The new year always brings a crackle of promise and a renewed spirit of growth. For me, part of that excitement comes from thinking of the books I’m excited to read in the upcoming year.
There are so many books I’m excited to read that I had to break the list up into seperate posts: this one is about fiction books I’m excited to read, and next week, I’ll share the nonfiction books I’m excited to read!
As always, I want to mention that some of these books may be new to me, but that doesn’t mean they are new. Just because there are books I’m excited to read in 2026 doesn’t mean those books are necessarily being published in 2026.
I hope you enjoy this peak at my TBR! I’d love to hear what books you’re getting ready to read in 2026!
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Fiction I’m Books Excited to Read!
The Reservation by Rebecca Kauffman sounds like the perfect mix of my two great loves: fine dining and kooky mysteries. Honestly, this one is pretty far up on my TBR because it sounds delicious.
Country People by Daniel Mason takes place in upper Vermont, and the cast of characters sounds like Stars Hollow-but-more-Shakespeare. The main character Miles studies Russian folktales and finds himself investigating a local legend, and that has just enough Rip Van Winkle in it to draw my interest.
Blue Mountain Rose by Julie Hammonds has been on my TBR for an embarrassing amount of time. Last year, I read an excerpt, which I just re-read, and I can’t understand why this keeps getting pushed down the list. The excerpt reminds me of a more self-serious version of The Appeal by Janice Hallett. (Hallett’s upcoming sequel is also one of the books I’m excited to read this year!)
Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong is on my list because the cover blurb made me laugh but also sounded too familiar. The blurb describes the main character’s family situation: “Her father, a prominent history professor, is losing his memory and is only erratically lucid. [Her] mother, meanwhile, is lucidly erratic.”
The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett was featured on the Lit Hub list of “43 Favorite Books of 2025.” Its recommendation came with the note: “The funniest book with such a high body count I’ve ever read.” That’s a solid recommendation in my book. Upon further investigation, “Tender Hearts” in the title is the name of retirement community. As a fan of Thursday Murder Club, I’m always looking out for stories set in senior living communities.
Vigil by George Saunders made my list because I keep misreading the title. I keep thinking this book is called “Virgil,” which sort of makes sense because Vigil is about death and Virgil led Dante through Hell. I also recently read Katabasis by R.F. Kuang, which is kind of a Gen Z Inferno, so I think I must have the “death journey” genre on my mind.
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico actually sounds like the kind of book that will make me deeply uncomfortable. The main characters Anna and Tom sound (unfortunately) all too familiar. Sometimes, though, second-hand embarrassment is good for the soul.
Audition by Katie Kitamura caught my eye because so many different outlets recommended it. The structure sounds captivating, and I enjoy competing narratives from unreliable narrators.
Private Rites by Julia Armfield sounds like a riff on King Lear. It also straddles that line between climate dystopia and family drama. Water is always symbolic in literature, and this story takes place in a world with too much water. Color me curious!
Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books I’m Excited to Read!
Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske is dark academia, which is my favorite genre! The blurb on Amazon describes this book as “Grey’s Anatomy meets A Deadly Education,” which immediately put this title on my TBR!
The Once and Future Queen by Paula Lafferty fits my love for Arthurian retellings. The trope of a future queen has been done dozens of times, but I keep coming back for more! I have to admit that I also love some time-traveling hijinks!
The Lost Coast by A.R. Capetta found its way on to my TBR after I finished reading For the Rest of Us, an anthology of holiday stories that found its way onto my Best of 2025. Capetta’s chapter was about the Winter Solstice, and the cast of characters was so vivid that I immediately went to see what other books Capetta had written! This one is about six queer witches, so I’m hoping to read it around Halloween!
Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham is the first book in the Kithamar Trilogy. I have to admit that I’ve been putting this one off because Abraham’s work on The Expanse left me with such a bittersweet book hangover. (If you’re looking for a sci-fi opera, The Expanse is for you!) Since the final entry in this series comes out in 2026, I figured I should get my tissues ready and start the trilogy.
Poetry and Short Stories
Eternal Night at the Nature Museum by Tyler Barton is an anthology from 2021, but as I was scrolling and trying to decide on my next read, the title popped off the screen. Something about the idea of unique characters searching for “home” sounds charming and relatable.
Atom and Void by Aaron Fagan is one of the poetry books I’m excited to read this year. At first, the title captivated me, but once I read a sample and saw Fagan was working in sonnets, I knew this was for me. I’ve talked about my sonnet love before, so I can’t wait to start this collection.
Love is For All of Us: Poems of Tenderness and Belonging from the LGBTQIA+ Community and Friends edited by James Crews and Brad Peacock was recommended by Pinterest of all things. The illustrations in this book instantly charmed me, and as I read through the first few poems, I knew this belonged on my TBR and, eventually, in my classroom library.
