Episode #41: In Conversation with Sam Sacks About Our Most Anticipated Books of 2026

Welcome to One Bright Book! Join our hosts Dorian, Rebecca, and Frances as they discuss their most anticipated books of 2026 with Sam Sacks, prominent book critic for The Wall Street Journal, writing the weekly "Fiction Chronicle," and a founding editor of Open Letters Monthly.

For our next episode, we will discuss The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope. We would love to have you read along with us, and join us for our conversation coming to you in late January.

Want to support the show? Visit us at Bookshop.org or click on the links below and buy some books!

Books mentioned:

• The Disappearing Act by Maria Stepanova, translated from the Russian by Sasha Dugdale
• In Memory of Memory by Maria Stepanova, translated from the Russian by Sasha Dugdale
• Opus Siniestra by Leonora Carrington
• On the Calculation of Volume, Book IV by Solvej Balle, translated from the Danish by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell
• Incompleteness: New and Selected Essays, 1999-2023 by Amit Chaudhuri
• In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin
• This Is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin
• Now I Surrender by Alvaro Enrique, translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer
• You Dreamed of Empires by Alvaro Enrique, translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer
• The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley
• My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley
• First Love by Gwendoline Riley
• Ambivalence by Brian Dillon
• Transcendence for Beginners by Clare Carlisle
• Animal Joy by Nuar Alsadir
• Here Where We Live Is Our Country by Molly Crabapple
• Down Time by Andrew Martin
• Early Work by Andrew Martin
• Cool for America by Andrew Martin
• On Morrison by Namwali Serpell
• The Witch by Marie Ndiaye, translated from the French by Jordan Stump
• That Time of Year by Marie Ndiaye, translated from the French by Jordan Stump
• Twenty Minutes of Silence by Helene Bessette, translated from the French by Kate Briggs
• Lilli Is Crying by Helene Bessette, translated from the French by Kate Briggs
• The Queen of Swords by Jazmina Barrera, translated from the Spanish by Christina MacSweeney
• The Week of Colors by Elena Garro, translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell
• Nonesuch by Francis Spufford
• Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
• The Child That Books Built: A Life in Reading by Francis Spufford
• The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
• A Marsh Island by Sarah Orne Jewett
• The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope

Further resources and links are available on our website at onebrightbook.com.

Browse our bookshelves at Bookshop.org.

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Dorian: https://bsky.app/profile/ds228.bsky.social

Rebecca: https://bsky.app/profile/ofbooksandbikes.bsky.social

Dorian's blog: https://eigermonchjungfrau.blog/

Rebecca's newsletter: https://readingindie.substack.com/

Our theme music was composed and performed by Owen Maitzen. You can find more of his music here: https://soundcloud.com/omaitzen.