Nonfiction Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2026

A celebratory toast, a stress reliever, a social lubricant — we imbibe alcohol for any number of reasons. And despite knowing that it isn’t good for us, many of us keep drinking it anyway. But why? In his brand-new book, Knowles pairs scientific expertise with personal experience to explore the lasting effects of alcohol, illuminating its impact on our bodies and minds. Whether you’re curious about sober living or just interested in learning more about what happens when we drink, Why We Drink Too Much is an essential and insightful step in reconsidering your relationship with alcohol.

Publication date: January 6, 2026

From Kate Murphy, internationally bestselling author of You’re Not Listening, comes an illuminating new scientific work on human connection. Why We Click explores the emerging science of interpersonal synchrony. It’s a social dynamic you’re likely unfamiliar with — indeed, most of us have never even heard of it — but it’s something you’ve almost certainly experienced. Have you ever walked into a room and instantly connected with someone, matching not just their vibe but their rhythms and gestures? Murphy sheds light on this fascinating phenomenon, exploring how it works and what it means when we really click with someone. Interweaving scientific research with fascinating lessons from philosophy, history, and more, Why We Click “dives deep into how we relate, communicate, and sync our behavior in fascinating and perplexing ways” (Danny Meyer, author of Setting the Table). 

Publication date: January 27, 2026

Looking to thrive in the new year? Here’s one way to do it: Enjoy the arts — it’s good for your health. In Art Cure, Daisy Fancourt, an award-winning scientist and the director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centre for Arts and Health, details the profound benefits of creative expression, revealing the many ways engaging with the arts improves our lives. From alleviating stress, pain, and depression to building new neural pathways that boost brain health, art is a crucial pillar to living well. Nicholas A. Christakis, author of Blue Print, hails Art Cure as “forceful and eye-opening.… [It] opens new vistas on fantastic scientific discoveries regarding how art affects our bodies, our minds, and even our lifespan.”

Publication date: February 3, 2026

In the late 1960s, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg were just getting started in the film world. In the years that followed, they would create some of Hollywood’s most spectacular feature films, from Coppola’s The Godfather and Spielberg’s Jaws to Lucas’s Star Wars. Throughout, the three filmmakers both encouraged and competed with one another, jockeying for the title of highest-grossing film of all time as they pursued cinematic greatness. In The Last Kings of Hollywood, Paul Fischer draws on original interviews and research to document the rise, triumphs, and disasters of these three visionaries, offering an intimate chronicle of how they revolutionized cinema and transformed Hollywood forever. 

Publication date: February 10, 2026

No matter your artistic talents, most of us still have to pay rent. In Making Art and Making a Living, Mason Currey, author of Daily Rituals, breaks down the financial realities of pursuing a life in the arts. Whether you’re a painter, a poet, or a dancer, creative pursuits require time, and that’s time you won’t spend clocking in for a paycheck. So is art only for the already wealthy? Of course not. Currey explores the many ways that artists of the past supported themselves, from Franz Kafka’s work as an insurance man to William Carlos Williams’s career as a doctor to Virginia Woolf’s and Louisa May Alcott’s persistence in getting paid for their writing. Instructive and inspiring, Making Art and Making a Living is “a balm for anyone who has ever fretted that they are not a ‘real’ artist because they don’t pay their bills with their art” (Ann Friedman, coauthor of Big Friendship). 

Publication date: March 31, 2026

If you were asked to identify America’s Founding Fathers, there’s a good chance James Wilson wouldn’t be the first name that came to mind — it may not even be the sixth or seventh. New York Times journalist Jesse Wegman seeks to deepen your understanding of American history this year with The Lost Founder, which profiles Wilson and his instrumental role in our nation’s founding. A believer in the power of the people and an advocate for a strong central government, Wilson wrote the first draft of the Constitution and penned the essay that inspired the lines “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” And yet, a mere decade after the Constitution was ratified, a scandal-burdened Wilson died in debt while hiding out from his creditors. Wegman’s new book, eloquently written and thoroughly researched, revives Wilson’s influence and restores his place as a principal player in the Great American Experiment.

Publication date: June 23, 2026

In One Thousand and One Nights, Scheherazade told a story every evening to save her own life. In One Aladdin Two Lamps, Jeanette Winterson teaches us to tell stories for our lives, too. Blending memoir, philosophy, manifesto, and wondrous storytelling, Winterson vividly explores how fiction shapes identity and invites us to reconsider our roles as the makers of our own stories.

Publication date: January 20, 2026

In Chain of Ideas, National Book Award–winning author Ibram X. Kendi dissects our fractious present, tracing the rise of modern racist rhetoric and the “great replacement theory.” Used across the globe to sow hatred, anxiety, and violence, this ever-shifting fear of the “other” fuels so much of today’s social, racial, and political discord. Kendi offers an essential account of this abhorrent thinking, identifying it as a catalyst for the rise of authoritarianism as he lays out how we can break free from its insidious grip. “A well-formed argument against the fashionably fascist thought that houses old wine in new skins” (Kirkus). 

Publication date: March 17, 2026

In 1708, the galleon San José set sail for Spain, loaded with treasure from the New World. But it never arrived, sinking beneath the waves after a run-in with a British warship. Centuries later, a lone diver named Roger Dooley embarked on a mission to locate the shipwreck after making an unexpected discovery in a Spanish archive. Dooley had dedicated years of his life to the search for San José, and with more experienced treasure hunters chasing the same prize, he was most certainly the underdog in the race. Who among them — if any — would finally find the lost riches? In Neptune’s Fortune, Julian Sancton beckons readers on board for a real-life treasure hunt as he unfurls this epic tale of lost fortune and deep-sea adventure.

Publication date: January 27, 2026

From acclaimed novelist Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) comes a brilliant and bracingly honest memoir. From his childhood years to his entry into the workforce and his awareness that his view of the world differed from that of others, Haddon fills Leaving Home with vivid, striking stories that are arrestingly real. As funny as it is heartbreaking, Haddon’s upcoming memoir invites us to experience the world through his unique perspective so we might all see life in a new light. 

Publication date: February 17, 2026