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Fiction A to Z August 2026 |
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| Rasputin Swims the Potomac by Ben FountainIn the near future, reporter Clarence Thomas, Jr. (no relation) is at an unnamed U.S. president's political rally when a crying illness hits. At the White House, reality star turned comms aide Faith Spack helps handle the crisis. Then, charismatic pro wrestler Rasputin discovers he can cure the weeping. Running for his third term, the president sees Rasputin as a running mate...but Rasputin wants more in this "brilliant satire" (Publishers Weekly). For fans of: Lawrence Wright's Mr. Texas. |
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| The Great Wherever by Shannon SandersUnderpaid 32-year-old Aubrey Lamb is still mourning her father when her boyfriend breaks up with her. Learning that she's inherited her dad's stake in a large Tennessee farm, she leaves D.C. to meet her three cousin co-owners, who explain their relative was one of the state's first Black landowners. Meanwhile, their ghostly ancestors watch, gossip, and discuss it all in this sweeping, witty, and moving debut. Read-alikes: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers's The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois; John Vercher's Devil Is Fine. |
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| Earth 7 by Deb Olin UnferthAfter Earth's depopulation, scientist Rosemary works to preserve DNA from various organisms. Her home is an underwater pod, where her daughter Dylan's only friend, online or otherwise, is Zee, part of a group on Mars. As Dylan grows older and lonelier, Rosemary takes a new job and the two move to a desert location where Dylan feels more at home, lands a job, and falls in love in this novel that spans decades. "A quirky, bold, and endearing masterpiece of climate fiction," raves Kirkus Reviews. |
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| Cool Machine by Colson WhiteheadTaking place in the 1980s, this lyrical, atmospheric 3rd in Colson Whitehead's acclaimed Harlem trilogy focuses on successful businessman and sometime criminal Ray Carney. First, Ray agrees to a heist in order to finance his wife's business. Five years later, he risks everything to help his dead cousin's son, who's mixed up with the wrong people. In 1983, Ray's friend Pepper finds himself looking for an expensive African mask in the East Village's gritty art and club scene. For fans of: atmospheric New York novels; Walter Mosley. |
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| The Jellyfish Problem by Tessa YangMarine biologist Dr. Jo Ness is mourning the loss of her best friend when she gets a call from one of the only other people she's ever been close to, inviting her to a small Maine island to investigate a strange jellyfish. When Jo arrives, her friend isn't there and the community members have different ideas about the giant, glowing animal they call Clementine and her strange effect on them. For fans of: novels about grief, friendship, and marine life, such as Shelby Van Pelt's Remarkably Bright Creatures. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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