Big Books of 2026

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Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskeyMystic River by Dennis LehaneThe Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret AtwoodJohnny Tremain by Esther Forbes1776 by David McCullough
Boston Books
332 books — 276 voters
Little Women by Louisa May AlcottMake Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskeyThe Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel HawthorneThe Crucible by Arthur MillerMystic River by Dennis Lehane
Books Set in Massachusetts
520 books — 94 voters

Mystic River by Dennis LehaneGone, Baby, Gone by Dennis LehaneShutter Island by Dennis LehaneDarkness, Take My Hand by Dennis LehaneThe Given Day by Dennis Lehane
Best by Dennis Lehane
13 books — 31 voters
Moonlight Mile by Dennis LehaneSacred by Dennis LehaneMystic River by Dennis LehaneA Drink Before the War by Dennis LehanePrayers for Rain by Dennis Lehane
Mysteries Set in Boston (fiction)
105 books — 26 voters

Johnny Tremain by Esther ForbesThe Crucible by Arthur MillerThe Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George SpeareThe Boston Girl by Anita DiamantThe Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
Historical Fiction - New England
112 books — 25 voters
Lost Boston by Jane Holtz KayA New Lease on Death by Olivia BlackeTrain Station Bride by Holly BushHigh Strangeness by Eric BickernicksThe Boston Irish by Thomas H. O'Connor
Books in/on/around Boston
41 books — 21 voters

Growing a Seminary in Ethiopia by Carl E. HansenMayflower by Nathaniel PhilbrickRoger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul by John M. BarryMaking Haste from Babylon by Nick BunkerThe Name of War by Jill Lepore
Puritans (nonfiction)
116 books — 14 voters
Below The Water by Camille CabreraMake Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskeyLittle Women by Louisa May AlcottHatching Magic by Ann Downer-HazellJohnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Children's and YA lit set in and around Boston
123 books — 13 voters

The Ride by Kostya KennedyAlexander Hamilton by Ron ChernowJohn Adams by David McCulloughThe Shoemaker and the Tea Party by Alfred F. YoungThe British Are Coming by Rick Atkinson
Massachusetts - Revolution (nonfiction)
16 books — 12 voters
Reasonable Doubt by Peter MansoMortal Remains by Henry ScammellIn His Garden by Leo DamoreThe Boston Strangler by Gerold FrankMaximum Harm by Michele R. McPhee
Massachusetts Murders
59 books — 11 voters

The Immortal Irishman by Timothy EganRace, Politics, and Irish America by Mary M BurkeThe Irish Brotherhood by Helen O'DonnellLooking for Jimmy by Peter QuinnThe Irish in Us by Diane Negra
Irish in America (nonfiction)
113 books — 9 voters
The Ride by Kostya KennedyPaul Revere's Ride by David Hackett FischerJohn Adams by David McCulloughWe'll Stand by the Union by Peter D. BurchardThe Name of War by Jill Lepore
Early Boston History (nonfiction
17 books — 8 voters

Rivers of London by Ben AaronovitchStrange Practice by Vivian ShawThe Arabian Nightmare by Robert IrwinThe Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha PulleyBrown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
SFF Set in Global Cities (No YA)
64 books — 6 voters
So B. It by Sarah WeeksThe Lions of Little Rock by Kristin LevineSweet Home Alaska by Carole Estby DaggWhere Have All the Flowers Gone? by Ellen Emerson WhiteOn the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
I've Read (Been) Everywhere - Johnny Cash/Hank Snow
39 books — 6 voters

Train Station Bride by Holly BushThe Rebel Pirate by Donna ThorlandBoston Renegade by June Lund ShiplettSweet Vengeance by Elizabeth St. MichelThe Temptation by Lydia Lancaster
City on the Hill: Best Historical Romances Set In Boston
18 books — 5 voters
Live by Night by Dennis LehaneCoolidge by Amity ShlaesPeople before Highways by Karilyn CrockettThe Given Day by Dennis LehaneCommon Ground by J. Anthony Lukas
Massachusetts - 1900's
8 books — 4 voters

