The 25 best books of 2026
The 25 highest-ranked books first published in 2026 in our ranking of 2,816, scored on how much readers love them, their prize, best-list and bestseller record, and current buzz. We rank 30 books of 2026 in all. How we rank
- 1
London Falling82.0Must-Read ScoreLondon Falling
In the early hours of November 29, 2019, cameras at MI6 headquarters recorded a young man pacing a high balcony of a luxury tower across the Thames.
Why it made the list25 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2026Baillie Gifford Prize finalist (2026) - 2
John of John81.0Must-Read ScoreJohn of John
Out of money and with little to show for art school, John-Calum Macleod takes the ferry home to the Scottish island of Harris.
Why it made the listBooker Prize finalist (2026) - 3
Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump80.0Must-Read ScoreRegime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump
Maggie Haberman of The New York Times and Jonathan Swan, who have covered Donald Trump more closely than almost anyone, chronicle the first year of his second presidency.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (8 weeks at #1)16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2026 - 4
You with the Sad Eyes: A Memoir79.1Must-Read ScoreYou with the Sad Eyes: A Memoir
Christina Applegate grew up on sets and stages, working from childhood partly out of financial necessity and partly to escape a turbulent home in the Laurel Canyon scene of the 1970s and '80s.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1)30 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2026 - 5
Whistler76.0Must-Read ScoreWhistler
Visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Daphne Fuller and her husband, Jonathan, notice an older, white-haired gentleman following them.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1)18 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2026 - 6
The Things We Never Say75.5Must-Read ScoreThe Things We Never Say
Artie Dam is a man with a secret.
Why it made the listBooker Prize finalist (2026) - 7
The Calamity Club74.4Must-Read ScoreThe Calamity Club
Abandoned by her mother one Christmas Eve, eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned to rely on no one at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum in Oxford, Mississippi.
Why it made the list23 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2026 - 8
The Sun and the Starmaker74.0Must-Read ScoreThe Sun and the Starmaker
Hidden in the snowy mountains of the Lost Range, the village of Reverie lies beyond the Sun's reach and depends on the magic of the mysterious Starmaker, who crosses a glacier every morning to pull sunlight over the peaks.
Why it made the list20 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2026 - 9
A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness73.1Must-Read ScoreA World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness
Scientists, philosophers and artists agree on one thing about consciousness: it feels like something to be us.
Why it made the list17 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2026 - 10
Judge Stone72.7Must-Read ScoreJudge Stone
A legal thriller co-written by Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis and bestselling author James Patterson, built around a judge facing a high-stakes case and a moral dilemma in a small town.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1) - 11
Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage71.6Must-Read ScoreStrangers: A Memoir of Marriage
In March 2020, Belle Burden and her family were sheltering on Martha's Vineyard in the early days of the pandemic: fires in the afternoon, whiskey sours, roast chicken.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (7 weeks at #1)39 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2026 - 12
The Disappearers71.5Must-Read ScoreThe Disappearers
In Kingston, Jamaica, in 1988, eight men who are strangers to one another begin rehearsing a play.
Why it made the listBooker Prize finalist (2026) - 13
The Land and Its People71.1Must-Read ScoreThe Land and Its People
David Sedaris' new collection of essays finds him trying to be a caretaker after his boyfriend Hugh's hip-replacement surgery, buying his sister a cape, discussing his brother with a jaded Duolingo bot, and riding a horse named Tequila in Guatemala as he adds to his list of countries visited.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1)18 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2026 - 1470.8Must-Read Score
Black Bag - 15
May We Feed the King70.4Must-Read ScoreMay We Feed the King
A curator who dresses the rooms of historic buildings to bring them to life becomes transfixed by the reign of an almost-forgotten king while working in the private quarters of a medieval palace, until the edges of her own life begin to blur.
Why it made the listBooker Prize finalist (2026) - 16
Hollow Bones69.3Must-Read ScoreHollow Bones
On September 11, 2001, when Molly Fitzgerald was two months old, her mother went to an appointment at the World Trade Center and never came home.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1) - 17
Hollywood, Ending68.5Must-Read ScoreHollywood, Ending
John Green's return to fiction follows two rising young actors, Kai Laramie and Juniper, whose love story plays out behind the scenes of Hollywood, under the pressure of fame and constant public attention.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1) - 18
Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About65.9Must-Read ScoreDogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About
Isabel Klee, creator of the dog-rescue account @SimonSits, always wanted to live in New York.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1) - 19
Yesteryear65.4Must-Read ScoreYesteryear
Natalie is a 'tradwife' influencer whose followers envy everything about her: the charming farmhouse on a working ranch, the handsome cowboy husband, the homemade sourdough and the beautiful children, all perfectly filmed.
Why it made the list27 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2026 - 20
The Witch64.8Must-Read ScoreThe Witch
After losing her job and her apartment, Julia Barlow retreats to Pemberton, her family's sprawling 17th-century estate in rural Massachusetts, officially to check on her aging grandmother.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1) - 21
Release Me63.4Must-Read ScoreRelease Me
Rosabelle Wolff had a plan, and now she wants revenge: to save her sister, she has to get home and destroy the surveillance state of Ark Island that created her.
Why it made the list20 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2026 - 22
Famesick: A Memoir63.1Must-Read ScoreFamesick: A Memoir
Lena Dunham was 25 when she created, wrote, directed and starred in the hit TV series Girls.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1)24 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2026 - 23
This Is Me: A Reckoning62.8Must-Read ScoreThis Is Me: A Reckoning
Hayden Panettiere's career began before she could walk, with commercials and roles that made her a fixture of early-2000s pop culture, from Remember the Titans to Heroes and Nashville.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (2 weeks at #1) - 24
The Faraway Inn62.4Must-Read ScoreThe Faraway Inn
Sixteen-year-old Calisa arrives in rural Vermont to spend the summer at her great-aunt's bed-and-breakfast, and finds a rundown inn instead, run by grumpy, eccentric Auntie Zee.
Why it made the list17 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2026 - 25
Dear Debbie62.2Must-Read ScoreDear Debbie
For years, Debbie Mullen has written "Dear Debbie," an advice column where the wives of New England turn for sympathy, and she has heard from countless women who are ignored, belittled or abused by their husbands.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1)16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2026
