The 20 Best Books of Fall 2020 (So Far)

From living legends to literary newcomers, heavily reported nonfiction to fantastical fiction, this season in books has something for everyone. If you have trouble reading this message, view it in a browser.       The Best Books of Fall 2020 For Those Long, Chilly Nights   Six staggering months into the coronavirus pandemic, you've likely binged every television show on your interminable list, constructed every jigsaw puzzle you own, and maybe even baked bread. What's left to do, you ask? The answer, of course, is to read. What better way to fill up the long, cold nights than with a blanket and a book? From living legends to literary newcomers, heavily reported nonfiction to fantastical fiction, luckily this season in publishing has something for everyone. Our favorite books of fall are formally adventurous, taking shape not just as novels, stories, and books of nonfiction, but as lyric arrangements and anthologies. They speak to these fractured times, examining weighty ideas about race, class, gender, and privilege, yet they also whisk us away to fantastical worlds, where houses contain oceans and spurned women transform into mythical monsters. Whether you're looking to grow your mind, escape your reality, or all of the above, our favorite books of fall are what you need. Read More           17 Sweaters for Less Than $150, So You Can Achieve Peak Coziness   There's no doubt in our minds that this fall is shaping up to be the weirdest one in a while, but if it's a comforting dose of normalcy you're looking for it's a comforting dose of normalcy you're going to get. (We aim to please here at Esquire HQ!) Because no matter what this fall looks like, we also have very little doubt that a sweater—the layerable equivalent of an actual human being's gentle, loving embrace—will serve you well. And guess what? You don't have to (read: definitely shouldn't) spend a lot to scoop one. So to help you get over the inevitable end-of-summer malaise, we rounded up 15 of the best sweater options available now—all for below $150, so you won't regret buying even if you never end up rocking 'em anywhere but around the house. Read More           You May Have Read Tom Hardy Was Cast as the Next James Bond. Here's Why That's Not Going to Happen.   This week, James Bond fans have been imagining more and more a Tom Hardy 007, as rumors have gone rampant that the actor has been cast as the character following Daniel Craig's last performance in No Time to Die. The rumors first gained steam over the weekend, after a little known Star Trek blog reported with some confidence that Hardy had been cast as Bond. From there, the British tabloids ran with the report, and by Wednesday, the Daily Mail reported that bookies have Hardy's odds at 1/1 to play the character. But how realistic is it that these rumors have any merit? Culture Editor Matt Miller says not so much. Here's why. Read More           Tombolo's New Sweaters Will Take You to a Place You'd Rather Be   As far as an escape is concerned, we're more or less confined to what we're wearing. But that's not all bad, considering lockdown is as good a time as any to do a little experimenting, to audit your wardrobe a bit. The lead time for planning your After Times aesthetic is certainly a silver lining. And with the right garm, you might even be able to get back into that summer headspace—you know, one of those things that can help from sinking deep into despair. Camp-collar shirt at your desk on the Zoom. Five-inch shorts and no shirt at the happy hour taking place in your kitchen. It's all fair game right now. Your apartment is the beach, your apartment is a sailboat, your apartment is the bayside deck from which you're enjoying a hot cup of coffee on a brisk summer morning. It's not September, bud, it's whatever you want it to be. This week, Tombolo, one of our favorite brands for channelling summer's good vibrations, launched its first line of sweaters, and they're a ticket to the exact mood we're talking about here. Read More           These Are the Best Movies of 2020   Movies are finally opening in America—although whether one wants to risk their health to see them in theaters, versus waiting a couple of months for their inevitable VOD debut, remains an ongoing debate. Yet no matter which side of that issue you fall on, 2020 continues to deliver the cinematic goods, once again proving that even without studio blockbusters dominating the marketplace, there are more than enough great dramas, comedies, thrillers, and documentaries to please cinephiles of all stripes. The latest crop of standout titles include three sterling non-fiction efforts, a most unconventional biopic, and a hallucinatory genre work that lets Nic Cage rage. With the fall festival season almost upon us, more outstanding offerings are surely on their way. But for now, these are the best movies of 2020. Read More           Dr. Fauci Says These Are 3 of the Riskiest Places to Go During COVID   Some businesses might be operating as normal throughout the United States, but that doesn't mean they should, according to Anthony Fauci, M.D., immunologist and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. In fact, during an appearance on MSNBC, he said that three types of businesses may be most likely to spread the novel coronavirus. Last week, Dr. Fauci told Chris Hayes that three kinds of businesses helped Arizona, New York, and Texas slow the spread of COVID-19. "In fact, the CDC just came out—if you go on their website—with a figure that's really telling. It shows the odds of risk of different types of situations that give you a higher risk of transmissibility," he said. Here's what else he said. 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