This has been an incredible year to be a reader. Rather than my group chats popping off about the latest buzzy show, we're talking about books. And even if we are talking about TV shows, some of the most popular, like Heated Rivalry and Off Campus, are book adaptations. The new releases of 2026 have caused quite a stir, but where should you start? Well, Amazon Editors have some thoughts.
Amazon Book Editors just dropped their 20 best books of 2026 so far. This list of both fiction and non-fiction includes bestsellers and book club picks. Just in time for summer reading, find out what the best books of 2026 are, according to Amazon Editors. Plus, find out from the editors themselves exactly why they picked the top 10 books of the year.
20. Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser
A New York Times bestseller, Reese's Book Club Pick, and an IndieNext Pick, Lady Tremaine tells the story of twice-widowed Lady Etheldreda Verity Isolde Tremaine Bramley, caring for her two children, stepdaughter, and decaying manor. It's a reimagining of the evil stepmother myth, turning it into a celebration of women taking their fate into their own hands.
19. Homebound by Portia Elan
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Portia Elan's Homebound spans the years 1983 to 2586, tracing three women across generations and a piece of technology that connects them all. A GMA Book Club pick, Homebound is described as, "a big, bold, ecstatic world — full of heart and wonder.”
18. The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett
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Seventeen years after her bestseller The Help was published, Kathryn Stockett is back with her second novel, The Calamity Club. In Oxford, Mississippi, three women on the verge of collapse come together to finally take back their lives in a place where women's freedom is fragile.
17. Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth
In Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth, we find Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick in a Melbourne suburb. The grumpy, independent 81-year-old minds her own business — until a neighbor turns up dead. Eyes turn to Elsie, who wasn't always Elsie — once she was known as Mad Mabel Waller, Australia's youngest convicted murderer. But she was more than just a headline, as secrets buried for decades now come to light.
16. John of John by Douglas Stuart
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From the author of Shuggie Bain, Douglas Stuart, comes a new novel, John of John. When John-Calum 'Cal' Macleod returns to his home on the Isle of Harris, it is not the place that has changed, but him. At odds with his father's expectations, Cal discovered the secrets within his home and what's truly holding the community together.
15. Into the Blue by Emma Brodie
Explosive chemistry and yearning are at the center of Emma Brodie's Into the Blue. AJ Graves dreams of a bigger life beyond her small Massachusetts town. But when Noah Drew appears, the two form a cosmic bond as friends and acting partners until Noah disappears. After seven years, AJ and Noah are thrust back together and forced to confront what happened all those years ago.
14. Five by Ilona Bannister
Five people wait on a train platform. When the next train to London arrives, one of them will die, but who will it be? That's the question at the center of Five by Ilona Bannister, a propulsive thriller that asks the reader to be judge, jury, and executioner.
13. A Far-flung Life by M.L. Stedman
In the Australian outback, a tragedy strikes the MacBride family, which will change generations to come. Matt, the youngest of the MacBrides, will be sent on a journey for which there is no map. A Far-flung Map by M.L. Stedman is a story of family and belonging and who we reach for to weather the storm.
12. Famesick by Lena Dunham
At 24, Lena Dunham was thrust into fame with her HBO show Girls. But in the decade since, Dunham experienced the illness that seemingly accompanied her rise in fame. Famesick is a deeply personal memoir spanning the beginning of Girls and the decade of illness and addiction that followed.
11. Transcription by Ben Lerner
Ben Lerner has been called the voice of a generation, and in 2026 he's returned with his latest novel, Transcription. Taking place in Providence, Rhode Island, the narrator of the novel arrives to conduct an interview of Thomas, his 90-year-old mentor and the father of his college friend Max. The novel is dreamlike, devolving into an unforgettable story of three men, the narrator, Thomas, and Max.
10. Crux by Gabriel Tallent
From Abby Abell, Amazon Editor: “A new addition to the canon of exceptional friendship novels, Crux is an exhilarating, tender novel about an unlikely friendship forged through a shared love of rock climbing. Dan and Tamma’s bond is glorious to behold, and I feel lucky to have witnessed it.”
9. Nothing Tastes as Good by Luke Dumas
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From Annabel Gutterman, Amazon Editor: “In his searing and very bloody page-turner, Luke Dumas holds a mirror up to our body image–obsessed world to reveal something quite unsavory in its reflection. This is body horror at its finest: uncomfortably vivid, often hilarious, and totally disturbing. My eyes have never been so glued to a book’s pages.”
8. Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell
From Abell: “I adored this vulnerable, sexy love story about body image, second chances, and the bone-deep ache of loss. Rainbow Rowell creates characters who are beautiful in all their flaws and complexities, and this couldn’t be truer than with Cherry, who I love. This book is messy, hopeful, and so romantic.”
7. American Men by Jordan Ritter Conn
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From Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor: “This intimate yet enormous feat of storytelling sucked me in immediately. It’s a page-turning account of four very different men you will cheer for, and ache for; a refreshing reminder that there are many ways to thrive in a world where opportunities feel fleeting. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
6. Land by Maggie O'Farrell
From Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor: “Never before have a 19th-century mapmaker, a scruffy, loyal dog, and a mysterious copse of trees been more enchanting. Maggie O’Farrell delivers a soaring and bewitching tale of family and how the remote Irish peninsula where they live defines and shapes them, generation after generation.”
5. Night Objects by Eli Raphael
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From Gutterman: “This mesmerizing suspense novel about a teenager’s desperate search for belonging at her elite boarding school — where secrets swirl and danger looms large — lived in my head for days. Eli Raphael introduces herself as a writer you don’t want to miss.”
4. Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden
From Sarah Gelman, Editorial Director: "Strangers is a divorce memoir, but it’s also a forensic examination of a love and a marriage gone wrong, seemingly without any warning. Burden puts words to many of our worst fears — that one day the person we love and trust the most will become an utter stranger to us.”
3. Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
From Gutterman: “When a tradwife influencer wakes up to discover it’s somehow the 19th century, her journey back to reality makes for a brilliant, biting novel about motherhood, fame, and faith. A reading experience like no other, this is the book I want to talk about with literally everyone I've ever met.”
2. London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe
From Woodworth: “Illuminating and unforgettable, Patrick Radden Keefe’s latest delivers another knockout narrative nonfiction, this time telling the shocking story of how a young boy got caught up in the dangerous and powerful world of Russian oligarchs and landed at the bottom of the Thames.”
1. Kin by Tayari Jones
And the No. 1 book of the year according to Amazon editors is Kin by Tayari Jones.
From Erin Kodicek, Amazon Editor: “Kin is the story of two ‘cradle friends’ who are haunted by the loss of their mothers, and who, despite their diverging paths, continue to be each other’s comfort and salvation. A nuanced portrait of family, friendship, and race, the novel sings on every page.”
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