Booksology Flashlight by Susan Choi (Jonathan Cape, Vintage, Penguin Random House UK)
Dominion by Addie E. Citchens (European version UK)
“The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans (Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House UK)
“The Mercy Step” by Marcia Hutchinson (Cassava Republic Press)
Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly (Saraband)
Heart the Lover by Lily King (Canongate)
correspondent It’s been a huge bestseller in recent months, and I’ve been hearing about it a lot. flashlight and Heart the LoverBut I don’t know much about the other three books on the shortlist. Let us know in the comments: Have you read any of these? Who do you think will win?
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30% of people think that reading regularly makes them better than others
Get this statistic while eating a healthy dose of salt. Because the whole methodology is, “To create this study, researchers at the Headway app surveyed 2,000 professionals of both genders, over the age of 18.” (How did we source these respondents? Who would be considered “professionals”? Are they all users of the app?)
In any case, I couldn’t resist the fact that 30% of people believe that reading regularly makes them better than others. To be honest, this is consistent with a good portion of our reading culture, both online and offline.
Other interesting “facts” from this study include:
- 24% of respondents don’t think they would date someone who doesn’t read at all
- 66% of people buy at least one book a year that they don’t read
- 55% answered yes to the question “Have you ever read a self-help book instead of seeking professional help (such as therapy)?”
- 82% of respondents believe that people who don’t read regularly are “missing out on intellectual property.”
The new BookTok tie-in is…Crystal Light?
We’ve seen some unexpected book tie-ins in recent years, including Walmart’s romance-themed hot sauce. The latest version sees Crystal Light partner with BookTok influencer and debut author Brooke Avrick to release three new drink flavors aligned to popular genres on BookTok. There’s Hibiscus Lemonade for Romance, Prickly Pear Lemonade for Mystery, and Passion Fruit for Fantasy. Bet now on which brand will partner with BookTok next. Romantic egg waffles? A Frieda McFadden-themed knife set? A Hunger Games pool inflatable?
Scariest horror books of 2026
There are also horror books, horror Books—like novels that need to be kept in the freezer when not being read. Personally, I prefer my horror work to be on the “creepy” and “existential horror” side, but if you want to get your nervous system into fight or flight mode, check out these picks for the scariest horror books of 2026.
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