January 2026 LibraryReads List

You voted, they counted, and THE BOOKBINDER’S SECRET by A. D. Bell is a LibraryReads pick for January 2026!

PLUS, THE POET EMPRESS by Shen Tao is the LibraryReads Board’s Bonus Pick, Seanan McGuire (THROUGH GATES OF GARNET AND GOLD), Rachel Hawkins (THE STORM), and Alice Feeney (MY HUSBAND’S WIFE) are in the Hall of Fame, and WHEN TREES TESTIFY by Beronda L. Montgomery is the Notable Nonfiction pick!

THE BOOKBINDER’S SECRET BY A. D. BELL | 9781250412645 | 1/13/26

“In this stellar debut from Bell, a British bibliophile courts danger while seeking answers about a mysterious note she found in a book… Bell exhibits a superior gift for crafting an engrossing puzzle and a complex, sympathetic protagonist. Admirers of Charles Palliser’s THE QUINCUNX will love this.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

THE POET EMPRESS BY SHEN TAO | 9781250406811 | 1/20/26

“Tao’s haunting debut immerses readers in a famine-stricken empire where poetry is power. The many political threads become fascinatingly tangled, Tao’s prose gleams with poetic precision, and climactic revelations strike with devastating inevitability. Fans of R.F. Kuang’s THE POPPY WAR and Shelley Parker-Chan’s SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN will be enthralled by this fierce meditation on love, power, and survival through art.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“The novel’s unique magic system and character-driven plot create an immersive tale… Tao’s debut is an intricate study of court politics and what a young woman will do to survive. Hand to fans of THE POPPY WAR by R. F. Kuang or SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN by Shelley Parker-Chan.”—Library Journal, starred review

THROUGH GATES OF GARNET AND GOLD BY SEANAN MCGUIRE | 9781250339409 | 1/6/26

“Bestseller McGuire’s breathtaking 11th novella in her Wayward Children series of interconnected portal fantasies revisits Nancy Whitman, heroine of the Hugo Award–winning first installment, EVERY HEART A DOORWAY… McGuire’s prose is elegant and earnest as ever and she writes especially poignantly about the deep and instinctive longing for home. Nancy’s bittersweet coming-of-age brings the story full circle while proving it’s still got legs. This stuns.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

THE STORM BY RACHEL HAWKINS | 9781250341884 | 1/6/26

“Hawkins uses her mastery of multiple timelines and characters to great effect in this quick and enjoyable read, and the pulpy nature of the story will appeal to fans of Sally Hepworth and Laura Dave.”—Booklist

MY HUSBAND’S WIFE BY ALICE FEENEY | 9781250337818 | 1/20/26

Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into, Spyglass, an enchanting old house in Hope Falls, nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn’t fit. A woman, eerily similar to her, answers the door. And her husband insists that the stranger is his wife. One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying. Six months earlier, a reclusive Londoner called Birdy, reeling from a life-changing diagnosis, inherits Spyglass. This unexpected gift from a long-lost grandmother brings her to the pretty seaside village of Hope Falls. But then Birdy stumbles upon a shadowy London clinic that claims to be able to predict a person’s date of death, including her own. Secrets start to unravel, and as the line between truth and lies blurs, Birdy feels compelled to right some old wrongs.

MY HUSBAND’S WIFE is a tangled web of deception, obsession, and mystery that will keep you guessing until the last page. Prepare yourself for the ultimate mind-bending marriage thriller and step inside Spyglass—if you dare—to experience a story where nothing is as it seems.

WHEN TREES TESTIFY: SCIENCE, WISDOM, HISTORY, AND AMERICA’S BLACK BOTANICAL LEGACY BY BERONDA L. MONTGOMERY | 9781250335166 | 1/20/26

“Folding popular science into memoir, Montgomery gives much weight to the emotional aftereffects of racism in her life, with less focus on the economic and political machinations that created such a system. Looking to the natural world, Montgomery offers a useful entry point for readers interested in the intersections of naturalism, anthropology, and Black history.”—Booklist