What Fiction are you reading this week, January 11, 2026?

[hermetic]

This discussion thread is pinned.

I finished reading The First Gentleman, and I cried. Not because of something that happened at the end, but for all the things we could have had. We SHOULD have had, instead of the shitshow we now have. Adding to my despair, I listened to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, a "fable" from 2006. A few months back several bookish sites asked readers what was the most stunning, unforgettable book they ever read, and this one kept popping up. So I got onto a waiting list and finally got it. Back in '06 it would have been sad. But now it is terrifying! This is what they want to do to us. Horrible. I think it should be required reading for every teenager in this country right now.

So, I had to get myself something less traumatizing. Now I'm reading Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. "Engaging and wildly entertaining," this 2024 novel is a "paean to how we spend our lives seeking meaning -- in faith, art, ourselves, others." Amazing.

Listening to Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor, the first in the Chronicles of St Mary's series. Fast-paced, witty and delightfully unconventional. At St. Mary's Institute they don't just study the past - they actually visit it.

Great books all, that's for sure.

[AltairIV]

1. Horror/ crime genre

Government accounts of the shooting of Renee Good.

[cbabe]

2. Reacher: the stories behind the stories/Lee Child

Last edited Sun Jan 11, 2026, 01:14 PM - Edit history (1)

Origin tales for each Reacher book. Not fiction but almost as good as.

Includes a brand new Reacher short story.

Lee Child’s brilliance glows.

Next up: Michael Connelly: The Proving Ground

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. "Songs For the Missing" by Stewart O'Nan,

a writer who should be far better known than he is.

[hermetic]

6. That sounds good

"an intimate account of what happens behind the headlines of a very American tragedy." Begins with the suspenseful pace of a thriller, then deepens into a portrait of a family trying desperately to hold onto itself.

[txwhitedove]

4. As an avowed book lover, the pic verse very true. Sunny Sunday here. Expecting kids soon.

Now reading The Language of Flowers: a novel by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Wow, surprised, a new voice, different female. "The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings. Now eighteen and emancipated from the system with nowhere to go, Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But..." That's all to give away. Very good.

[hermetic]

5. That sounds lovely

(There are 6 books with that same title listed. Wow.)

Flowers make the day nicer, IMO. My local grocer has a flower section and I always just stand there and enjoy what they have. There's some nice new flower photos in the Photography Group today, too.