Favorite Books of 2026 (So Far)

Somehow we are a full month into summer break over here with no signs of it slowing down. We’re also halfway through 2026, and it feels outrageous that time has moved at such a breakneck pace. But then I look back at some of the books I’ve read this year, and they feel like a lifetime ago. How is this possible? Books seem to exist in my life on an entirely separate plane from reality, yet still intersect with it.

Summer has been full. And while I had visions of my husband’s sabbatical equating to towering stacks of books read by moi, I was laughably delusional (as I tend to be with my imaginary reading life). We’ve either been on the go or waterlogged in some body of water— from lakes to pools— and I stand by the notion that I am okay with a quieter reading life when it means other corners of life are bursting at the seams (so long as it’s not mindless scrolling that’s bursting).

Midyear is always a good time to check in on one’s reading life. And since I’m reading books I should be DNFing (more on that below), I think this will be a good opportunity to recalibrate my TBR and consider what type of books resonate with me most to create a vibrant reading life.

I have read almost 40 books this year, and in evaluating them, it's crystal clear to me that most of the books I have loved were read in the first quarter of the year. I think this can be attributed to the new year reading zest and the end-of-year reflections about the previous year’s reading life. Here’s hoping a midyear check-in is just what I needed to get my reading stride back as we head into the second half of the year.

Before I share my favorites of 2026 (so far), I would love to hear from you in the comments— What have been your favorite reads of the year so far? And what is a book you are hoping to read in the second half of the year?

This was the second book I read in 2026, and it set the bar incredibly high. Nothing about this book’s synopsis of an elderly woman and former lawyer who exchanges letters with various family, friends, and community members appealed to me, but the hype fascinated me, so I picked it up on impulse and was floored by how much I loved it and how excited I was to be reading it. It even inspired a very fun post about letter writing and pen pals.

Sometimes the mark of a really good book is how long it lingers with you after you read it. This is one of those books. While I enjoyed the story, set on a reservation in Canada during an ominous apocalyptic-type event as a small community navigates a new world without grocery store restocks and power through the harshest season of the year, it’s also a book I still think about often and how realistic it felt. I hope to read the sequel, Moon of the Turning Leaves, this autumn.

Lucky me, I was at a bookstore when my friend (who has excellent taste in books) texted me to rave about this book, so of course it came home with me. As soon as I started it, I was hooked! A devastating earthquake rips through Portland, OR, and a woman, who is 37 weeks pregnant (!!!), is at IKEA during the event and sets out across the earthquake aftermath in search of her partner. It was impossible to put down and a wild ride from start to finish.

After reading and loving Catherine Newman’s recent books featuring Rocky (Sandwich and Wreck), I picked this one up in February, and holy heck, I was stunned— by beauty, by grief, by humour. I’ve decided that my favorite Catherine Newman book is whatever one I’ve read most recently because I simply cannot choose. Her writing is unlike any other author I have ever read (and her Substack is equally as enjoyable). Her books stick with me, they change me, and they soothe me in the most delicious ways— from descriptions of food to characters and their messy yet relatable little worlds.

I cannot stop thinking about the characters in Kin, especially the two main characters who grew up together since infancy, both without a mother in their lives. This book is a powerful portrait of what it meant to be a Black woman in the American South in the 1950s and 60s and who we become when we follow our own paths. Tayari Jones’ writing is in a league of its own. I highlighted passages on nearly every page of this book and took my sweet time digesting her words.

The first half of the year was very Elizabeth Strout heavy (as you may already know, I’ve become quite the fan in the past year and have been devouring her backlist) and I now have two books left before I graduate to Elizabeth Strout Completist. #proud But here I am lumping these two together because I favored Olive, Again more, but that wouldn’t have been possible without having read Olive Kitteridge first. I also read them back-to-back, so it felt like one book, and that was deeply satisfying. Olive is a retired educator who lives in the small town of Crosby, Maine, and while I very much loved Strout’s character development and the threads that connect characters together, I especially loved these books as a portrait of the human condition as well as a glimpse at aging in the second half of one’s life.

