These are challenging times by any metric, but here’s something that’s also true: 2026 is shaping up to be a great year for books.

Some of our most talented writers are delivering novels, nonfiction and poetry in the coming months. If you want to lose yourself in a good book or just take a break from whatever it is you need a break from, rest easy knowing that there is a stellar lineup of titles coming to your local independent bookstore.

So, here are 12 books to put on your calendar and you can be assured of at least one thing: This represents just some of the titles I’m looking forward to reading and sharing with you as we approach spring. I’m already lining up picks for you through the rest of spring, summer and beyond, including upcoming releases by  Jesmyn Ward, Ruth Ozeki, Colson Whitehead, Emily St. John Mandel and many more.

So let’s get started.

: Where’s the nearest bookstore? See our map of 80+ SoCal bookshops

“A World Appears” 

Author: Michael Pollan

Pollan has taken readers on all kinds of trips throughout his career, and this may be one of his most adventurous. In this nonfiction investigation, he attempts to figure out what human consciousness is, even as we face challenges from A.I. and ponder the question of what it means to be a person.

Publication Date: Out now

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“Kin”

Author: Tayari Jones

In this follow-up to her super-successful bestseller, “An American Marriage,” Jones returns with a novel about the divergent paths taken by two young women growing up without their mothers in the South. (The author will be talking to us about the book in an upcoming story.)

Publication Date: Out now

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“Brawler”

Author: Lauren Groff

Groff is so well known for her National Book Award-nominated novels “Fates & Furies” and “Matrix” that you could almost forget she is an exceptional short story writer. Her collection “Florida” was also a finalist for the National Book Award (that’s three nominations!) and it won The Story Prize, so you can expect “Brawler” to hit hard. (We have an interview upcoming with her, too.)

Publication Date: Out Now

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“Python’s Kiss”

Author: Louise Erdrich

In her new collection of short fiction, National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Erdrich composes stories that deliver rich experiences in a variety of settings: a girl and her aunt discussing wedding dresses; a part-time school bus driver navigating a blizzard; an afterlife featuring unexpected holdovers from earth. Expect these pieces to delight, surprise and transport you. (And we’ll be speaking with her about this book, too.)

Publication Date: March 24

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“A Suit or a Suitcase”

Author: Maggie Smith

Known for her devastating poem, “Good Bones,” Smith has found success with her memoir, “You Could Make This Place Beautiful,” and nonfiction works on creativity and inspiration, “Dear Writer” and “Keep Moving.” This new book is a return to poetry, and its title piece alone has us excited to