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Popular reads for your book club in 2026

Popular reads for your book club in 2026

by Eppie Shepherd and Penguin editors

min read

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Reading is often a solitary experience, so there's something truly joyous about getting together with a group of like-minded (or not-so-like-minded) readers, cracking the spine of a new novel and having a good discussion.

But how should you decide which book to discuss? A great book club book isn’t just a good story – it’s one that sparks questions. Whether it has morally grey characters, a shocking twist, a fresh perspective or a deeply personal narrative, the best book club picks invite debate, not just agreement. You want books that encourage conversation about relationships, politics, identity, memory, power, or what makes a brilliant read.

We’ve rounded up some of our favourite titles – from recent releases to tried-and-true classics – that are guaranteed to get everyone talking. There's plenty to chew over, along with whatever nibbly bits you serve up. So, whether you're looking for a modern romance, a literary classic, or a multi-layered thriller, there's something for everyone in our list below of the best book club suggestions for 2026.

Books with complex characters

Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash (2026)

Madeline Cash’s debut is a brilliantly comic yet deeply human family saga that will spark endless book club conversation about family, identity and the chaos of modern life. The Flynn family is splintering under the weight of a collapsing open marriage, with each child on their own chaotic journey. The eldest is dating a questionable ex‑soldier; the middle child is secretly corresponding with an online terrorist; and the youngest is preparing for reform camp after insisting someone – or something – is watching their town.

Rippled with wit, warmth and sharp observation, Lost Lambs is a richly layered story that’s hilarious, thought‑provoking and ripe for discussion.

Wimmy Road Boyz by Sufiyaan Salam (2026)

This fierce new novel is a coming-of-age tale about friendship, selfhood and raw, energetic youth. Set over the course of a single night in Manchester, Wimmy Road Boyz follows three British‑Muslim friends on a ride down the Curry Mile that becomes a journey into their deepest frustrations, ambitions and fears.

Each character brings different emotions to their reckless adventure and, as the night spins out of control, the novel reveals sharp, incisive insights into class, masculinity and belonging. With its bold voice and unfiltered energy, this story will provoke strong reactions and thoughtful discussion in any book club – and it’s one of our top debut novels of 2026.

Esther is Now Following You by Tanya Sweeney (2026)

With its dark humour and razor-sharp social commentary, this unsettling debut is tailor-made for discussion, especially in our screen-obsessed age. When Esther becomes fixated on a famous Canadian actor, Ted, her life starts to unravel as she leaves her husband and buys a one-way ticket to Canada to be with him.

Equal parts hilarious and poignant, Esther is Now Following You captures the absurdity of celebrity fandom, as well as the messy truth of loneliness and our need for connection. It’s bound to spark lively conversations about how social media shapes our desires, relationships and sense of self.

Blank Canvas by Grace Murray (2026)

Grace Murray’s Blank Canvas is an incisive, character‑driven novel that makes for great discussion around identity, loneliness and the lies we tell to belong. It takes place on a liberal arts campus in upstate New York, where lead character Charlotte reinvents herself through a fabricated backstory.

This lie – that her father died over the summer – draws sympathy, friendship and even love from her classmates. But what would happen if they knew the truth? Through razor‑sharp prose and an emotionally rich narrative, Murray explores how we shape our own stories and the emotional risks that come with intimacy.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (2022)

Few novels inspire such layered conversation about friendship, creativity and individuality than Gabrielle Zevin’s bestselling novel. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is more than a story about video games: it’s about the very nature of human connection.

This profound story follows Sam and Sadie who connected over a mutual love of video games as children, and reconnect as adults with a business proposal. Deftly tying in themes of race, gender, ability and sexuality – fruitful book club topics – Zevin set out to write a book about friends making video games together, and wrote her masterpiece in the process.

Crime and mystery

A Bad, Bad Place by Frances Crawford (2026)

A Bad, Bad Place is a tense and emotionally complex mystery that’s ideal for book club readers who enjoy character-driven crime fiction. Set in Glasgow in 1979, it follows Janie, a 12-year-old girl haunted by what she saw – or didn’t see – after she and her dog find a body on the abandoned railway line.

As Janie and her nana begin investigating the case themselves, the novel peels back layers of secrets buried within their community. It's a gripping story of memory, fear and loyalty, sure to raise questions around unreliable narration, trauma and the often unseen impact of violence on young people and their families.

