Your 2026 Denver summer reading list

Here’s the perfect recipe for a great summer’s day: one hammock, strung in half-shade so that the sun kisses your feet, but only if you want it to. An iced drink of your choosing on a little table nearby, just within reach. Some fabulous sunglasses, a tank top, and shorts. No shoes. Quiet, except maybe for birdsong, a distant lawnmower and even more distant kids laughing with summer delight as they run through a sprinkler put out just for them. And yes: a good book.

It’s not the kind of day you’ll remember, but in a good way. Because you won’t really be there. You’ll be transported somewhere else, be it a circus-scape on Mars, a Lakota reservation in South Dakota, 1962 Los Angeles, or right here in the familiar tangle of Denver Streets throughout the years. These are only four of the settings from the ten following books by Denver authors (listed alphabetically) that will invite you to sit a while and visit. And you’ll be all the better for it.

So yes, support our local writers. But just as important, spend some quality time with yourself; invigorate your mind, and rest your body. Allow yourself to slip time and place. It’s what books do — and these books, we assure you, are worth your time.

Here’s Westword’s recommended summer reading list for 2026:

“A Rebel’s History of Mars” and “A Fugitive’s History of the Known Universe”
Nadia Afifi
Let’s start out with a two-fer, in this case Nadia Afifi’s “A Rebel’s History of Mars” from 2025, and its upcoming sequel, “A Fugitive’s History of the Known Universe.” Afifi’s books are science fiction that fully embraces the social, political, and cultural underpinnings of the genre while never forgetting to entertain and fascinate. The first book centers on an aerialist in the Martian circus who becomes infected with an alien substance, and…well, if you’re not already interested just by that, there’s no helping you. Afifi will be appearing at the Tattered Cover Aspen Grove location (7301 S. Santa Fe Drive in Littleton) at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 20, to celebrate the sequel’s new release (tickets are available on eventbrite).

“Corrosion”
Jon Bassoff
The story behind the publication of Longmont thriller scribe Jon Bassoff’s “Corrosion” is a tale unto itself. Originally published thirteen years ago, the mountain gothic novel was released by a small American publisher and was eventually nominated for the “Grand Prix de Littérature Policière,” France’s most prestigious crime fiction award. And then…the publisher folded, and the book went out of print. Luckily, Bassoff’s current publisher, Blackstone, decided it was a good candidate for a hardcover re-release, and “Corrosion” is once again available to readers in all its dark and bleak glory. Bassoff will be celebrating the re-issue at Firehouse Art Center (667 4th Ave. in Longmont) at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 25th, appearing with musician Wendy Woo.

“Small Towns U.S.A.”
Brenna Darling
Here’s something for those who are into bite-sized non-fiction that embraces America in a way that’s celebratory. Denver writer Brenna Darling teamed up with National Geographic to produce this beautiful square-bound hardcover that’s perfect for coffee tables — and actual reading! The photo work is stunning, and pops from the page. And the text isn’t just a throwaway, in no way subservient to the image. Rather, each of the 50 states gets an in-depth look at two small communities that deserve more attention than they often get. That’s the philosophy of this gorgeous and generous collection: shining some light on the good in the good ol’ U.S.A. Just what we need right now: a little more light.

“Red Sheet”
James Ellroy
It’s worth reading our full article about nationally recognized Denver writer (by way of his hometown, Los Angeles) James Ellroy, the “Demon Dog of American Crime Fiction.” His latest novel, “Red Sheet,” just debuted earlier this summer, and the timing makes sense. This is a muscle car of a book, revving its engines and lurching at the start. Once it takes off, there’s no catching it. Set in the Cold War era, the novel takes a fresh and unapologetic look at the Red Scare, Nixonian politics, the Hollywood Ten, Elia Kazan, and Dalton Trumbo. But even that’s an insufficient description of what this joyride of a book really is, in terms of the experience it offers. Ellroy is one of our best living novelists, particularly in the hard-boiled genres. It’s worth a whirlwind trip courtesy of “Red Sheet” to find out why.

