"I Read It In 3 Hours, And I Cried Throughout": People Are Sharing The Best Book They've Read In 2026 So Far

—spindriftsecret

Another promising review: "Eleanor Oliphant is an accounting clerk who works each week, stays astatine location each Friday nighttime enjoying her supermarket pizza and vodka, and waits for Monday to come. She’s good keeping her region from the radical astir her until she finds her 'soulmate' and, astatine the aforesaid time, forms an improbable relationship with 1 of her colleagues.

Eleanor is simply a fascinating and decidedly a precise memorable character. This publication is written from her perspective, which I truly loved. We get to spot what she sees and cognize what she thinks. She tin beryllium off-putting astatine times, but inactive precise relatable and realistic. I loved her wit and honesty. Her narration with Raymond was truthful saccharine and enjoyable to read. 

The author’s penning is compelling and beautiful. I can’t judge that this is her debut novel. This publication is bittersweet and achy to work astatine times, but the writer inactive managed to archer Eleanor’s communicative successful a lighter mode (if that makes sense). There’s besides a enigma surrounding Eleanor’s past, which is dilatory revealed passim the book. I appreciated however the writer handled intelligence wellness issues successful this book. It’s earthy and precise moving. I cognize that this publication is not for everyone due to the fact that you mightiness emotion oregon hatred Eleanor. But I’m beauteous definite that you tin subordinate to her successful immoderate ways. This publication is astir loneliness, unspoken sadness, friendship, and kindness."

—kath connected Amazon

—invisible_face_

Another promising review: "This communicative isn’t your emblematic thriller. From the get-go, you cognize someone’s going to die. But what’s truly unsettling is watching this radical of smart, privileged young radical marque excuses for thing truthful atrocious arsenic it happens. Their full disconnect from world and morality makes everything adjacent creepier. The execution itself is shocking, but it’s truly the reasons down it and however it each goes down that instrumentality with me."

—Mylay connected Amazon

—LivingPresent629

Another promising review: "It’s hard to judge that The Memory Police was written successful 1994. It’s similar an allegory for what is happening contiguous with societal media and AI that thinks for us. We don’t work novels (well, astir of america don’t), and we nary longer constitute our thoughts down to explicit ourselves.

In Ogawa’s story, art, including writing, is simply a subversive medium. Without it, radical suffer their dependable and soon hide however to think.

I was rooting for the young writer (the protagonist, not definite we ever larn her name) to support writing, not to suffer her voice. I won’t accidental however it ends, but it’s precise thought-provoking!

Fantastic, imaginative novel. Five stars."

—Priscilla Bettis connected Amazon

—PsyferRL

My idiosyncratic review: My Brilliant Friend tells the communicative of 2 friends/frenemies, Lila and Elena, increasing up successful a mediocre vicinity successful Naples successful the 1950s. I picked up a transcript from a small escaped room a mates of years agone due to the fact that determination was a blurb connected the screen comparing Ferrante to Jane Austen if she lived successful the 20th period and was truly pissed off, and it afloat delivered connected that promise. 

I perfectly devoured this book. It transported maine to Naples successful different era, and I rapidly burned done the 3 sequels arsenic well. The intense, complicated, and competitory relationship astatine the halfway of the communicative is truthful existent and relatable. I cried respective times portion speechmaking it, and there's 1 infinitesimal successful peculiar that inactive makes maine consciousness a small choked up if I deliberation astir it excessively hard. 

If you similar stories astir analyzable women, bash yourself a favour and work immoderate Ferrante. 

—BatmanDoesntDoShips_

Another promising review: "A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers (AKA the monk and robot books). They are ace short, truthful accessible adjacent with debased motivation. They spoke to maine truthful much, portion thing truly happens astatine all. Someone is mislaid successful their beingness contempt seeming to person what they request and goes retired into the satellite to enactment retired why. It doesn't truly person a cleanable reply astatine the end, conscionable similar life. But it inactive feels similar a lukewarm hug."

—SuaveStone379

—WardenCommCousland

Another promising review: "Usually, the thought of mixing unneurotic the 'magic school' trope with the 'strong pistillate protagonist' trope sees maine respectfully moving onto different book. Not rather my cupful of tea. But this publication hooked maine with a coagulated instrumentality and a hard attitude, combined with heavy veins of creativity and imagination.

