Today in Bookish and Literary History, October 14

1843 Diddling Considered as One of the Exact Sciences by Edgar Allan Poe (Review) ⭐⭐

1892 Arthur Conan Doyle publishes "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" collection of 12 stories originally published serially in "The Strand Magazine"

1926 Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne (UK)

Since 1926, Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends—Piglet, Owl, Tigger, and the ever doleful Eeyore—have endured as the unforgettable creations of A.A. Milne, who wrote this book for his son, Christopher Robin, and Ernest H. Shepard, who lovingly gave Pooh and his companions shape.

2021 Deep Wheel Orcadia by Harry Josephine Giles (UK)

Astrid is returning home from art school on Mars, looking for inspiration. Darling is fleeing a life that never fit, searching for somewhere to hide. They meet on Deep Wheel Orcadia, a distant space station struggling for survival as the pace of change threatens to leave the community behind.

• Winner of the 2022 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science Fiction Book of the Year

• Finalist for The Kirkus Prize

• Longlisted for the National Book Awards

2025 A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar

Megha Majumdar’s electrifying new novel, following her acclaimed New York Times bestseller A Burning—longlisted for the National Book Award—is set in a near-future Kolkata, India, ravaged by climate change and food scarcity, in which two families seeking to protect their children must battle each other. A piercing and propulsive tour de force.

• Finalist for The National Book Award
• Finalist for The Kirkus Prize

2025 Always Hope by Heather Frimmer

Obstetrician Jessica Schorr will never forget the worst day of her life and the way it ended, with the traumatic delivery of a baby with cerebral palsy. Plagued with debilitating panic attacks since that day, she can't stop blaming herself for what happened.

2025 Happy Bad by Delaney Nolan

Hernan Diaz meets Ottessa Moshfegh in this madcap road trip chronicle; a moving display of human connection in the face of violence and climate destruction from a remarkable new voice in fiction.

2025 Intemperance by Sonora Jha

In this follow-up to the critically-acclaimed The Laughter—winner of the Washington State Book Award—a middle-aged woman starts a firestorm when she holds a contest, based on an ancient Indian ritual, in which men must compete to win her affections.

2025 Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor

A bold novel about a black painter caught up in the currents of art, faith, and desire.

2025 Sea Now by Eva Meijer

A book on what happens when the delicate balance of nature tips in favor of the sea

2025 The Best True Crime Stories of the Year 2025 by Douglas Preston and Peter Crooks

Bestselling author Douglas Preston selects the best true crime writing from the past year, aided by series editor Pete Crooks, to produce an eclectic collection of intriguing, mysterious, and exciting true tales.

2025 The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson

A historical epic about a girl from a remote Tongan island who becomes her people's queen.

2025 The Zorg by Siddharth Kara

A notorious slave ship incident that led to the abolition of slavery in the UK and sparked the US abolitionist movement

2025 UGLY by David Michael Slater

An epic tragicomedy spanning three generations, UGLY explores the horrifying and hilarious truths of man's inhumanity to woman, delivered with unforgettable characters and indelible dark humor in the grand tradition of John Irving.

2025 The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong

In this supernatural horror, Sam inherits her family’s lakefront cottage, but when her aunt vanishes and eerie things rise from the water, she must face the dark truth about her father’s past.

2025 Gone Before Goodbye by Harlan Coben and Reese Witherspoon

An unforgettable suspense novel that combines the storytelling talents of Academy Award-winning actor Reese Witherspoon and internationally bestselling author Harlan Coben. Gone Before Goodbye is the story of a woman trapped in a deadly conspiracy—where uncovering the truth could cost her everything.

2025 The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan (UK)

A new holiday story set in the Scottish Highlands to warm booklovers’ hearts by Jenny Colgan, New York Times bestselling author of Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop.