FIFA Fever! Soccer Books To Celebrate the World Cup

With FIFA's announcement that Massachusetts is a host location for seven games for this year's FIFA World Cup 2026, football fever is taking over! Matches begin June 11. A reminder--you can't walk to Gillette, aka Boston Stadium, from Boston--or Worcester! Check for information and updates on the official website.

Whether you're a new soccer fan caught up in the hype, a die-hard "football" fanatic who has been following FIFA for years, an armchair referee, or just enjoy playing EA SPORTS FC 26, check out this list of nonfiction titles about what we call soccer, in celebration of Boston's hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2026. For those of you with friends and family who will be obsessed with soccer from mid-June through July 9, there's some suggested soccer fiction to calmly read while everyone else ise jumping up and down screaming at the television.

Nonfiction

Information, History, and Biographies

A Beautiful Shame: One Team's Fight for Survival in a New Era of College Sports by Ryan Swanson
This book follows the University of New Mexico men's soccer team as they fight for survival in a new era of college athletics, providing a firsthand perspective on the impact of changes such as the transfer portal, conference realignments, and universities scrambling to stay compliant on athletes from smaller sports and institutions.

Big Fan: Two Friends, 81,589 Miles, and the Wild, Wonderful Sports We Love by Michael Schur and Joe Posnanski
Mike Schur and Joe Posnanski travel the world in a hilarious and heartwarming celebration of fans and the things they love: baseball, basketball, chess, darts, football, futbol, Indigenous North American stickball, pickleball, WWE, Taylor Swift, Star Wars, and more.

The History of the World in 12 Soccer Matches by Stefano Bizzotto, translated by Will Schutt
An epic tale of war, revolution, economic crisis, and social transformation told through the story of twelve historic soccer games, with a gallery of unexpected heroes, thwarted tragedies, and stunning, world-changing results.

How to Watch Soccer Like a Genius: What Architects, Stuntwomen, Paleoanthropologists, and Computer Scientists Reveal about the World's Game by Nick Greene
A brilliant and entertaining deconstruction of the most popular sport in the world, just in time for the 2026 World Cup in North America, from the bestselling author of How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius.

The Long Game: U.S. Men's Soccer and Its Savage, Four-Decade Journey to the Top, or Thereabouts by Leander Schaerlaeckens
The gripping account of the U.S. men's national soccer team's winding saga from obscurity to the global stage as they stand on the brink of a seminal World Cup in 2026

Masters of Modern Soccer: How the World's Best Play the Twenty-First-Century Game by Grant Wahl
The forefront Sports Illustrated soccer journalist and best-selling author of The Beckham Experiment profiles master players in every key position to reveal how elite athletes and coaches strategize on and off the field and perform in high-pressure game situations.

The Messi Effect: How the Global Legend Changed the Future of American Soccer by Paul Tenorio
The soccer writer for The Atlantic draws on his numerous high-ranking sources inside Inter Miami, American soccer, and overseas to bring readers behind the scenes and chronicle the last act of Lionel Messi.

Relagated: One American's Pints-and-Pies Journey From the Top to the Bottom of English Football by Todd Smith
Looking for a change and a chance to write about something that really matters to him, Smith takes off for a multi-month, immersive expedition through the world and culture of English football. A heartwarming account featuring pints, meat pies, a rainbow of team scarves and banners, and some very colorful slang, Relegated is the story of a man looking to transform himself while discovering the true meaning of English football.

The Rise of Major League Soccer: Building a Global Giant by Rick Burton & Norm O'Reilly
experienced sports business experts Rick Burton and Norm O'Reilly dig into the slow but sure growth of Major League Soccer in North America and the advent of major European teams like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and others attracting huge fan bases in the United States. For soccer enthusiasts, sports business professionals, and anyone curious about the future of American sports, this book is an essential read that captures MLS's journey to becoming a global powerhouse.

Soccer for Dummies by Tom Dunmore
Learn how soccer got to be the #1 most popular sport in the world. Get up to speed on the world's best leagues, teams, and players. Discover tips on playing and coaching, plus fun soccer facts and resources for learning more"

Soccernomics (2026 World Cup Edition): Why European Men and American Women Usually Win--And American Men Don't (Yet) by Simon Kuper & Stefan Syzmanski
Soccernomics is a revolutionary way of looking at soccer that has helped to change how some of the world's biggest clubs are run. Using insights and analogies from economics, statistics, psychology, and business to cast a new and entertaining light on how the game works, experts Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski reveal the often surprisingly counterintuitive truths about soccer.

