Published Aug 21, 2026, 12:51 AM EDT
Remus is a writer, editor, journalist, and author with an eye for detail and an extremely active imagination. He is an enthusiast of everything to do with the graphic medium, whether it’s Western comics and their adaptations or manga and anime. Remus is also the author of the sci-fantasy novel Once Upon a Time in Hyperspace and several works of short fiction in the mystery, comedy, and horror genres.
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Another week has come and gone, and it’s time once again to pick your next weekend read. After all, at the end of all the ups and downs of a long week, there’s nothing better than a great book to relax and immerse yourself in, letting the worries of the world fade for just a little while. Obviously, there’s no shortage of options to choose from when it comes to good weekend reads, but considering the sheer volume of choices at our fingertips these days, it’s not exactly easy to zero in on the really great ones. That’s why we’ve done the work for you and handpicked some truly wonderful books to keep you company until the next week rolls in again. Without further ado, here are three great books that we think you should read this weekend.
Written by Todd Ritter under the pen name Riley Sager, The Unknown is a horror novel that follows a struggling actress who lands a role in a major movie. The film in question explores a century-old mystery on the remote island of New Avalon, where five women inexplicably vanished from a commune for spiritual mediums. The cast and crew head to the island for a weeklong research trip, but they all soon realize that there is something very wrong with New Avalon.
Expertly playing with tension and paranoia, The Unknown is a gripping horror thriller book with a haunting setting. The story is utterly engrossing, and it successfully creates real doubt in the mind of the reader about whether there really is something supernatural afoot or if this is all just some viral marketing stunt gone horribly wrong. From there, it keeps you hooked with one shocking twist after another, culminating in a really unexpected climax. The book has been widely praised, and it’s the perfect read for fans of atmospheric horror and layered mysteries.
Your instincts, your strengths, and your particular way of thinking under pressure point to one villain you actually have a fighting chance against. Everyone else — good luck.
Jason is relentless, but he is also predictable — and that is the gap you would exploit.
Michael watches before he moves. He is patient, methodical, and almost impossible to detect — until it’s too late for anyone who isn’t paying close enough attention.
Freddy wins by getting inside your head — using your own fears, your own memories, your own subconscious as weapons against you. That strategy requires a target who can be destabilised.
Pennywise is ancient, shapeshifting, and feeds on terror — but it has one critical vulnerability: it cannot function against someone who genuinely stops being afraid of it.
Chucky’s greatest advantage is that nobody takes him seriously until it’s already too late. He exploits the gap between how something looks and what it actually is.
Written by Ann Patchett, Whistler is the bestselling author’s latest work of literary fiction, examining the unique relationship between a woman and her former stepfather. Daphne Fuller, a 53-year-old English teacher, happens to run into Eddie Triplett, a man who was briefly married to her mother when Daphne was nine. As the two reconnect, the book uncovers the profound nature of their relationship, its impact on their lives, and the circumstances that led to their separation.
Considering the premise, *Whistler *could easily have been a boring and forgettable book. Instead, what we have here is a powerful, human work of storytelling that’s steeped in love. There’s both good and bad in the lives of these characters, but their warmth and kindness are what radiate off the page more than anything else. It’s a beautiful, simple, yet highly moving story that’s easily among the most acclaimed novels of the year.
Written by Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary is a science fiction adventure novel that inspired the film, one of the year’s biggest hits. The novel follows Ryland Grace, a high school teacher and microbiologist who wakes up aboard the titular ship light-years away from Earth, with no memory of how he got there. As he pieces together his fragmented memories, Grace also encounters an alien lifeform and must use his scientific know-how to both communicate with the alien and complete his mission.
A story of friendship and survival suffused with a love of science, Project Hail Mary has all the same DNA as Weir’s first breakout hit, The Martian, but with greater stakes and more fascinating worldbuilding. The novel quickly became a bestseller and was a finalist for the 2022 Hugo Award. It’s also earned near-universal praise from critics and readers alike, and its feature film adaptation, starring Ryan Gosling as Grace, has also been similarly successful.
Project Hail Mary ](/tag/movie/project-hail-mary/)
Science Fiction
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Christopher Miller, Phil Lord
Drew Goddard, Andy Weir
Aditya Sood, Amy Pascal, Andy Weir, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Rachel O’Connor, Ryan Gosling