Chris Hewitt | (TNS) The Minnesota Star Tribune

We’re deep in autumn, the season when many of the biggest-name writers unleash their latest books. The hope is that they’ll fly off library and bookstore shelves and/or stake their places in the race for honors like the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize.

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Here are five books we can’t wait to read in October:

Albertus: the Bio of a Typeface, Simon Garfield

Bear with me. I know it seems like a longshot that a book about a font would be thrilling, even if elegant Albertus was the signature font of the late David Bowie, among others. But “In Miniature” author Garfield is such an entertaining, informative and hilarious writer that it’s worth reading what he writes on any subject, no matter how unlikely (this is the guy who wrote a convincing book about how the color “Mauve” changed the world). His previous volume about typefaces, “ Just My Type,” was a clever and fascinating look at many fonts that included a witty takedown of Comic Sans, so there’s no question that the British journalist knows his stuff. And, speaking of Comic Sans, Garfield’s also releasing companion books “Baskerville” and “Comic Sans” on the same day, with the potential for many more typeface books to come. (Oct. 22)

“Answers to Dog,” by Pete Hautman. (Candlewick/TNS)

Answers to Dog, Pete Hautman

The Golden Valley resident writes for both adults and children. This one’s a middle-grade adventure about a kid named Evan and his slightly-to-the-left-of-popular pals. On the school bus one day, they spot a border collie and, when Evan tracks him down, they become fast friends. The National Book Award and Minnesota Book Award winner’s “Answers to the Dog” is the story of how Evan figures out to whom the dog belongs while also sussing out his own place in the world. Look for an interview with Hautman in the Oct. 6 newspaper. (Oct. 1)

“The Drowned,” by John Banville. (Hanover Square/TNS)

The Drowned, John Banville

The Booker Prize-winner (for “The Sea”) usually publishes beautifully written mysteries under the name Benjamin Black, reserving his own name for more literary fare. Which adds a little extra mystery to “The Drowned,” which is published under Banville’s name even though it features Black’s detective, a pathologist named Quirke, and is all about a missing person (a few years back, Banville told the New York Times he was murdering his own pen name). Like many of Black’s books — and, for that matter, Banville’s — events in the book’s present day are illuminated by long-buried secrets that turn out not to have been very effectively buried. (Oct. 1)

“The Message,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. (One World/TNS)

The Message, Ta-Nehisi Coates

That Coates’ latest collection of essays takes the same title as Grandmaster Flash’s trailblazing blast of rap and social commentary (”Don’t push me/Cuz I’m close to the edge/I’m trying/Not to lose my head”) is a sign of its ambition. Inspired by trips to Senegal, South Carolina and Palestine, the essays dive into what we’ve been told is happening in these divided places. Finding a disconnect between what he thought he knew and what people in these places are telling him, Coates tries to get at the truth underneath the message. Coates won just about every award there is to win for his best-selling “ Between the World and Me,” including being named a MacArthur “genius,” so this one’s bound to be provocative and sharp. (Oct. 1)

“Mysterious Tales of Old St. Paul,” by Larry Millett. (U of Minn Press/TNS)

Mysterious Tales of Old St. Paul, Larry Millett

Former journalist and St. Paulologist Millett collects three novellas that feature Shadwell Rafferty. The sleuth teamed up with Sherlock Holmes when the legendary detective visited St. Paul in a series of Millett’s murder mysteries. Millett killed off Rafferty, in fact, but he’s back for these tales, set earlier in his pre-Sherlock career. One concerns the damaged sign of the Pioneer Press newspaper (Millett’s previous employer) but all are set more than a century ago, when the capital city was beginning to take its place as a major business, politics and crime center. (Oct. 1)

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