World Cup Fever: A Soccer Journey in Nine Tournaments by Simon Kuper
After attending every game since 1990, World Cup Fever is Kuper's journey to find the heart of soccer, through the nine tournaments he's experienced first-hand--from watching matches in half-empty stands during Italia 1990 (a tournament that at times felt like a village fete) to witnessing the French triumph at home in 1998; South Africa's national dream in 2010; and the troubling legacy of Qatar in 2022. Told on the pitch, in the stands, in the pubs, and on the streets, this is the story of how soccer has changed the world.

Fiction

Historical, Contemporary & Romance

The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta
Teaching human sexuality from a perspective that information and pleasure are top priorities, divorced mom Ruth Ramsey butts heads with the local soccer coach, a divorced former addict who became an evangelical Christian after hitting rock bottom.

Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
Britt-Marie is 63 when she walks away from her loveless marriage and takes a job as a caretaker for a soon-to-be-demolished rec center in the tiny, depressing Swedish town of Borg, where among other things, she coaches a youth soccer team.

Death of the Soccer God by Dimitry Elias Léger
A global soccer star’s epic ride to the 1950 World Cup places him in shooting distance of his dreams and his own death.

Everything For You by Chloe Liese 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Oliver Bergman is a beloved rising soccer star, all sunshine smiles and the heart of his team's spirit. In short: he's genetically designed to get under misanthropic, miserable Gavin's aggravated skin. Sick of their hostility, Coach gives them an ultimatum: put an end to their enmity or say goodbye to being captains. Forced to finally to lower their guards, Gavin and Oliver realize that they also have chemistry off the field, and it's fueled by something much more powerful than competition--an explosive attraction.

Godwin by Joseph O'Neill
Mark Wolfe, a technical writer at a Pittsburgh cooperative, heads to England to help his struggling soccer scout half-brother locate a young African phenom known only as Godwin. Back in the states, the co-op's steady cofounder, Lakesha, deals with major work problems.

If Only You by Chloe Liese 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Ziggy Bergman is tired of being underestimated. Sure, she's the youngest player on the National Soccer team and the baby of the family, but that doesn't mean she still deserves to be treated like a kid. It's time for her angelic image to get a makeover. What better way to do that than hanging out with trouble incarnate and her brother's best friend, Sebastian Gauthier?

The Long Game by Elena Armas 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
A disgraced soccer executive reluctantly enlists the help of a retired soccer star in coaching a children's team.

Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev 🌶️🌶️🌶️
In this adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion, a chef partners with her celebrity soccer star--her first love--during a reality-show competition she hopes will save her restaurant.

Relationship Goals by Brittany Kelley 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Ted Lasso meets How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in this steamy sports romance about an infamous star soccer player who is forced to fake date a Hollywood starlet, only to develop real feelings for her-just as she learns he was pretending and vows to get even.

The Striker by Ana Huang 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
When legendary footballer Asher Donovan must be trained by former ballerina Scarlett DeBois, the sparks begin to fly.

Two Left Feet by Kallie Emblidge 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Ordinarily the star of the Camden Roses is calm, cool, and collected, keeping his club relevant with his prowess in the midfield and his mighty left foot. But this season, the threats abound: First a midseason injury sidelines him when his team needs him most. When a recruit is called up to fill in, Oliver fears he'll be replaced. Oliver immediately finds confident, eager Leonardo irritating, but eventually begins to see him as a friend--and then, to his mounting horror, as something more. As the season heats up, a lot more than football hangs in the balance.

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
The wizards of Unseen University in the ancient city of Ankh-Morpork must win a football match, without using magic, so they're in the mood for trying everything else. As the match approaches, four lives are entangled and changed forever.

When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Working with curvy, cheery, cute ghostwriter Mabel Willicker on his memoir, grumpy ex-footballer Alfie Harding, when their business arrangement is mistaken for a budding romance, convinces her to be in a fake relationship for the public, but their undeniable chemistry between them leads to something real.

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Note: The chili peppers denote the steaminess, or spice level, of a book's romantic/intimate elements; visit https://www.romance.io/steamrating for the key.

Northstar Digital Literacy

The Worcester Public Library has acquired a new resource to assist patrons with basic digital skills and tools. Northstar Digital Literacy is a comprehensive program that teaches basic computer and technology skills to individuals to help them succeed in work, education, and daily life. Free, online self-guided units on various topics assess the ability of individuals to perform tasks based on these skills. 

Available in English and Spanish, these basic computer literacy units are divided into three different modules:

• Essential Computer Skills
• Essential Software Skills
• Using Technology In Daily Life

You can sign up as a learner and track your progress in each unit you test by creating a Northstar account. if you do not want to create an account, you can also try Northstar without a learner account. However, assessments taken without a learner account do not track your progress.

To access this resource, go to the databases page on mywpl.org. Access is available at every Worcester Public Library location. You can access remotely from your home. Call 508-799-1655, ext. 3, to talk to a librarian or email us at reference@mywpl.libanswers.com for assistance. 

Song Sung Blue: Music-Themed Novels

June is National DJ month, so we have music on our minds! The movie Song Sung Blue (Focus Films, 2026) is a fictionalization of a 2008 documentary (same title!) about Mike and Claire Sardina, a couple who joined musical forces to provide entertainment as Neil Diamond interpreters: Mike had the voice, the costuming, and the moves, and Claire, his biggest fan, provided accompaniment, backup vocals and rhythm. When a terrible accident resulted in Claire needing to relearn how to stand, walk, and dance, it's like the music has gone out of her life... but music is the thread that helps her hold her life together, and the bond that brings them back to one another. 

Read on for music-themed novels about unrequited love, instrumentalists pitted against one another for first chair, relationships that break up bands, bands that break up relationships, couples who find a way to make beautiful music together--and a gritty story about a Neil Diamond obsession.

All The Right Notes by Dominic Lim 🌶️🌶️
In this hilarious and joyous rom com, sparks fly when a piano genius and a Hollywood heartthrob are thrown together for a charity performance of solos, heartfelt duets, and a big, showstopping finale.

August Lane by Regina Black 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Every Thursday night, former country music heartthrob Luke Randall has to sing “Another Love Song.” God, he hates that song. But performing his lone hit at an interstate motel lounge is the only regular money he still has. Following another lackluster performance at the rock bottom of his career, Luke receives the opportunity of his dreams, opening for his childhood idol—90’s era Black country music star, JoJo Lane, who’s being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. But the concert is in Arcadia, Arkansas, the small hometown he swore he’d never see again...

The Breakup Tour by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund Broka 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Asking her former college boyfriend, Max Harcourt, to go public as her songwriting muse, megastar Riley Wynn, when he joins her and her band on tour, starts to realize that, despite the sour notes in the past, their future could hold incredible things.

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Reid Jenkins 🌶️🌶️
Though they had chemistry on stage, off stage the members of the band Daisy Jones & The Six clashed; their interviews years later are candid, direct, sometimes pained, and sometimes funny as they collectively form the oral narrative of the meteoric rise and catastrophic fall of the hottest (fictional) rock band of the 1970s.

Diamond Dogs by Alan Watt
When seventeen-year-old Neil Garvin, a popular high-school quarterback, accidentally commits a horrifying crime, his abusive father--the Neil Diamond-obsessed local sheriff--covers up for him, until the FBI arrives and father and son become locked in a confrontation that could tear them apart or set them free.

Deep Cuts by Kyle Higgins
New Orleans, 1917: a clarinet player meets his hero. Kansas City, 1940: a young girl investigates the mystery of her father's lost love of music. Los Angeles, 1977: a band embark on a world tour that may be their last. Writers KYLE HIGGINS and JOE CLARK (RADIANT BLACK) are joined by an ALL-STAR CAST OF ARTISTS for an anthology of stories that weave tales of struggle, joy, and hope through the history of jazz!

The Farewell Tour by Stephanie Clifford
It’s 1980, and Lillian Waters is hitting the road for the very last time. Jaded from her years in the music business, perpetually hungover, and diagnosed with career-ending vocal problems, Lillian cobbles together a nationwide farewell tour featuring some old hands from her early days playing honky-tonk bars in Washington State and Nashville, plus a few new ones. She yearns to feel the rush of making live music one more time and bask in the glow of a packed house before she makes the last, and most important, stop on the tour: the farm she left behind at age ten and the sister she is finally ready to confront about an agonizing betrayal in their childhood.

Glitter Bats series by Jessica James:
For One Night Only #1 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
When two former bandmates—and bedmates—are thrust back into each other's lives in a fake dating scheme for publicity, they'll be forced to face the music.
For Our Next Song #2 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
The decade-long friendship between two rock goddesses is thrust into the spotlight after their mutual desire strikes a perfect—and very public—chord.

The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner
Sisters Cassie and Zoe were born just a year apart but could not have been more different. Zoe yearned for fame while Cassie was a musical prodigy who never felt at home in her own skin and preferred the safety of the shadows. In the early 2000s, destiny intervened, catapulting the sisters into the spotlight as the pop sensation the Griffin Sisters. But after a year, the band abruptly broke up. Two decades later, Zoe’s a housewife; Cassie’s off the grid. The sisters aren’t speaking. Zoe’s teenage daughter, Cherry, who’s determined to be a star, is on a quest to learn the truth about what happened to the band all those years ago.

Heart Strings (Love in Galway #2) by Ivy Fairbanks 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Surviving cancer taught Lo Valdez that life is too short to spend time on someone who wronged you. But Aidan O’Toole is determined to change her mind. When Lo moved from Texas to Galway, she wasn’t looking for love, but Aidan, a gorgeous, mandolin-playing lawyer, slipped past her defenses. When Aidan was given the opportunity to record an album in Long - he took it, breaking Lo's heart. Two years later, every song he writes is still about her, and when Lo hears his voice on the radio, it’s an arrow straight to her soul. Now they’re on a collision course as maid of honor and best man at a weekend-long Irish castle wedding. Can Aidan convince Lo their song wasn’t meant to end?

The Idea of You by Robinne Lee 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
A middle-aged art gallery owner begins a passionate fling with a member of her daughter’s favorite boy band, who is 19 years her junior, and must fend off rabid fans and insatiable media after their affair becomes a viral sensation.

Idol (VIP #1) by Kristen Callihan 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Killian, the lead singer for the biggest rock band in the world, crashes his motorcycle on the lawn and into the life of a reclusive small-town girl in this rock star meets normie romance.

If Not For My Baby by Kate Golden 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Clementine Clark isn’t looking for love. Growing up with a single mom who weeps over a new guy each week tends to have that effect on a girl. She’s even buried her musical dreams so deeply within herself that she hardly notices the hole it’s left in her life... until she's offered a life-changing opportunity: to join Irish megastar Halloran on his first US tour as a backing vocalist. Overnight, Clementine goes from serving enchiladas to belting high notes before a cheering crowd. But the whiplash of trading small-town Texas for sold-out stadiums is nothing compared to the rush of performing with the enigmatic Thomas Patrick Halloran, who strikes an unforgettable chord in Clementine.

Kakigori Summer by Emily Itami
When music idol Ai is embroiled in scandal, her sisters, ambitious Rei and single mother Kiki, pause their lives and spend the summer with Ai in their childhood home on the Japanese coast so they can rescue their baby sister.

Kiss the Girl (Meant To Be #3) by Zoraida Córdova 🌶️🌶️
In this contemporary riff on Disney's The Little Mermaid, Ariel del Mar is one of the most famous singers in the world. She and her sisters—together, known as the band Siren Seven—have been a pop culture phenomenon since they were kids. On stage, wearing her iconic red wig and sequined costumes, staring out at a sea of fans, is where she shines. Anyone would think she’s the girl who has everything. But lately, she wants more...

Last Call at the Local (Love, Lists & Fancy Ships #3) by Sarah Grunder Ruiz 🌶️🌶️🌶️
When a careless mistake in Ireland leaves her unable to perform, Rainie Hart, a free-spirited American singer-songwriter living with ADHD, starts working at a local pub where she helps her charming OCD employer, Jack Dunne, reinvent his business, discovering a love to last a lifetime along the way.

Love Is A War Song by Danica Nava 🌶️🌶️🌶️
After a scandal, Native American pop singer Avery Fox escapes to her grandmother's horse ranch in Oklahoma. Living on the rez is new to Avery, plus the man who runs the ranch despises her and wants her gone. Red Fox Ranch has been home to Lucas Iron Eyes since he was 16 years old. Lucas can't stand what Avery represents, but forced to work with her on the ranch - he can't get her out of his head. They form a tentative truce and make a deal: Avery will help raise funds to save the ranch, and in exchange, Lucas will show her what it really means to be an Indian. 

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Against her wealthy family's wishes, floral designer Ricki Wilde opens a flower shop in Harlem and befriends jazz musician Ezra "Breeze" Walker, a man who's fallen out of time.

Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Two string players fight their attraction for each other as they compete for center stage in this spicy and emotional romance. Gwen Jackson and Xander Thorne are both musical prodigies, but each has had very different paths to success. Xander was born into classical music royalty, while Gwen had a natural ear for music that was nurtured by a kind shop owner. After Gwen performs at his friend's wedding, she's mortified when she realizes Xander has no clue who she is - despite having worked together for a year at the Pops Orchestra. But she's more furious that he arrogantly critiques her performance.

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld 🌶️🌶️🌶️
A sketch writer for a late-night comedy show, Sally Milz pokes fun at the phenomenon of talented but average men who've gotten romantically involved with beautiful women and how the reverse never happens until she meets a pop music sensation who flips the script on all her assumptions.

The Singer Sisters by Sarah Seltzer
Two generations of a folk-rock dynasty collide over art, love, longing and family secrets.

Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Haunted by emptiness despite her status as a coveted songwriter, Joni Lark returns to her North Carolina hometown where her family's closing music venue sparks a mysterious telepathic connection with a guarded musician determined to complete a haunting melody.

Wreck The Halls by Tessa Bailey 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
The adult children of two former rock stars who team up to convince their estranged mothers to play a Christmas Eve concert.

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New Releases - June 2026 edition

Check out these highly anticipated new releases featuring fiction and nonfiction titles. Click on the title to request a copy or get your name on the waitlist. Don’t forget to watch for more featured releases next month!

FICTION

Contrapposto by Dave Eggers
Drawing is a refuge from household chaos and violence for young, talented Cricket; it also brings him under the spell of golden-eyed Olympia. When she commandeers him for their first audacious collaboration in their small Indiana town, she initiates a lifelong entanglement that, for Cricket, will bring agony and ecstasy. A year older, she is brash, cultured, and ambitious; Cricket is quiet, watchful, and devoted to pursuing art's essence. While in high school, he rides the train to Chicago to take life drawing classes. At the state university, flummoxed by the focus on conceptual art, he finds a renegade mentor at the "Prairie Atelier." Olympia becomes an astute, gutsy, and pragmatic curator and impresario; Cricket remains gloriously independent, humble, and offhandedly intrepid. Their sporadic reunions propel them across America and around the world, with every tumultuous encounter testing Cricket's love for Olympia and his conviction that what matters about art are the "hours of creation," the "rapture." As entwined opposites, Cricket and Olympia form a contrapposto, an expressive pose in which the human body twists in two different directions. Drawings by Eggers (The Every, 2021), who was a painting major in college, and others punctuate his surpassingly beautiful and enthralling prose as he ingeniously meshes the arresting and affecting drama of Cricket and Olympia with an insightful, caustically funny, at times tragic, and truly profound inquiry into the making and meaning of art... Eggers' many awards include the Newbery Medal for The Eyes and the Impossible (2024), which subtly alludes to his passion for visual art, gloriously brought to fruition here. Copyright 2026 Booklist. 

Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim 
DEBUT When a person emigrates in this novel's world, a separation happens: one instance of them travels on to their new home, and one stays behind. From there, the two instances can decide whether to remain connected, either staying in sync in order to eventually reintegrate or becoming estranged. Soyoung Rose Kang is faced with this decision. At age 10, "Rose" and one instance of her mother left for the U.S., while "Soyoung" and the other instance of her mother stayed in Korea. When their grandfather's death brings Rose to Seoul years later, she meets her Korean instance for the first time. Soyoung hopes that she and Rose will reintegrate--whether Rose wants to or not. Along with their also-instanced childhood friend Yujin/YJ, Rose and Soyoung explore whether they are two halves of a whole, or just two halves. The novel's second-person perspectives, complex science, and slower starting pace help readers to navigate a layered narrative and exciting plot. VERDICT Kim offers a unique sci-fi take on diaspora and identity. Hand to fans of Kazuo Ishiguro and China Miéville.--Kristi Chadwick. Copyright 2026 Library Journal. 

The Jellyfish Problem by Tessa Yang
Marine biologist Jo Ness grieves the loss of her best friend and colleague Aldo, who was working with her on a jellyfish guide. She receives a call from Nadia, an old friend she hasn't seen in years, pleading for her help with a massive jellyfish that is terrorizing a Maine island community. Nadia is nowhere to be found when Jo arrives in Shattering Point, and the locals there each have a different take on the sea monster, which they have named Clementine. With a varied cast of characters, the novel captivates from start to finish and provides a sense of solace as the events unfold. The finale is perfection, sure to leave readers feeling satiated and impassioned, with sticking power that lasts long after the book's close. VERDICT Perfect for fans of Shelby Van Pelt's Remarkably Bright Creatures or Emily Habeck's Shark Heart who are looking for the same immersiveness, heartbreak, and comfort those novels evoked.--Juliana Newsom.  Copyright 2026 Library Journal.

NONFICTION

1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World by Liaquat Ahamed
Pulitzer-winning economist Ahamed (Lords of Finance) offers an eye-opening investigation of the "first truly significant global financial crisis." In 1873, the Vienna Stock Exchange, inflated by a speculative real estate bubble, collapsed, affecting "people from every stratum of society." Soon a "preeminent American investment bank... shuttered its doors," inspiring runs on banks and further panic-selling. The period of global economic malaise that followed was the first to be referred to as the "Great Depression," and Ahamed notes that "it is remarkable" how it seems to have set the mold for future crashes. Moreover, while the 1873 crash is "now largely forgotten," its reverberations, he argues, were immense. The crisis led to "a giant redistribution of wealth" from "debtors to creditors," as "bankers and financiers" profited "inordinately." This provoked a general mood of "populist ire." Around the world, "politics took a darker turn." In the U.S., the Grant administration's ineffectual response played a role in "prematurely ending Reconstruction." In Europe, "novice investors who had lost their savings" sought scapegoats, and "increasingly directed their anger against Jews." Meanwhile, government debt defaults in the Middle East caused turmoil. Throughout, Ahamed returns to the Rothschilds, owners of "the largest... private European bank," using their central placement in the events that unfolded as "a natural connective thread." Granular and deeply researched, it's an essential new perspective on the link between capitalism's boom and bust cycles and the emergence of reactionary political movements. Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly 

The Capitol: The Surprising Biography of an American Building by Brian Jay Jones
A history of an iconic American building. Biographer Jones (Jim Henson, 2013, and George Lucas, 2016) writes that the building got its name when Thomas Jefferson crossed out the words “Congress House” on Pierre L’Enfant’s map of the projected federal district and wrote in “Capitol.” The building itself—“a project that came with a pedigree like perhaps no other in American history”—began to rise on September 18, 1793, when George Washington laid the cornerstone in a Masonic ceremony. It did not rise quickly; the original estimate for its completion was far too optimistic, both in time and cost. When Congress finally moved into its new quarters in November 1800, only the north wing was complete. The House of Representatives met, for the time being, in a space meant for the Library of Congress. The District of Columbia itself had fewer than 400 houses; many members of Congress shared beds in boarding houses. Work on the Capitol was ongoing, with much squabbling between legislators, the projects’ architects, and their nominal superiors—Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War in the 1850s, oversaw many important improvements. Air quality in the legislative chambers was a constant issue until air conditioning arrived in the 1920s. And the majestic dome, which caught Washington’s eye in one of the first designs submitted, underwent several changes before it reached the proportions we now know. The narrative takes further power from the many incidents that took place in and around the Capitol, including its burning by the British in 1814, an attempted assassination of Andrew Jackson, its use to house Civil War soldiers, and, of course, the mob attack of January 6, 2021. “As both the symbol and the epicenter of the American experiment,” Jones concludes, “the Capitol houses not just the government but the American psyche.” A fascinating look at the center of American government and the colorful characters who built and have occupied it. Copyright 2026 Kirkus 

