Big Books of 2026

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Running with Scissors by Augusten BurroughsInto the Wild by Jon KrakauerLeaving Isn't the Hardest Thing by Lauren HoughGirl, Interrupted by Susanna KaysenProzac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel
Unsettling Memoirs & Biographies
530 books — 377 voters
Love in the Afternoon by Lisa KleypasLover Awakened by J.R. WardOnly If You Dare by Margo HoornstraTo Seduce a Sinner by Elizabeth HoytFiancé by Friday by Catherine Bybee
Romances Novel Heroes with PTSD
387 books — 304 voters

The Green Mile by Stephen KingDifferent Seasons by Stephen KingPapillon by Henri CharrièreThe Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre DumasIn Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Prison Books
525 books — 245 voters
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa GregoryThe White Queen by Philippa GregoryThe Constant Princess by Philippa GregoryThe Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa GregoryNefertiti by Michelle Moran
Royal Fiction
525 books — 226 voters

Hold by Zannie AdamsHard Time by Cara McKennaProtection by S.A. ReidCold by Brandon ShireUnPrison by Yamila Abraham
Prison Romance
158 books — 200 voters
Wait for You by J. LynnHopeless by Colleen HooverHeart of Obsidian by Nalini SinghTwice a Target by Susan VaughanComanche Heart by Catherine Anderson
Romance Novel Heroines with PTSD
188 books — 179 voters

Captive Prince by C.S. PacatBloodraven by P.L. NunnEloise - Loving a Sociopath by Catherine LockwoodWaiting in the Throes by Maddox GreyIn These Words, Volume 1 by Kichiku Neko
Quality Dark M/M and Gen Fiction: Kidnapping, Serial Killers, Torture and More
94 books — 122 voters
Hunger by Roxane GayHomegoing by Yaa GyasiThe Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany HaddishOn Tyranny by Timothy SnyderAl Franken, Giant of the Senate by Al Franken
Trevor Noah's Literary Guests
264 books — 85 voters

Straight Boy by Alessandra HazardThe Freshman by Louise CollinsBrute by Kim FieldingProtection by S.A. ReidPsychopath by Louise Collins
Best Gay Prison Romances
86 books — 83 voters
Hold by Zannie AdamsHold by Claire KentHomebound by Lydia HopeAshes and Metal by Naomi LucasPrison Planet Barbarian by Ruby Dixon
Future Prison in Science Fiction Romance
98 books — 49 voters

Corrections in Ink by Keri BlakingerOrange Is the New Black by Piper KermanLeaving Isn't the Hardest Thing by Lauren Hough30 Years Behind Bars by Karen GedneyPrisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat
Women's prison memoirs
67 books — 49 voters
Bhutan Travelog Edition 2 by Joni HerisonLamb by Christopher MooreQueen of Scots by John GuyHyperbole and a Half by Allie BroshFuriously Happy by Jenny Lawson
Subtitle
542 books — 38 voters

Hard Time by Cara McKennaLady Luck by Kristen AshleyOne Summer by Karen RobardsJackson Rule by Dinah McCallMackenzie's Mountain by Linda Howard
Jailhouse: Contemporary Romance Hero Just Out of Prison
62 books — 38 voters
Daddy's Hobby by Owen JonesBangkok 8 by John BurdettEveryone Burns by John DolanLetters from Thailand by BotanBangkok Haunts by John Burdett
Terrific Thailand
69 books — 30 voters

White Oleander by Janet FitchTable 21 by T. Rafael CiminoHarry Sue by Sue StauffacherAmber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart by Vera B. WilliamsDiary of a Freedom Writer by Darrius Garrett
Incarcerated Parents
82 books — 29 voters
Tehran Moonlight by Azin SametipourRooftops of Tehran by Mahbod SerajiA Teaspoon of Earth and Sea by Dina NayeriEqual of the Sun by Anita Amirrezvani乙嫁語り 7 [Otoyomegatari 7] by Kaoru Mori
Fictitious Iran
43 books — 23 voters

