Ready or not, the season of Best Books of the Year lists has arrived. As usual, Barnes & Noble is leading the pack. It feels a little early to say farewell to 2026, especially when so many buzzy books are out in October, but here we are.
Barnes & Noble has named their picks for the best books of 2026 in 17 categories: Fiction, Romance, Mystery & Thriller Books, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Horror, Young Adult, Young Reader (Middle Grade) Books, Picture Books, History Books, Biographies & Travelogues, Business Books, Science and Nature Books, Personal Growth Books, Cookbooks, Audiobooks, eBook Series, and libros en español.
Like all “best of” lists, Barnes & Noble has their own angle. Namely, theirs is sales: cookbooks, picture books, business books, and personal growth books are less likely to show up on literary publications’ roundups, but they are popular books to gift.
Like last year, the “eBook Series” category feels like a strange choice—while audiobooks make sense to get a list of their own because of the narrator, there isn’t much difference between an ebook’s content and its print equivalent. It likely just exists to remind readers that Barnes & Noble sells ebooks.
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Here is a selection of the Barnes & Noble picks for the best books of 2026:
The Best Fiction of 2026: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke, John of John by Douglas Stuart, Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead, The Disappearers by Marlon James, Hollywood, Ending by John Green, and The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw
The Best Mystery & Thriller Books of 2026: Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth, The Keeper by Tana French, and London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe (which is actually true crime)
The Best Romance Books of 2026: Score by Kennedy Ryan, The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez, The Keeper by Ana Huang, and Red, White & Royal Blue: The Private Correspondence by Casey McQuiston
The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of 2026: A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas, This Shattered Tempest by Thea Guanzon, and A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman
The Best Horror Books of 2026: Mazywood by Tananarive Due, Off the Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones, Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun, and Something Followed Us Home: Tales of Latiné Horror by Cynthia Pelayo
The Best Young Adult Books of 2026: Escape Me by Tahereh Mafi, Heartstopper, Volume 6 by Alice Oseman, and Scorpion Deep by CG Drews
The Best Picture Books of 2026: Gruffalo Granny by Julia Donaldson and Broken by X. Fang
The Best History Books of 2026: The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State by Jill Lepore and Biological War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
The Best Biographies & Travelogues of 2026: Take My Word for It: A Memoir by LeVar Burton, Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden, and Never Say Die: A Memoir by Ke Huy Quan
Check out the full list at the Barnes & Noble blog.
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