Shakespeare's Margaret: The Dramatic Life of a Warrior Queen by Charles O’Malley 
Step aside, m'lords. Think of Shakespeare, and you think of Lear, Hamlet, Othello, Juliet, or Cleopatra. But the single figure who appears in more plays than any other is Margaret of Anjou, queen to King Henry VI and one of the most complex of late-medieval English women. So say O'Malley, a writer and dramaturg, and Stern, a scholar and critic, in their enlightening book. Shakespeare wrote four plays in which Margaret appears--among his earliest forays into historical drama. She is the first of his great female characters, a woman torn between duty and desire. While the historical Margaret lived for little more than 50 years (1430-1482), the dramatic character takes on an immortality no less compelling than Lady Macbeth or Hamlet's mother. "She commands armies, acts as regent without her husband's explicit permission, seeks revenge, strikes a rival, stabs a foe, and revels in the murders of the children of her enemies," the authors write. She raised questions about gender and power not only for her own historical century but for Shakespeare's as well. In the 1590s, to have a Queen Elizabeth was to have a woman in a man's role. Elizabeth herself announced that she had "the stomach of a king." So, too, Margaret would reach out from the stage to limn herself a "tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide." She became a focal point for understanding how Elizabethan theater could interrogate the nature of female rule; how crafting a woman's part (that would have been played by a boy, given the times) shaped the young playwright's sense of domestic drama; and how, throughout the history of Shakespearean performance, actresses tested their own mettle on the mantle of this ferocious queen. An insightful study of Shakespeare's first great female character. Copyright 2026 Kirkus

Peakbagging, Through-Hiking, and Climbing Mount Everest: Mountaineering Books to Read During This Season's Bid for the Summit

As of this year, Mount Everest has been climbed over 13,737 times, by less than 8,000 people, and over 330 have lost their lives in their summit attempt. While not the most difficult mountain to climb, avalanches, falls, serac collapse, exposure, frostbite, and altitude contribute to it's deadliness. That doesn't stop people from trying to ascend Sagarmatha, or, the goddess of the sky.

At 29,032 feet high--nearly five & a half miles!--Everest is the tallest place on Earth, and growing by 2-4 millimeters each year due to the ongoing collision of the Indian and Eurasian techtonic plates. A guided expedition to Everest costs between $65,000-$125,000; the climbing fee alone is $15,000, and Everest revenue is projected to hit a record-breaking $1.01 billion in 2026, aided in part by China's decision not to issue permits this year.

Mt. Everest from Gokyo Ri (2012) photo by Rdevany  

Typically, prep begins a year or more in advance, with travelers arriving in Nepal in late spring to head to base camp in May. There, they acclimate while "icefall doctors" affix ladders and ropes to aid climbers. This year, an enormous chunk of ice impeded the process. Sherpas established a route as far as Base Camp by May 5; it will be interesting to see if climbers will be able to ascend in the narrow good weather window that occurs mid-to-late May. 

Controversies and challenges this year include a record-breaking 492 permits issues, which will create traffic and pollution issues; unexpected drone limits, false rescue requests, the effect of climate change on the glacier, and continued discoveries of hiker's remains are ongoing impediments. Summit bids are tentatively scheduled for May 12th/13th this year, and a few have made it. UPDATE: Due to high winds, the next window is May 17-19. For up-to-the moment Everest news, check out Outside magazine's Everest coverage--they are stationed at base camp this year--or Everest Chronicle. For stats, visit the Himalayan Database.

Whether you're an armchair traveler who prefers a leisurely indoor lap at the local mall, love the challenging of rock scrambling UP Purgatory Chasm, or have tackled the Appalachian Trail in parts or as a whole, here is a selection of books about peakbagging, through-hiking, and climbing high enough to see the curvature of the Earth.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
The author describes his spring 1996 trek to Mt. Everest, a disastrous expedition that claimed the lives of eight climbers, and explains how why he survived. A 30th anniversary edition, with a new introduction, releases this year. 

The Adventures of Buffalo and Tough Cookie by Dan Szczesny
An exploration of one of New Hampshire's least known mountain list, the 52 With a View. The author takes on the task of turning a determined, urban elementary child into an experienced back-woods hiker, and in the process finds that sometimes the most important lessons are the one's that she teaches him. through snow, storms, slugs and long miles over the state's beautiful and challenging terrain.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston 
After his hand becomes trapped behind a boulder while hiking in Utah's Canyonlands National Park, Aron Ralston endures five days of hypothermia, dehydration, and hallucinations before finally deciding to use his pocketknife to sever his arm and release himself to rappel down and hike out of the wilderness.

Everest 1922: The Epic Story of the First Attempt on the World's Highest Mountain by Mick Conefrey
The dramatic and inspiring account of the very first attempt to climb Mount Everest, published to coincide with the centenary of the expedition of 1922.

