The best books of 2026

This list is part of the best books of 2026.

Join 256 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2026

Book cover of Into the Blue

Leila Sales ❤️ loved this book because...

I just loved spending time in this world with these characters.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Emotions 🥈 Character(s)
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Emma Brodie ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Into the Blue as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

AN ASTONISHING LOVE STORY FROM JENNA BUSH HAGER’S NEW VENTURE, THOUSAND VOICES From the award-winning author of Songs in Ursa Major comes an epic, decade-spanning love story that blazes through the worlds of acting and comedy, and charts a connection so powerful it might just break space and time itself.In the summer of 2000, AJ Graves dreams of writing for SNL; instead, she’s stuck working in a video rental store, with slim odds of escaping her Massachusetts small town and large family. Then in walks Noah Drew, the enigmatic and intense scion of the Drew acting dynasty, and her life…


When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

My 2nd favorite read in 2026

Book cover of Not Like Other Girls

Leila Sales ❤️ loved this book because...

Brilliantly paced and impressively thought-provoking.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Character(s) 🥈 Thoughts
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Meredith Adamo ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Not Like Other Girls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

Cheats. Liars. Fakes. Friends? A breathtaking contemporary YA thriller - serious questions and hot romance in an irresistible twisty mystery. Perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying, Girl in Pieces and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.

'A superbly crafted, timely, and enthralling mystery that unflinchingly examines the painful realities of being a teenage girl. Meredith Adamo's debut is a stunner.' Kathleen Glasgow, author of Girl in Pieces

Jo used to be the perfect high-school girl - class president, popular, bright and successful. But when nude photos of her were leaked to the entire school, her grades plummeted,…


My 3rd favorite read in 2026

Book cover of The Compound

Leila Sales ❤️ loved this book because...

This world was captivatingly unsettling. I didn't want to put this book down because I really wanted to find out how far these people would go.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Originality 🥈 Immersion
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Aisling Rawle ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Compound as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

** A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK **

'Relentlessly gripping' ABIGAIL DEAN

'Menace-dipped' THE TIMES

'Thrilling and haunting' NEW YORK TIMES

'Lord of the Flies meets Love Island' LOUISE O'NEILL

'Gripping and propulsive' TORREY PETERS

'THIS is the book to read this summer' CECELIA AHERN

'Brilliant' DAILY MIRROR

'Written with total verve and delight' STYLIST

You wake up in a compound in the middle of the desert, with nine other women.

All of you are young, beautiful, and keen to escape the catastrophe of the outside world.

Cameras broadcast…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Encore Performance

By Leila Sales ,

Book cover of Encore Performance

What is my book about?

Emmy Gold—the frontwoman of an indie-sleaze breakout band who’s since gone solo—is back on tour with her former collaborator and first love, Bishop Ward. She’s always trusted she can write a hit song, and now she’s finding out if she can rewrite her past.

Deja View, an iconic early-aughts indie trio that released one perfect album two decades ago, broke up at the peak of their stardom, thanks to an unexpected schism between Emmy, the lead singer, and Bishop, the bassist she yearned after for years. Since then, Emmy has gone on to a successful career as a singer-songwriter, one who never revisits her younger days—until a reunion tour to support their drummer’s medical bills forces her to reckon with who she and Bishop once were, and who they have since become.

Book cover of Into the Blue
Book cover of Not Like Other Girls
Book cover of The Compound

Share your top 3 reads of 2026!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

256

readers submitted
so far, will you?