Hum
Hum by Helen Phillips is one of 2026's most credible books, appearing on 1 of the year's most respected lists, including The Economist, for a Consensus Score of 15 out of 100.
Appears on these lists
Our take
AI-draftedPhillips imagines a near-future where automation has hollowed out middle-class work, and her protagonist May, having lost her job to AI, submits to a face-altering procedure for quick cash, a premise that could easily tip into didactic dystopia but instead stays anchored in domestic detail. The novel's real subject is the texture of a family absorbing surveillance, gig precarity, and climate anxiety as background noise rather than plot twist, which is what makes it unsettling rather than merely speculative.
How the Consensus Score is calculated
Our Consensus Score is our own transparent editorial metric — not a user rating. It weighs each list by the credibility of its source, how recent the listing is, and any award status. Here is the full breakdown.
| Source | Authority | Recency | Award | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Economist | 0.95 | 0.70 | 1.00× | 0.67 |
| Weighted sum → Score | 0.67 → 15 | |||
Similar consensus books
Because they appear on some of the same lists.
Frequently asked
What lists is Hum on?
Hum appears on 1 list in our 2026 corpus, including The Economist.
What is its Consensus Score?
Hum has a Consensus Score of 15 out of 100, our transparent editorial measure of how many credible lists agree on it.