What Fiction are you reading this week, July 12, 2026?

[hermetic]

This discussion thread is pinned.

Heat got ya down?


Reading Walk the Wire by David Baldacci, the 6th book in the Memory Man series, aka the Amos Decker series. Decker and Jamison are sent by the FBI to investigate the death of a young woman in London, North Dakota (not a real town). London is experiencing a fracking boom and is replete with ruthless business owners, shady government officials, and religious outsiders. If you've ever wondered how fracking works, wonder no more. You can read all about it here. Sad to say the writing isn't great but it seemed to be an interesting mystery. And now I'm starting to find it boring.

Listened to Murder on the Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood. The amateur sleuths of the Marlow Murder Club investigate the murder of the founder of the Amateur Dramatic Society so there's lots of theatre fun.
Now listening to Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham. Four young ladies attending a liberal arts college in South Carolina decide to get an off-campus house together. It's all fun and parties until one of the fraternity boys from the house next door is found brutally murdered and one of the girls is missing. A tantalizing thriller about the nature of friendship and belonging, about loyalty, envy, and betrayal.

[Bayard]

1. "The River We Remember," by William Kent Krueger

In 1958, a small Minnesota town is rocked by the murder of its most powerful citizen, pouring fresh fuel on old grievances. So far, so good.

Amazingly, this is the second of his books that I've bought used that are personally signed by him.

[hermetic]

4. Gosh,

people don't usually get rid of autographed books. They get more valuable with time. The few I have I keep separate.

[ALBliberal]

2. Calamity Club author Kathryn Stockett also wrote

The Help. Set in late 20s early 30s (Great Depression) very moving story with lots of humor for levity. Excellent historical referencing.

Truly outstanding. Making fried chicken dinner for my daughter’s book club on Friday.

[hermetic]

7. That's nice of you

The Calamity Club sounds amazing. A "5-star read!"

[Ponietz]

3. Been saving Lincoln in the Bardo

Seems like now is a good time to begin.

In his long-awaited first novel, American master George Saunders delivers his most original, transcendent, and moving work yet. Unfolding in a graveyard over the course of a single night, narrated by a dazzling chorus of voices, Lincoln in the Bardo is a literary experience unlike any other—for no one but Saunders could conceive it.

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/29906980-lincoln-in-the-bardo

[hermetic]

5. Yeah,

that one's definitely special. Enjoy!

[cbabe]

6. Off the Grid/C J Box

The red desert of Wyoming. Nate and Joe tracking terrorists and a grizzly bear. A blend of high tech, EMPs, naive college kids and Sheridan. A western page turner.

[hermetic]

15. Sounds good

Quite popular.

[MiHale]

8. Winter World.. by A.G. Riddle...

Cozy, little sci-fi fun novel…easy read…my take. Description below


“A new ice age—and a shocking discovery—will change humanity forever.

From the worldwide bestselling author of Lost in Time and Departure comes an epic novel with an unforgettable twist.

Longlisted for the Wilbur Smith Award for best published novel.


In the near future, a new ice age has begun.

Humanity stands on the brink of extinction.

Desperate for answers, scientists send probes into the solar system to take readings. Near Mars, they identify a mysterious object moving toward the Sun. Is it the cause of the ice age? Or could it be humanity's only hope of survival?

With time running out, NASA launches a mission to make contact. But the object isn't what anyone thought. In the dark of space, alone, the team makes a discovery that will change the course of human history—and possibly end it.


Filled with real science and fascinating details, Winter World is that unique blend of fact and fiction that could completely change how you see our planet—and humanity's future.

[hermetic]

11. Sounds kind of scary

And it's the start of a trilogy from 2019. Then in 2023, the three were combined into one book called The Long Winter Trilogy.

[MiHale]

14. I have the individual books...reading #1 now.

You want scary read, Robopocalypse, by Daniel H. Wilson.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • This terrifying tale of humanity’s desperate stand against a robot uprising is the most entertaining sci-fi thriller in years. • “Terrific, page-turning fun.” —Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly

Not far into our future, the dazzling technology that runs our world turns against us. Controlled by a childlike—yet massively powerful—artificial intelligence known as Archos, the global network of machines on which our world has grown dependent suddenly becomes an implacable, deadly foe. At Zero Hour—the moment the robots attack—the human race is almost annihilated, but as its scattered remnants regroup, humanity for the first time unites in a determined effort to fight back. This is the oral history of that conflict, told by an international cast of survivors who experienced this long and bloody confrontation with the machines. Brilliantly conceived and amazingly detailed, Robopocalypse is an action-packed epic with chilling implications about the real technology that surrounds us.

