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Recommended Books to Read in 2026 📖
26
items Trying to romanticize my reading era in 2026.
I want to read more books, discover stories that stay with me, and obviously share the ones I end up loving. 🤎
So here are a few books on my 2026 TBR / must-read list — adding these to your list is hig...
Map
Sections
7
Literary Fiction 📚
Mystery & Thriller 🔍
Historical Fiction 🏛️
Nonfiction & Memoir 📰
Science Fiction & Fantasy 🚀
Romance 💕
Literary Fiction 📚
For readers who enjoy meaningful stories, strong characters, and books that make you think.
Maria Semple A smart, funny coming-of-middle-age novel packed with mystery, a globe-trotting caper, romance, and jokes about moral philosophy. Widely recommended for literary and casual readers alike.
Go Gentle by Maria Semple
Fredrik Backman A warm, character-driven story about connection and community from the beloved author of A Man Called Ove.
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Karen Russell Big, strange, imaginative territory from a writer known for blending magical realism with grounded emotion.
The Antidote by Karen Russell
Virginia Evans An epistolary novel told entirely through letters, following a woman in her 70s navigating decades of relationships. One of the biggest word-of-mouth hits going into the year.
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Douglas Stuart The Booker Prize winner's follow-up to Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo, a young man returns to Scotland's Outer Hebrides and confronts his father's expectations. Longlisted for the Booker.
John of John by Douglas Stuart
Mystery & Thriller 🔍
Perfect for anyone who loves suspense, hidden secrets, unexpected twists, and stories that keep you turning the page.
The final book in the acclaimed Cal Hooper trilogy, a death in a remote Irish village splits the town in two.
The Keeper (2018)
Rankin's first standalone thriller in two decades, set among London's super-rich after a night concierge is murdered in a luxury high-rise.
Heights Theater
An authorized new Miss Marple novel — the first in 50 years — set in a snowbound Swiss hotel.
Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley
A nail-biting spy thriller from the author of Damascus Station, as the CIA and MI6 spy on each other while agents turn up dead.
London Station: A Novel: McCloskey, David - Books
A buzzy locked-room mystery that's been one of the year's standout genre debuts.
The Murder at World's End (Stockingham & Pike, #1)
Historical Fiction 🏛️
Great picks for those who enjoy stepping into the past through stories filled with family, love, and drama.
Harris returns to Imperial Rome once again, following the master of historical thrillers back into the ancient world of power and betrayal.
Agrippa by Robert Harris: 9780385552387
A witty post-war literary mystery about chancers and misfits at the Festival of Britain, blending Evelyn Waugh-style satire with sharp comedy.
Our Noble Selves by Kate Atkinson
A multigenerational epic set in 1860s Ireland after the Great Famine, inspired by O'Farrell's own family history.
In Review: Maggie O'Farrell's Land - Oxford Review of Books
Nonfiction & Memoir 📰
For anyone who enjoys true stories, personal experiences, and books that offer something new to learn.
From the author of Say Nothing and Empire of Pain: the true story of a teenager's mysterious death and the secret double life he'd built in London's criminal underworld.
London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe review
A widely discussed exploration of mental health, friendship, and the limits of the systems meant to help.
Jonathan Rosen - Finalist: The Best Minds
Science Fiction & Fantasy 🚀
For those who want to explore magical places, strange worlds, exciting adventures, and unforgettable characters.
Another irreverent, action-packed installment in the hit series, as space settlers fight off gamers trying to annihilate their planet.
A Parade of Horribles: Dungeon Crawler Carl 8
A tense entry from one of Sci-Fi's sharpest voices, known for The Murderbot Diaries.
Sci-fi Novella Review: Platform Decay by Martha Wells
A cozy, whimsical fantasy from the author of Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries.
Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett
Dark, inventive epic fantasy from an author known for meticulous world-building.
A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett
A tightly plotted fantasy from the acclaimed author of Jade City.
The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee
Romance 💕
Sweet choices for readers who enjoy love, friendship, second chances, and heartwarming moments.
A second-chance romance between a screenwriter and a musician reuniting to work on a Harlem Renaissance biopic. Called one of the best romances of the year by readers.
Score (Hollywood Renaissance, #2) by Kennedy Ryan
A friends-to-lovers romance between two lifelong best friends, put to the test on a shared honeymoon trip. The most-anticipated romance of the season on Goodreads.
Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune
A dual-timeline story about two competing biographers untangling a reclusive heiress's past.
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
A buzzy romantasy pick for readers who want their love stories with a side of magic.
Riftborne (Esprithean Trilogy, #1) by Bree Grenwich
Books About Books 📖
Made for fellow book lovers who enjoy stories about writers, libraries, reading, and the joy of getting lost in a book.
A sharp, darkly funny story about a washed-up author willing to steal someone else's story to stay relevant.
Fruit Fly by Josh Silver
A departure into magical realism from the historical-fiction bestseller — a hidden library lets people escape into their favorite novels.
The Astral Library by Kate Quinn