“The Turn: A Novella”
Rachel Feder
Denver author Rachel Feder first hit our radar with her co-written deep dive into the Swiftie oeuvre “Taylor Swift by the Book: The Literature Behind the Lyrics, from Fairy Tales to Tortured Poets.” Also a DU Professor of English, Feder comes back quickly with this short and spooky novel about a live-in nanny, working for her famous former professor’s family…when the world she thought she knew starts to turn dark. Feder, who crafted much of the book while taking care of her own child during the worldwide solitude of COVID, describes it as “Colorado Gothic,” the coming together of her deep roots in the Centennial State and her work researching and teaching literature like Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” It’s the sort of book that burrows into your consciousness, a meditation of sorts on the writing life, on family, on sexual obsession and the cult of higher education faculty. How does that all come together in so short a tome? With beauty and horror, of course.

“Denver Streets”
Phil Goodstein
Locals are familiar with the sometimes-maddening layout of the city’s roadways, but few are privy to the history of it all, and just how it happened. Like did you know that Josephine Street — now a relatively high-traffic surface street twinned to Yor — used to be called Banana Street? Or that Tower Road was so called because it was where KOA radio built its transmitter? The irascible Phil Goodstein, one of Denver’s most prodigious historians (and notable characters — his walking tours are legendary for a good reason!) knows, and shares that history — along with “excursion[s] into geography, biography, anthropology, and botany” — in this newly revised and expanded edition of “Denver Streets.” Suitable for any and all coffee tables at a mile high.

“How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder”
Nina McConigley
CSU writing professor and award-winning author Nina McConigley is known locally for her acclaimed short story collection “Cowboys and East Indians,” which she brought to the DCPA stage for a smash six-week run. (It was so impressive that it won Best Local Adaptation in Westword’s Best of Denver 2026). Earlier this year, she published another book, “How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder,” which is likewise about the confluence of East India and the American Mountain West as seen through the lens of a family trying to reconcile the culture clash. Set in the 1980s — and yes, about a murder in the family — the book is playful with form and style while digging into some uncomfortable truths at the same time.

“Purgatoire”
Liz Prato
Prato, who grew up in Denver and retains deep roots here, as proven by her 2022 book “Kids in America: A Gen X Reckoning,” much of which takes place right here in the Mile High City. Now Prato returns with a novel-in-stories that brings her right back to Colorado, this time to the mountains in the south of the state. A single mother fights to reunite with her children. A bootlegger’s recklessness devastates his family. Queer folk escape to secret spaces within a world that requires it. Stranded spirits narrate, converse, and sometimes mess with the fate of the living. It’s a complex pastiche of family, immigrants, place, and faith. It explores connection, redemption, and — no kidding — the immortality of cats.

“This Isn’t New”
Cynthia Swanson
Denver writer Cynthia Swanson didn’t want the current political climate to negatively affect her output, but the writer of “Anyone But Her” and “The Glass Forest” admits that it did. She talks about it more at length in our interview with her earlier this year, but it became harder for her to write her next book–until she put it on hold to write this one instead. What she needed to write — what our foundering nation needs to read — is “This Isn’t New: Women’s Historical Stories.” These aren’t non-fiction pieces; they’re looks into the situations of women throughout recent history, such that they shine a light on their challenges in American culture. Timely, powerful, affecting, and above all, honest.

“Wisdom Corner”
David Heska Wanbli Weiden
Weiden’s long-awaited sequel to the smash-hit novel “Winter Counts” shows no sign of sophomore slump. On the contrary, his new novel “Wisdom Corner” honors what his first book began — mainly the story of Virgil Wounded Horse and his investigations in and around the Rosebud Indian Reservation. This time, the focus is more on the history of Native American boarding schools and the crimes too often committed there — and, perhaps most importantly, the legacy they still left behind after their closures. It’s another insightful look into Native American crime fiction — something Weiden has been instrumental in bringing back, if not pioneering himself all over again. “Wisdom Corner,” like its predecessor, is a thriller with some weight — the sort of story that fascinates and lingers.