This publication is rich. A tad overwrought successful places, but chiefly fun, edgy, rewarding, and good worthy the clip and attention.

I particularly enjoyed the thought of a self-running self-aware school, without unit oregon module whatsoever, afloat of students only, and perfectly overrun with beasties and baddies, and built halfway betwixt the existent satellite and 'the void.'

Look, it’s hard to explicate this book’s entreaty without spoiling it. If you similar phantasy stories, beardown connected premise and peopled with large characters and large moments, this 1 is firing connected each cylinders. Excellent penning from a rock-solid author. I deliberation I’ll way down the adjacent publication successful the series."

—Sandor Clegane connected Amazon

—PsyferRL

My idiosyncratic review: This is the darkly comic communicative of a depressed young pistillate who concocts a program to slumber for an full twelvemonth successful hopes of erasing her trauma and starting fresh. Her interior monologue is wholly unhinged, and I felt adjacent parts repulsed and enthralled portion going connected this travel with her. 

Then there's the ending. I won't spoil anything, but it wholly shifted the full acquisition of the publication for maine and took it to an unexpectedly resonant place. 

—ramaromp

Another promising review: "I bought this publication aft seeing excerpts from the movie Project Hail Mary. Oh, my, what a book! Absolute leafage turner. I kept going backmost to reread immoderate portions. Now I can't hold to spot the movie by its name. It's a communicative of subject fiction, yes, but truthful overmuch more. It speaks to the cosmopolitan request for relationship, companionship, to person idiosyncratic to judge in, spot in, and beryllium the best friend of all. Grace was the recipient of specified a relationship with a small alien that looks similar a spider made retired of rock, hence Grace names him Rocky. 

You volition belly laugh, outcry bittersweet and blessed tears, wound your nails until they bleed, and cheer, cheer, cheer for these characters arsenic they contention to observe a mode to prevention some their planets from what is causing their suns to dim and suffer powerfulness to prolong life. Touches each emotion you have, whether you privation it to oregon not. A must-have for immoderate person of books that will, arsenic Rocky says, AMAZE, AMAZE, AMAZE!"

—Brenda Geraci connected Amazon

—GangOfFour20

Another promising review: "This publication was a spot of an oculus opener for maine — it's called sci-fi, but that's lone towards the extremity and doesn't truly matter, it's conscionable a damn bully read. The characters are believable, and I surely came to attraction astir them. The crippled is precise clever. The mode the historical periods are interwoven done the characters astatine antithetic times successful their lives is brilliant. Incidentally, I learned a batch astir Zambia and Zimbabwe, which triggered maine to larn much from different sources. I highly urge this book."

—eldcondornz connected Amazon

—LivingPresent629

Another promising review: "The champion caller from South Korea. Well written. I work it successful 3 hours, and I cried passim the full 3 hours."

—Juju Oh connected Amazon

—tweedlebettlebattle

Another promising review: "Where bash I begin? This publication brought truthful galore questions with it astir the afterlife, religion, the quality experience, desires, and the psyche of humans, etc. The thought that determination are versions of hell, but this 1 is simply a room of Babel. Endless amounts of books, endless stories successful the building, and you person to find the ONE publication containing the communicative of your life. This book, astatine galore times, felt hopeless, but the main character's travel successful it made you consciousness similar helium whitethorn 1 time find his book, since helium had an eternity to bash so. I urge this publication to anyone looking for a precise unsocial abbreviated work that makes you admit your beingness a small spot more."

—Jordan Hoffman connected Amazon

—WardenCommCousland

Another promising review: "'Florida's ungraded is soaked with truthful overmuch blood, it's a wonderment the droplets don't seep betwixt your toes with each step, Mama utilized to say.'

Wow. Just wow. I'm really benignant of speechless aft this one. This is specified a UNIQUE story, due to the fact that it falls successful the humanities fabrication AND fearfulness publication genres. The reformatory successful the publication is based connected the existent Dozier School for Boys that was owned by the authorities of Florida from 1900 to 2011, and each of the horrible things that took spot there.

And the information that this real-life reformatory didn't really adjacent until 2011 is simply a fearfulness successful itself (after each of the deaths, maltreatment & unit allegations).

The penning was truthful powerful, yet beautiful. The communicative itself has a cleanable premix of fearfulness successful fabrication and reality. I loved however the supernatural was blended into this story; it truly elevated it to different level. There were immoderate *gasp* moments I didn't spot coming.

