Mary Webber O'Malley and Pamela Klinger-Horn join me to recommend their favorites reads of the first quarter of 2026.
Mary’s titles
January:
All The Little Houses by May Cobb
Skylark by Paula McLain
The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave
February:
Imposter by LJ Ross
Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise
More than Enough by Anna Quindlen
So Old So Young by Grant Ginder
It's Not Her by Mary Kubica
March :
Wait For Me by Amy Jo Burns
Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser
Bloom by Robbie Couch
Murder at 30000 Feet by Susan Walter
Pamela’s titles:
January:
The Jilted Countess by Loretta Ellsworth
How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley
Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven
Missing Sam by Thrity Umrigar
Murder Your Darlings by Jenna Blum
February:
This Book Reminds Me of You by Libby Page
Family Drama by Rebecca Fallon
A Sociopath's Guide to a Successful Marriage by M.K. Oliver
Where Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris
March:
All the World Can Hold by Jung Yun
A Far-Flung Life by M.L. Stedman
The Creek, the Crone and the Crow by Leah Weiss
Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
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Check out this list of all the great books I loved in 2025.
Want to know which new titles are publishing in January - May of 2026? Check out our fifth Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead, and we color-code by genre in this one!
Looking for something new to read? Here is my monthly Buzz Reads column with five new recommendations each month.
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Pamela's social media handles: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
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Event Coordinator - Valley Bookseller
Pamela Klinger-Horn has been a literary event planner since 2012. She has been on the Board of Directors of Rain Taxi Literary Review and the Excelsior Friends of the Library. Pamela has experience as a children’s Book Club facilitator at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School and the Excelsior Public Library. Pamela enjoys attending and promoting literary events throughout the Twin Cities and beyond, and has been nicknamed the “Local Literary Fairy Godmother.” She is currently the literary event coordinator at Valley Bookseller in Stillwater, MN; and the creator and host of the monthly literary program Literature Lovers' Night Out™️ .
