallery Wrightwood 659 earlier this year. The catalog celebrates Wong’s paintings of life in American Chinatowns, some of which were originally presented in 1993, along with ephemera from his life and work. Wong’s Asian and queer identity shaped his relationships to environments like American Chinatowns. His death in 1999 of AIDS-related causes adds additional weight to his work, allowing viewers to reflect on the artist, what he represented, and when he represented it.

FICTIONAL SELVES INVITES READERS INTO THE LIFE OF ONE OF HOLLYWOOD’S MOST BELOVED CULT ICON

Kyle MacLachlan’s upcoming memoir Fictional Selves lands on bookshelves September 29th. In it, the star of Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Fallout, and countless other fan favorites offers a refreshingly self-aware reflection on his career of over 40 years, 90 roles, and dozens of “damn fine” cups of coffee. From fearing his fame, to fearing he’ll lose it, MacLachlan employs a character, “Other Kyle,” to represent his ego developing and changing throughout his accomplished career. 

“Everywhere I go I am followed by a mystery man… On talk shows, I sip coffee on couches and pretend to be him; on social media, I put on his mask to engage in suburban silliness,” MacLachlan writes. “But for him, the movies and TV shows never end. Where does this guy—this Kyle MacLachlan—end and where do I begin? And is he even real? And, holy mackerel . . . am I?” 

LOUIS VUITTON RELEASES A NEW EDITION OF CHARITY BOOK REBONDS

To celebrate their 10 year partnership with UNICEF, the French fashion house has reaffirmed their dedication to serving the underprivileged across the world 

Like soccer, art is also a universal language. Perhaps the greatest benefit of experiences like these, ones that don’t divide on the basis of language, is that they can unite audiences.  

That unity drove Louis Vuitton to unveil a new edition of their book Rebonds nearly 30 after its first release. The book initially premiered in time for the 1998 World Cup and celebrates the global fellowship soccer creates. Just as in ‘98, all the profits from the book will be donated to UNICEF as part of Louis Vuitton’s greater initiative to support the global aid organization’s efforts. 

In the spirit of expert curation and elegant design that Louis Vuitton carries into all aspects of its work, the book is structured as an episodic narrative. It features over 100 unique profiles on cultural figures from around the world. From fashion icons like Kenzo artistic director Nigo, to sports legends like Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Céline Dion, artists and athletes alike appear offering their perspectives on art’s role in fostering human connections. 

“More than one hundred personalities, friends of the House from a wide range of backgrounds, agreed to take part in this project by posing with a Louis Vuitton ball,” said Louis Vuitton CEO and Chairman Pietro Beccari, reflecting on the symbolic importance of soccer to the book’s greater purpose. 

Stray Kids’ Felix also wrote a foreword for the book alongside Beccari. “Rebonds is a project especially close to my heart,” he said. “This initiative embodies the crucial importance of protecting and uplifting those in need, especially children.” Aside from his artistic work as a member of the hit K-Pop group, Felix serves as an ambassador to Louis Vuitton and to UNICEF Korea. 

Soccer has been called “the World’s game” for a reason, and that reason has brought about the 2026 edition of Rebonds. As Beccari said, “whether captured in motion or in the stillness of a suspended moment, each portrait reveals a unique energy, yet all share the same strength: that of connection.”

BOOKER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR MARLON JAMES TACKLES A MURDER IN QUEER JAMAICA

The new novel The Disappearers by Marlon James arrived September 1 from Riverhead Books. Set in Jamaica during the late 1980s, it’s anchored by a horrific act of homophobic violence and its complicated consequences. 

When a group of gay men gather to rehearse a play, they’re attacked and one of them is murdered. As the men reckon with the incident, James explores how and why hate is transferred among subjects. It’s a captivating, unapologetic portrayal of queer realities in Jamaica and beyond.

This story appears in the pages of VMAN 57: now available for purchase!