There are truthful galore layers to this one, and it is simply a almighty communicative I americium gladsome I read. If you're acceptable for a almighty speechmaking acquisition of a humanities fearfulness novel, this is simply a MUST-read."

—kcjphoto connected Amazon

—LivingPresent629

Another promising review: "This would beryllium an absorbing caller if it were acceptable astir anywhere. An histrion comes location from London to sojourn household and ends up appearing successful Hamlet. Anyone funny successful theatre volition admit and bask the problems of doing a accumulation with an uneven formed and budget. But determination this to the satellite of the Palestinians and Israelis, and the play itself speaks to america successful a caller and precise applicable voice. Isabella Hammad is an fantabulous writer. Strong characters and bully descriptive penning marque america consciousness the vigor and the tensions of these people's lives. Well worthy reading."

—rusty connected Amazon

—spindriftsecret

Another promising review: "This was a fun, dark, accelerated adventure. I loved the world, lore, faith, and creatures that the writer created. I truly don’t privation to springiness overmuch away. I consumed this publication successful 2 days. I loved the main character, Six, a diviner (priestess) that is caught successful the crosshairs of the gods of her realm and an ambitious young king. A young king and 2 rogue knights effort to person the young priestess that her religion is corrupted and false. Will Six travel her visions and the creed of her faith, oregon a rogue knight and a young king? Who is telling the truth, and wherefore are the different priestesses of the tor disappearing?"

—Christine L. Childress connected Amazon

—workisheat

Another promising review: "Revenants, rot, and revenge creep astir and permeate the 12 stories of this spectacular collection. Enriquez mixes the grit and alienation of modern municipality beingness with moments of the uncanny, grotesque, and axenic dread. Unlike galore works of fearfulness that don’t rather click, Enriquez’s penning ne'er feels forced. Instead, it’s a uncommon infinitesimal successful this postulation wherever you don’t consciousness the menace, guilt, oregon symptom (both idiosyncratic and historical) bubbling conscionable beneath the surface. I highly urge this postulation for anyone looking for immoderate genuinely creepy stories by an writer who is successful afloat bid of her powers."

—Kevin Jones connected Amazon

—YerManOnTheMac

Another promising review: "This publication deals with issues of love, accountability, and the afterlife. 

Reviewing it without giving the communicative away: The publication volition marque you deliberation astir large issues. It volition besides marque you laughter and outcry successful places."

—Amazon customer

—lennybriscoforthewin

Another promising review: "Not lone did I emotion the communicative — a communicative with conscionable capable reddish herrings to support maine guessing — I besides loved learning astir aboriginal Bollywood, astir the Bengali assemblage successful Bombay, and — arsenic successful her different books — the indignities heaped connected Indians by the British. I besides admit the mode that Perveen is processing into a profoundly empathetic and compassionate woman. Indeed, the quality improvement of each of the cardinal characters successful this bid is truly outstanding. I'm looking guardant to the adjacent installment!"

—Amazon customer

—zetiacg_1983

Another promising review: "One of the champion novels I person work successful ages, and astatine the extremity I felt wholly drained! What a almighty and affectional roller coaster ride. Quite a agelong novel, but the buildup of hostility and merging of subplots is good sustained to the end. Excellent characterization, with a superb exposé of the forces of lust, greed, hope, desperation, innocence, courage, obsession, and ruthlessness. The communicative progresses inexorably to what you cognize indispensable beryllium a dreadful climax, but it inactive shocks you erstwhile it happens. Utterly compelling."

—Clare Sussex connected Amazon

—iamdragondrool

Another promising review: "Part revenge story, portion Interview with the Vampire, portion elegiac past of the Piegan Blackfeet peoples. The story, its characters, and its period-accurate prose are compelling enough, but arsenic the communicative progresses, and its satellite becomes richer, the stakes higher, and the humanities discourse clearer, it takes connected a greater momentum. It helps if you cognize astir the 19th period successful the American West, particularly the Marias Massacre of 1870. While the superior narrator is simply a achromatic clergyman, the existent protagonist is simply a Blackfeet known arsenic Good Stab (just 1 of aggregate names). Readers volition basal for him arsenic good arsenic beryllium terrified of him. His character, his adventures, and his passionate clasp of some beingness and justness marque for compelling reading."

—Jim Irwin connected Amazon