2026 Reads
Books I plan to read this year
As I get older, I find I’m less interested in non-fiction, so everything in this list is fiction. Also, maybe it’s because I’ll be well into my forties next year, but most of the books are about war and the struggle for meaning.
Here’s the full list with some AI-generated commentary.
1. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman, sets out alone into the Gulf Stream and finally hooks a giant marlin after 84 days without a catch. His days-long struggle with the fish pushes him to his limits and explores what it means to persevere and be heroic, even in the face of defeat.
2. City of Thieves by David Benioff
During the siege of Leningrad in World War II, a shy deserter and a bold soldier are ordered to find a dozen eggs for a colonel’s daughter’s wedding cake or be executed. Their dangerous search through the starving city becomes a story of friendship, survival, and growing up in wartime.
3. True Grit by Charles Portis
Mattie Ross, a determined fourteen-year-old, hires U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn to find her father’s killer in Indian Territory. Told in Mattie’s unique voice, this Western follows their quest for justice and the unexpected friendship that forms between them as they travel through the wild frontier.
4. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Buck, a pet dog from California, is stolen and sold as a sled dog during the Klondike Gold Rush. Forced to survive in the harsh Yukon, he learns to rely on his instincts and adapt to the wild. The story is about change, survival, and reconnecting with one’s roots.
5. Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
This historical novel tells the story of the Battle of Thermopylae through the eyes of Xeones, a servant to the Spartans. It follows the famous stand of the 300 Spartans against the Persian army and explores Spartan life, brotherhood, honor, sacrifice, and the meaning of facing death bravely.
6. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Jim Hawkins, a young boy, finds a treasure map and joins a risky voyage to search for pirate gold. On the ship Hispaniola, he faces danger, mutiny, and the clever Long John Silver. This classic adventure is about pirates, hidden treasure, and Jim’s path to growing up.
7. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Paul Bäumer and his classmates join the war with excitement, but soon face the harsh reality of life in the trenches. Remarque shows how war destroys both body and mind, takes away innocence, and creates a deep gap between soldiers and those at home.
8. The Stranger by Albert Camus
Meursault, a French Algerian who seems emotionally distant, gets involved in a random murder. During his trial, he is judged more for not showing emotion at his mother’s funeral than for the crime itself. The novel explores life’s absurdity, feelings of loneliness, and society’s expectations about emotions.
9. Deliverance by James Dickey
Four men from Atlanta go on a weekend canoe trip down a wild Georgia river, hoping for adventure and a break from daily life. When they encounter dangerous locals, their trip becomes a struggle to survive, forcing them to question their own limits and what keeps them civilized.
10. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Billy Pilgrim starts to experience his life out of order, jumping between surviving the Dresden bombing in World War II and being kidnapped by aliens. Using dark humor and a broken timeline, Vonnegut tells a strong anti-war story about trauma, fate, and the struggle to understand violence.
11. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
Randle McMurphy, a rebellious prisoner, pretends to be insane so he can serve his sentence in a mental hospital instead of jail. He soon challenges the strict Nurse Ratched and encourages other patients to stand up for themselves. The novel explores control, sanity, freedom, and the cost of rebellion.
12. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Siddhartha, a young Brahmin, leaves his comfortable life to seek spiritual understanding. He tries strict self-denial, pleasure, business, and being a father before finally finding peace by a river. The novel is about searching for meaning and discovering oneself.
13. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
A father and his son travel across a ruined America, pushing a cart of supplies as they try to reach the coast. They face hunger, cold, and dangerous people, and their relationship is tested by the harsh world around them. The story is about love, survival, and hope in dark times.
14. Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
Jim, a young British sailor, leaves a ship in trouble, and this act of cowardice follows him for life. He travels far, hoping to redeem himself, and finally gets a chance to show his bravery in a distant Malay village. The novel looks at honor, guilt, and whether someone can move beyond past mistakes.
15. Papillon by Henri Charrière
Henri “Papillon” Charrière is falsely accused of murder and sent to the harsh prison on Devil’s Island. In his memoir, he describes his many bold escape attempts, each riskier than the one before. The story shows the human spirit’s strength to survive and seek freedom.
16. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
Peekay, an English boy in 1930s South Africa, faces harsh bullying and the cruelty of apartheid. He learns to use boxing and education to fight back against hardship. With help from different mentors, he grows strong enough to stand up to injustice. The novel is a coming-of-age story about resilience and hope.
17. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Set in California’s Salinas Valley, Steinbeck retells the story of Cain and Abel through the lives of the Trask and Hamilton families. The novel explores good and evil, free will, father-son bonds, and the legacies people leave behind. It’s a broad American story about the fight between sin and redemption.
18. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Captain Ahab leads the whaling ship Pequod on a mission to get revenge on Moby Dick, the white whale that took his leg. Ishmael, a young sailor, tells the story, which mixes sea adventure with deep thoughts about fate, obsession, nature, and ambition. It’s a classic of American literature.
19. Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
A mail pilot shares his experiences flying risky routes over the Sahara and Andes in the early days of flight. Saint-Exupéry writes about courage, duty, human bonds, and the spiritual side of flying. The book is both a memoir and a reflection on what it means to live fully.
20. Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
Arkady comes home to his father’s estate with his friend Bazarov, who rejects old traditions and believes only in science. The story centers on the conflict between generations and ideas, looking at the struggle between old and new, feelings and logic, and the ties between fathers and sons.
21. The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosiński
A young boy is separated from his parents during World War II and travels alone through remote Eastern European villages. He faces cruelty and superstition everywhere he goes. Kosiński’s novel shows the darkest sides of people as the boy tries to survive and hold on to his humanity.
22. Ironweed by William Kennedy
Francis Phelan, a homeless man struggling with alcoholism, wanders through Albany during the Great Depression. He is haunted by memories of his violent past, like killing a strikebreaker and losing his infant son. Kennedy’s novel explores guilt, redemption, and maintaining dignity amid hardship.
23. Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
A quiet, thoughtful man goes to Crete to work in a mine and meets Alexis Zorba, a lively worker who loves music, dance, and living with passion. Their friendship helps the narrator let go of overthinking and learn to enjoy life more fully.
24. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Captain John Yossarian, a U.S. Air Force bombardier in WWII, desperately tries to survive his combat missions while trapped by Catch-22: a military regulation that uses circular logic to keep him flying. Heller’s darkly comic satire exposes the absurdity of war, bureaucracy, and the madness of institutions that claim to be rational.
25. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Stevens, an English butler, looks back on his years of service at Darlington Hall and his dedication to doing his job perfectly. On a road trip to visit a former colleague, he faces what he gave up: love, moral courage, and real emotion, all for dignity and duty. The novel quietly explores repression and regret.
26. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Three brothers—the passionate Dmitri, the intellectual Ivan, and the spiritual Alyosha—and their half-brother Smerdyakov are connected by their complicated relationship with their cruel father. When the father is murdered, the novel explores guilt, faith, doubt, free will, and redemption through deep philosophical debates and psychological insight. It is a monumental look at morality, family, and what it means to live rightly.