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Checklists
How creative can you get with your first free checklist?
Books Guide
Welcome to IGN's guide to all of our book coverage. Our primary focus is on the genres and novels that spur greater collaboration across media. This could mean a major franchise like The Lord of the Rings, the collected works of Stephen King, or an up-and-coming genre like LitRPG or Romantasy.
To find the latest book news from IGN, you can check out our official books page. For more specific reading guides, read on.
Reading Order Guides
If you're wondering where to get started in a popular series, we've got you covered with all of our reading order guides below.
- The Lord of the Rings Books
- Game of Thrones Books
- The Wheel of Time Books
- Cosmere Books
- The Witcher Books
- Robert Langdon Books
- The Hunger Games Books
- Chronicles of Narnia Books
- Percy Jackson Books
- Harry Potter Books
- Sherlock Holmes Books
- Red Rising Books
- Legend of Zelda Books
- Dune Books
- The Legend of Zelda Books
- Dungeon Crawler Carl Books
- A Court of Thorns and Roses Books
Best Ways to Read Books
There are a few different ways to read books in 2026, with some variations for each one. Here's a quick breakdown of each:
- Physical Books - Hardcover of paperback editions of novels.
- eBooks - Digital versions of books.
- Audiobooks -Recorded narration of books.
There is not inherently "best" way to enjoy a story, but there are some key differences between these. Listening and audiobook is very different than reading one and choosing an eBook over a physical book has its advantages as well. All that really matters is that you enjoy the experience.
Types of Fiction
| Genre | Key traits | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy | Magical worlds, deep lore building | The Lord of the Rings Books |
| Sci-Fi | Science-based worlds, distant future | Red Rising Books |
| YA | Coming-of-age, young protagonists | Harry Potter Books |
| Horror | fear-based perspectives, dread | Stephen King Books |
| Mystery | unraveling plot, detective protagonist | Sherlock Holmes Books |
| Romance | Love story, focus on relationships | Fourth Wing Books |
| Graphic Novel | Narrative art, illustrations | Saga Graphic Novels |
| Thriller | Suspense, psychological | Gone Girl |
| Action & Adventure | Hero's journey, fight scenes | The Hunger Games |
Where to Buy New Books Online
There are a lot of different places you can buy books online, but the overall most consistent place is Amazon. Amazon was originally founded as an online bookstore before becoming the retail giant that it is today. More often than not Amazon is the overall best place to find discounts on the latest releases as well as popular box sets. Amazon also owns and operates the Kindle Store, which is the largest e-book retailer in the world.
Check out our guide on the best times to buy books on Amazon for more info.
Popular New Fiction Books to Buy
We saw a lot of great books released in 2025 and the 2026 lineup of new releases is looking just as good. Below are some of the most popular books we've seen over the last 16 months or so.
- Sunrise on the Reaping - Suzanne Collins
- Onyx Storm - Rebecca Yarros
- The Secret of Secrets - Dan Brown
- Alchemised - SenLinYu
- Quicksilver - Callie Hart
- Operation Bounce House - Matt Dinniman
- Twelve Months - Jim Butcher
If you're looking for something older to read, check out our guide to the best-selling books of all time.
Where to Read Books for Free
If you have a local library, all you need to do is grab yourself a library card and you can start borrowing books to read for free. But if you want to read digital books for free, there are a few other options available to you. Paid services like Kindle Unlimited are great for reading digital books on any device, but if you don't want to pay a monthly fee, here are the options available: