The books to read in 2026 Good literary resolutions for a fantastic year of readings

So many great books we’ve read this year, and so many more still waiting for us. It’s time to take stock and pause to reflect on our personal reading journey, to understand which direction we want to take it. All with one goal in mind: starting to choose the books that will accompany us throughout 2026.

How to choose your next book, or rather, how to set the tone for your literary 2026

Here are a few prompts for a moment dedicated to literary resolutions:

1. Recap the books you read over the past year and decide which ones were your favorites.

2. Is there a new genre you’ve discovered or would like to explore?

3. Did you start a saga or a series you’d like to finish? Or an author you loved so much that you want to read more of their work?

4. Which themes are currently catching your attention? What could you read to explore them more deeply?

5. Is there a film or TV series coming out in 2026 that makes you want to read the book first?

6. Take a look at your shelves and pick up the books that have been gathering dust to finally give them a chance.

7. Read at least one book you bought or received in 2025.

8. Check which books released over the past year received the best reviews.

9. Dedicate a page in your planner to jot down the books you want to read or that get recommended to you.

For this last point, you can start by taking inspiration from the books I’ll talk about next. They are my personal answers to the questions above and will be part of my TBR (to be read) list for the new year.

10. Recap the books you read over the past year and decide which ones were your favorites.

Books to read in 2026

Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver

The books I loved most this year were many. I was especially drawn to coming-of-age stories, family novels, and narratives that foreground the difficulties and tensions that come with interpersonal relationships. I enjoy drama, defeat, and watching characters struggle to survive in a world that constantly tests them. For this reason, one of the most powerful novels I read was Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, a retelling of Dickens’ classic David Copperfield. Alongside empathizing with the protagonist, the novel immerses us in a specific chapter of U.S. history, when OxyContin became a legalized and easily accessible drug.

The Familiar – Leigh Bardugo

For me, this was the year I read more romance than ever before, explored romantasy, and grew increasingly fond of novels centered on love stories. Yet when taking stock, I realized I had completely neglected one of my longtime favorite genres: fantasy. That’s why in 2026 I want to return to stories set in imaginary worlds populated by magic and fantastical creatures. I’ll start with The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo, an author whose previous books I’ve read and always enjoyed.

Writers & Lovers – Lily King

This year I encountered a novel by Lily King for the first time, Euphoria. I was already familiar with the author by reputation, but I was struck by the way she portrays human relationships, emotions, and the contradictions they generate within us. The story follows a young woman navigating a difficult love, an important friendship, and an academic path meant to help her understand who she is and where she’s going. I loved the protagonist’s journey of personal growth so much that I decided to read Writers & Lovers in 2026 as well. While the two novels stand alone, they intersect, functioning as both a prequel and a sequel to each other. I hope this book will captivate me just as deeply as Euphoria did.

Machines Like Me – Ian McEwan

Through my recent reading, I’ve been increasingly drawn to the theme of artificial intelligence, which I encountered in books such as Maniac by Benjamín Labatut and Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. I believe this topic is becoming ever more relevant to our lives, and I’m especially intrigued by the moral questions raised by integrating new technologies into our everyday world. I’d like to continue exploring these imagined scenarios through Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan. In this novel, McEwan presents an alternative past, a uchronia in which the 32-year-old protagonist, Charlie Friend, uses his mother’s inheritance to buy a robot named Adam. Beautiful and powerful, endowed with intelligence, emotions, and consciousness, the machine blurs the line between human and artificial.

Sunrise on the Reaping – Suzanne Collins

I’ve already read Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and I’m more than ready to see Emerald Fennell’s upcoming adaptation, set to be released in Italy on February 12, 2026. I’m slightly less ready to dive back into the world of The Hunger Games created by Suzanne Collins. In November, a new installment titled Sunrise on the Reaping will be released, set 24 years before the events of the first book and centered on a young Haymitch Abernathy. They say it’s heartbreaking and full of twists, and I absolutely want to read it before heading to the cinema.

The Shining – Stephen King

Could this finally be the year I read The Shining by Stephen King? Every time I think about starting it, I convince myself it’s not the right moment, saving it for the perfect time, but at this rate I might never read it at all. I’m very curious to experience this psychological thriller, where a family’s isolation inside a hotel becomes the perfect setting to explore our deepest fears. I’ve heard the film adaptation is very different, and I hope to satisfy that curiosity soon as well.

Educated – Tara Westover

I courted this purchase for months. Every time I walked into a bookstore, I’d leaf through its pages, convinced that this would be the day I’d take it home. Then someone finally gave it to me as a gift, and since then it’s been sitting on my shelf, waiting to be read. The time has come. Educated by Tara Westover tells the story of a Mormon family whose children are kept isolated from society, growing up in a context of limited information and extreme beliefs.

The Bee Sting – Paul Murray

Online, rankings of all kinds will soon appear, from the best-selling books of the year to those that have won the most awards. Personally, one of the books I’m happiest to have read, after hearing so many good things about it, is The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. The novel unfolds through the perspectives of its four family members, starting with the eldest daughter and youngest son, then moving to the mother and finally the father. Four distinct personalities, each with their own narrative voice and worldview. It’s a book that offers many elements to reflect on.