Lariat Adult Fiction List

Here are recommended fiction titles for adults from the 2026 Lariat List! The Lariat List features outstanding fiction titles for adults, published within the current and previous year, that are simply a pleasure to read! That's it. That's the criteria. The Lariat List is selected by a committee of Texas librarians and is one of 10 reading lists from the Texas Library Association. Visit txla.org/reading-lists for the full list and lists from previous years.


Updated January 13, 2026
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Culpability
Holsinger, Bruce W.
Oprah's Book Club Pick * New Yorker Best Books of 2025 * 2026 Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlist * Kirkus Best Books of 2025 * Real Simple Best Books of 2025 * Washington Post Noteable Fiction 2025 * NPR's 2025 "Books We Love" * Minnesota Star Tribune 20 Best of 2025 ...
Salt bones : a novel
Givhan, Jennifer
Paper Book
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A Book Riot Best Mystery & Thriller of the Year A Marie Claire Best Mystery-Thriller of the Year A Library Journal Stellar Selection Three women in one...
Wild Dark Shore A Novel
McConaghy, Charlotte.
REESE''S BOOK CLUB PICK * INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR 2025 A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR (NPR, TIME, USA Today, The Economist, Scientific American, Good Housekeeping, Reader''s Digest,...
The Whyte Python World Tour A Novel
Kennedy, Travis.
Paper Book
Rikki Thunder, twenty-two-year-old drummer for the scorching new '80s metal band Whyte Python, is about to have it all: absurd wealth, global fame, and a dream girlfriend. But an unwitting role as an international spy? That was definitely not part of the plan. "A rock-n-roll thrill...
The Favorites A Novel
Fargo, Layne.
Paper Book
To the world, they were a scandal. To each other, an obsession. NATIONAL BESTSELLER * An epic love story set in the sparkling, savage sphere of elite figure skating, starring a woman determined to carve her own path on and off the ice "Part...
Broken country : a novel
Hall, Clare Leslie
Paper Book
Over 1 Million Copies Sold A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK | A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall is an unforgettable story of love, loss, and the choices that shape our lives...but it's also a masterfully crafted mystery that...
Atmosphere A Love Story
Jenkins Reid, Taylor.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK * From the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go...
Back After This A Novel
Holmes, Linda.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Evvie Drake Starts Over and Flying Solo, a podcast producer agrees to host a new series about modern dating--but will the show jeopardize her chance at finding real love? "Romantic, smart, and exactly the book...
The Book of Lost Hours A Novel
Gelfuso, Hayley.
A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK! For fans of The Ministry of Time and The Midnight Library, a sweeping, unforgettable novel following two remarkable women moving between postwar and Cold War-era America and the mysterious time space, a library filled...
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
Schwab, V. E.
From V. E. Schwab, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: a new genre-defying novel about immortality and hunger. This is a story about hunger. 1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada. A young girl grows...
The Correspondent A Novel
Evans, Virginia.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Discover the word-of-mouth hit hailed by Ann Patchett as "A cause for celebration"--an intimate novel about the transformative power of the written word and the beauty of slowing down to reconnect with the people we love. ...
The Dream Hotel A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel
Lalami, Laila.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER ● READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY ● From Laila Lalami--the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist and a "maestra of literary fiction" (NPR)--comes a riveting and utterly original novel about one woman's fight for freedom, set in...
Harlem Rhapsody
Murray, Victoria Christopher.
Paper Book
Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR! "A gripping narrative, don't miss this historical fiction about the woman who kicked off the Harlem Renaissance."-People Magazine "A page turner and history lesson at once, Harlem Rhapsody reminds us that our...
I see you've called in dead : a novel
Kenney, John
INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER A 2025 NPR "Books We Love" Pick USA Today April Pick "Razor-sharp, darkly comedic, and emotionally piercing. With the satirical bite of Richard Russo's Straight Man, the introspection of Fredrik Backman's A Man...
Julie Chan Is Dead A Novel
Zhang, Liann.
INSTANT INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER One of NPR's Books We Love for 2025 For fans of Bunny and Yellowface, this razor-sharp debut thriller blends biting satire with chilling suspense, as a young woman steps into her deceased twin's influencer life--only to...
The Names A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel
Knapp, Florence.
THE YEAR'S BREAKOUT NOVEL AND WORD-OF-MOUTH HIT--A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND READ WITH JENNA PICK "Dazzling. . . Knapp tirelessly and beautifully replicates not just loss and grief but endless rebirth and delight." --The Washington Post "Elegant. . ....
Old School Indian
Curtis, Aaron John
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * BUZZFEED BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR "[An] entrancing new voice . . . Aaron John Curtis will be your new literary obsession." --Marion Winik, The Boston Globe "An inspired novel by an author whose voice absolutely sizzles on...
Promise Me Sunshine A Novel
Bastone, Cara.
How do you find yourself after you lose the one you loved the most? NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Grieving the loss of her best friend, a young woman's life is turned upside down when she meets a grumpy stranger who swears he can help her live again, in this heartwarming, slow-burn...
The Road to Tender Hearts A Novel
Hartnett, Annie.
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A darkly comic and warm-hearted novel about an old man on a cross-country mission to reunite with his high school crush--bringing together his adult daughter, two orphaned kids, and a cat who can predict death--by the beloved author of Rabbit Cake and Unlikely...
The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau A Novel
Harmel, Kristin.
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Kristin Harmel, the New York Times bestselling author who "is the best there is at sweeping historical drama" (Kelly Harms, author of The Seven Day Switch), returns with an electrifying new novel about two jewel thieves, a...
This Book Will Bury Me A Novel
Winstead, Ashley.
When the Moon Hits Your Eye
Scalzi, John.
New York Times bestselling author John Scalzi flies you to the moon with his most fantastic tale to date: When the Moon Hits Your Eye The moon has turned into cheese. Now humanity has to deal with it. For some it's an opportunity. For...
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
Hendrix, Grady.
Ebook
"Superb ... a perfect horror for our imperfect age." - The New York Times AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER They were never girls, they were witches . . . . They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who...

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