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This is it, people. We’re sliding into the homestretch of 2026, and the holiday season is a hair's breadth away. Interestingly, though, as we’re inundated with ads and reminders to get our gift-shopping done, this is also when book releases begin to slow down. Starting now, the tidal wave of books released each week begins to slow to a trickle, until the last week of December, when we’ll be lucky if, like, 10 new books are published.

It makes sense—people want to buy bestsellers for gifts, and books always benefit from at least a few weeks of word-of-mouth buzz. Jockeying for press coverage also gets harder this time of year, especially as all of the “best of” lists begin pouring in. And, finally, the entire publishing industry shuts down between Christmas and New Year’s Day!

So maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised when, as I was taking stock of what’s coming up in November, I realized that the bulk of my top picks are nonfiction, and one of the fiction titles is…questionable, to say the least. This is probably my most unexpected list yet, but also maybe the one I’m most excited for? November’s reading list feels unlike the rest of the year, and I’m really into that.

Plus, I’m a messy drama queen who loves getting the scoop on scandals, and there’s lots of that this month. Chronically online folks, looks like November is for you.

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The “WTF” Pick

I mean, where do I even begin with this one? Way back in 2011, thanks to series like The Hunger Games, dystopian YA was all the rage. And Tyra Banks, of all people, decided to get in on the craze, giving it a (what else!) supermodel twist. And so, Modelland, a nearly 600-page psychedelic tome, was published. And it flopped hard. So hard, in fact, that it’s been out of print for years. But recently, it developed enough of a cult following on TikTok that Tyra’s publishers decided to reissue it. As a diehard America’s Next Top Model fan who is equally fascinated by and terrified of Tyra, I figured I had to check it out. I plan to cover this one in an upcoming Worth the Read, so I don’t want to say much more, except…y’all, everything about this book is wild. In fact, this might be the book that breaks me. If you want to fall down this rabbit hole with me, pick up a copy and we’ll debrief next week when I cover it!

The Read with Jenna Pick

Making a complete 180 from Tyra’s fever dream, Sweet Pea by Kit de Waal is about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary—in this case, in the life of a single mother in 1970s London. Perhaps it’s a symptom of getting older, but I find myself increasingly drawn to stories about people whose lives didn’t turn out quite the way they planned. And that’s what we have here with Paulette, our heroine, who, after losing everything she thought she had, must forge a new path, finding kindness and connection in unexpected places. I’ve really been digging Jenna’s picks this year, so I take her stamp of approval seriously. I’m a little afraid this one will make me sob, but that seems like a small price to pay for spending time with unforgettable characters.

The YouTuber Memoir

If you’re unfamiliar with Trisha Paytas, I think of her kind of like the internet’s Forrest Gump. She’s an OG YouTuber and internet personality who has been through so many eras and so many controversies, it’s almost impossible to keep track. And she pops up everywhere, from old episodes of Nathan For You and My Strange Addiction to watershed internet moments like “dramageddon” and the downfall of David Dobrik. Her lore runs deep and includes some of the wildest, most unbelievable stories you can imagine. While I can’t say I’m a major Trisha fan, I do think she has a fascinating life story, and considering how many times she’s been accused of lying and hyperbolizing, I’m curious to see what she decided to put down in her official memoir. Whatever this book is, I’m certain it will not be boring.

The Podcaster Memoir

I was a day-one fan of Call Her Daddy, even before they got picked up by Barstool Sports. And I always preferred Sofia to Alex. I thought she was funnier, wittier, and more natural on the mic. When their highly publicized breakup occurred, I followed every twist and turn with bated breath. And as a fan, it killed me to see Alex share her version of events while Sofia stayed (mostly) silent. Now, six years later, Sofia is finally sharing her side of the story in a major way, while also offering a closer look at her upbringing and personal struggles. The CHD debacle is just one piece of Sofia’s puzzle, and I’m glad to see her tackling it alongside the rest of her story.

The One for Word Nerds

This one’s kind of a wildcard, but what can I say? I’m a total word nerd! If, like me, you love etymology and learning how language can offer insight into different cultures, this new book by the author of Weird Medieval Guys (lol) seems like an absolute treat. For instance, did you know that “daisy” comes from the Old English phrase for “day’s eye” because its petals open at dawn and close at dusk? Or that you can trace the historical spread of tea through its different names? This looks like the kind of book you can leave out on your coffee table and leaf through whenever you have a spare moment, aka the best kind of low-pressure read. Oh, and it has beautiful illustrations!

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Genevieve Nierman is an editor, writer, and interviewer with over a decade of experience in books and publishing, including roles at Little, Brown and Company and Alfred A. Knopf. She is currently Senior Books Content Manager at Pix Media, where she runs the flagship newsletter Book Pix. She lives in New York City with her orange cat, Oscar, and an ever-growing stack of books.