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Spring Reading 2026

The arrival of spring signals the end of our Spring Reading contests. Many thanks to all who entered --- and a big congratulations to our winners! Below are the books that we think you will be talking about over the next few months.

» Click here to see the winners of this year's Spring Reading contests.

Devi S. Laskar, author of Midnight, at the War

Foreign correspondent Rita Das has left New York for the war-torn Middle East, a reassignment she asked for after learning she is pregnant but uncertain if the father is her husband or her lover. As she strives to shed light on the fallouts of the war, Rita finds herself embroiled in her own conflicts with her interpreter and her news editor, her sources and her colleagues. She is unable to accept the loss of her mother and deal with her guilt for not being by her side when she died. As she goes into the field to report on the war, she grapples with the physical and emotional tolls of her pregnant body and a turbulent region. When her news editor delivers urgent orders for her to return to New York, Rita is faced with a choice about how she wants to live her life as a journalist and a soon-to-be mother.