The Truth About Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent (2026)

This dark, twisty family drama will get your book club arguing (in a good way) about blame, loyalty and what we owe to the people who raised us. Ruby and her sister Erin appear to have an idyllic life in their close‑knit community – until Ruby, at 16, becomes involved in an incident that causes everything to implode.

The fallout stretches across decades and continents, as we see the impact on adult Ruby’s life in Dublin and Erin’s in Boston. Like Nugent’s Strange Sally Diamond, this is gripping, fearless storytelling – full of secrets, morally thorny decisions and gradual reveals that make you want to immediately compare notes.

Judge Stone by James Patterson and Viola Davies (2026)

Two literary giants come together in this courtroom drama that makes for instant book club chatter. In Union Springs, Alabama, Judge Mary Stone is the town’s most respected citizen until she’s handed the most controversial case in the South’s recent history: a doctor accused of performing an illegal abortion on a 13-year-old girl.

Criminally, it seems open‑and‑shut; ethically, it’s a minefield. Judge Stone gives you a brilliant moral dilemma to chew over from the very first chapter. It’s a page‑turning legal thriller, but also a story about justice, community and what it costs to stand your ground when everyone is watching.

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey (2024)

For Jennie Godfrey, it was her father's connection to Peter Sutcliffe – dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper – that seeded the idea for her debut novel which became a Sunday Times bestseller.

The List of Suspicious Things follows two friends who are trying to find the Yorkshire Ripper to make their hometown safe again. As they begin their investigation, they inevitably uncover secrets about their small town and the people within it, with devastating consequences. An emotional and twisty debut, this book club pick will spark conversation around family, community, and the loss of innocence.

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell (2023)

Nothing gets the conversation flowing at a book club quite like a good mystery novel, where the characters’ motives are as fun to dissect as the plot twists. This is particularly true of the psychological thriller, None of This is True.

The book begins with a simple premise: a woman wants to tell her life story on a new friend’s podcast. But as the plot progresses, it spirals into a sinister exploration of obsession, the lies we tell ourselves, and the lengths people go to in their quest for perfection. Featuring two flawed, unforgettable female protagonists, and a shocking ending, this is a book you’ll be itching to talk about as soon as you’ve turned the last page.

Love and romantic relationships

People in Love by Claire Daverley (2026)

This is a heartfelt, intimate exploration of heartbreak, what-ifs and the messy, beautiful ways love shows up in our lives – ideal for book clubs that enjoy emotional, character‑driven fiction. This novel follows Nora and Robin, who unexpectedly get engaged after a decade together. All is well, until the return of Nora’s former best friend Bren and the unresolved chemistry between them.

With compelling observations and deeply empathetic portrayals, People in Love captures the fractious, often contradictory nature of relationships, a perfect springboard for a reflective discussion on missed chances, quiet regrets and the unspoken moments that shape our lives.

Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor (2026)

A perfect book club read for summer, Minor Black Figures is a swoony, sun-soaked romance set in New York. Wyeth is a young Black painter trying to make his mark on Manhattan; Keating is a white former priest grappling with his faith. Their love story unfolds across hot city streets, gallery openings and quiet walks. But as they navigate their contrasting worlds, they must ask themselves: how much are they willing to risk for love?

Full of love and yearning, Minor Black Figures is a piercing tale of race, creativity and belonging that will inspire reflection and debate.

Wants and Needs by Roxy Dunn (2026)

If your book club enjoys smart, sharply observed novels about modern dating, Wants and Needs is a brilliant conversation starter. It follows Misty, newly single and recovering from knee surgery, as she moves back into her childhood bedroom and tries to rebuild her life. When she matches with Christopher on a dating app, the chemistry is immediate – so much so that she overlooks the fact he’s in an open relationship.

What begins as a six-week fling soon becomes something more emotionally complicated, forcing Misty to confront what she’s really looking for. With warmth, wit and honesty, this novel explores intimacy, desire and the difficulty of separating what we want from what we need.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai (2025)

This sweeping love story is ideal for book club discussions around relationships, cultural identity and generational bonds. At its heart is the story of two young people, Sonia and Sunny, drawn together by fate, family expectations and a chance encounter on an overnight train. As their paths entwine, the novel explores everything from displacement and modern alienation to history, class and inherited trauma.

With lyricism and depth, Desai weaves a cross-continental love story full of insight and longing. At nearly 700 pages, your book club might need a bit longer to get through this one but it’s more than worth the effort.

