Books to look out for in 2026
It’s 2026!
Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but I have been slapped in the face by just how January the world feels right now. The weather is horrible, the festivities are over, and the news app on my phone seems intent on driving me to existential despair.
But, in the absence of a magic wand and in the knowledge that books are truly some of the most powerful tools against such misery, I have compiled a list of fabulous titles I am excited to read this year.
Join me in adding to the never-ending ‘to be read’ lists of our minds.
fiction
half his age
Coming soon: 20/01/2026
“The highly anticipated, funny, sad, thrilling novel about sex, class, desire, and power - and the (often misguided) lengths we'll go to to get what we want, from Jennette McCurdy, the three-million copy, Sunday Times bestselling author of I'm Glad My Mom Died.”
Of course, another book from such a hilarious author was always going to make the list, but this one has captured my interest more than I expected. It tells the story of Waldo, who is incredibly horny. Not in the way women in novels are often portrayed as horny - in a whispy, romanticised sort of way that dances around the question of female sexuality - she’s ravenous. The problem? The object of her affections is her creative writing teacher. An honest and hilarious exploration of desire, self-image, power, class and sexuality, this one is going straight on the Goldfinch shelves come publication.
how to commit a post colonial murder
Coming soon: 20/01/2026
Nina McConigley’s debut short story collection, Cowboys & East Indians, which explores the immigrant experience in the contemporary American West, won the PEN/Open Book Award. She is back in 2026 with a murder mystery set in the 1980s, which follows two Indian American sisters who decide to dispose of their uncle.
Now, I’m not afraid to admit that the title of this one has fully got me hooked. McConigley’s insight into the immigrant experience in America provides her with a keen eye for both the structural and the individual intricacies of identity. I cannot wait to get stuck into this!
land
Publication: 02/06/2026
“Inspired by the mapping of Ireland in the mid nineteenth century, Land, the new novel from the author of Hamnet, is at once intimate and epic: a portrait of a family navigating a legacy of upheaval and loss with love and hope.”
I mean, Maggie O’Farrell was always going to make the list. Any list. All the lists. She’s incredible.
Set in 1865 Ireland, this book promises to navigate the tumultuous historical and cultural trauma of the time through the lens of a family in crisis.
Maggie’s incredible ability to create complex, deeply emotive and character-driven stories suggests this tale will make for another timeless classic.
tangerinn
Coming soon: 20/01/2026
Now, I cannot explain how much my heart jumped when I saw this book. Italian Literature is not an area with which I am very familiar, but this story sounds so beautifully relevant and touching. I am going to share part of the press release blurb because I think that will illustrate just how much this book struck a chord with me.
“Mina is thirty and living in London. She fled there at twenty to reinvent herself to escape her small-town past, but a decade later she is drifting, untethered and uncertain. When her Moroccan-born father Omar dies, she returns to her childhood home on the Calabrian coast, where he ran a bar called the Tangerinn. It was more than just a bar--it was a gathering place, a haven for migrants and misfits, a dream that Mina's sister, Aisha, is struggling to keep alive.”
non-fiction
how to see like a machine
Publication date: 19/05/2026
“The future of the image in the age of AI”
Every day, a new reason to fear the advent of artificial technology seems to arise. With all we have seen recently involving Grok’s abuses of women, the never-ending proliferation of ‘AI Slop’, not to mention the ecological and political ramifications of these machines, this book couldn’t be more neccessary.
Trevor Paglen is a renowned artist with an incredible mind. Mapping the evolution of the image in an age where images themselves, created and augmented by algorhythmic magic, are looking back at us. A daunting but urgent book I am very excited to get my hands on.
control science
Publication date: 12/05/2026
“A thrilling intellectual and economic history of workplace control from the birth of capitalism to the modern tech giants.”
The phenomenon of Managerialism fascinates and infuriates me in equal measure. I recently read the excellent Bullshit Jobs, which was paradigm-shifting in its effect on my worldview.
In Control Science, Henry Snow asks What are the rules that govern our workday? Who made these rules? And how do these rules dominate the rest of our lives?
If you have ever wondered how we arrived at our current state in society, this book will be a vital piece of the puzzle.
red valkyries
Publication date: 26/05/2026
One glance at this cover lit a revolutionary feminist flame in my eye, and I am in no hurry to distinguish it. Through a series of ‘lively and accessible’ biographical essays, Red Valkyries explores the history of feminism in Eastern Europe.
At a time when it feels increasingly like the world is moving backwards, bringing to light the stories of revolutionaries (especially female ones!) can bring both hope and a sense of perspective.
There is something about hearing the experiences of women in these times that crystallises the inherent contradictions and added complexity of fighting for social justice in a patriarchal society.
“None of these women were "perfect" leftists. Their lives were filled with inner conflicts, contradictions, and sometimes outrageous privilege, but they still managed to move forward their own political projects through perseverance and dedication to their cause.”
This list is by no means exhaustive, but at the risk of it becoming exhausting for you to read, I have left it with my absoloute favourites. I cannot wait to get my hands on these, and hope you all enjoy them! As always, I will never turn down a chat about books if you happen to give any of these a go.
