The Best American Novels, According to Barnes & Noble

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The Best American Novels, According to Barnes & Noble

With the 250th anniversary of the United States coming up, there have been quite a few ‘Merica-focused book lists. Barnes & Noble is the latest to put its hat in the ring, with a list of American novels curated by American authors. The authors asked to share their Great American Novel range from established, bestsellers (like Ann Patchett, Hernan Diaz, Tananarive Due, Ayad Akhtar, and Min Jin Lee), to debut authors who have already made an impact (Caro Claire Burke, Vincent Yu, and Woody Brown). A few authors mention books that are unsurprising, by “unsurprising,” I mean they’re the kind that are often required reading in high school (think The Great Gatsby and Catch-22). Then there are the books by authors who aren’t added to high school curricula nearly as often (or ever), like the experimental This is Not a Novel and Other Novels by David Markson, the nuanced horror The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, and two of my favorite books ever, Beloved and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.

The Most Popular Books on Kindle

The most-read books on Kindle surprised me a bit. Unless I’ve overlooked something, they are all by white people and are bestselling books, even outside of the Amazon/Kindle ecosystem. Those things weren’t surprising. I expected the current It Books, like Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke, Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, and Strangers by Belle Burden, to make the list. What got me was the inclusion of books like Stripped Down by Bunnie XO (never heard of her, no shade), 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin (apparently, people are really into learning about the 1929 crash that led to The Great Depression, which I’m not mad at), and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson (Still? Again, no shade). Also, Kindle readers are still super into reading That UK Magical School Series.

The Most Anticipated Books by Women for Summer and Fall, BIPOC Edition

For Electric Lit, Lucy Yu, writer and owner of Yu & Me Books in Manhattan, has taken over the duty of writing the list of the most anticipated books by women of color from RO Kwon. The list is a mix of hardcovers and paperbacks coming out this summer and fall, and includes fiction and nonfiction. There are even a few kids’ books.

I was already super excited for a few of these (I Punched an Alien and Now We’re in Couples Therapy by Kimberly Lemming, Taipei Story by R. F. Kuang, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw, On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah Yah Scholfield, and Weavingshaw by Heba Al-Wasity), and have been put onto others (Hustle, Baby by Priya Guns, Take What You Can by Naima Coster, To God by Esther Yi, Love, Witches, and Wahala by Christine Cowan, and The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller, and more). There are also a few books that are just necessary 2026 reading, I think (The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams and Kin by Tayari Jones). Yu unites all of the books with common themes that she noticed: “In these upcoming literary works, I notice major similarities in themes of rest, retreat, confrontation, grief, motherhood, and release.” All in all, a 10/10 list.

Read Harder 2026 Halfway Check-In Survey

The year is already halfway over, somehow, and we want to see how your reading challenge is going. My colleague Danika Ellis has put together a survey, the results of which they will share in two weeks. If you want to share your progress, make sure to fill out the Google form, and we’ll let you know how your fellow Read Harder Challenge takers are doing.

What are you reading? Let us know in the comments!