[hermetic]

16. Wow! Will do

Thanks!

[byronius]

9. Lawrence Of Arabia by Jeremy Wilson.

Not fiction, but quite beautiful and entrancing. This is my last history book for awhile.

Next up is Radical Rules by Byron Bellamy. Sci-fi adventure. I’ve read it before, but it’s one of my favorites. It’ll be perfect for a week at the California coast, which is where I’m going.

[hermetic]

12. How nice!

Have a good time there.

[PittBlue]

10. Whistler by Ann Patchett

Just started it but I love her books.

[hermetic]

13. So do I

This one sounds great: "..a moving, luminous novel that reminds us of the sweetness and impermanence of life and the power of connection to defy time."

I love the picture of the horse on the cover though the description doesn't mention horses.

[PittBlue]

23. No horses yet!

[txwhitedove]

17. Good day, readers. Today chasing squirrels off bird feeder and mourning

loss of huge oak in my backyard we finally had cut down after H.Beryl damage.

Reading The Southern Lawyer, #1 in series by Peter O'Mahoney. Good writing, guy centric, slow intro of multi characters, but midway tying together and absorbing. Stolen artwork plot interesting. "After more than twenty years away from the law, Joe Hennessy is forced back into the courtroom… Trying to save his vineyard after years of drought, Hennessy returns to practice in the city he walked away from after the murder of his ten-year-old son—Charleston, South Carolina. When one of South Carolina’s most powerful men is charged with possessing stolen artwork, Hennessy steps forward to defend him. But as Hennessy digs into the evidence, as he navigates the truth, he finds that the criminal charges are only the start of their problems…"

[pansypoo53219]

18. rather get more badass of the week books.

[Easterncedar]

19. Bingeing Ian Rankin Rebus books

Good summer reading.

[hermetic]

20. Good

I love Rebus's books!

[intrepidity]

21. "The Traveler" by Joseph Eckert

The best time-travel story I've ever read. Just came out last month. Listened to the audiobook twice and just got the hardback. I *never* do that, lol.

I don't want to spoil it, so just the basic premise: one morning at 7:52, a middle-aged man spontaneously slips forward in time; he literally disappears and then reappears at 7:52 the next morning in exactly the same spot with no awareness of time passing. The next day at 7:52am, it happens again, except when he reappears, 2 days have now passed. Then 4 days, and then 8. You see where this is going. After a week of these involuntary time slips, his 7-year-old son and wife have experienced 2 months, mostly with him absent. Three more days for him, over a year for his family. The law of exponents playing out against the brutally short human lifespan. The first half of the book describes a month of the protagonist's life. Do the math, lol.

Much of the tone explores the emotional impact this has on him and his family, and if I'm being honest, maybe too much for my taste. But that wasn't enough to detract from the brilliance of how the author explores the mechanics ("will this spot be available/accessible/appropriate/dangerous when I reappear in x-number of days/months/years/eons?" ) and even the details like eating meals, but of course also the spectre of seeing how humanity and earth evolve and change, one 23h59m59s glimpse at a time, in ever increasing intervals. Hoping someone will be available to explain what he is witnessing. And the painful, overarching theme of having missed out on most of his son's life.

I heard the author say in an interview that a studio has already purchased the rights, and a script is written (not by him though). Really looking forward to that, soon I hope.

I'm really impressed with this first-published work by this author. Hope some of you read and enjoy it as much as I did.

https://thenerddaily.com/joseph-eckert-the-traveler-author-interview/

[hermetic]

22. Excellent!

Thank you so much for the great review and all the pertinent information. Definitely went on my TBR list.

[mentalsolstice]

24. Life, and Death, and Giants by Ron Rindo

“Gabriel Fisher was born an orphan, weighing eighteen pounds and measuring twenty-seven inches long.” Even though I’m way past child-bearing years, that makes me want to superglue my thighs together.

Would like to read a number of books listed here this week.

Enjoy the summer everyone! 🥀🌼🌷

[hermetic]

25. 18 pounds? Ouch!

AND, "A heart too big for this world." Aw, it sounds sweet.
"..a moving story of faith, family, buried secrets, and everyday miracles."

Thanks.

[Attilatheblond]

26. Weather forecasts