The Best Books I Read in May 2026

Getting through the never-ending reading list

Photo by Florencia Viadana on Unsplash

It’s officially that time when I recount the best books I read in the previous month and I’m happy to announce that I was able to read some really great books in May. Thankfully, I’ve been able to keep up with reading some of the bigger books I have instead of putting them off like I had been for some time. Also in May, I was able to really sink my teeth into some great fiction books which I’m also excited to write about here, so let’s get into it.

Nation- Terry Pratchett

*Nation occupies a rather interesting space in the vast library of books by Terry Pratchett. When you think of Pratchett, you will no doubt think of his amazing Discworld series or even something like Good Omens, but Nation was a book he wrote towards the end of his life, and it’s also a book he considered to be his best. Many fans of Pratchett also consider Nation *to be his best work, and after reading it, I can’t say they are wrong to say so.

Nation tells the story of Mau, an Indigenous boy from the Pacific who teams up with an English girl named Daphne in order to rebuild the island nation Mau is from after it has been destroyed by a tsunami. The book is set in the 1800s, during the height of the British Empire, and this plays a major role in the storytelling of Nation.

Pratchett gives us a really great insight into a kind of politics that rejects the cultural imperialism which was so prominent during this era and remains so to this day. Crucially, the very idea of the nation is itself explored and what it means for a nation to be. Themes of culture, tradition, religion, mythology, etc, are all explored here in a really interesting way. Nation has actually been praised by many people as an exploration of anti-colonial politics, and I think this really shines through in how great the novel is. Absolutely the best Pratchett book I’ve read so far, and it’s not even close.

Palestine: A Socialist Introduction- Sumaya Awad

The topic of Palestine is never too far away from political discussions as of late, and for good reason. On a purely human level, people see the horrific images and videos which have been coming out of Gaza for almost three years since Israel began its assault in the wake of October 7th. What we unfortunately haven’t seen too much of, however, is genuine Palestinian perspectives on their struggle.

Mainstream sources seem content to air Israeli government talking points unchallenged, and the very idea of even hearing the Palestinian side seems out of the question. What* Palestine: A Socialist Introduction* offers us is just this, and specifically, a truly radical perspective on the problem of Israel. Awad is not afraid to criticise various aspects of the Palestinian struggle, such as the representation in the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, but she does so for socialist reasons, which really get to the heart of the struggle for Palestinian liberation.

As someone who has read a few books on the subject of Israel and Palestine at this point, I think this is probably my favourite. The way in which Awad puts forth a message that liberation has to come from the people themselves, from below rather than above, is really interesting and something people can learn a lot from. At the core, however, the oppression of Palestinians lies in the problems of capitalism and imperialism, and it’s only through the superseding of these systems that liberation can be achieved. A fantastic book from start to finish.

Loyalists and Loners- Michael Foot

I am continuing to comb through some of my collection of books by Michael Foot and I have to say that *Loyalists and Loners certainly surprised me in how insightful it was. Loyalists and Loners is a book similar to Foot’s Debts of Honour* in that it is made up of a variety of essays, although, in the case of Loyalists and Loners, it mostly covers specific people, including many from the history of the Labour Party.

Foot opens the book with a great essay on Jennie Lee, the wife of the great Labour politician and founder of the NHS, Nye Bevan. Foot was a known disciple of Bevan and he wrote about Jennie Lee with great admiration, describing her as someone who was loyal not merely to the Labour Party as a political party, but to the Labour movement itself. Bevan’s background as a trade unionist is well-known, and his wife’s devotion to the Labour movement was something they had in common.

Another essay in the book I found very insightful was Foot’s commentary on Hugh Gaitskell, the infamous figure on the right wing of the Labour Party. Foot had many experiences trying to deal with the Labour right, and it’s in his essay on Gaitskell that we get one of his best insights, in which he points out how it was always the Labour right that sought to burn bridges and kick their opponents out of the party instead of the other way around. All in all, each essay in the book is brilliant in its own way, and it really makes for great reading for anyone interested in British politics.

Assassins Apprentice- Robin Hobb

If you’ve spent any amount of time combing through the fantasy section in your local bookshop, you will have no doubt seen *Assassin’s Apprentice* many a time while you browse. I myself had seen it many times before I ultimately decided to pick it up some time ago, and I’m very glad that I made the decision to read it this month.

Assassin’s Apprentice is the first book in The Farseer Trilogy, and it follows the adventures of a boy named Fitz, from the time he is known as a bastard child, to his efforts to learn the skills needed to become an assassin. When I read Assassin’s Apprentice, I was really surprised by how immersive of a reading experience it was. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expecting it to be drab or boring, but the way the story was told was so brilliant and it made it so easy to picture the world, the character, and everything else play out in my head.

By far and away, Assassin’s Apprentice is one of the most immersive reading experiences I’ve ever had, and one of the best works of fiction I’ve read. Fitz, King Shred, Chade, and all of the other characters in the book serve to be really interesting in the story, and I loved seeing the whole narrative play out. Given that this is obviously part of a trilogy, I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the next two books, fantastic from start to finish.

From Devon With Death- Stephanie Austin

I’m gonna close things off here with a book that was really surprising for me. I picked up *From Devon With Death* when I still lived in Devon, Plymouth specifically, given that the author was local to the area, and I’d had a desire to get into crime and mystery novels for some time. Earlier in May, I decided to give the book a try and see what was what. I’m happy to say it was a really great reading experience.

Speaking as someone who is from the Devon area originally, a lot of the locations were familiar to me, at least by name, and as a result, it made the experience of getting into the book really nice and easy to immerse myself in the story. Juno Browne is the detective at the heart of the Devon Mysteries series, and she is presented in a really well-done way that makes her character seem real and authentic.

Juno’s story throughout this novel specifically was really interesting. Without spoiling anything, she’s very funny and sarcastic, and the fact that she doesn’t appear to know some of the victims in this tale at first makes for really interesting reading and makes you want to continue on with the story. Speaking again as someone who is from the Devon area, I really liked the setting, especially and the way the area was described, it reminded me of home to be a bit sentimental. Definitely a fantastic reading experience from start to finish.