A Sea Voyage, AI Warnings and Gatsby Reimagined: 3 Best 2026 Books to Read Before the Year Ends
Romance across the sea
In Sea of Charms, the third standalone entry in the Spellshop series, supplier runner Marin travels between islands with her crew. On Alyssium, she meets composer Dax and persuades him to pose as her boyfriend for the End-of-Harvest festival.
Sarah Beth Durst combines romance and fantasy with a seafaring adventure. The story features fake dating, found family and self-discovery, and its 384 pages may suit readers looking for a book to finish before Christmas or during the week between Christmas and New Year.
AI and democratic life
Harvard historian Jill Lepore examines artificial intelligence and corporate influence in The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State. She follows systems presented as aids to democracy, including ID numbers and consensus techniques, and describes their use in mass surveillance and categorization.
The book also traces how ideas once explored in science fiction have appeared in real life. Lepore criticizes oligarchs and technology executives for promoting invasive technologies that, she argues, erode democracy.
A Gatsby-inspired Brooklyn
Xochitl Gonzalez’s Last Night in Brooklyn reworks The Great Gatsby for a new millennium. Set in 2007, before the 2008 financial crisis, it follows 26-year-old Alicia Canales Forten, whose conventional life changes after she meets her alluring neighbor, a designer known as La Garza.
Gonzalez explores economic uncertainty, class and race, as well as ambition and life in a world shaped by appearance and money. The novel presents a vivid vision of Brooklyn, making it a distinctive choice among the three books.
Key points
- Sea of Charms pairs a high-seas adventure with romance, fantasy and a fake-dating plot.
- Jill Lepore’s book examines AI, surveillance and threats to democracy.
- Last Night in Brooklyn sets a Gatsby-inspired story in 2007 Brooklyn.
- The three picks offer fantasy, nonfiction and literary fiction for different readers.