What To Read in 2026: Fiction and non-fiction titles

A FLAG TO LIVE AND DIE FOR: A SHORT HIS­TORY OF INDIA’S TRICOLOUR | by Navtej Sarna | (Aleph)

The story of how the tiranga became a revered symbol of the nation. Navtej Sarna recalls an­cient historical flags and early nationalist designs and key events that led to the adoption of the national flag.

A WORLD APPEARS: A JOURNEY INTO CONSCIOUSNESS | by Michael Pollan  | (Penguin)

A book exploring the contours of con­sciousness and what it means to have an in­ner life. Michael Pollan assembles varying perspectives from art, philosophy and science, including the scientific as well as the seemingly strange in this com­plex investigation of being and feeling.

THE FLOWER BEARERS | by Rachel Eliza Griffiths | (John Murray)

The American writ­er and artist centres the memoir around two significant rela­tionships and their encounters with mortality. One with her closest friend Kamilah  Aisha Moon, who died on the day of Griffiths’ 2021 wedding to novel­ist Salman Rushdie; and then with Rushdie himself who survived a brutal stabbing less than a year into their marriage.

RED DAWN OVER CHINA | by Frank Dikötter | (Bloomsbury)

The book narrates how military and fi­nancial aid from the Soviet Union enabled the Communist Party’s strong­hold over China, from its early days of estab­lishment through war, dwindling appeal and resurgence.

THE STEPS | by Sylvester Stallone  | (Seven Dials)

In the Hollywood star’s own words, the story of how he made it from complica­tions at birth and his difficult childhood to early films and mov­ing to New York City in the 1960s. The success of his film Rocky stands out as a landmark, the memoir titled after its iconic scene of Stallone running up the Philadelphia Art Museum.

WHEN THE FOREST BREATHES | by Suzanne Simard | (Knopf)

The renowned ecologist writes on nature’s cycles of renewal as the key to sustaining the forest, and the world, drawing on scientific research and in­digenous knowledge wo­ven with personal anec­dotes and observations.

THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE | by David Sedaris  | (Little, Brown and Company)

The essayist brings his trademark wit to essays narrating an array of ex­periences, from caring for his boyfriend after sur­gery and walking miles with a friend to riding a horse named Tequila in Guatemala and buying a bespoke priest’s cassock in Vatican City.

GHOST STORIES | by Siri Hustvedt | (Sceptre)

Hustvedt’s new memoir is dedicated to her husband, the late Paul Auster, bring­ing journal entries, notes, letters and other recollections spanning four decades of togetherness. The book also includes Auster’s last ever piece of writing.

HOMETOWN: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF SHILLONG | by Anjum Hasan | (Bloomsbury)

Shillong, a recurring presence in Anjum Hasan’s writ­ing, turns protag­onist in her first non-fiction book, chronicling the city’s history and politics, youth culture and music scene among other fac­tors shaping its zeitgeist.

HOW TO TALK TO AI (AND HOW NOT TO)  | by Jamie Bartlett  | (Virgin Digital)

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) reshapes our every­day lives, the tech com­mentator and author writes on the technolo­gy’s seismic impact and how the right interac­tions can keep users in control.

LONDON FALLING | by Patrick Radden Keefe | (Penguin Random House)

The author of Empire of Pain writes the story of a family in London grap­pling with the death of their 19-year-old son and the staggering discovery of his involvement with the criminal underworld. THE CAULDRON: THE MAKING

OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST | by Simon Sebag Montefiore | (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

Drawing on 125 years of history, the book is an exploration of how the Middle East, as the world knows it today, came to be realised—from the last years of the Ottoman Sultanate and colonial impact to war, uprising and contemporary global politics.

REBELLION IN VERSE: RESISTANCE AND DEVOTION IN THE TAMIL BHAKTI MOVEMENT | by Raghavan Srinivasan  | (Penguin Viking)

An exploration of how the Tamil Bhakti movement espoused devotion, inclusivity and poetry, preceding its in­fluence in North India. The essays highlight key figures in the movement: poet-saints like Appar and Sambandar, wom­en saints such as Andal, marginalised poets, fish­ermen Adipaththar, Periyalvar and the hunt­er Tirumangai Alvar.

THE GHOSTS OF INDIAN SMALL TOWNS  | by Ruskin Bond | (Aleph)

The small towns of India lie at the heart of Ruskin Bond’s writings. His new book contem­plates their appeal and changing nature in the face of rapid urbanisa­tion and migration.

THE PARALYMPICS REVOLUTION | by Boria Majumdar  | with Trisha Ghosal and Rohan Chowdhury | (Simon & Schuster)

An exploration of the Paralympic movement in India, and the tri­als and triumphs of ath­letes determined to win against the odds leading to a record 29-medal run at Paris 2024.

TRUE COLOR | by Kory Stamper | (Knopf)

A fascinating history of how colours come to be de­fined and put into words through the lives of influen­tial figures like sci­entist IH Godlove, who worked with Merriam-Webster, to shape evolutions in the colour science, psychology and production industries.

THE ROAD FROM BHARAT TO INDIA: COLONIALITIES, CULTURAL BALKANISATION AND CONSTITUTIONALISM | by J Sai Deepak | (Bloomsbury)

An exploration of how Christian European, Middle Eastern and Islamic colonialities, and various indigenous movements combine to frame the dynamics of Bharatiya consciousness and constitutionalism.

OUTSIDER EVERYWHERE | by Mercedes Halfon | translated by Rahul Bery  | (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

A story of Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz’s 24 years in Argentina, beginning in 1939. The book traces his years in Buenos Aires through his writing and inter­views with disciples, writers and scholars.

LOVE, SEX AND INDIA: THE AGENTS OF ISHQ ANTHOLOGY | Edited by Paromita Vohra | (Context)

Stories spanning the wide spectrum of love and desire in contempo­rary India: dating and sex, hookups and kinks, situationships and heart­break as well as stories of exploitation and assault. The book draws from the documentation done by the multimedia platform, Agents of Ishq.

OPEN SPACE | by David Ariosto | (Knopf)

An informative, report­ed account of the space race unfolding global­ly, fuelled by nations and billionaires vying for conquests with both po­litical and commercial implications. The book offers an inside look at cutting-edge technolo­gies and missions deter­mining humanity’s fu­ture in the stars.

THE INDIAN ECONOMY: NAVIGATING A GLOBAL TURNING POINT | Edited by Kaushik Basu, Sonalde Desai, Ashwini Deshpande, Nirvikar Singh | (Simon & Schuster)

Featuring contributors such as Narayana Murthy, Naushad Forbes, Viral V Acharya and Anandi Mani, the book analy­ses how the decades since India’s banking and eco­nomic reforms have ush­ered industrial invest­ment and international trade, and paved the way for its future potential.