What Fiction are you reading this week, April 26, 2026?

[hermetic]

This discussion thread is pinned.

Matej Kren's 'Idiom' is a tower made from 8,000 books at the Prague Municiple Library. Mirrors placed at the top and bottom create the illusion of a column of literature extending infinitely in both directions.

Reading Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton, "a rollicking adventure tale pulsing with relentless action, crackling atmosphere, and heart-pounding suspense." Jamaica 1665, a wild and wicked place. Published in 2009, this was found as a manuscript on one of Crichton's computers after his death.

Listening to To The Hilt by Dick Francis, from 1996. An artist who enjoys playing bagpipes in his ramshackle Scottish home receives a savage, mysterious beating and then a call from his near-bankrupt family, asking for his help. Now he has to take care of several family treasures, including a race horse and a brewery.

[cbabe]

1. Three books:

Nick Petrie/The Dark Time

Latest in the Ash series. Retired Marine with ptsd fights bad guys. Cult leader wants to blow up all electrical power. Funding from tech bros who want to own it all. Ash and friends race against time though rain and snowy mountains in the Pacific Northwest following threats and clues.

I like the earlier titles better but this is an ok page turner.

Just beginning Louise Erdrich/The Mighty Red

North Dakota working class families trying to survive 2008 economic collapse. I don’t care for family drama books but good gravy Erdrich can write. Every sentence is a telling haunting detail.

And Dick Francis/Proof for old friend palate cleanser.

Wine merchant teams with investigator tracking counterfeit wine. And horses. And murder.

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5. I totally agree

about Erdrich. Such a great writer.

Dick Francis has a great Wiki page. He was quite the guy and collaborated extensively with is wife and two sons on his 53 novels. After his passing, at 89, in 2010, his son Felix continued writing using A Dick Francis Novel in his titles.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Still stuck on "The Girls in the Garden" by Lisa Jewel. I just can't get into it and I've read several of her others.

[hermetic]

6. Looks like

I didn't get through that one, either. It's on my already read list but I sure can't remember it. Must have bailed before the ending.

[txwhitedove]

3. Love the book tower. Overcast humid Sunday, saw daddy birds faceoff at

Last edited Sun Apr 26, 2026, 02:45 PM - Edit history (1)

the feeder, dog and I chasing squirrels away, and granddaughter called from Urgent Care somewhere along the Mississippi River working AM River Cruise. I freaked, but it's just hopefully a cold. Work regs require a Covid test.

Speaking of kids calling with emergencies... Starting on Mrs Plansky Goes Rogue by Spencer Quinn, the sequel to Mrs Plansky's Revenge when she was scammed by a late night caller posing as grandkid. "Mrs. Plansky is fresh off of winning a thrilling senior tennis championship with her doubles partner, Kev Dinardo, and is gearing up to celebrate with him on his yacht. That is, until the yacht is destroyed in a fire. Kev claims the fire was caused by a lightning strike, pure bad luck, but there's one small problem—Mrs. Plansky didn't see any lightning. Already certain there's more going on than she's being told, Mrs. Plansky's curiosity turns to concern when Kev goes missing. Her suspicion gets the better of her..."

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7. Stephen King liked that one

Calling Mrs. Plansky "a terrific character".

I do like his Chet and Bernie books.

Hope your granddaughter is okay.

[question everything]

16. I enjoyed the first Mrs. Planky book. Glad that the author decided to follow with a second. Will be looking forward

Thanks for posting

[mentalsolstice]

4. As clumsy as I am, I would not need to be anywhere near that tower!

I’m reading The Celebrants by Steven Rowley (The Guncle). It’s about a group of 50 year olds who graduated from Berkeley in the 90s, very reminiscent of The Big Chill.

Have a good week everyone! ☀️

[hermetic]

8. I think they are

probably glued/cemented together since people are encouraged to stick their heads in to see the mirrored effect.

I did like The Guncle so will have to find this one.

[hermetic]

11. Got it!

Cool.

[rsdsharp]

9. I've been reading the lesser known Robert Heinlein short stories.

I’ve been reading Heinlein since I was 11. I’ve read everything he ever wrote — most of it many times over — novels and short stories both.

Most of his stories are from his famous The Past Through Tomorrow series, which fit on a time line, which has also been published. I’ve read those dozens of times. But there are some I’ve only read once or twice. Things like Searchlight, Skylift, The Man Who Traveled in Elephants and others.

A company in Ukraine published a number of these in stand alone “illustrated” Kindle versions. The illustrations have nothing to do with the stories; they’re basically cover art from sci fi magazines of the 40s and 50s, together with some snap shots of Heinlein and his third wife Virginia, pictures of them in their house in Colorado Springs which was featured in Popular Electonics in the 1950s, and the picture of Heinlein, L. Sprague deCamp and Isaac Asimov when they worked together in Philadelphia during World War II.

The publications themselves are cheesy, and have a lot of typos, but the stories themselves are great fun, and almost like finding Heinlein that’s new to me.

[hermetic]

10. Nice,

thanks for sharing. I enjoy learning about authors and seeing photos.

[Polly Hennessey]

12. Starting Blackout by David Rosenfelt.

When I started reading, I was missing Andy Carpenter and Tara but thirty-eight pages in they are becoming a little bit of a memory. Now Nate Alvarez and Doug Brock have captured my imagination.

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13. Good to hear

Long-time Rosenfelt fan here.

[Bayard]

14. The Crichton book sounds good

I finished, "The Tale Teller," by Anne Hillerman. I can see a difference between her writing and her father's, but still very enjoyable.

Just started, "Midnight Bayou,:" by Nora Roberts. Interesting beginning.

[yellowdogintexas]

15. Finished the Seven Sisters so I am out of Mobile for a while

There are several other books with these same characters which I think I will read eventually.

I am taking a break from fiction to read two chapters of Prologue Rachel Maddow's book. I joined Frangela's book club which is on line. We only read two chapters at a time, and the Zooms are two weeks apart.

My other book club is reading The Separation of Church and Hate (John Fugelsang) for May. I may not be reading much fiction this month

[question everything]

17. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

And "old book" from 2003 that I just discovered and was taken by it.

A young girl working as a maid at an aristocratic home, being taken by a mentor to study and then decides to volunteer as a nurse during WWI.

The misery of the war, especially at the first aid tents during a harsh winter are grabbing at one's heart.

The book starts at 1929 when Maisie now has her own business as an investigator but then jumps to 1914 to the start of the war.

I have never read "All Quiet on the Western Front" but have heard of it. When Maisie is back from the war, her mentor gives her a new book, that one.

Will be looking for the next in the series.

[Vinca]

18. John Sandford's latest in the Lucas Davenport series. "Revenge Prey." Just started it, so no opinion yet.