Books I read in 2026
Living document of all the books I enjoyed this year.
Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid (D'uh!)
Three Days in June by Anne Tyler (I love her writing and this family story is no exception. Quirky yet relatable characters and such great, concise descriptions.)
Doppelgänger by Naomi Klein (Naomi Klein digs into the idea of doppelgängers after she keeps getting confused with Naomi Wolf. Part memoir, part analysis of recent history.)
The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller (Historical fiction about two couples in 1962/63 England during a particularly strong winter. Lots of smoking and the war's still on everyone's mind.)
The Sisters by Jonas Hassen Khemiri (A little long and convoluted but loved the way the author went back and forth with the different characters.)
The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith (I've read and enjoyed all the previous books in the series but I stopped halfway through with this one.)
Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash (Very dark, very funny, quite absurd and so good.)
After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian (Beautiful historical fiction about New York in the late 60s at the height of the counterculture.)
Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser (My favorite book of the year so far. Absolutely mind-blowing Cinderella story told from the view of the stepmother. Quite dark towards the end but not what you expect at all.)
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai (A love story and family saga interweaving India and the US, old and young, rich and poor.)
Other Minds by Peter Godfrey-Smith (Non-fiction about animal consciousness, specifically in Octopuses.)
The Beginning Comes After the End by Rebecca Soling (A tentatively uplifting read about the state of the world.)
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good (Absolutely devastating novel about the mission schools in Canada and the US. Gutting read but a very valuable history lesson.)
How to be a Renaissance Woman by Jill Burke (Well-researched book about femininity and feminism in Europe 1400-1600 AD.)
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Beautiful story told entirely through letters.)
Yaga by Kat Sandler (A modern re-telling of the Baba Yaga myth with some great twists and decidedly feminist slant.)
Big Nobody by Alex Kadis (Darkly funny coming-of-age story set in the Cypriot community in London in the 1970s.)
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (A beautiful convergence of indigenous knowledge, botany and female wisdom.)
Heart the Lover by Lily King (A love story with impossible choices. Sort of a prequel to her earlier book, Writers & Lovers.)
One Good Thing by Georgia Hunter (Two Jewish best friends in 1940's Italy. Obviously a lot of tragedy and sadness but also survival and glimpses of kindness.)
Writers & Lovers by Lily King (The same protagonist as Heart the Lover but the story slots between the timeline of that book. A great portrait of Boston in the late 90's.)
Square Waves by Alexandra Romanoff (Sweet enemies-to-lovers romance about coming back home as an adult.)
Book of Lives by Margaret Atwood (Extensive autobiography with lots of tidbits about the Canadian literary community.)
The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji (5 women, 3 generations, their experiences in Iran/US before and after the Shah.)
The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt (Delicious little novella with a good twist.)
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (Scientist lost in the Amazon. Bittersweet ending, as usual.)
Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell (Romance about divorce, of all things.)
Currently reading: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins