Quick Summary
Books, movies, and other physical items were flying off the shelves last month. If you’re curious to know which titles have patrons rushing to place holds, look no further.
Descriptions courtesy of MNLINK.
Do some of these look familiar? That’s probably because you’ve seen them in your library request system, or are requesting them yourself. As the seasons change, tastes and interests will surely follow. These are the most-requested items for July 2026, based on all our systems in Resource Sharing (in no particular order).
Books
The Trouble with Heroes (2025) - Messner, Kate
"Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran toward danger until he died two years ago. Finn is about to fail seventh grade and has never made headlines... until now. Caught on camera vandalizing a cemetery, he's in big trouble for knocking down some dead old lady's headstone. Turns out that grave belongs to a legendary local mountain climber, and her daughter makes Finn an unusual offer: she'll drop all the charges if he agrees to climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks in a single summer. And there's just one more thing—he has to bring along the dead woman's dog.
Courting Miss Lancaster: A Novel (2011) - Eden, Sarah
Harry Windover adores blonde, green-eyed Athena Lancaster, but alas, a penniless man like himself has no hope of winning a young noblewoman's hand. To add insult to injury, Athena's brother-in-law and guardian, the Duke of Kielder, has asked Harry to assist Athena in finding the gentleman of her dreams.
In Search of Enemies: A CIA Story (1984) - Stockwell, John
In Search of Enemies is much more than the story of the only war to be found when the CIA sought to recoup its prestige after the Vietnam debacle. Though no American troops were committed to Angola, only 'advisors,' many millions were spent, many thousands died, and many lies were told to the American people, in waging a war without purpose to American vital interests and without hope of victory.
The Portal of the Mystery of Hope (1996) - Peguy, Charles
In The Portal of the Mystery of Hope, Péguy offers a comprehensive theology ordered around the often-neglected second theological virtue, which is incarnated in his celebrated image of the "little girl Hope." As the first critical edition of Péguy's poetry to appear in English, this volume also contains a biographical chronology, a bibliography, and a host of notes that situate the poem in the context of Péguy's life.
I See You've Called in Dead: A Novel (2025) - Kenney, John
Bud Stanley is an obituary writer who is afraid to live. Yes, his wife recently left him for a 'far more interesting' man. Yes, he goes on a particularly awful blind date with a woman who brings her ex. And yes, he has too many glasses of Scotch one night and proceeds to pen and publish his own obituary.
Other Physical Media
Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a modern-day tale of fortune seeking in the world of oil rigs. The series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it's reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.
Alcatraz versus the Knights of Crystallia (Audiobook) (2009) - Sanderson, Brandon
When Alcatraz and Grandpa Smedry make a pilgrimage to the Free Kingdom city of Crystallia, they are shocked to find the city under seige by the Evil Librarians—led by Alcatraz's own mother.
Project Hail Mary (2026) - Lord, Phil & Christopher Miller
Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship light year from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction... but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.
After being released from prison after 25 years, New York Mafia capo Dwight 'The General' Manfredi is exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Multiple Emmy Award winner Jean Smart stars as a legendary Las Vegas comedian who is forced to hire an ambitious young writer. These two talented comedic voices from different generations form an unlikely bond in this new comedy from "Broad City" alums Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky and Emmy Award winning executive producer Michael Schur.
