Whoops, I almost forgot about this. Blame M.W. Craven.
This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.
The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:
What are you currently reading?
I literally had to force myself to close The Mercy Chair by M.W. Craven and put some distance between me and so I could get this post (and tomorrow’s) ready. I’m closing out Paper & Blood by Kevin Hearne, read by Luke Daniels on audiobook—I’m more eager than I was a couple of days ago for the third installment in this series (and I was pretty eager then). Also, this might be the best thing that Luke Daniels has ever done (and that’s no small feat).
What did you recently finish reading?
I just finished E. Rathke’s Howl and I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle, read by Shaun Taylor-Corbett on audio. Am I allowed to say that I enjoyed it more than The Last Unicorn? It feels like the kind of thing I should whisper—or maybe only admit to someone in a parking garage while standing in the shadows.
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What do you think you’ll read next?
My next book should be for The Teachings of Shirelle: Life Lessons from a Divine Knucklehead by Douglas Green and my next audiobook should be The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos, read by James Babson.
What has found its way to the top of your TBR?
Bob Germaux
I’m currently reading “Tell No One,” an early (2001) Harlan Coben standalone thriller which I somehow missed all those years ago. So far, I’m really into the plot (a dead woman who may not be dead?) and the fully fleshed out characters. Coben rarely fails to deliver.
I just finished “Christa Comes Out of Her Shell” by Abbi Waxman, a book I picked up after reading your review, HC. You pretty much covered everything I would say about this book. I especially enjoyed Waxman’s dialogue and her quirky characters. It was just a fun read with a bit of mystery thrown in for good measure.
Next up will probably be another Waxman book, maybe “Adult Assembly Required.” I like the title, and I really like the fact that one of the characters is called Impossibly Handsome Bob. I mean, c’mon, right?
HCNewton
I’d recommend The Bookish Life of Nina Hill before Adult Assembly, FWIW. It’s not essential, but what little suspense that Nina Hill holds will be spoiled (not that one really reads Waxman for the suspense)
Somehow, I’ve missed Coben over the years. And now his backlist intimidates me.
HCNewton
What would be one or two must-read Coben books?
allysonyj
I’m currently starting to read Ruth Ozecki’s latest, “The book of Form and Emptiness.” It’s pretty whimsical so far – the two characters are a boy and a book.
I am also reading at “Great Short Novels of Science Fiction” edited by Groff Conklin. They may have been great in 1954 when this yellowed paperback was published, but they read both dated and patriarchal now. “The Blast” by Stuart Cloete tells of a post-apocalyptic New York City, complete with giant blood-sucking minks, one lone white guy, a couple of pretty young blondes, and some Indian braves.(Not kidding!). Robert Heinlein’s “Coventry” is another post-apocalyptic vision in which an ethical hegemony has taken over the US, and if you violate ethical standards by causing harm to another person, you can choose between psycho-healing or Coventry, an anarchic area on the other side of the Barrier. Heinlein is so self-righteous. Currently I’m in the middle of Murray Leinster’s “The Other World” concerning portals between our world (New York City again) and a fascistic jungle in a parallel dimension. Clifford Simak in “City” did it better.
I finished Jamie Ford’s “The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet”, a searing condemnation of the shameful Japanese relocation during WWII, told from the pt of view of a 13-year-old Chinese-American boy who has also been the victim of racist bullying. I marked it down to 3 stars on Amazon due to the rather flimsy second plot line involving the same boy, now a widower in the 1980’s.
Also read Gabrielle Kimm’s “His Last Duchess”, a fictional retelling of Browning’s classic poem “My Last Duchess.” Quite a twist at the end – Browning is either spinning in his grave or sitting up and applauding.
Next I’m going to read Maggie O’Farrell’s take on the same subject, “The Marriage Portrait”. Let’s see if the author of “Hamnet” can do for Browning what she did for Shakespeare.