A great book club pick has to do more than keep the pages turning. It needs to generate conversations, too. No matter the genre, the strongest selections offer up new perspectives, complex characters, and topics for reflection. And versatility among those literary picks is also a necessity. “When you’re reading with a group of friends, keeping variety in the rotation will make sure individuals don’t want to opt out because they didn’t like the book (again),” shares book content creator Jaime Dufresne of @SmoothOpereader.
“Consider books from different time periods, with colorful characters—it’s always interesting to hear who everyone’s favorite was, or who someone loved to hate—or ones based outside of your own country,” she suggests. “These tend to spark a lot of good conversation.”
This year’s standout releases are an ideal place to start. From literary fiction and family dramas to suspenseful thrillers and swoony romances, 2026’s most talked-about books are giving book clubs plenty to discuss. If your group’s reading list is feeling stale, these are the titles worth adding to the stack.
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When 77-year-old Pepper Mills is moved into a retirement community by her adult children, she never thought she’d find romance. But she does—and then one positive pregnancy test later, she’s suddenly international news. As her autonomy is repeatedly stripped away, Pepper is stuck in a seemingly impossible situation that unfolds in this provocative yet warm and, at times, humorous story.
The emotional depths shared among mothers and daughters, sisters, and found family are all explored with stunning clarity in Kin, by Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage. Expect rich character development in both Vernice and Annie—two motherless best friends being raised in the Jim Crow South—and absorbing prose in this sweeping saga.
Author of book club favorites like The Midnight Library and The Life Impossible, Matt Haig’s The Midnight Train once again weaves together elements of magical realism and time travel. On the night of bookstore owner Wilbur’s death, he’s welcomed aboard the Midnight Train, making frequent stops through the most important moments of his life and the love he once had and lost. It’s a story of the paths we don’t take in life and the role we play in driving our own destinies.
This tender family saga opens with the burning of April and Leo’s family home. And not long before the house went up in flames, Leo asked for a divorce. The couple and their young children are now forced to move in with April’s parents, where both couples’ relationship dynamics are laid bare. Detailed in three different perspectives, the familial and romantic intricacies are ripe for discussion (and tons of tears).
This bit of historical fiction begins on the steps of the Sacré-Coeur in Paris, 1978, where two women forge a connection that will shape the rest of their lives. Equal parts passionate and melancholic, the story follows Erica and Laure across decades as life, marriage, politics, and a million little choices repeatedly pull them together and apart. There’s plenty of longing, pining, and heartbreak among the beautifully woven passages, and fans of Sally Rooney’s Normal People will likely adore this one.
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A heartwarming tale of friendship is exactly what the book club needs on the docket. This one is the story of best friends, 80-somethings Joy—the more cautious of the two—and Hazel, the more outgoing one. When the friends learn that Hazel only has months left to live, they vow to make the most of the time, as Joy is pulled out of her comfort zone and the pair embark on plenty of hijinks and adventures. It’s ultimately a celebration of both life and platonic love.
Postpartum and grieving, Cleo Dang has isolated herself from friends and family and quit her job. Taking a gig at a funeral home, she’s surrounded by the bereaved as she confronts her own grief to see if there is life beyond it. It’s a heavy, devastating topic—the author draws on her own experience with infant loss—but it’s handled with grace and a dark sense of humor, offering rays of light after tragedy. It’ll rip your heart out, but then make you laugh through the tears.
A Good Morning America book club pick, this fun mystery comes complete with plot twists, some clever dialogue, and plenty of 1960s flair. Set in the summer of 1966, it stars a trio of housewives, all bonded by and rebuilding after one chilling commonality: Their husbands are all serial killers. After learning of their crimes and post-trial, they’re all trying to move on when news of a killer on the loose begins to make headlines. The women form an alliance to protect themselves and others while challenging societal norms.
Like the best summer reads, this novel combines frothy romance and will-they-won’t-they tension in equal measure. One Perfect Storm follows best friends Frankie and George. When Frankie is left at the altar by her fiancé, George suggests that she still go on her honeymoon—but with him. There, amongst the dramatic Tofino coastline, long-buried feelings (of course) become unearthed. It’s a sweet, endearing story that your club will likely find totally bingeable.
A messy, yearning, character-driven love story, this heart-wrencher follows AJ, an aspiring comedy writer, and Noah, who meet while AJ is working at a local video rental store. Bonding over a common love of sci-fi, they share plenty of chemistry and banter until Noah suddenly leaves AJ without a word. Years later, and each with successes in the entertainment industry, the two are thrown together once again when they find themselves working on the same sci-fi television show. It’s an emotional ride and a unique blend of storytelling styles.
Book clubs everywhere have been waiting with bated breath for this upcoming follow-up to Moriarty’s Big Little Lies. Ten years have passed since the events of the first novel, and the children of Madeline, Celeste, Jane, Renata, and Bonnie (portrayed in the HBO adaptation by Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, and Zoë Kravitz) are now in high school, introducing all the complications and demands that raising adolescents can bring. Of course, there’s mystery, secrets to unravel, and an underlying sinister air to the book’s breezy Big Sur setting.
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