The Hay Festival has launched an exciting new campaign to encourage more people to pick up a book. The initiative focuses entirely on the pure joy of fiction to help stem the decline in British reading habits.
The Pleasure List Unveiled
Known as 'The Pleasure List', this collection of adult book recommendations has been gathered directly from the public. It highlights the most captivating stories from across the nation to inspire everyone to read more. This joint venture has been created alongside the National Year of Reading 2026. Organisers hope to reverse worrying statistics, which show that fewer people across the UK are opening a book for fun.
Selection Process
The special selection marks the start of the iconic book festival in Wales. Based in the famous book town of Hay-on-Wye, this year represents the 39th anniversary of the UK's biggest free literary celebration. To mark the occasion, exactly 39 titles have been chosen by the public to inspire readers from all walks of life. The final list was decided after a six-month campaign where thousands of passionate book lovers shared their favourite stories.
Diverse Range of Books
The chosen books bridge the gap between traditional masterpieces and modern digital trends. Modern internet favourites feature heavily alongside timeless romance, crime and fantasy classics. Beloved romance novels like Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice feature on the list alongside Jilly Cooper's Riders. Readers can also find gripping speculative fiction such as George Orwell's 1984, Frank Herbert's Dune and Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Recent bestsellers like Rebecca Yarros's Fourth Wing and Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club are included too. They sit comfortably next to historical masterpieces like Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Charles Dickens's David Copperfield.
Voices from the Festival
Festival president Stephen Fry expressed his worries about today's trends while celebrating the new project. He noted that although the National Year of Reading is wonderful news, regular readers are becoming rare. "You might have heard that this year is our National Year of Reading. Great news for book lovers, but the stats show we're a dying breed. Fewer and fewer people in Britain are reading for pleasure and we want to change that."
The festival's chief executive Julie Finch shared how moving it was to see thousands of nominations arrive over the last six months. She believes it shows how much happiness a great story can bring to our everyday lives. Finch added: "Over the past six months, we have been inspired as the public nominations for our Pleasure List campaign have flooded in. It has been a reminder of the joyful place reading holds in many of our lives – the power of great stories to delight and entertain us – a joy we're keen to spread as far as possible in the National Year of Reading."
Complete Pleasure List
The full list includes: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, Dune by Frank Herbert, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, Night Watch by Terry Pratchett, Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Marquez, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah, Riders by Jilly Cooper, Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, The Blue Book of Nebo by Manon Steffan Ros, The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak, The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, The Shining by Stephen King, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, and 1984 by George Orwell.
Where to Find Your Next Read
Whether you prefer the weight of a hardback or the convenience of digital libraries, there are many places to find your next favourite read. Physical books can be found at Waterstones, Amazon, and AbeBooks for collectors. eBooks are available on Amazon Kindle, Kobo eReader, and BookBub for deals. Audiobooks can be accessed via Audible and BookBeat. Free books are available at local libraries, with apps like Libby and BorrowBox providing access to audiobooks, eBooks, and magazines.
