10 Books I Want to Read in 2026

Updated on July 9th, 2026

AD – PR Product | For 2026, I have a goal of reading 50 books. I wanted to have a starting point with some of the books I want to read this year, without the pressure to follow a certain challenge or read them in a specific month.

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The 10 Books I Want to Read in 2026

I will be adding a ✅ after the book title once I read it!

Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree ✅

I am not a fantasy reader, but I decided to read Legends & Lattes in 2025. I loved the book, and it even made it on my list of the 10 best books I read in 2025. Brigands & Breadknives is the sequel to Legends & Lattes. The sequel follows bookseller Fern, who heads to Thune to visit Viv’s coffee shop.

Available on Bookshop 

Carmilla Volume 3: The Eternal by Amy Chu ✅

In 2025, I read the original Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, then Carmilla: The First Vampire and Carmilla Volume 2: The Last Vampire Hunter by Amy Chu. I would like to finish the series in 2026, and Carmilla Volume 3 is the final graphic novel. The graphic novel follows Athena’s daughter, Ella, when she is hired for a research position in Oxford, but she finds herself in the heart of danger.

Available on Bookshop

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire in 2025. I then read through part 1 of Mockingjay, but I was not feeling it at the time because it is a lot heavier than the previous books. Now I know what to expect, I believe it will be easier to get back into the book and finish The Hunger Games trilogy. I also bought Sunrise on the Reaping for my last birthday, so if I do finish Mockingjay, I would like to read it too. However, I did not want to add Sunrise on the Reaping separately on this list, as it depends on finishing Mockingjay first.

Available on Bookshop

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

I bought The Little Paris Bookshop secondhand as it seemed like a touching read. The book follows Perdu, who has a floating bookstore on the Seine and knows the exact book a reader needs. However, he has been unable to heal from his own heartbreak. He then decides to read the letter his love left behind when she disappeared and travels to the south of France to make peace with his loss.

Available on Bookshop

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

I read both Paper Towns and The Fault in Our Stars in 2025, and I found Will Grayson, Will Grayson at a thrift store. I would like to read the book in 2026, and it follows two teens, both named Will Grayson, who cross paths in Chicago.

Available on Bookshop

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

I loved The Girl on the Train, but I have been putting off reading Into the Water because I heard it was not as good. I even ended up gifting my copy to a friend. Then I found Into the Water again at a thrift store, and I decided to buy it. I am determined to read Into the Water in 2026. The book follows Jules and her 15-year-old niece Lena. Jules’ sister, Nel, was found dead in the Drowning Pool, a place where multiple women have previously died. The police believe Nel jumped, but Jules does not believe that theory and wants to find out the truth.

Available on Bookshop

We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida ✅

I have been wanting to read We’ll Prescribe You a Cat for a while. I even went to a couple of bookstores in Copenhagen to buy it, but they only had the sequel. However, I ended up ordering the book online, and 2026 is the perfect year to read it. The book tells the story of 5 people who are struggling in their lives and found their way to the Nakagyō Kokoro Clinic for the Soul in Kyoto. As a form of treatment, the doctor prescribes them with a cat.

Available on Bookshop

Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

I was sent Don’t Let Him In through NetGalley, but I read Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman first. However, I was so disappointed in Incidents Around the House to the point that it made my list of the worst 10 books I read in 2025, and I lost my motivation to read another mystery. Now that there is some distance from the book, I would like to read Don’t Let Him In. Don’t Let Him In follows Nina, who is connecting with her late husband’s friend Nick. However, Nina’s adult daughter, Ash, believes Nick is too good to be true and begins digging into his past. In a neighboring town, Martha is a florist with an infant daughter. Lately, her husband Alistair has been travelling more for work and always has a legitimate explanation. However, Martha feels something is not right.

Available on Bookshop

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer ✅

We Used to Live Here was my favorite book of 2025. I bought the paperback so I could reread it, as I originally listened to the audiobook. A 2026 reread would be perfect, and the book follows Eve, who decides to flip an old house with her partner, Charlie. One day, a man with his family knocks on the door. He states he used to live in the house and wants to show his family around. Eve reluctantly agrees to let them in, but strange things begin happening, and the youngest child goes missing. I have also been sent The Caretaker through NetGalley, and I would like to read Kliewer’s next book as well.

Available on Bookshop

Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa ✅

For the last book on my list, I was recently recommended Sweet Bean Paste, which I have had on my TBR on Libby. I want to read the book in 2026. In the book, Sentaro works at a confectionery shop selling dorayaki, a pancake filled with sweet bean paste. He believes he has failed in life as he has a criminal record, drinks too much, and his dream of being a writer is a distant memory. An elderly woman comes into Sentaro’s life and makes the best sweet bean paste he has ever tasted, and an unlikely friendship blossoms.

Available on Bookshop

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What books do you want to read in 2026?