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp SendkerAlexander's Infinity by Lidija StankovikjThe Piano Tuner by Daniel MasonSaving Fish from Drowning by Amy TanThe Jewel Trader of Pegu by Jeffrey Hantover
Fictitious Burma
32 books — 16 voters
Marching Powder by Rusty YoungMidnight Express by Billy HayesStolen Lives by Malika OufkirThe Damage Done by Warren FellowsPapillon by Henri Charrière
Books about being in prison in a foreign country
25 books — 10 voters

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria RemarqueRabbit-Proof Fence by Doris PilkingtonValentine Joe by Rebecca StevensSalt to the Sea by Ruta SepetysBetween Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
All wired up
33 books — 8 voters
Texas Gulag by Gary BrownThe Broad Arrow by Oliné KeeseDry guillotine by René BelbenoitAmong the Broad-Arrow Men; a plain account of English prison ... by B.2.15Prison paintings by Michael Quanne
Funtime
197 books — 3 voters

The Crystal Palace by Phyllis EisensteinThe Glass Castle by Trisha White PriebeThe Crystal City by Nancy EtchemendyThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. LewisThe Ice Castle by Holly Anna
Glass/Ice/Crystal Palace, Castle, City, etc.
53 books — 3 voters
Far Apart, Close in Heart by Becky BirthaMilo Imagines the World by Matt de la PeñaWhy Is My Daddy In Jail by Pamela J. TomlinsonMy Daddy's In Jail by Anthony CurcioMy Daddy is in Jail by Phyllis Martin Hopp
Parents in Prison - Picture books for kids
12 books — 2 voters

The Kelsey Outrage! by UnknownAlcatraz Screw by George H. GregoryRed Nosed Mike! by UnknownAlcatraz Island Memoirs of a Rock Doc by Milton Daniel Beacher M. D.Tracy the Bandit by W.B. Hennessy
Olde Crimey
101 books — 2 voters
L'onore dei Vor by Lois McMaster BujoldRedemption by Regina M. JosephSei di corvi by Leigh BardugoCampo Archimede by Thomas M. DischIl miglio verde by Stephen King
La prigionia nella narrativa fantastica
45 books — 2 voters

Visiting Day by Jacqueline WoodsonSomething Happened to My Dad by Ann HazzardThe Night Dad Went to Jail by Melissa HigginsWhat Do I Say About That? by Julia CookFar Apart, Close in Heart by Becky Birtha
Family Books of Children with Relatives in Prison
51 books — 2 voters
Less Than the Dust by Joseph StamperThe Underworld of the East by James S. LeeThe Hop-Heads by Fred V. WilliamsTales of the Ex-Tanks by Clarence Louis CullenThe Pavement My Pillow by Louis E. Gillain
Automatic All Traumatic
100 books — 1 voter

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre DumasThe Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska OrczyEchoes of Honor by David WeberBreakout by Richard StarkBorders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold
Prison Break
7 books — 1 voter
De Profundis, The Ballad of Reading Gaol & Other Writings by Oscar WildeEphesians (Bible #49), ESV by Paul the ApostleEpistle to the Philippians by Paul the ApostleEpistle to the Colossians by Paul the ApostlePhilemon (Bible #57), ESV by Paul the Apostle
Letters from Prison
6 books — 1 voter

Fantastic Four (1961-1998) #1 by Stan LeeThe Midwich Cuckoos by John WyndhamDune by Frank HerbertUnder the Dome by Stephen KingThe Peace War by Vernor Vinge
Barriers, Force Fields and Domes in Fiction
39 books — 1 voter
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le GuinThe Howling Man by Charles BeaumontThe Executioner Box by Matt HiltonUnder The Hospital by Mike Edward EvansMeddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
Evil Forces Awakened by Meddling Humans in Fiction
45 books — 1 voter

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