Friday Reads 8/23/2024

Here we are at Friday, once again. Unfortunately, not a lot has changed in my reading landscape. Sigh.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte - At right about a fifth of the way through this, we switch to journal entries from several years earlier than where we have been reading. I forgot how much the Victorians loved an epistolary novel. I thought it was just a few pages. When it went on for a couple of chapters, I decided to look ahead, to see how long it goes on. 200 pages, y'all. I had to put the book down for a couple of days until I could rearrange my expectations and be ready for basically an entire book in journal entries. I picked it back up again a couple of days ago and am slowly making my way through it.

Chronicles of My Alien Invasion Life by Jes McCutchen - This is about a group of kids who go swimming at an old mine reservoir. One of them disappears and our main character breaks a bunch of bones. She spends several weeks in the hospital, and when she says the other kid went through a portal, everyone assumes she hit her head. They are all mourning his death. One kid comes through though and starts trying to put together a device to contact him. Chuck (our main gal) believes they have been invaded by aliens and finds several instances of proof of such. It's fun. The kids are cool. I'm only reading it at work, so it's slow going. I don't think I'll have any trouble finishing it before the author comes to visit in October.

I will probably pick up something else to read along with these, with the hope of finishing it a little faster. I really should pick up a mystery from the ones that fulfill Booklist Queen challenges. It will probably be one of these:

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley - I feel like I have said this a lot, that I would read it soon. I haven't done it yet. It's a thriller, so I feel like it will read quickly. This one would fulfill the prompt to read a book set in Paris.

The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny - This is number 3 in the series. Number 19 is coming out this Fall. It's a good thing I'm not pressured by long series numbers. Anyway, this one would meet the prompt to read a book set in a small town. It is officially referred to as a "village" which I'm pretty sure means small town.