Everest, Inc: The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World by Will Cockrell
Anyone who has read Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air or has seen a recent photo of climbers standing in line to get to the top of Everest may think they have the mountain pretty well figured out. It’s an extreme landscape where bad weather and incredible altitude can occasionally kill, but more so an overcrowded, trashed-out recreation destination for the rich. There’s some truth to these clichés, but they’re a sliver of the story. Unlike any book to date, Everest, Inc. gets to the heart of the mountain through the definitive story of its greatest invention: the Himalayan guiding industry.

Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory and Irvine by Jochen Hemmeleb
Recounts the adventures of a group of mountaineers who climbed Mount Everest in 1999 in search of evidence that George Mallory and Andrew Irvine had reached the summit in 1924, decades before Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953.

Finding Elevation by Lisa Thompson
Near the death zone on K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, Lisa Thompson searched for the strength to continue climbing. Her choices were clear: give in to her doubts and descend or push past her own limits and continue up the mountain’s steep face.

High Adventure by Sir Edmund Hillary
Fear lives among Everest's mighty ice-fluted faces and howls across its razor-sharp crags. Gnawing at reason and enslaving minds, it has killed many and defeated countless others. But in 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay stared into its dark eye and did not waver. On May 29, they pushed spent bodies and aching lungs past the achievable to pursue the impossible. At a terminal altitude of 29,028 feet, they stood triumphant atop the highest peak in the world. 

The Hunt for Mount Everest by Craig Storti
Encountering spies, war, and political intrigues, Craig Storti uncovers the fascinating and still largely overlooked saga of all that led up to that moment in late June of 1921 when two English climbers, George Mallory and Guy Bullock, became the first westerners to set foot on Mt. Everest and claimed the last remaining major prize in the history of exploration. It's a tale of high drama, of larger-than-life characters and a few quiet heroes. Most Everest chronicles have dealt with the climbing history of the mountain, with all that happened after 1921. This book is the seldom-told story of all that happened before.

In the Shadow of the Mountain by Silvia Vasquez-Lavado
A Latinx hero in the elite macho tech world of Silicon Valley, privately, she was hanging by a thread. She was deep in the throes of alcoholism, hiding her sexuality from her family, and repressing the abuse she'd suffered as a child. Her visit to Peru would become a turning point in her life. Silvia started climbing.

The Next Everest: Surviving the Mountain's Deadliest Day and Finding the Resilience to Climb Again by Jim Davidson
On April 25, 2015, Jim Davidson was climbing Mount Everest when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake released avalanches all around him and his team, destroying their only escape route and trapping them at nearly 20,000 feet. It was the largest earthquake in Nepal in eighty-one years and killed nearly 8,900 people. That day also became the deadliest in the history of Everest, with eighteen people losing their lives on the mountain. After spending two unsettling days stranded on Everest, Davidson's team was rescued by helicopter.

The Third Pole: Mystery, Obsession, and Death on Mount Everest by Mark Synnott
The veteran Pararescuemen trainer and author of The Impossible Climb recounts how the unknown achievements of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine’s ill-fated 1924 ascent inspired his own unlikely summit up Mount Everest.

Touching My Father's Soul: A Sherpa's Journey to the Top of Everest by Jamling Tenzing Norgay
The son of the first Sherpa to climb Mount Everest recalls his father's historic achievement, introducing a local perspective on this renowned peak and the culture of the Tibetan Sherpas who live in the shadow of the mountain.

Up: A Mother and Daughter’s Peakbagging Adventure by Patricia Ellis Herr
Herr, a  Harvard anthropologist, documents the shared effort of the herself and her young daughter to climb all 48 of New Hampshire's mountains higher than 4,000 feet.

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
Bryson shares his breath-taking adventures and the fascinating history of the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail, as he travels slowly on foot.

The White Ladder: Triumph and Tragedy at the Dawn of Mountaineering by Daniel Light
A sweeping history of mountaineering before Everest, and the epic human quest to reach the highest places on Earth.

The World Beneath Their Feet: Mountaineering, Madness, and the Deadly Race to summit the Himalayas by Scott Ellsworth
In the 1930s, teams of mountaineers from Great Britain, Nazi Germany, and the United States were all competing to be the first to climb the world's highest peaks, including Mount Everest and K2, with few photographs or maps, no properly working oxygen systems, and only leather boots and cotton parkas.

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