Big Books of 2026

Listopia > Book Lists Voted on by Amy (26 Lists)



A Walk in the Woods by Bill BrysonA Year in Provence by Peter MayleNotes from a Small Island by Bill BrysonInto Thin Air by Jon KrakauerNeither Here nor There by Bill Bryson
Best Traveling Vicariously
2,121 books — 1,848 voters
Our Babies, Ourselves by Meredith Small
The Human Animal
137 books — 95 voters

A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century by Heather E. HeyingCynical Theories by Helen Pluckrose
Critical Thinking in the Age of Woke
155 books — 59 voters
Neither Here Nor There by Bill BrysonThe Lost Continent by Bill Bryson
Adventure Road Trips
155 books — 34 voters

Living Out Islam by Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle
Queer Islam
85 books — 56 voters
Tampa by Alissa NuttingLiving Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
The Most Disturbing Books Ever Written
3,191 books — 11,291 voters

The Hot Zone by Richard PrestonThe Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne FadimanStiff by Mary RoachSpook by Mary RoachThe Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston
Wonderful Books of Science and Medicine
179 books — 83 voters
The Hot Zone by Richard PrestonThe Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne FadimanStiff by Mary RoachA Walk in the Woods by Bill BrysonBonk by Mary Roach
Interesting and Readable Nonfiction
4,043 books — 2,039 voters

The Hot Zone by Richard PrestonThe Demon in the Freezer by Richard PrestonFever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Best Books on Flu and Other Devastating Outbreaks
169 books — 123 voters
The Hot Zone by Richard PrestonFever 1793 by Laurie Halse AndersonThe Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston
Books for a Pandemic
698 books — 577 voters

The Archaeology of Mothering by Laurie A. WilkieThe Midwife's Apprentice by Karen CushmanThe Red Tent by Anita DiamantA Midwife's Tale by Laurel Thatcher UlrichWitches, Midwives and Nurses by Barbara Ehrenreich
Midwifery books
116 books — 71 voters
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall SmithA Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled HosseiniThe Poisonwood Bible by Barbara KingsolverNotes from a Small Island by Bill BrysonIn a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
Foreign Lands
2,348 books — 2,192 voters

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall SmithThe Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Africa (fiction and nonfiction)
1,754 books — 1,633 voters
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Cozy Mystery Series - First Book of a Series
1,154 books — 2,468 voters

Guests of the Sheik by Elizabeth Warnock FerneaOrientalism by Edward W. Said
Best Middle East Nonfiction
534 books — 373 voters
Guests of the Sheik by Elizabeth Warnock FerneaOrientalism by Edward W. SaidThe Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
Good Ethnography
140 books — 101 voters

Guests of the Sheik by Elizabeth Warnock FerneaA Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled HosseiniThe No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Non-American books that every American should read
695 books — 495 voters
Guests of the Sheik by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea
Moderately Underrated Books (1,000 to 10,000 ratings)
1,923 books — 271 voters

Guests of the Sheik by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea
Best Books About Islam & Muslims
722 books — 725 voters
Guests of the Sheik by Elizabeth Warnock FerneaLife in a Medieval City by Frances GiesThe Year 1000 by Robert Lacey1066 by David Howarth1215 by Danny Danziger
Social History Books - All About People & Society
772 books — 215 voters

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
Immigrant Experience Literature
1,008 books — 1,447 voters
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
Best Popular Anthropology Books
359 books — 270 voters

A Walk in the Woods by Bill BrysonIn a Sunburned Country by Bill BrysonNotes from a Small Island by Bill BrysonNeither Here nor There by Bill BrysonThe Lost Continent by Bill Bryson
Wanderlust
1,058 books — 1,150 voters
Shabanu by Suzanne Fisher Staples
Best Multicultural Books for Children
467 books — 343 voters

The Red Tent by Anita DiamantGirl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy ChevalierThe Crucible by Arthur Miller
Best Historical Fiction
7,397 books — 25,582 voters
Lost Girls by Robert KolkerWhile They Slept by Kathryn HarrisonDevil's Knot by Mara Leveritt
Books for Serial Podcast Lovers
58 books — 38 voters