Gen Z can indulge in these exciting book recommendations in 2026

Make it graphicOne of the most interesting books scheduled to come out this year is the graphic novel Absolute Jafar by the famous graphic novelist Sarnath Banerjee The book will follow the story of Jafar a child born of an IndoPak marriage whose life is characterised as a geopolitical oddity This explores themes of identity and belonging and how they are impacted by bureaucracy and borders Sarnath Banerjee is a celebrated graphic novelist who rose to fame after his work Corridor was published in 2004 which showed the life of a teaseller in Delhi and his interactions with different people His works are often anecdotal and humorous and have a historical theme to theme showing a rapidly changing IndiaThe devil wears Prabal GurungAs shows like Red White and Royal Blue Heated Rivalry and Heartstopper bring themes of queer identity to limelight it becomes ever so important to read about and understand the lives of real queer people Prabal Gurungrsquos memoir Walk Like a Girl explores his struggle as a queer man growing up in a prejudiced environment and how he fought against it to become a famous fashion designer in New York The memoir covers these sensitive themes with brutal honesty inspiring readers with his hardwon ascent to where he is today He also talks about the struggles that come with migrating to the West and the lure of the American DreamCaught in a scandalAs AIgenerated content floods our social media feeds it is also accompanied by a sinister rise in deepfakes targeting women Meena Kandasamy addresses this issue in her fiction work Fieldwork as a Sex Object This book follows the story of Amrita who has a deepfake scandalous video of herself spread everywhere particularly by meddling WhatsAppfriendly aunties who love a good scandal and gossip She is publicly ostracised by incels online Kandasamy is a wellknown activist focusing on issues of casteism and misogynyThe little women from IndiaA contemporary reimagining of Little Women The Sharma Sisters by Rachael Fernandes is an incredibly interesting and enthralling read It covers the story of four BritishIndian sisters mdash Kav Mally Ori and Trina Kavis is stuck working on a reality TV show even though she feels shersquos destined for more Mally is ambitious quickly climbing the corporate ladder Ori seems to have everything you could ever dream of though shersquos hiding a secret that could unravel everything Trina knits the family together however she finds herself facing a diagnosis that leaves everyone reeling Find out how this family holds itself togetherSimping for HollywoodRoshan Sethi cocreator of the hit medical drama The Resident has released his debut novel The Simp Itrsquos the story of an unemployed actor Raj Ladlani who works for a Hollywood family The husband Jim is a massive macho director in a creative rut His wife Anna who is much younger than him is trying to seek her own independence as a screenwriter Rajrsquos work here leads to a series of absurd eventsCrime thriller actionSunil Gupta PICROLI BOOKSFor fans of crime thrillers The Red Alert is an absolutely unmissable title Penned by the former superintendent of Tihar Jail and cowriter of Black Warrant Sunil Gupta it chronicles his time at Indiarsquos biggest and one of its most important prisons He has cowritten it with journalist Samanwaya Rautray The book details the intricacies of running a prison including dealing with the most terrifying part mdash a jailbreak Psychopathic characters like Charles Sobhraj and Sher Singh Rana the killer of dacoitturnedparliamentarian Phoolan Devi also feature in this thrilling book written to keep the reader on edge with terror and fascinationWhatrsquos Gen Z sayingAnuradha Kumari a secondyear English Literature student at Lady Shri Ram College DelhiShe recommends George Orwellrsquos classic 1984 as a mustread for Gen Zs ldquoThis book makes us think critically through our anger fear and hope A dystopian fiction answers various questions such as how one should consider their society and maintain their individualityrdquo This book addresses themes such as authoritarianism surveillance punishment and defiance She adds that reading this book will also help us in making a better society by making us aware of the power the State has over us and helping us question itReccos from a proNirav Mehta Founder of Broke BibliophilesHe recommends three books for Gen Z this year Andrew Ross Sorkinrsquos 1929 talks about the stock market crash and the Great Depression that rocked the world in the 1930s Mehta adds ldquoThe events of 1929 changed how we view financial systems risk and regulation Understanding what happened then gives you the blueprint for recognising the warning signs we still see being repeatedrdquoAmrita Mahale author of Real Life is an aerospace engineer from IIT Bombay who works in the field of AI with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The fictional Real Life is set in the hills and talks about female friendship womanhood and has an AI angle as well Lastly Anindita Ghoshrsquos masterfully edited The Only City has 18 stories on Mumbai written by extremely diverse voices Nirav recommends ldquoThis book as each story has Mumbai as a character of its own and shows how everything comes together in this cityrdquo