Don't Let These Books Pass You By

I have read nearly 100 books so far in 2026, and here are ten that I loved that have been released this year and haven't had a huge amount of hype, but deserve it!

These four fiction novels are ones I absolutely loved reading. They are all completely different from each other and they're also ones I didn't see much hype about but are worthy of staying on the reading radar!

'Lake Effect' is a novel about a marriage and a fling with a neighbour that has ramifications across the whole family. It's a beautifully written and very enjoyable story about love and grief, motherhood and marriage. I love reading about ordinary people making mistakes and also just making the best of things and this ticked all the boxes.

If, like me, you love a quirky read or so-called 'weird girl literature' then you have to pick up 'Just Watch Me' by Lior Torenberg. It's a darkly funny story about a woman who decides to livestream her life 24/7 in order to raise money for her comatose sister. It's unhinged and messy and perfectly described as Big Swiss meets Fleabag. 

In the more literary fiction space, 'Under Water' by Tara Menon is a beautifully short and powerful story about grief, told against the backdrop of the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami. It's lyrically stunning but also delicate and subtle in way that is so deserving of getting read by more people. 

Lastly, one of my favourite reads from earlier in the year and one that I wish more people would pick up - 'Crux' by Gabriel Tallent is for anyone who loved 'Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow'. It's an incredibly engaging story of the friendship of two rock-climbers who are also coming of age and figuring out the next steps in their life. In their final year of highschool, Dan and Tamma are fuelled by their dreams of being world famous and yet they are also grappling with their very different realities. It's a stressful read but in the best way.

I loved all three of these books and would love for more people to pick them all up. 'Night, Ma' is an incredibly powerful memoir by Elizabeth Knox about a series of three tragedies that impacted on her family and the fallout of these. The way these three different events are drawn together like three pieces of thread to create a story about this time in her life is so expertly done I feel like it should be on any memoir writer's study list. Not only is it a well-crafted piece of writing, it's also just extremely interesting to get such an intimate view into other families and their trauma, and for that reason was hard to put down.

'The Chief and the Empire' by Auckland local Eugene Bingham is historical true crime and an incredible story about Te Pahi, a Māori leader who showed incredible courage and compassion and was rewarded by a shocking accusation that has left impacts still felt by his descendents today. It's an excellent read about history and lineage, and also just an incredible insight into an important time of our past as a nation.

Anyone who has talked to me recently has heard about why they need to read 'The Valley' by Asher Emanuel. Quite possibly my favourite book of the year this is an incredible feat of narrative journalism about the criminal justice system here in Aotearoa and the people who fall down the chasms within it. 

With the Booker Prize Longlist coming up in just over a week, there is a lot of chatter about which books we may be seeing. Here are three that I loved and that would be great to see pop up on the Longlist (amongst the others that are strongly predicted e.g. 'Land' by Maggie O'Farrell).

For a page-turning debut that definitely deserves as much attention as possible, 'Good People' by Patmeena Sabit is a triumph and it would be wonderful to see it longlisted and getting more readers. The novel is centered on the Sharaf family in Virgina, refugees from war-torn Afghanistan and reeling from a tragedy that casts them into public eye. It's an incredible novel about community and family and the identity of those forced to live in complicated times. 

'Paradiso 17' by Hannah Lillith Assadi was a beautiful and heartbreaking novel about home for someone who has lost theirs. It reminded me of Elif Shafak who I adore, and took me on a journey across a lifetime starting in 1948 Palestine and ending up on the other side of the globe. I read this months ago and still often think about Sufien. I could see this being longlisted for sure, and I hope it is!

I don't think there will be much surprise if 'John of John' ends up on the Booker Prize longlist as Douglas Stuart won with his debut novel 'Shuggie Bain', but I had to include his newest book because for me it's been one that has grown on me greatly since I read it. Unlike 'Shuggie Bain' which grabbed me by the heart and left me emotionally wrecked and traumatized, 'John of John' is a quieter, subtler novel and at first I thought it wasn't my favourite yet with time I think I see now how it may well be Stuart's best yet.