Saturday Miscellany—6/20/26

Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
Fakes of the Future: Literary credibility in the age of AI.
Mother-Son Summer Book Club—What a Fantastic Idea!
Reading Weird Fiction in an Age of Fascism—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
THE MAN OF STEEL AT 40: Why John Byrne’s Superman Will Always Be MY Superman—this was a big barrel of feel-good nostalgia for me. I cannot tell you how many times I read this series (and the ensuing Action Comics and other titles). I think the details for me might differ a bit, but that headline could be written by me.
Five Things I Learned Writing A Murder Most Fungal—Adrian Gibson gets a little confessional here.
Over at Reading Ladies Book Club, Carol has two good lists for the week:
20 Favorite Book Recs for Fathers (2026)—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
Bookish Books 2026—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum

My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
“But you can’t put something as dumb as a hauler bot in charge of security for anything without spending even more money for expensive company-employed human supervisors. So they made us smarter. The anxiety and depression were side effects.”—Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
Unshakable by K. Scott Oliphint and Rod Mays—Nunc hoc in marmore non est incisum
Steel Victory by J. L. Gribble
The Asset by Shane Kuhn
NYPD Red (audiobook) by James Patterson, Marshall Karp, Edoardo Ballerini, Jay Snyder
And I mentioned the releases of: The Ghost Rebellion by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris; The Last Adventure of Constance Verity by A. Lee Martinez; Shadowed by Karen E. Olson; Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley; Man On A Rock by Grant Sutherland; Escapology by Ren Warom; and Mechanical Failure by Joe Zieja

This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Three Hitmen and a Baby by Rob Hart—The recovery meeting members have to keep their sobriety in face of a Russian mob’s threat, danger to two families of the group, and–worst of all–babysitting a toddler. I had a few things to say about it yesterday.
A Murder Most Fungal by Adrian M Gibson—”Return to the mushroom metropolis of Neo Kinoko, immerse yourself in a sinister world of gangsters, blackmail, and fungal cuisine, and prepare for a Michelin-star tragedy in six courses.”
Rising Gale by Z.B. Steele—I have only heard good things about the first book in this series (and I WILL read it this year), this looks possibly better.
Homer’s Odyssey: An Illustrated Retelling by Barry B. Powell—”Illustrated by dramatic, colorful artwork, Barry Powell’s retelling of the 24 chapters captures the grandeur and lyrical feel of the original appealing to both fans of the story and those reading Odyssey for the very first time.”
Kill All Wizards by Jedediah Berry—”Kill All Wizards is a blood-soaked romp through high society—picture Conan the Barbarian caught up in a comedy of manners, and you’re almost prepared for this unmissable new series.”
Somebody Worth Killing by Jessica Payne—”Meet Nadia Davis, a doting mom and loving wife who has a big secret: she’s actually an assassin. And she really needs a babysitter who shows up on time.” Oh, and she’s just been tasked with assassinating her husband.
The Pinnacle by Abir Mukherjee—”When an over-the-hill American actor finds his wife, a rising star in Bollywood, dead in their Mumbai high-rise, he quickly becomes the prime suspect in this atmospheric, razor-sharp social mystery.”