The best books of 2026

This list is part of the best books of 2026.

Join 113 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2026

Book cover of Theo of Golden

Margo Sorenson ❤️ loved this book because...

Truly, this book is a tender-hearted tribute to kindness and grace--a wonderful antidote to our frenetic, hurried, and self-focused lives. It is a definite lift for the spirit!

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Originality 🥈 Character(s)
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace

By Allen Levi ,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Theo of Golden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING PHENOMENON

'A word-of-mouth smash hit' New York Times

'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.'

One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came from...

His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance - or has he? He visits the local coffeehouse, where ninety-two pencil portraits hang on the walls, portraits by a local artist of the people of Golden. He…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2026

Book cover of This Is Happiness

Margo Sorenson ❤️ loved this book because...

Williams creates an engaging, mesmerizing village and the families who live in it, focusing on their care and concern for each other, and welcomes the reader in as a fellow villager. It is a lovely and uplifting read.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Character(s) 🥈 Immersion
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace

By Niall Williams ,

Why should I read it?

19 authors picked This Is Happiness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Shortlisted for Best Novel in the Irish Book Awards Longlisted for the 2020 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction From the acclaimed author of Man Booker-longlisted History of the Rain 'Lyrical, tender and sumptuously perceptive' Sunday Times 'A love letter to the sleepy, unhurried and delightfully odd Ireland that is all but gone' Irish Independent After dropping out of the seminary, seventeen-year-old Noel Crowe finds himself back in Faha, a small Irish parish where nothing ever changes, including the ever-falling rain. But one morning the rain stops and news reaches the parish - the electricity is finally arriving. With it…


My 3rd favorite read in 2026

Book cover of Remarkably Bright Creatures

Margo Sorenson ❤️ loved this book because...

A tale told by an octopus--enthralling, ironic, whimsical, and full of kindness--it's a not-miss, for sure.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Originality 🥈 Character(s)
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Shelby Van Pelt ,

Why should I read it?

69 authors picked Remarkably Bright Creatures as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK 'Full of heart and humour . . . I loved it.' Ruth Hogan 'Will stay with you for a long time.' Anstey Harris 'I defy you to put it down once you've started' Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night cleaner shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Ever since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat over thirty years ago keeping busy has helped her cope. One night she meets Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium who…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Secrets in Translation

By Margo Sorenson ,

Book cover of Secrets in Translation

What is my book about?

In this celebration of Italian life and culture, seventeen-year-old Alessandra returns for the summer to Italy, where she grew up. Pressured by her parents into babysitting a rebellious twelve-year-old—ruining holiday plans with newfound American friends—Alessandra resigns herself to a tedious summer in Positano. Her babysitting gig, however, turns out to be anything but boring! Not only does Alessandra fall for the handsome son of the Bertolucci family, renowned limoncello producers, but when a body mysteriously turns up on the beach, the influence of organized crime in Positano becomes frighteningly real.

As Alessandra is drawn further into a conspiracy, she risks everything to protect herself, her family, and those that she loves—and in the process, she finds herself—and her Italian heart.

Book cover of Theo of Golden
Book cover of This Is Happiness
Book cover of Remarkably Bright Creatures

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