Friday Reads 7/16/2026
It is Friday! After tomorrow, I actually get two days off! Hallelujah! Let's see what I'm reading.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - You aren't going to believe this. I sat down to read this on Wednesday evening. I was reading this really harrowing scene about our main character and his lady love trying to figure out how to kill a giant lizard. On the next page, some guy called Cob says something inane. On the first page, the two of them were alone in the wild with the death lizard. Who is this Cob fellow, and where did he come from? I go back and read the end of the first page again. Nope. No Cob. Then I realize. The first page is number 568, the page next to it is number 631. There are 63 pages missing from my book. I nearly crashed out right there.
I have owned this particular copy for about 10 years. There is no returning it for a refund. Ok. Fine. How do I solve the problem? I could just quit, but I have already spent many weeks reading those 568 pages. Sunk cost fallacy tells me I might as well finish it. I could skip those 60 pages and just wing it and hope for the best. I decided I really want to finish it.
Of course, I turned to the library. When I tell you, every single copy of this book is checked out right now. What!? This book is nearly 20 years old. Who is reading this besides me? We have 9 stinking copies! Ridiculous. Anyway, I placed the hold, but I seriously considered going to Barnes and Noble and grabbing a copy and camping out in the cafe until I finish the 63 pages.
So I am stalled out at 79%. So close, yet so far.
The Night Tiger by Yangszhe Choo - Since I can't read the other book, I have gone back to this one. It's been a couple of weeks since I read in it, but I remembered what was happening pretty easily. I have officially crossed the halfway point here, which seems like a real accomplishment for some reason.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster - This is my work lunch book, but I did take it to my doctor's appointment yesterday and read a few pages. I am now 75% through it. I don't imagine this will take much work. It's pretty great. And I don't much care for children's books. I guess they were much better in the 1960s.
Freaky in Fresno by Laurie Boyle Crompton - When I finished my audiobook, I just kind of scrolled until I saw something mildly entertaining. I love a dog. This is a YA novel about a teenage girl who has a crush on a boy and a cousin who is her polar opposite. She used to be best friends with the cousin until the cousin got into beauty and decided our girl, Ricki, isn't cool enough to hang out with. Then, their aunt came into some money and decided to fix the cousins' relationship by giving them a 1966 Buick Skylark in pink. But, they have to share it equally and spend time in it together. The cousin, Lana, is really obnoxious, but Ricki is pretty petty, too. I'm 12% in, and they are already fighting over who gets the car Friday night. I am reserving judgment, right now. So far, I'm only liking the boy Ricki has a crush on. And the aunt who bought the car. She raises wolf dogs. Clearly, the dog on the cover is not a wolf dog. That is Ricki's mom's dog, who loves Lana and growls at Ricki. Hopefully, if it's terrible, it's at least short.
And that is what I'm reading this weekend. Do you have big reading plans?