The Best Books of the Year (So Far)

The nonfiction and novels we can’t stop thinking about.

By The New York Times Books Staff

We’re a third of the way through 2026 and we at The Book Review have already written about hundreds of books. Some of those titles are good. Some are very good. And then there are the following.

We suspect that some (though certainly not all) of these will be top of mind when we publish our end-of-year, best-of lists. For more suggestions for what to read next, head to our book recommendation page. See the list at the New York Times.