6 must-read books and audiobooks in 2026 to enjoy this weekend | Books | Entertainment

If you’re struggling to curate a reading list that’s perfect for the rest of the year, look no further, as Bookshop.org booksellers from independent bookshops shared their favourite physical books and audiobooks.

Whether it’s a book you’ve seen on BookTok and Bookstagram, or been recommended on Goodreads, there are so many to choose from when you’re out shopping.

But this can make it a difficult decision, and you may not know which books to pick.

Which is exactly why these recommendations have been rounded up to help you pick your next physical book or audiobook, because there’s nobody better to take a book recommendation from than someone who truly knows their stuff.

So here are the recommendations…

Sophie Green, Real Magic Books (Wendover)

Marking the launch of Bookshop.org’s audiobooks offering earlier in July, Real Magic Books has installed a multi-channel audiobook listening station in their shop, with a mural by artist and graphic designer Craig Oldham.

Print and audiobook recommendation: Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

Sophie said: “I cannot tell you how good this book is. It’s classic Strout, but even better because it’s set during Donald Trump’s re-election and shows how it plays out through the eyes of a Maine high school teacher.

“I think it’s her best book yet, but maybe I just think that every time. It’s the perfect unusual sunlounger choice – readable, moving and really powerful.”

Betsy Tobin, INK@84 Bookshop (London)

Print recommendation: Heart the Lover by Lily King

Betsy said: “Heart The Lover by Lily King is a deftly written and emotionally devastating coming-of-age love triangle. Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize, King’s novel both prefigures and follows up her earlier bestseller Writers and Lovers and chronicles how first love unfolds and echoes across a lifetime.

“Full of brilliant characterisations, quiet wit and piercing truths, it will appeal to fans of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.”

Audio recommendation: London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe

“Patrick Radden Keefe’s London Falling is this summer’s must-read. Keefe’s formidable investigative powers are on full display here as he doggedly unravels the story behind a London teenager’s death.

“A true crime story that reads like a thriller, Keefe is a master of narrative non-fiction, conjuring a London that few of us will recognise. I’m not normally a fan of authors reading their own audiobooks, but in London Falling, we follow the trail alongside Keefe, and it’s a thrilling journey you won’t regret.”

Rosamund de la Hey, The Mainstreet Trading Company (Scottish Borders)

Print recommendation: Drayton & Mackenzie by Alexander Starritt

“Probably the best novel I’ve ever read about male friendship – both moving and very funny, it’s the perfect summer read. I miss all the characters and can only wish I’d read it more slowly.”

Audio recommendation: The Pretender by Jo Harkin

“A raucous, vividly imagined novel reimagining the possible life of John Collan, pretender to the English throne. It’s brilliantly read by John Hollingworth, complete with pitch/period-perfect swearing. Very, very funny.”

Vicky Tobin, The Mainstreet Trading Company (Scottish Borders)

Print and audiobook recommendation: Bring the House Down by Charlotte Runcie

“Heading up to Edinburgh Fringe this summer? Make sure to pack this one. Runcie covers a multitude: motherhood, grief, revenge, cancel-culture and toxic masculinity, all wrapped up in an impossibly funny narrative. Try not to read it too quickly!”

You can browse your local independent bookshop on bookshop.org.

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