Willing Victim by Cara McKennaLessons in Letting Go by Cara McKennaA Voice In The Dark by Jenna RyanThe Mighty Quinns by Kate HoffmannThat Boston Man by Janet Dailey
Best Contemporary Romance Set in Boston
26 books — 3 voters
Charleston in the Age of the Pinckneys by George C. Rogers Jr.Istanbul and the Civilization of the Ottoman Empire by Bernard LewisFollowing Caesar by John KeaheyCairo by Gaston WietBukhara by Richard N. Frye
Centers of Civilization series
34 books — 3 voters

My Dearest Friend by Abigail AdamsFounding Mothers by Cokie RobertsDear Abigail by Diane JacobsThe Letters of John and Abigail Adams by John AdamsAbigail Adams by Natalie S. Bober
First Ladies: Abigail Adams, 1714-1818 (nonfiction)
20 books — 3 voters
Beacon Hill, Back Bay and the Building of Boston's Golden Age by Ted ClarkeBanned in Boston by Neil MillerA Guide-Book to Norumbega and Vineland by Elizabeth G. ShepardMrs. Jack by Louise Hall TharpRobert Love's Warnings by Cornelia H. Dayton
US Cities: Boston, Massachusetts (nonfiction)
21 books — 3 voters

Day Trips New England by Maria OliaThe Path by Chet RaymoA Guide-Book to Norumbega and Vineland by Elizabeth G. Shepard
New England Travel
3 books — 2 voters
Mayflower by Nathaniel PhilbrickThe Deerfield Massacre by James L. SwansonCaleb's Crossing by Geraldine BrooksThe Unredeemed Captive by John Putnam DemosPaul Revere and the World He Lived In by Esther Forbes
Massachusetts - Colonial
27 books — 2 voters

Deadly Escape To Freedom by Shirley J. MillerDeath of the Cosset by Kimberly Jane OswaldBlood Gold by Shirley J. MillerTo Russia & Back by Shirley J. MillerWrong Place, Wrong Time by Shirley J. Miller
Goodread's Selection
6 books — 2 voters
Ghost of the Innocent Man by Benjamin RachlinInvisible Men by Ken QuattroCuz by Danielle S. AllenTalking to Strangers by Danielle S. AllenOur Declaration by Danielle S. Allen
HCB Black History Month Picks
12 books — 2 voters

Circe by Madeline MillerPoverty, by America by Matthew DesmondWomen in White Coats by Olivia CampbellThe Personal Librarian by Marie BenedictFrog and Toad are Doing Their Best [A Parody] by Jennie Egerdie
Brookline Booksmiths Notable Books of 2023 (as of July)
100 books — 2 voters
The Midnight Library by Matt HaigPoverty, by America by Matthew DesmondWomen in White Coats by Olivia CampbellCloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony DoerrThe Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa
Brookline Booksmith's Top 100 Books of 2023
100 books — 2 voters

Mooncakes by Suzanne WalkerAnya's Ghost by Vera BrosgolBlue Book Volume 1 by James Tynion IV
Graphic Novels Set in New England
3 books — 2 voters
Remaking Boston by Anthony N. PennaBoston Riots by Jack TagerBlack Radical by Kerri K. GreenidgeMemories of Childhood's Slavery Days by Annie L. BurtonA Chronological History of New England in the form of Annals,... by Thomas Prince
Boston Book Club
45 books — 1 voter

Acid Nun by Corinne HalbertThe Changeling by Tina N. LugoAtomic Anna by Rachel BarenbaumPrivate Way by Ladette RandolphZorrie by Laird Hunt
Boston Book Festival 2022 FICTION
34 books — 1 voter
Now It's Dark by Peter GizziLand's End by Gail MazurWhen My Body Was a Clinched Fist by Enzo Silon SurinWhat Remains by Michael AnsaraEverything by Andrea Cohen
Boston Book Festival 2022 POETRY
17 books — 1 voter

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