Well-Read

It’s a new year and we’re so excited about the roster of books coming out in 2026! Find out what we can’t wait to dive into this winter and spring.

 

Books and other media mentioned in this episode:

Jane Austen books
Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love by Samin Nosrat
Amity by Nathan Harris
Buckeye by Patrick Ryan
The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy
The Heartbreak Hotel by Ellen O’Clover
Heart the Lover by Lily King
An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister
Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz
I, Medusa by Ayana Gray

Ann’s picks:

 This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman (releases February 10)
– Isola by Allegra Goodman
– Sam by Allegra Goodman

 The Astral Library by Kate Quinn (releases February 17)
– The Empress of Rome series by Kate Quinn

 Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett (releases February 17)
– Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett

 My Grandfather, the Master Detective by Masateru Konishi (releases March 17)

 The Shock of the Light by Lori Inglis Hall (releases March 17)

 The Midnight Show by Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne (releases April 7)
– Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
– The Antiquity Affair by Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne

 The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke (releases April 7)
– V.E. Schwab books
– Cat Clarke books
– Anthony Horowitz books

  Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker (releases April 21)
– Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker

Halle’s picks:

 This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page (releases February 3)

 Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson (releases February 10)
– The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson

 So Old, So Young by Grant Ginder (releases February 10)
– People We Hate at the Wedding by Grant Ginder
– People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

 Kin by Tayari Jones (releases March 17)
– An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
– The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

 A Far-Flung Life by M.L. Stedman (releases March 3)
– The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

 Whidbey by T. Kira Madden (releases March 10)
– Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

 Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (releases April 7)
– Diabolical Lies (podcast)
– Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer

  Unbound by Peyton Corinne (releases April 7)
– Unsteady by Peyton Corinne
– Unloved by Peyton Corinne

What We’re Reading This Week:

Ann: All the Noise at Once by DeAndra Davis
– Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature
– The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Halle: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower
– Gilmore Girls (TV)
– Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
– Bridgerton (TV)
– Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

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We’re making reading resolutions for 2026 and giving out our 2025 book superlatives!

Books and other media mentioned in this episode:

Lauren Bacall filmography
Jane Austen books
Emma by Jane Austen
Libba Bray books
Book of the Month Club
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
Emily Henry books
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Women’s Prize for Fiction
Next Chapter Society Book Club
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Romanceopoly 2026
Under the Covers (blog)
@booksandlala on Instagram
Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

Most Timely
Ann: Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin
Halle: The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami

Most Disappointing
Ann: Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez; Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See; Knife by Salman Rushdie
Halle: The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese; Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry; Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
– Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Favorite Reread
Ann: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen; Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
– Persuasion by Jane Austen
– Kristin Atherton filmography
Halle: People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry; Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Biggest Surprise
Ann: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
– Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
– Terry Pratchett books
– Neil Gaiman books
Halle: The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith; Grace & Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman

Least Favorite
Ann: The 23rd Hero by Rebecca Anne Nguyen; Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate
Halle: The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb

Book That Lived Up to the Hype:
Ann: The Favorites by Layne Fargo; Long Bright River by Liz Moore; A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Halle: Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino; The Will of the Many by James Islington

Best Distraction
Ann: The Goldens by Lauren Wilson
Halle: If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia; Violet Thistlewaite is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz

The Book That Ended a Mini Reading Slump
Ann: Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall
– Broadchurch (TV)
Halle: Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry

Most Unputdownable
Ann: Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter; A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall
Halle: Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino; Like a House on Fire by Lauren McBrayer; Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
– Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros

Better Late Than Never
Ann: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara; The Housemaid by Freida McFadden; A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Halle: The Beartown trilogy by Fredrik Backman; Kindred by Octavia Butler

Book That Has Stayed With Me
Ann: The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali; The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
Halle: The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett; Audition by Katie Kitamura

