Best books I've read in 2026, month by month, by Multcolib My Librarian DianaLike this list

6 items

• War and Peace

  Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828-1910

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  January. Actually, two and a half months it took me to read this 1400 page book! He saved the worst misogyny for the epilogue, or I probably wouldn't have finished it. And Tolstoy had so many axes to grind and could have used an editor. But I'm glad…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Whistler

  a Novel

  Patchett, Ann,

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  February. This book is to be published in June of 2026, but I had an advance reading copy. This is a story about family and all the love that's found there, about the intersection of a few ordinary lives. What makes this novel wonderful is, of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Country People

  Mason, Daniel

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  March. This isn't a big expansive story like Mason's The North Woods. It's a smaller, more personal story about a family who has gone to live in Vermont for a year. But it's a lovely book, so fun to read, and I turned to it with such pleasure every…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Director

  a Novel

  Kehlmann, Daniel, 1975-

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  April. This story, about an Austrian film director during World War II who gets stuck in Germany is like Breaking Bad with Nazis. I found it deeply moving.

• Their Eyes Were Watching God

  [a Novel]

  Hurston, Zora Neale,

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  April (I had to choose two favorites). I was worried when I saw that the speech in the book is written in dialect- but I adjusted to it quickly. And I realized that Hurston really loved her people, the way they spoke and their stories, and she was…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Partita by Barbara Kingsolver

  View on harpercollins.com

  May. This novel, which will be published in October of 2026, is about a young pianist, a love affair-- and disaster. It offers beautiful writing about music (there's even a playlist!), an inspiring example of how almost anything is survivable, and…Read moreRead more of this annotation