Searching for your next great read? Connecticut Public’s Where We Read has got your back.
This community-focused initiative has a simple goal: connecting you with great books. Curated by self-proclaimed book nerd Catherine Shen (host of “Where We Live”) and a team of bookish producers, “Where We Read” features author events, reader meet-ups, and a monthly newsletter.
So far, 2026 has been a big year for books at Connecticut Public. Here are some of our favorite reads (and links to our conversations with the authors):
Before becoming a Jesuit priest, Rev. James Martin was a dishwasher, a golf caddy and even worked in Connecticut at General Electric. His book chronicles his early life and the odd jobs that set him on a path to become one of Catholicism’s most well-recognized communicators.
“An Arcane Inheritance” by Kamilah Cole
When you write a dark academia fantasy novel that takes place in the U.S., why not set it in Hartford? Kamilah Cole’s novel follows Ellory Morgan, a Jamaican immigrant and first-generation college student pursuing a degree in political science, as she grapples with America’s racist history and the existence of magic at the fictional Warren University.
“This is the Only Kingdom” by Jaquira Díaz
Jaquira Díaz was born in Puerto Rico. Her 2025 debut novel, “This Is the Only Kingdom,” explores the story of a mother and daughter navigating generational grief, family and the barrios, or neighborhoods, that make them. It also tackles internalized homophobia and intergenerational conversations about queerness.
"Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America" by Leila Philip
This animal-centric nonfiction piece stars the wonderful aquatic rodent that is the beaver. It explores how the animal is entwined with American history and how these animals are a keystone species that literally shaped the land.
“Before I Forget” by Tory Henwood Hoen
Hoen’s novel follows Cricket, a young woman who moves back home to care for her father with Alzheimer's disease. It’s a story inspired by the author’s own caregiving experience and our interview also included a check-in with Barrie Kreinik, who narrated the audiobook.
“The Island of Forgotten Gods” by Victor Piñeiro
Piñeiro says Puerto Rico, and its culture, are facing a critical moment. As natural disasters stress infrastructure and the island’s power grid, people are leaving in large numbers. Piñeiro says his novel explores Taíno mythology and Caribbean culture and is the kind of book he wished he’d seen on bookshelves when he was a kid.
“This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip through U.S. History” by Beverly Gage
To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, historian Beverly Gage took a road trip around the country to visit over three hundred historic sites. Those travels are documented in her new book, which functions as a tour through our nation's history and could serve as inspiration for your next road trip.
Tayari Jones’ latest novel tells the story of two girls born in Honeysuckle, Louisiana in the Jim Crow era. The girls take very different paths through life, but they are bound by the shared experience of not knowing their biological moms. The book explores themes of race, queerness and belonging, but perhaps most of all, it confronts the question of what it means to be Kin.
“All the Water in the World” by Eiren Caffall
What happens when the glaciers finally melt and begin to flood New York City? The novel follows Nonie and her family who create a home on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History. Their goal is to preserve as much history as they can. When a superstorm breaches the city’s flood walls, they escape north on the Hudson, bringing with them a book that holds their records of the lost collections. It’s a story about humanity, survival and the preservation of our stories.
Learn more
Check out all our author conversations, book recommendations and newsletter at Where We Read.