Book That We Didn’t Think We’d Like, But Then We Did!
Ann: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty; The Lack of Light by Nino Haratischwili
Halle: Wreck by Catherine Newman

Author(s) we discovered in 2024 that we’re most excited to read more from in 2025
Ann: Kylie Lee Baker; Michiko Aoyama
– Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker
– What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
– Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker
– Hot Chocolate on Thursdays by Michiko Aoyama
Halle: Elizabeth O’Roark; Rachel Gillig; Ashley Manley
– The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
– One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
– Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
– The Holiday Club by Ashley Manley

Hidden Gem:
Ann: The Bad Seed by William March
– The Bad Seed (film)
Halle: The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

Best Audiobook Experience of the Year:
Ann: Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto; Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild
Halle: The Favorites by Layne Fargo; The River Has Roots by Amal el-Mohtar

Our Favorite Non-Book Media Property of the Year
Ann: Becoming Led Zeppelin; Friendship; Art for Everybody; Toshiro Mifune everything
– Tim Robinson filmography
– Paul Rudd filmography
– Akira Kurosawa filmography
– Toshiro Mifune filmography
Halle: The Pitt; Man on the Inside; puppies!

The Book We Recommended the Most This Year
Ann: The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi
Halle: Heart the Lover by Lily King

What We’re Reading This Week:

Ann: Prize for the Fire by Rilla Askew

Halle: Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams
– When in Rome series by Sarah Adams

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The year is almost over, and it’s time to reveal our favorite books of 2025! Happy Holidays from your friends at Well-Read!

 

Books and other media mentioned in this episode:

Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Jane Austen books
Agatha Christie books
The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
What You’re Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai
Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone
Ready or Not by Cara Bastone
Grace & Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman
If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
Rose in Chains by Julie Soto
Alchemised by SenLinYu

Ann’s picks:

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
– Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling

Long Bright River by Liz Moore
– Long Bright River (TV)

The Bad Seed by William March

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
– My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto
– Finlay Donovan series by Elle Cosimano

Umma: A Korean Mom’s Kitchen Wisdom and 100 Family Recipes by Sarah Ahn and Nam Soon Ahn
– @ahnestkitchen on Instagram
– America’s Test Kitchen
– Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home by Eric Kim

The Crane Wife: A Memoir in Essays by CJ Hauser
– “The Crane Wife” by CJ Hauser (essay)

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
– “The Goose Girl”

Halle’s picks:

Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention – And How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari

The Will of the Many by James Islington
– Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
– Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
– Divergent series by Veronica Roth

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
– Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
– The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

The Names by Florence Knapp

Heart the Lover by Lily King
– The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
– Writers & Lovers by Lily King

What We’re Reading This Week:

Ann: The Lack of Light by Nino Haratischwili
– Persuasion by Jane Austen
– The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischwili
– The International Booker Prize

Halle: The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage

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As temperatures drop, we like nothing more than getting cozy with a book. Find out our suggestions for cozy reads this week!

 

Books and other media mentioned in this episode:

Ann’s picks:

Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz
– Susan Ryland series by Anthony Horowitz
– Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
– The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai
– Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

Cackle by Rachel Harrison

Halle’s picks:

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
– The Very Secret Society for Irregular Witches by Sanga Mandanna

With Love from London by Sarah Jio

Grace & Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman
– While You Were Sleeping (film)

What We’re Reading This Week:

Ann: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Halle: Set the Record Straight by Hannah Bonam-Young

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We’ve been away for a bit, thanks to our travels this fall, but that just means we have a lot of books to talk about!

Books and other media mentioned in this episode:

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone

Ann’s picks:

Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
– Matt Bomer filmography
– The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
– Outlander (TV)

Halle’s picks:

Wreck by Catherine Newman
– We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
– Sandwich by Catherine Newman

Dire Bound by Sable Sorenson
– Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

It’s Different This Time by Joss Richard

What We’re Reading This Week:

Ann: Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
– Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
– Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley

Halle: Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris

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