Most of us read more than ever during the summer months. Days are longer, evenings are lighter and lying horizontal on a sun lounger is firmly on the agenda – all that’s left is to curate your TBR pile. The new book releases for 2026 offer plenty of inspiration, from multi-generational historical epics to true crime or contemporary romance.
I’ve been working my way through this year’s most anticipated novels and non-fiction, including Hamnet author Maggie O’Farrell’s latest work and Booker Prize-winning Douglas Stuart’s acclaimed third book, John of John. Elsewhere, Claire Daverley’s People In Love offers a fresh take on a love triangle; the novel follows two childhood best friends and almost-lovers. The esteemed American author Elizabeth Strout, who created characters such as Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton, has introduced a new cast in The Things We Never Say. Artie Dam is a high school teacher whose life is turned upside-down by an unearthed secret. When it comes to non-fiction, Patrick Radden Keefe’s London Falling is dominating bestseller charts. An investigative piece that reads like a thriller novel, the book explores the circumstances around a teenage boy falling to his death in London.
These are the six books you’re about to see all around the pool and on the commute this summer.
'John of John' by Douglas Stuart
Douglas Stuart, who won the Booker Prize in 2020 with Shuggie Bain, is back with his new novel, John of John. Exploring the author's signature themes of masculinity, working-class Scottish life and family relationships, Stuart takes us away from his home city of Glasgow to the Isle of Harris. At first, the novel appears to be about the coming home of John-Callum, a 22-year-old who has just graduated from art college on the mainland. With his dyed red hair, ‘strange clothes’ and artistic leanings, Cal is at direct odds with his father John, a devout Protestant, sheep farmer and a deacon in the small community's Presbyterian church. Reluctantly living with his sharp-tongued Glaswegian mother-in-law, Ella (a delightful character), John is troubled by his son’s free expression. An intimate portrait of a close-knit community in the rugged Outer Hebrides, John of John explores identity and belonging. Stuart has always written on mother-son relationships, but the tumultuous father-son dynamic in John of John confronts masculinity in a more complicated way. The tension between duty and religion, and desire and love, will keep you enthralled.
'Things We Can Never Say' by Elizabeth Strout
The American author Elizabeth Strout is as beloved as her most famous fictional figures, Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton. Now, there’s a new character in the canon: Artie Dam. Her latest acclaimed novel, The Things We Never Say, is a standalone story, but takes place in Strout’s favourite literary location of Maine. Artie is a high school history teacher who is grappling with middle-aged ennui. Despite appearing right as rain to his students, family and colleagues, he’s grieving the direction of life. Then, a brush with death while out on his sailing boat transforms his perspective, before a decade-long secret comes to light. Forced to reevaluate everything he’s ever known, Artie gains a new, powerful perspective that makes the reader reassess their own life in the process. The father-son relationship is particularly touching, while Strout’s political commentary on Trump America gives the small but mighty book extra weight.
'London Falling' by Patrick Radden Keefe
With its pacy writing and stranger-than-fiction story, London Falling is appealing to those who don’t usually read non-fiction. Patrick Radden Keefe is the award-winning New Yorker staff writer and author of Empire of Pain, Say Nothing and Rogues. His latest book brings us to London, where a single incident unravels an insidious underworld in the capital city. Zac Brettler is just 19-years-old when he falls to his death from a luxury apartment building on the Thames. His parents refuse to believe it was an accident or suicide. Through meticulous research, interviews and conversations detailed word-for-word, London Falling recounts the investigation conducted by Zac’s parents after they suspect foul play. A deep dive into the sinister world of Russian oligarchs in London, the sweeping story explores everything from the expulsion of Asians from Uganda in 1972, the immigrant experience in the UK and the life of teenage boys online. Both a portrait of a parent's grief and of contemporary London, Keefe’s book is as compelling as a novel.
'People In Love' by Claire Daverley
A contemporary romance for those who don't usually read romance, Claire Daverley’s People In Love is a charming beach read. It follows Bren and Nora, childhood best friends who grew up as neighbours. Everyone thought they’d end up together, but after a tragedy, Bren runs from his problems to travel the world, leaving Nora behind to pick up the pieces. More than a decade later, Bren is back in the country for Nora’s engagement party. After years of sending postcards and longing for each other from other sides of the world, Bren and Nora must grapple with the choices they made. As secrets are unearthed and regrets revealed, their lives become intertwined once again – but will Nora stay with her fiancé or pick Bren? Daverley’s characters are so richly drawn that you root for all of them. A riff on the sliding-doors romcom, it’s a gentle and empathetic love triangle story – you’ll tear through it on the sun lounger.
'Land' by Maggie O'Farrell
Maggie O’Farrell’s latest novel is a gripping family saga that goes back a millennium. The multigenerational historical epic begins in 1865 with a father and son mapping the Ordnance Survey in the aftermath of the Great Famine, when an estimated one million people died of starvation. Working for the ‘redcoats’ in the British Army, Tomás and his young son, Louis, are on a windswept peninsula in Ireland, where a strange incident transforms the trajectory of the family’s life forever. The novel is vast in scope, but has Tomás, his wife Phina and their children at its heart. O’Farrell goes back as far as the Pagans and early Nordic settlers in the ancient woodland, before exploring colonisation, the Irish fighting back and migration around the world. Incorporating folklore, Celtic and ancient mythology, and the supernatural, the themes are grounded in Ireland’s devastating history. As much about the land as it is about the people, you’ll struggle to look up from Land’s pages on holiday.
'I Want You To Be Happy' by Jem Calder
It’s quite the thing to be called the new Sally Rooney – and that’s exactly what people are saying about Jem Calder. The novelist’s debut, I Want You To Be Happy, might be slight at less than 300 pages, but it packs a punch. On the surface, it’s a story about two people dating in London, but it says so much more about the way we all live now, from late-night TikTok scrolls to work Zoom calls with the camera off and overdraft texts. Chuck and Joey meet one night at a bar and, despite the 12-year age gap, they’re united in their need for connection and company in a city that can feel anonymous. Chuck is fresh from the breakdown of his long-term relationship and finding solace in the bottom of a bottle, while Joey is navigating graduate life, friendships and aspirations to be a writer. The book is at times painful reading – Chuck is insufferable and self-destructive, while Joey is desperately trying to make a relationship out of nothing – but the novel says so much about contemporary living that you can barely put it down. It’s sharp-eyed and hilarious.
'Famesick' by Lena Dunham
Lena Dunham’s memoir Famesick is written in the same wry, self-deprecating and unapologetically candid voice that made Girls so distinctive. Fans of the show will love it, but even those less familiar with her work will find it compelling. Charting her rise from aspiring writer-director to cultural phenomenon, the book offers a revealing look at fame, controversy, and the pressures of public scrutiny. While headlines have focused on her relationship with Jack Antonoff, and her complex dynamic with Girls co-star Adam Driver, Famesick is far more than celebrity gossip. Instead, it’s a moving portrait of a woman grappling with chronic illness, addiction and intense media attention. Like Girls, the memoir explores female friendship, mental health, sex and body image with honesty and humour. Dunham balances painful experiences with sharp wit, making for an engaging and often affecting read. The audiobook, narrated by Dunham herself, is particularly worth downloading.