In Memoriam by Alice Winn (2023)

This runaway success spent weeks in the Sunday Times bestseller list, winning the Waterstones Debut Fiction and Novel of the Year awards. Perhaps most importantly, Penguin readers also named it one of the best debut novels of the year.

Inspired by her research into Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon, Alice Winn's novel follows two friends who are unable to express their love for each other and are torn apart when they enlist to fight in the trenches. There, against the horrific spectre of death and wartime, their romance blooms. This is a must-read for fans of Birdsong and Pat Barker's Regeneration series.

Prize-winning fiction

Flesh by David Szalay (2025)

A good shortcut to finding meaty reads for your book club is to browse the titles that have recently won literary prizes. We recommend starting with last year’s winner of the Booker Prize: Flesh.

A tense, intimate character study that explores themes of power, desire and social mobility, Flesh opens in a quiet Hungarian town, where 15-year-old István strikes up an unsettling relationship with a married neighbour that shapes the rest of his life. As István moves from the army to the elite world of London’s upper class, his quest for connection, wealth and control makes his life start to unravel. With its sharp prose and haunting moral complexity, this is a marvellous novel that lingers long after the last sentence.

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (2024)

Expect lively conversations about sexuality and equality if you pick Yael van der Wouden’s debut novel, which was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. Reading The Safekeep is a unique experience: the story unfolds while your brain works overtime to make all the connections, following Isabel and her brother’s girlfriend Eva over a sweltering summer in the family's Dutch country house.

Isabel’s strong desire for order is challenged by the graceless Eva but, as they clash, she begins to understand herself in a completely new light. With themes including war and its devastating after-effects, identity and acceptance, home and belonging, there's much to discuss about this 1960s-set novel.

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray (2023)

The Bee Sting is a tragicomic literary novel that is funny, thought-provoking and quietly devastating – a perfect trio of themes to inspire conversation. Sharp-witted and ambitious, the Booker Prize-longlisted book follows an Irish family navigating the financial (and emotional) fall-out of the 2008 economic crash, with each member in the midst of their own personal crisis.

Despite being 650 pages long, the plot is fast-moving, switching between each character’s perspectives and offering up an expertly executed family saga that is bound to get everyone talking (especially about the ending…).

The Things That We Lost by Jyoti Patel (2023)

The winner of the 2021 #Merky Books New Writers Prize is a powerful book club read,

telling the story of a mother and son from Harrow. Nik is a British Gujrati student who has moved from London to study at a very white university and is struggling with his mental health. Raised by his mother, Avani, he has always known not to ask about his absent dad, but when his grandfather dies, he decides to find out more about his family history.

The narrative is told from Nik and Avani’s points of view, making this a poignant and layered portrait of a family shaped by love, loss and everything unspoken.

Short reads

Until August by Gabriel García Márquez (2024)

Despite its slim spine, this complex novel sparks big questions about the messiness of love, desire and freedom. And after lingering in a Texan archive for 10 years after the death of Nobel Prize-winning Gabriel Garcia Márquez, it’s deserving of your next monthly pick.

Until August tells the story of Ana Magdalena Back who, every summer, travels to her late mother’s resting place to lay flowers but also to spend the night with a man who isn’t her husband. It’s surprising, sensual and so satisfying you’ll want to read it more than once.

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson (2020)

For book clubs drawn to lyrical love stories, Caleb Azumah Nelson's debut novel is a slip of a thing, but the heartache it contains within its pages is enormous.

This is a book about the near misses of love, love too intense for the life it stumbles across. Set against a richly drawn backdrop of contemporary South London, it sees two Black artists meet and fall for each other, only for the world around them to tear them apart. Music, books and institutional racism colour the experience of our hero in this tender story that unpacks race, masculinity and connection.

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch (2025)

At some 220 pages, A Family Matter is on the longer end of the "short books" category, but it’s nonetheless the kind of story your club can (and absolutely will) read in one sitting.

This debut novel follows Maggie as she and her elderly father come to terms with devastating news about his health. As she helps him to get his affairs in order, she uncovers unexpected revelations about her mother, Dawn, who abandoned her when she was just a child. This poignant yet hopeful story sheds light on a lesser-known chapter in British social history.

Classics

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1925)

A daring choice for any book club, Mrs Dalloway is often dismissed as trite or pretentious but its layers offer rich rewards. Cast away any presumptions, and Woolf’s searing portrayal of crumbling domesticity, private battles with mental illness, and the facade we show to the world still resonates today.

