Public Domain Day: Some books!
On January 1, 2026, books published in 1930 enter the U.S. public domain.
This includes legendary books by William Faulkner, Franz Kafka, Agatha Christie, and Langston Hughes. In addition, The Maltese Falcon, perhaps the best-known noir book—and film—of all time, and books by Evelyn Waugh, Dorothy L. Sayers, and more, enter the U.S. public domain, becoming free for anyone in the U.S. to read, use, and re-use.
Standard Ebooks make nice versions of public domain works. And here are 20 that entered the public domain this year.
My first recommendation would be Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers.
Mystery writer Harriet Vane is on trial for the murder of her lover, a man with unconventional opinions on anarchy and free love. The result is a hung jury, so the judge orders a retrial—the perfect opportunity for Lord Peter Wimsey to unravel the case.
I have only read one Sayers book and it was a nice, slow and cozy crime outing.