This article discusses sexual violence and may be distressing for some readers.<\/p>\n
As 2026 begins, making more space and time for reading\u2019s a great resolution. But curling up with a mug of tea and a blanket to binge-read for hours requires the right book.<\/p>\n
The right read can be hard to find, but I\u2019m here to help. Last year, I read over 75 novels, and I\u2019ve compiled a list of some of my favourites to prove reading more doesn\u2019t have to be a pipe dream, as each of these books are capable of shaking a reader out of a slump.<\/p>\n
\u201cMadonna in a Fur Coat\u201d<\/p>\n
Sabahattin Ali\u2019s <\/a>Madonna in a Fur Coat <\/a>(1943)<\/a> is a bestselling Turkish novel that centers around a lost young man named Raif, who moves to Berlin in the \u201920s and falls in love with a woman in a fur coat whose portrait he sees in a local art exhibition. Raif is isolated, lonely, and sick with love which Ali impressively manages to convey so tangibly in such a short story.<\/p>\n The novel is ultimately a tragic story. Love does exist. Happiness does exist. But it\u2019s fleeting and it\u2019s painful and it\u2019s scary, packed with uncertainty and yearning. As a reader, or rather as a human, there\u2019s nothing scarier than the idea that it\u2019s too late, forced to confront the understanding that beauty like that exists out there\u2014but it\u2019s not yours. Madonna in a Fur Coat pushes the reader into a liminal space of hope and hopelessness, exercising the heart, and brain.<\/p>\n \u201cBad Behaviour\u201d<\/p>\n American novelist and essayist Mary Gaitskill\u2019s debut publication <\/a>Bad Behaviour<\/a> (1988)<\/a> is a short-story collection, each with a unique plot. Gaitskill\u2019s writing is gritty, disturbing, and blunt. She doesn\u2019t shy away from the dark side of the human experience with short stories revolving sex work, affairs, toxic friendships, masochism, drug addiction, and more. She\u2019s openly spoken about her negative experiences<\/a> with rape and sexual abuse, as she worked as a call girl and stripper at a young age. These stories repurpose themselves in her fiction.<\/p>\n Bad Behaviour stares into the face of human complexity and ugliness without flinching or looking away. The result is writing that\u2019s incredibly honest, insightful, and true to life. However, what makes Bad Behaviour a must-read is \u201cHeaven\u201d, a short story that follows a wife and mother, Virginia, who reflects on her life in relation to her children and broader family. In my whole life, I\u2019ve never read something that so accurately captured the passing of time. It\u2019s heart-breaking, relatable, nostalgic, nuanced, and above all, shocking that Gaitskill wrote it at 23 years old, which only speaks to her intellect and perception.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Buffalo Hunter Hunter\u201d <\/p>\n The Only Good Indian\u2019s<\/a> author, Stephen Graham Jone<\/a>s, a West Texas author of Blackfeet Native American<\/a> descent, returns with a new horror fiction, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter<\/a> (2025):<\/a> a historical horror set in the early 20th century. The heart of the story is of injustice and genocide towards Indigneous peoples, but with a vampiric, Tarantino-esque twist. The massacre in the novel is based on the real Marias Massacre in Montana<\/a> in 1870, when U.S. soldiers attacked and killed the sleeping camp of Piegan Blackfeet Native people.<\/p>\n The Buffalo Hunter Hunter centres a Lutheran priest who transcribes the life of a Blackfeet vampire confessing his sins and slowly revealing his narrative of revenge. It\u2019s violent, gory, and horrific while simultaneously tragic and complex. It\u2019s packed with many twists that keep the reader constantly engaged, even while the vampire spends years traipsing and killing around the same mountains in the American West. Every time you think you know where the story is going, Jones reminds you of your own ignorance.<\/p>\n Happy new year and happy reading!<\/p>\n Tags<\/p>\n \n book recommendations<\/a>, books<\/a>, Column<\/a>, Literature<\/a>, new year<\/a>, Reads<\/a> <\/p>\n All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and\/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This article discusses sexual violence and may be distressing for some readers. 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