Set over the course of a single day in London, it follows socialite Mrs Dalloway as she prepares to put on a dinner party that evening. This character-driven story particularly stands out because of Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness writing style, which radically changed literature and, like only the best books, holds new meaning for every age.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (1962)

Ideal for book clubs craving something Gothic, unnerving and unforgettable, this cult classic is the perfect place to start. Long loved by other writers, Shirley Jackson has enjoyed something of a (posthumous) revival among modern readers over the past decade. Her sparse prose is brilliantly engaging, her images and ideas are chilling and her characters are unforgettable.

If you’re new to Shirley Jackson, where better to start than with her unsettling story of two sisters, who live alone after their family died under mysterious circumstances? We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a modern classic for good reason.

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin (1956)

A timeless classic that will spark deep and nuanced discussion, Giovanni’s Room is a powerful choice for any book club keen to explore identity, love and moral conflict. Baldwin’s slim novel packs an emotional punch as it follows David, a young American torn between the life he’s expected to live and the love he finds with Giovanni, an Italian bartender, in 1950s Paris.

As their affair unfolds in the shadows, Baldwin masterfully explores queerness, masculinity, shame and self-denial with unflinching honesty. Beautifully written and heartbreakingly intimate, Giovanni’s Room is a story of desire and loss that feels just as urgent as when it was first published.

Non-fiction and memoir

Two Women Living Together by Kim Hana and Hwang Sunwoo (2026)

Whether yours is a women’s-only book club or not, this joint memoir is a compelling read that can only be described as pure comfort on a page. Rather than living alone, Hwang Sunwoo and Kim Hana, two friends in their late forties, move into an apartment with their four cats and redefine what it means to be a family.

Living beyond the confines of societal norms, this calming and thought-provoking story will no doubt spark conversations on friendship and cultural expectations – and may even inspire some readers to follow suit.

Thirst by John Robins (2026)

For book clubs interested in memoirs that mix humour with honesty, Thirst offers a powerful, personal lens on alcohol and addiction. Stand-up comedian and Taskmaster champion John Robins recounts his life through the drinks that shaped him, from childhood encounters with booze to the lonely, tumultuous years leading to sobriety.

Told with sharp wit and emotional clarity, this is a memoir that unpacks our cultural relationship with alcohol while reflecting on friendship, self-deception, creativity and recovery. With moments both hilarious and heartbreaking, Thirst is a conversation-starting read for anyone who’s questioned the role of alcohol in their life – or simply loves a candid, compelling life story.

The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet (2025)

This is a compelling choice for book clubs interested in history, human resilience and the stories behind the headlines. The Finest Hotel in Kabul chronicles more than five decades of Afghan history through the lens of the iconic Inter‑Continental Hotel – from its glamorous beginnings as a symbol of modernity in 1969 to the decades of war, upheaval, and political change that followed.

Drawing on decades of experience as the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet weaves together the lives of the hotel staff, creating a vivid, deeply human portrait of Afghanistan and its people.

How do I choose a good book club book?

The best book club picks invite conversation – whether through layered characters, moral dilemmas, big themes or a brilliant twist. Think about what your group enjoys: are you in the mood for a contemporary page-turner, a classic with depth, or something short and thought-provoking? Look for books that raise questions, explore different perspectives, and leave a little room for disagreement. A great book club book doesn’t just entertain – it gives you something to talk about. Discover more tips in our guide to setting up an online book club and our ultimate list of book club questions.

Popular reads for your book club in 2026

Books with complex characters

How to set up an online book club

The ultimate list of book club questions

Snacks and literary drinks for your book club

Crime and mystery

‘The day that Peter Sutcliffe was caught is etched on my memory’: How I wrote The List of Suspicious Things

Extract: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

Love and romantic relationships

Best romance books for ultimate escapism

New romance books to read in 2025

Funny books guaranteed to make you laugh out loud

Prize-winning fiction

Paul Murray: ‘There’s this terrible sadness to living in the 21st Century’

Short reads

The best short stories ever written

Addictive novels you can read in a weekend

Classics

100 must-read classics, as chosen by our readers

Where to start reading Shirley Jackson

Non-fiction and memoir

How do I choose a good book club book?

The ultimate list of book club questions

The best books out this month

Snacks and literary drinks for your book club

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