2025 was, without a shadow of doubt, a mediocre reading year at best. This had nothing to do with the number of titles I devoured, but rather the content I was consuming or more accurately, the content I was consuming unintentionally.
Nonetheless, I’m here to tell you about my top picks that truly deserve your time in 2026.
Here goes:
– Beartown by Fredrik Backman: Do NOT pick this up if you aren’t prepared to digest themes of abuse and the agonizing choices humans make on a daily basis particularly parents. It is heavy, but essential.
– Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins: Contrary to seemingly everyone else on the planet, I didn’t weep through this book. Instead, it brought back my teenage years with a very specific (and sharp) kind of ache.
– Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy: Where was the climate in all of this?
– Leaving Everything Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear: Probably one of the best Maisie Dobbs novels ever written — both a mystery and a memoir of sorts.
– The Labyrinth House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji: You’ll be 100% sure you’ve solved it all, and then Ayatsuji hits you with a twist you never saw coming.
– Shady Hollow (#1) by Juneau Black: Hands down, my favorite discovery from the year, cozy fantasy at best, and the whimsy is unbeatable. I’m confident no one could capture the atmosphere, and the characters on the big screen, so please, don’t even try.
P.S. I read 2 more from the series, and loved them just as much, if not more.
– The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith: I won’t pretend this is my absolute favorite of the series, but it’s a strong installment and I’m already impatient for the next one.
– How to Read a Book by Monica Wood: One of the best “books about books” in recent memory. It is poignant and practically itching to be adapted into an HBO Max limited series.
Here’s a whole-new year of books that leave you (and I both) – aching for more.