Part of being AFK last week meant that there was no WWW Wednesday, and I’m sure you all missed it. I heard the wails, “What’s HC reading??” Sorry about that. It must’ve been hard on you all. Never fear, it’s back.
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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| The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai |
Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland by Martha Barnette |
I needed a work translated into X languages for a reading challenge, and didn’t want to rely on Backman (although I have a handful of his to catch up on), so I thought I’d give this Japanese work a shot.
Barnette’s subtitle sold me–I honestly have no idea what I’m getting into.
What did you recently finish reading?
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| Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury |
The Mailman: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home by Stephen Starring Grant |
This book by Bradbury was not my cup of tea, but…man, I’m glad I read it. I’m not sure that makes sense, but it’s true.
I figured The Mailman would be a breezy, fun listen. And it was–but it also had a lot of good things to say and think about beyond the mail service (but honestly, even that was inspiring). I did not expect what it delivered. (pun unintended, but warmly embraced)
The books I would’ve talked about last week, if I’d been around:
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| Old Man’s War by John Scalzi |
The Grimdwarf: Cursed by JCM Berne |
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| Rightous Trash by Nick Kolakowski |
Bounty Inc. by Adam Holcombe |
What do you think you’ll read next?
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| The Epic of Marindel: Chosen by Nathan Keys |
Son of a Liche by J. Zachary Pike, read by Doug Tisdale, Jr. |
I bought the first volume of Keys’ Fantasy trilogy in Spring of 2024, and I’m tired of running into him without having read it. I know I’ll see him early next month, so I want to be sure to have this finished by then, if only for the guilt. But also, I’ve been curious about it for a year and a half.
I’m looking forward to stepping back into The Dark Profit trilogy, it’s a fun kind of Fantasy.
What have you been reading lately? (after you wake Green Day, obviously)
allysonyj
My, it’s been awhile since I managed to do this on a Wednesday. (You’ve been posting the WWW quite late, I think). During August I went through a period of not reading much – (I’m behind 8 books on my Goodreads challenge) but I’m starting to catch up. So what’s been going down?
Currently I’m reading a collection of short stories “Old Babes in the Wood” by Margaret Atwood. She is a good writer, and is having fun with some sci fi, some interconnected stories about a mature couple, and other experiments. I had only read her dystopian novels before, so this is a great display of her varied skills.
What have I finished since I last reported? I read Barbara Kingsolver’s “Unsheltered” a fine family saga which also covers a bunch of social issues including homelessness, the unavailability of insurance, the plight of the single father, climate change, the excesses of the consumer society, and still manages to be a page turner. Highly recommend.
Then a short novelette by Frederick Buechner, “Godric,” a retelling of the life of a medieval ascetic which explores what spirituality might mean. You might like this one.
Then a memoir by Jon Chu, director of “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Wicked”, called “Viewfinder.” Chu is a local guy, whose father’s restaurant figures prominently in the memoir, and where I have eaten more times that I can count, so it was interesting to read his view of my neighborhood. Also very interesting to read about how he managed to make it in the movies – would recommend for movie buffs.
Then a short charming memoir called “The Piano Shop on the Left Bank” by Thad Carhart. I am a sucker for books set in Paris, and fascinated by pianos, and loved reading this one, about how a young man’s interest in a piano repairs shop led him into the life of his Parisian neighborhood.
Then “Transcription” by Kate Atkinson. I wish I could have liked this better. I liked Atkinson’s “Life after Life” and her early Jackson Brodie novels, but this story relies too much on technique (literary allusions, jumping around in time) and I never felt close the main character, a young woman who works for M16 during World War II.
Then I read “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, a Young Adult novel which seems to have become one of those classroom discussion classics. Melinda is an outcast at school – even her best friend isn’t speaking to her. It’s better if you don’t read the reviews if you want to try this excellent book – they contain spoilers, and it’s better if you don’t at first know what has caused Melinda’s outcast status. Recommend.
And as an antidote to all that teenage angst, I re-read a couple of Georgette Heyer classic Regency romances, “Frederica” and “False Colours”. Ultimate comfort books.
Next? I will read Bernard Cornwell’s highly recommended “Fools and Mortals” about William Shakespeare’s younger brother? Did he really have a younger brother? I’ll find out, I guess.
HCNewton
There’s plenty of fodder for pondering there on that list…a couple of those sound pretty appealing