Publishing’s busiest season is upon us and there are so many new books coming out this autumn that it can feel impossible to know where to start. So for this week’s bumper books offering, we’ve put together a list of some of the top titles to look out for this autumn, from new novels by Sally Rooney, Haruki Murakami and Richard Osman to memoirs by not one but two Clintons, Al Pacino and Cher.

I spoke to Osman, whose new novel We Solve Murders came out this week, for today’s newsletter, and the winners of the Wainwright prizes for nature and conservation writing share what they’ve been reading lately.

Fans of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club have finally been able to get their hands on the Pointless creator turned author’s latest book this week – the first in a new series about a father-in-law, daughter-in-law detective duo.

“The Thursday Murder Club gang can’t really jump out of planes, or run cars off the road,” Osman says, “so I wanted to do something faster paced with more action and international locations. Thinking about the classic airport blockbusters of the 1960s, 70s and 80s was a big inspiration,” he says. “Subconsciously I suppose I am always trying to find a mix between the classic crime and thriller books I love, and the deceptively gentle social comedy of a Barbara Pym or Michael Frayn. I find so much fun in the juxtaposition of those influences.”

But while the excitement is just beginning for readers, for Osman publication week simply means it’s time to get back to work. “I celebrate publication week in exactly the same way as all other authors: manically working on the next one,” he tells me. “I love it so much when readers finally get hold of the book, but the job is always the same: head upstairs, shut the door and start all over again!”

Osman is disciplined: “Habits are a useful thing. I make myself sit down in the morning and just write. I aim to do 1,000 words a day minimum, which is about the length of one chapter. I could procrastinate all day if I let myself so I don’t have any distractions in my writing room. No TV or I’d get diverted by Bargain Hunt. I do have company though: my cat Liesl and new kitten Lottie who like lying on the keyboards, which is helpful.”

Like many aspiring crime fiction writers, Osman was a huge fan of Lee Child well before he decided to turn his hand to novels himself. Before they came together for their joint interview in yesterday’s Saturday magazine, the two authors had met just once before, at the Theakston Old Peculier crime writing festival in Harrogate. There, the pair bonded over their similar height. “He’s further proof of an over representation of tall people in the author community,” Osman says. “He’s 6ft 4in, Stephen King is 6ft 3in, Harlan Coben the same, Michael Crichton was 6ft 9in I believe. I wonder if there are so many tall writers because tall people often feel most comfortable when they’re sitting down?”

Osman told Child his character Bogdan in his Thursday Murder Club series is a kind of “tribute act” to Child’s Jack Reacher, although, on reflection, he says maybe it’s more accurate to say Bogdan “wishes he was Jack Reacher … though I suspect he would be better at grouting a bathroom”.

“They’d definitely get on though,” Osman says. “Interesting to note they are both tall too. There’s a theme developing here”

“Jen Hadfield’s Storm Pegs, about the author’s experience of moving to Shetland in her late 20s, left me dazzled and dazed. It’s been a long time since I’ve read something so rich in metaphor, and so wry, sharp, funny and agile in its handling of language. I doubt I’ll read a better book all year.” – Michael Malay, winner of the nature writing category

“The Good Virus by Tom Ireland is fabulous. I’d never thought about phages (viruses that infect bacteria) but he makes a convincing case that they are a critical part of how all life on Earth works, in a very readable way. It changed how I thought about the basics of biology, and it offers some really interesting hope for overcoming the problems of antibiotic resistance.” – Helen Czerski, winner of the conservation writing category

“The best children’s books transcend fashions and trends, and instead pluck at the root of what binds us all: stories, love and hope. On Silver Tides by Sylvia Bishop takes on the idea of how far we will go to protect those we love, and how stories save and curse us. Bishop twists together folklore, sibling relationships, and the natural world. It’s a book that will stand the test of time, the kind you could pick up tomorrow, or in 100 years, and marvel at all it can still tell us about ourselves.” – Katya Balen, winner of the children’s nature and conservation writing category