Our 2026 Reading Recommendations
Shop our 2026 Reading List and use code BSO15 to receive 15% off!
We have a bunch of books we're looking forward to reading this year, and we've rounded them up in this handy list. Take 15% OFF these select titles when you enter BSO15 at checkout, valid now until April 1, 2026.
A few highlights…
A Force for Nature: Paul Schaefer's Adirondack Coalitions by David Gibson
Inspired by an upcoming event at the Kelly Adirondack Center hosted by our colleagues at AARCH, we added this book to our 2026 reading list to learn more about Paul Schaefer and his legacy in and around the Adirondacks.
"Drawing on Schaefer's own writings, as well as interviews and family narratives, Gibson paints a vivid and comprehensive portrait of the icon and the Adirondack Park that serves as his legacy."
The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff
This is the subject of our first in-person Preservation Book Club meet-up, scheduled to happen during this year's Statewide Preservation Conference. Add it to your conference registration to join the conversation on April 15!
"'The day I returned to Templeton steeped in disgrace, the fifty-foot corpse of a monster surfaced in Lake Glimmerglass.' So begins The Monsters of Templeton, a novel spanning two centuries: part a contemporary story of a girl's search for her father, part historical novel, and part ghost story."
Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray
We love historical fiction, especially when it's focused on the history of New York. This novel tells the story of the Harlem Renaissance through one woman's contributions, including working with W.E.B. DuBois as the literary editor of The Crisis magazine.
"She found the literary voices that would inspire the world... The extraordinary story of the woman who ignited the Harlem Renaissance, written by Victoria Christopher Murray, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Personal Librarian."
The Design of Childhood: How the Material World Shapes Independent Kids by Alexandra Lange
Re-released at the end of 2025, this edition of The Design of Childhood was updated to include author Alexandra Lange's Pulitzer Prize-Winning essays. Already a classic, we're excited to dive into this expanded version.
"Pulitzer Prize-winning design critic Alexandra Lange reveals the surprising histories behind the human-made elements of our children's pint-size landscape. Her fascinating investigation shows how the seemingly innocuous universe of stuff affects kids' behavior, values, and health. Along the way, she reveals how years of decisions by toymakers, architects, and urban planners have helped-and hindered-American kids' journeys toward independence."
The Rest of the List
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