Don’t Buy the Hype: Read This Not That 2026

Are you tired of reading overrated bestsellers? Do you wish someone would tell you to read this not that? Find out which books are worth the hype and which to skip. Wow! It’s been eight years since I launched what would eventually become Booklist Queen. If you don’t know my story, I started as a lifestyle blogger with my sister. We wrote about motherhood, work, and travel. On a whim, I also wanted to write about books because I’m a big reader. My very first post after our launch was entitled “Read This Not That.” I went through my prior year’s reading and picked 7 overrated bestsellers and paired them with books I recommended you read instead. Thus, a tradition was born. (Also, it became very apparent very fast that readers did not care about my boring life but craved my book lists.) It’s been a few years since I’ve done it, but every spring, I look through my previous year’s reading and pick 7 bestsellers that I don’t think are worth the hype. Then I try to find seven books to recommend instead. I used to only pick the “Read This” books from my last year’s reading. I still try to, but I figure it’s better to pick a perfect pair, even if I read it a few years ago. Obviously, it’s a...