With only two months of the year remaining, time is running out to successfully meet your reading goals.
Whether you set out read one or 100 books in 2026, there are so many options to choose from. There are tempting new releases such as book six in Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series, or classics including Sense and Sensibility or Pride and Prejudice worth revisiting, with two new Jane Austen adaptations this year.
If you’re more interested in which titles people selling books are picking up, look no further than the Waterstones Book of the Year shortlist. Nominated by booksellers from across the country, the annual awards features a selection of 20 works published over the last 12 months.
Scottish author Douglas Stuart’s novel John of John is among those recognised, alongside two fellow Booker Prize nominees; The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout and May We Feed The King by Rebecca Perry.
Other fiction on the shortlist includes Land by Hamnet author Maggie O’Farrell, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s new young adult mystery The Heirs and Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke’s buzzy debut novel Yesteryear, which will soon be turned into a feature film starring Anne Hathaway.
There are also a number of non-fiction titles selected, such as Patrick Radden Keefe’s gripping London Falling and Ottolenghi’s latest cookbook Simple Too, as well as Sleeping Beauties, a book from Talking Heads frontman David Byrne which explores dormant ideas and how they can be revived.
If you’re looking to expand your TBR list, here the 2026 Waterstones Book of the Year shortlist in full - including what each book is about and where you can buy them.
17. May We Feed The King by Rebecca Perry
“She is a curator, who spends her time dressing the rooms of historic buildings to bring them to life. But in the lush private quarters of a medieval palace, she finds herself so transfixed by the reign of an almost-forgotten King that the edges of her life begin to blur. He is a reluctant ruler with no hunger for power, rushed to the throne after the untimely deaths of his older brothers. But it isn't long before whispers begin to fly around the court. And with the growing belief that the King is not fit for the throne comes the idea that another might rule in his stead. May We Feed the King dances between the lives of a historical subject who risks the future of his kingdom and a woman who turns to the past to hide from her present. Laced with desire and longing, it is a playful, stirring meditation on history and storytelling: on what makes a King 'Great', and a life meaningful.” | Granta
18. Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zi (translated by Lin King)
“Disguised as a translation of a rediscovered text by a Japanese writer, Taiwan Travelogue is a bittersweet story of love between two women, nested in an artful exploration of language, history and power. Set in May 1938, the young novelist Aoyama Chizuko sails from Japan to Taiwan where her interpreter proffers tantalising glimpses of island life and helps her to taste as much of cuisine as her larger-than-life appetite can bear.” | And Other Stories
19. Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
“Artie Dam is a man with a secret. He spends his days teaching history to high schoolers, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbours, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad—at himself and the people around him—and turns a question over and over in his mind: how is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us? And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear—and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.” | Viking
20. The Neverland Thieves by Katie and Kevin Tsang
“Tom is a patient at Great Ormond Street Hospital. When his best friend, Felix, comes to visit, exciting and mysterious things start to happen. Gold dust appears, music plays and the stone creatures in the chapel magically come to life. Soon Tom, Felix and their new friend Daisy are flown to the magical world of Neverland. Adventures lie ahead with mermaids, pirates and the Lost Boys and Girls. But trouble is afoot in this magical place and soon the three friends find themselves blamed for a series of thefts. To clear their names, they're going to have to take on the villainous Beekeeper or be branded as the Neverland Thieves forever…” | Simon & Schuster