The Choice Is Yours
Let's face it, sometimes when you step up to do your civic duty and vote, you can't help feeling like you're choosing between "meh" and "also meh." Well, that is not the case when you vote for the Gulf Coast Reads selection. Once again, the Gulf Coast Reads Committee has presented us with three outstanding titles guaranteed to keep you turning pages and spark lively discussions wherever readers gather.
Already know which book you are voting for? Go to the voting page now.
What Is Gulf Coast Reads?
Gulf Coast Reads' goal is to encourage our communities to read the same title during the month of October, bringing readers together to discuss it with neighbors, co-workers, friends, and their families, as well as in classrooms and libraries throughout the region.
It’s a grassroots movement to reclaim connection through one of the simplest yet most profound acts we have: sharing a story.
Visit HCPL's Gulf Coast Reads Page to learn more.
Gulf Coast Reads 2026 Voters' Guide
To help you make an informed decision, we've put together this voters' guide with brief plot summaries, author bios, reviews and more.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Summary:
Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA's space shuttle program.
About the Author
Taylor Jenkins Reid is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, including Atmosphere, Carrie Soto Is Back, Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their daughter.
Articles about Atmosphere and Taylor Jenkins Reid
Vogue: Daisy Jones and the Six Author Taylor Jenkins Reid Is Back With a New Book: Atmosphere
Author Website: taylorjenkinsreid.com
More by Taylor Jenkins Reid at HCPL
Hole in the Sky by Daniel H. Wilson
Summary
On the Great Plains of Oklahoma, in the heart of the Cherokee Nation, a strange atmospheric disturbance is noticed by Jim Hardgray, a down-on-his-luck single father trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter, Tawny. At NASA’s headquarters in Houston, Texas, astrophysicist Dr. Mikayla Johnson observes an interaction with the Voyager 1 spacecraft on the far side of the solar system, and she concludes that something enormous and unidentified is heading directly for Earth.
About the Author
Daniel H. Wilson is the bestselling author of Robopocalypse, Robogenesis, and Amped, among others. He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and earned a B.S. in computer science from the University of Tulsa and a Ph.D. in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and two children.
Articles about A Hole in the Sky and Daniel H. Wilson
Kirkus Reviews: Less spectacle than a robot uprising but deeper, weirder, and harder to shake off.
Publisher's Weekly Review: Hole in the Sky
Uncanny Magazine Interview: Daniel H. Wilson
Author website: danielhwilson.com
More by Daniel H. Wilson at HCPL
The Librarians by Sherry Thomas
Summary
In the leafy suburbs of Austin, Texas, a small branch library welcomes the public every day of the week. But the patrons who love the helpful, unobtrusive staff and leave rave reviews on Yelp don’t always realize that their librarians are human, too. Murder disrupts the peaceful, predictable daily routine of life for four quirky librarians who must protect their life-altering secrets.
About the Author
Sherry Thomas burst onto the romance scene with Private Arrangements, one of the most anticipated debut historical romances in recent history and a Publishers Weekly Best of the Year book. When she is not writing, she thinks about the zen and zaniness of her profession, plays computer games with her sons, and reads as many fabulous books as she can find.
Articles about The Librarians and Sherry Thomas
Publishers Weekly Review: The Librarians
Book Riot: Reading Pathways: Sherry Thomas
Writersleague.org: Demystifying Intricately Plotted Mysteries: 5 Questions for Sherry Thomas
Author website: sherrythomas.com
Vote Now
Voting for Gulf Coast Reads 2026 is open now and closes on May 30.
Click or tap the image to vote, or scan the QR code to vote with your smartphone
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