This turned into a read or blog kind of day, given a bunch of looming Library due dates, I’m opting for the former. But I’ll still try to get this done on time. Allyson—yes, I do still read all the comments, and “respond to comments” is always the next thing on my list. I just need to get better at checking the box ahead of it.
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?
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| Blind to Midnight by Reed Farrel Coleman |
Starter Villain by John Scalzi, read by Wil Wheaton |
Blind to Midnight starts off strong (even after this afternoon’s post), and…well, that’s all I know. But I’m looking forward to seeing more.
I’m enjoying Starter Villain just as much the second time as I did the first, I can just sit back and enjoy the lunacy without wondering what’s coming next. Wheaton’s doing a bang-up job. (I should’ve finished this today, but I didn’t get a chance to open the app–just one of those days. Been a long time since I couldn’t listen at work)
What did you recently finish reading?
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| Black Maria by Christine Boyer |
Born to Be Hanged: The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune by Keith Thomson, ready by Feodor Chin |
Black Maria ended up satisfying most of the expectations I expressed yesterday and surpassed them. The things I wrongly predicted, I’m very glad I did. Boyer’s version (as you’d expect) was better than mine was. Solid story, well told.
Brief thoughts on Born to Be Hanged: amusingly written, interesting story, and I could barely pay attention. I’m not sure if that’s me, the narrator, or the text. I’d believe any of those, or a combination.
What do you think you’ll read next?
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| The More the Terrier by David Rosenfelt |
What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama, read by Hanako Footman, Susan Momoko Hingley, Kenichiro Thomson, Winson Ting, and Shiro Kawai |
I’m going to need the lightness of the next David Rosenfelt holiday novel, based on the opening paragraphs (alone) of Blind to Midnight.
A friend recommended What You Are Looking for Is in the Library, saying it’s similar to No Two Persons. That’s good enough for me.
Do you try to go for something seasonal—either harvest season/fall-like or spooky this time of year? Or do you just read whatever’s next?
allysonyj
I’m currently reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Tender is the Night” because my son recommended it. He loves Fitzgerald, while I take a more jaded view. Fitzgerald’s writing is very LUSH.
I just finished reading six of the short stores in Lee Child’s collection “Safe Enough.” I enjoy the genuine Child whose voice is so missing in the recent Jack Reachers written by a relative, but the stories are sketches that need filling out. The preface, in which Child discusses how he viewed writing these short pieces, is interesting.
I also read Sarah J. Maas’s “A Court of Thorns and Roses” because of the WSJ article noting that a new book by Maas released in 2023 outsold new releases by James Patterson, Clive Cussler, and Steven King COMBINED. I was curious. In this first volume of a very successful series, we are introduced to a young girl who is venturing into a dangerous forest where she will use her archery skills to provide food for her starving family, reduced to abject poverty by the heartless ruling class which lives in luxury while the people starve. Does this sound rather familiar? But the genre is “romantasy”, not “dystopia” and the heartless ruling class is composed of Faeries. Say Suzanne Collins ran into J.R.R Tolkien in a bar and after a few rounds they decided to collaborate, but when they got stuck they turned to Charlotte Bronte to spice things up a bit… This book is in the YA section of my library, and judging by the titles surrounding it, “romantasy” is what the kids are reading.
Kate Atkinson’s “Shrines of Gaiety” got interesting press on release, so I gave her another chance after I DNF’d her latest Jackson Brodie. Unfortunately, this one ended up as a DNF also – the point of view shifted so many times in the first forty pages that I got dizzy.
Next I will read something from my TBR shelf, unless the sequel to CTR shows up at my library. Yes, I’m a sucker for those dark, saturnine guys with hidden wings and fingers that turn to talons.
HCNewton
I just had to take Safe Enough back to the library without opening it. Glad to hear about the genuine Child voice (but ’tis a shame about the sketches)