Friday Reads 8/14/2026

Not that I get a weekend this week, but if I did, this is what I would read.

IN

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi - In case you were wondering why I didn't start one of the books for any of my reading challenges, it's because my kid chose my next book, and this is what they picked. I gave them a stack of books from my TBR, and they carefully read each summary. It came down to two, so we did rock-paper-scissors, and this one won. I've read the first chapter. There was a section that was a transcript from a Reddit thread on the fact that the moon is very different. I found this hilarious. It very faithfully followed the tenor and tone of a Reddit thread. Before the internet, when people were idiots, they were only idiots before a relatively small number of people. Nowadays, we can proclaim our idiocy to the whole world, and do, regularly. In case the cover isn't clear enough, the moon has turned to cheese, along with all the moon rocks in museums all over the world.

Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick - I haven't officially started this one, but I will as soon as I finish this post.

CONTINUING

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton - I actually picked this one up and sat down with my reading glasses, fully intending to read it. Then, my kid came in and started yapping, and I realized it was a lost cause.

OUT

The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee - I took a sick day on Wednesday and finished this one. The twists! I did not see any of them coming. Whoo boy! I'm pretty sure Lee's last series of books was Fantasy. This one is all sci-fi. It's absolutely stunning, sci-fi.

Who Is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service by Michael Lewis et. al. - This is honey for a jaded government worker's heart. I don't work directly for the Federal Government, but I regularly bump elbows with people who do. And honestly, the people in other levels of government, working in non-elected or appointed positions, mostly feel the same way about the importance of what they are doing. Warm fuzzies from this one.

Hooray for finishing books!