Not me crying in a space book!! I don’t like to give too much away because I legit knew nothing going into this book and was so surprised by the main plot of the book (not the part where an astronaut wakes up on a spaceship with no memory and has to save the Earth, the other main plot!) and how much I loooved it. My husband read it around the same time, and then we watched the movie together in the theater. He also wrote me this poem afterwards (which only makes sense if you have read or watched PHM):

Oh look, another Elizabeth Strout. Well, lucky me to have been able to read one of Elizabeth Strout’s books upon its publication, to live in the same time that Elizabeth Strout is still writing books!! Ohhhh, ohh, how I loved this one. I loved Artie Dam, the 57-year-old high school history teacher who showcases the human capacity to appear one way but hold within us so many nuanced feelings. Artie is real, in my heart, because Strout writes characters who feel above fiction.

This isn’t a book that gave me warm fuzzies, but it’s certainly a book that gave me a lot to think about, in a Black Mirror-type way. I also read this at the start of the year, as ICE was aggressively terrorizing communities and people (as they continue to do), and the lines of fiction and reality definitely blurred. A mother of toddler twins is returning home from an overseas work trip only to be detained at the airport because technology collects data from people’s dreams, and she was deemed a “risk” to society because of a dream she had. An absolute nightmare and cautionary tale that I still think of often.

Fresh off the press, I just finished this one this week! To spare you the double review, see my thoughts on it below.

Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage | it was okay

I was so eager to get a taste of this western rom-com that I’ve heard the utmost praise for. And while I loved the setting and thought the relationship was mostly sweet, I really struggled with the spicy scenes and particularly the male main character’s (who, to his credit, reads like Tim Riggins!) dialogue in the bedroom. But in all honesty, most spice scenes aren’t my favorite, so it was easy to read past those bits. Overall, it was a good time, but I likely won't continue with the series.

The Compound by Aisling Rawle | should have DNF’d

This book took me an entire month to get through, and I should have DNF’d it, but I was genuinely curious to get to the end. To be fair to the book, I was already in a bit of a reading slump and picked this one up because I had bought it last summer and really wanted to move it off my stack (never a good reason to pick up a book). I had heard mixed reviews, but sometimes when a book is polarizing, I like to know for myself. And I can’t say I didn’t like the story. It was interesting enough, but a mix of bad timing and lack of personal understanding of the book that is described as Love Island meets Lord of the Flies left me feeling meh about the whole thing. I’ve only watched a couple of episodes of Love Island, so I think I was missing some background appreciation.

Whistler by Ann Patchett | loved!

The only thing I knew about this book going in was that Ann Patchett wrote it, and that was all I needed to know. Oh, ohhh, it was so good! I listened to the audiobook because Ann herself is the narrator, and it was every bit as soothing and delightful as that sounds. It’s layered with stories and made me want to squeeze all of my loved ones. It reminded me a lot of The Dutch House in many ways, but it’s very different, too.

e-book: I saw Lizzie Campbell recommend Turn Off the Light by Jacquie Walters as a good supernatural thriller for summer, and I have been craving it ever since. I do love having a book on my e-reader when life is busier, making it easier to read in smaller spurts, like today when I was in a loooong checkout line at Costco.

physical book: I popped into Author’s Note, an indie bookstore in western New York, while visiting my husband’s family at the lake for the week, and The Lake Escape by Jamie Day jumped out at me (being at the lake, and all!). When I read the back cover, I discovered it was set in Vermont, so it was an easy decision to bring it home with me, and I started reading it immediately. I’m excited to be back in a thriller for some reading momentum.

Here are the other books I picked up at Author’s Note:

Don’t forget to leave a comment and share: What have been your favorite reads of the year so far? And what is a book you are hoping to read in the second half of the year?

May your next book be unputdownable!

Want more bookish content? Here are some recent newsletters that have featured books and reading. I hope you find your next great read!

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