12 best new books that everyone is talking about this summer

The nation reads 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 best new book releases for 2026 offer plenty of inspiration, from true crime to contemporary romance. The summer season has treated us to rewarding stories. A family in post-famine Ireland spreads across the world in Maggie O’Farrell’s multi-generational historical epic, Land, while a high school teacher's life is turned upside down by a secret in Elizabeth Strout’s The Things We Never Say. The tension between duty and desire is explored on a remote Scottish island in Douglas Stuart’s novel, John of John, while a couple’s love story is told from the perspective of strangers, friends and family in Bobbie Palmer’s Main Characters. When it comes to non-fiction, Patrick Radden Keefe’s London Falling – an investigative piece that reads like a thriller novel – is dominating bestseller charts, while David Sedaris has returned with its latest heartfelt but humorous essay collection, The Land and Its People. Daisy Lester Paperbacks take up less space in your hand luggage, and Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent is climbing back up the bestseller list following her Women’s Prize for Fiction 2026 win, while Belle Burden’s Strangers is a hit on BookTok. These are 12 books you’re sure to see all around the pool and on the commute this summer. 'John of John' by Douglas Stuart, published by Picador AmazonDouglas 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, published by Viking AmazonThe 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, published by Picador AmazonWith 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. 'The Land and its People' by David Sedaris, published by Abacus AmazonDavid Sedaris is one of our greatest contemporary essayists, combining fierce wit and humour with surprising emotion. His new collection, The Land and Its People, contains 28 mostly new essays that can be dipped in and out of. As with his previous books, the audiobook is a particularly rewarding listen – Sedaris’ sardonic tone gives the writing extra weight. In the collection, he poignantly reflects on caring for his long-term husband Hugh, following hip-replacement surgery, as well as his ageing family and friends that remind him of the mortal coil. Any profundity is balanced by recounts of bizarre conversations with a Duolingo chatbot, daring his friend Dawn to eat a truck tyre, and his numerous global escapades, from a safari in Kenya to horse riding in Guatemala. Sedaris’ signature observational comedy and crabby tendencies (we can all relate) will keep you heartwarmed and humoured this summer. 'I Want You To Be Happy' by Jem Calder, published by Faber & FaberAmazonIt’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, published by Fourth Estate AmazonLena Dunham’s memoir Famesick is written in the same wry, self-depricating 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.'Land' by Maggie O'Farrell, published by Tinder Press AmazonMaggie 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. 'People In Love' by Claire Daverley, published by Penguin AmazonA 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. 'Main Characters' by Bobbie Palmer, published by Review AmazonBobby Palmer’s writing leans toward the absurd. I loved his debut, Isaac and the Egg, which used a personified two-foot-tall egg to explore grief. His third novel, Main Characters, is a comparably conventional love story. It follows Clara and Seb who meet one night in London and embark on a romcom-esque romance, complete with heartbreak, reconcillations and everything in between. What sounds tropey is given extra intrigue thanks to the ambitious structure. Clara and Seb’s story is told from every perspective, except their own – from the barista serving them coffee and a woman eavesdropping on the bus, to friends, family and exes. I enjoyed this at first – it leans into everyone’s innate nosiness – but toward the end, I just wanted to know what Seb and Clara thought, and questioned the reliability of a stranger’s narration. But for an enjoyable twist on a love story, Main Characters is an easy, funny and fresh sun-lounger read. Yesteryear by Claire Caro Burke, published by Fourth EstateAmazonCaro Claire Burke’s debut novel Yesteryear has dominated BookTok of late, and the rights have already been snapped up in an 11-way bidding war, won by Anne Hathaway, who will star in the leading role. The zeitgeisty story tackles everything from influencer culture and trad wives to motherhood and conservative religion. Twisty and page-turning, the protagonist is a loathsome “trad wife” influencer called Natalie. Living on a farm with her hapless, ‘manosphere’ husband, she spends her days broadcasting sourdough tutorials to her millions of followers, while pretending to homeschool her litter of children (there’s a hidden nanny, of course).Preaching the benefits of a traditional, rustic, rural life, she then wakes up in 1805, where she’s forced to live the image of a “simple” settler life, just as she curated on Instagram. The book charges along with flashbacks to Natalie’s earlier life, keeping you gripped, constantly surprised and thought-provoked. 'The Correspondent' by Virginia Evans, published by Michael JosephAmazonThis year’s winner of The Women’s Prize for Fiction 2026, The Correspondent follows Sybil Van Antwerp, a 73-year-old retired lawyer in Annapolis, through a decade of letters revealing grief, ageing and unexpected connection. Still mourning the loss of her young son, Sybil keeps others at a distance, yet her wit and compassion emerge in exchanges with loved ones, strangers and admired authors. As she faces failing eyesight and strained family relationships, she gradually finds comfort in everyday moments and new friendships. Tackling themes of forgiveness, hope, the Holocaust, Syrian refugees and parental guilt with sensitivity, this moving novel is both heartbreaking and uplifting. Jane Fonda is set to star in the film adaptation.'Strangers' by Belle Burden, published by Ebury PressAmazonA postmortem of the breakdown of her marriage, Belle Burden's engrossing memoir, Strangers, begins with her discovering her husband of 20 years’ affair. During the pandemic at their holiday home in Martha’s Vineyard, he leaves his wife and three children for the younger woman.Burden – who comes from a privileged family of socialites and broadcasting moguls – delves into their seemingly happy marriage, its sudden end and his affair. The memoir has the pacing of a true crime novel, while being deeply personal and evocatively written. Burden lends her own voice to the audiobook reading – adding extra intimacy.