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Updated October 7, 2026

There’s something especially satisfying about preordering a book you already know you want and having it show up around release day.

I was browsing Bookshop.org’s current preorder picks, and five books immediately stood out—from a huge new Sarah J. Maas release to new nonfiction from Ed Yong and Michelle Zauner, plus literary fiction and a debut crime novel.

Even better, purchases through Bookshop.org help support independent bookstores. Bookshop.org says more than 80% of its profit margin goes back to independent bookstores.

Here are five upcoming books worth having on your radar.

Books to Preorder at a Glance

Book	Author	Release Date	Best For
A Court of Splintered Harmony	Sarah J. Maas	Oct. 27, 2026	ACOTAR & romantasy fans
On the Calculation of Volume: Book V	Solvej Balle	Nov. 17, 2026	Literary & speculative fiction
The BangBang Boys	Peter Zaragoza Mayshle	Jan. 26, 2027	Crime fiction & literary drama
Life Beyond Measure	Ed Yong	Apr. 6, 2027	Nature & science readers
Thank You for Your Suffering	Michelle Zauner	Apr. 27, 2027	Memoir readers

1. A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas

Best for: ACOTAR fans who have been waiting for the next chapter

This is easily the biggest fantasy preorder on the list.

A Court of Splintered Harmony is the sixth book in Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series and the first part of the new Valkyrie Cycle.

The story returns to Prythian as Koschei the Deathless begins stirring again. The Night Court faces a growing threat while the Fae territories are still recovering from the war with Hybern and struggling to remain united. Bookshop.org describes the novel as filled with romance, danger, and intrigue.

If you’ve already read A Court of Silver Flames, this is probably already sitting somewhere on your TBR.

Release date: October 27, 2026

Why preorder it:

New ACOTAR story
Return to Prythian
Koschei the Deathless
Valkyries
Romance and political intrigue
One of fall 2026’s biggest fantasy releases

PREORDER AT BOOKSHOP.ORG

2. On the Calculation of Volume: Book V by Solvej Balle

Best for: Readers who like literary fiction that does something unusual

Solvej Balle’s On the Calculation of Volume series begins with a deceptively simple idea:

What happens if one day repeats forever?

Tara Selter has been trapped in November 18 for what feels like an impossible amount of time.

But by Book V, the story has moved beyond Tara simply trying to escape her situation. Other people are now trapped in the same strange relationship with time, and Tara has begun adapting to an existence she once desperately wanted to leave.

The fifth book continues exploring memory, loneliness, marriage, mortality, identity, and what happens when the ordinary structure of time disappears. New Directions describes the series as a seven-book project, with Book V arriving in the U.S. on November 17.

This feels like the preorder for someone who wants a book they’ll probably still be thinking about several weeks later.

Release date: November 17, 2026

Why preorder it:

Literary speculative fiction
Time-loop premise
Philosophical themes
Short, focused novel
Fifth installment of a seven-book series
Great choice for readers who like unusual fiction

PREORDER AT BOOKSHOP.ORG

3. The BangBang Boys by Peter Zaragoza Mayshle

Best for: Readers looking for an intense new literary crime novel

This is the debut on the list—and probably the book many readers will know the least about.

The BangBang Boys takes place in Manila during the Philippine drug war.

The story follows the young men working at the BangBang Touch spa after one of their coworkers is found dead and a violent police raid turns their lives upside down.

The survivors are forced to reckon with grief, fear, violence, politics, friendship, and what they are willing to risk to protect one another.

Bookshop.org describes it as a steamy crime saga about a found family caught in an escalating drug war, while Macmillan positions the story around the choices the survivors must make after the raid.

This is the one I’d watch if you like discovering a debut before everyone else starts talking about it.

Release date: January 26, 2027

Why preorder it:

Debut novel
Crime fiction
Manila setting
Found family
Political and social themes
Survival, identity, and loyalty

PREORDER AT BOOKSHOP.ORG

4. Life Beyond Measure by Ed Yong

Best for: Fans of An Immense World and fascinating nature writing

Ed Yong has a talent for making the natural world feel completely different from the one we thought we understood.

His next book, Life Beyond Measure, looks at how living things experience and operate at dramatically different scales.

Penguin Random House describes the book as an exploration of the astonishing ways life functions at different sizes and scales—building on the perspective-shifting approach Yong used in An Immense World.

This is the nonfiction pick I’d recommend for readers who like science books that don’t feel like textbooks.

You should come away knowing more about nature while also realizing just how strange the living world actually is.

Release date: April 6, 2027

Why preorder it:

New book from Ed Yong
Nature and biology
Accessible science writing
Big-picture ideas
Perfect for An Immense World readers
The kind of nonfiction that changes how you look at ordinary things

PREORDER AT BOOKSHOP.ORG

5. Thank You for Your Suffering by Michelle Zauner

Best for: Readers who loved Crying in H Mart

Michelle Zauner is returning to memoir.

Thank You for Your Suffering follows Zauner during a year spent in South Korea, where she studies Korean at an intensive language school and develops deeper relationships with her mother’s family.

Penguin Random House describes it as an emotional continuation of the mother-daughter story at the heart of Crying in H Mart, but this time Zauner is exploring language, family, grief, and her connection to Korea from a different stage in her life.

If Crying in H Mart stayed with you after you finished it, this may be the easiest preorder on the list.

Release date: April 27, 2027

Why preorder it:

New Michelle Zauner memoir
Follow-up in spirit to Crying in H Mart
South Korea setting
Family and identity
Language and belonging
Grief, humor, and personal growth

PREORDER AT BOOKSHOP.ORG

Which Upcoming Book Should You Preorder?

If you love…	Preorder…
Romantasy	A Court of Splintered Harmony
Literary speculative fiction	On the Calculation of Volume: Book V
Crime + intense literary fiction	The BangBang Boys
Nature and science	Life Beyond Measure
Memoirs	Thank You for Your Suffering

Why Preorder Books?

Preordering isn’t just about making sure you have a book as soon as it releases.

Bookshop.org notes that preorders contribute to a book’s early sales, can help build momentum around a release, and signal demand to publishers. When you preorder through Bookshop.org, the purchase also supports its independent-bookstore model.

That makes it particularly useful when there’s an author or book you already know you want to support.

And realistically, there’s also something nice about forgetting you ordered a book and then having it unexpectedly arrive months later.

Future-you gets a present.

The Book I’d Watch Most Closely

If we’re talking sheer attention, A Court of Splintered Harmony is going to be difficult to compete with.

The next ACOTAR installment arrives October 27, so it’s also the most immediate release on this list.

But the book I’d keep an eye on as a potential breakout is The BangBang Boys.

It’s a debut with a very distinctive setting and premise, and those are often the books where preordering lets you get in before word of mouth takes off.

For nonfiction readers, I’d put Life Beyond Measure near the top simply because Ed Yong’s previous work makes the subject particularly promising.