Category: WWW Wednesday Page 2 of 25

So, it turns out I reserved, and checked out, the ebook for What You Are Looking for Is in the Library last week, whoops. Back for another 6 week wait on that one. It’s been a week of writer’s block and fatigue so far–maybe not block, but writer’s dissatisfaction. Which is results in the same thing. But hey…let’s do a quick WWW check in anyway, and I can pretend I’m a consistent blogger.

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?

My Darkest Prayer by S.A. Cosby	On Classical Trinitarianism: Retrieving the Nicene Doctrine of the Triune Godedited by Matthew Barrett	How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley, read by Clare Corbett

Cosby’s first novel isn’t as polished as his second one–but he hits you with his talent on every page. (at least so far) Yeah, Blacktop Wasteland was a leap ahead of this one. But I’d buy a handful of books of this caliber without a complaint.

I should finish with the Barret book by the end of the week–I should be done with it by now, actually. It’s not a book that should be read this quickly–and when I re-read it, I will take weeks longer to do so.

I’m not sure what to think of Pooley’s novel yet. There are parts that are a lot of fan–and there are parts that are just there. It’s Gayle’s All the Lonely People meets How the Penguins Saved Veronica with a dash of Richard Osman thrown in. I’m not quite at the halfway point as of this writing–I’ll have more to say soon.

What did you recently finish reading?

The More the Terrier by David Rosenfelt	Starter Villain by John Scalzi, read by Wil Wheaton

Hopefully you’ll see my thoughts about The More the Terrier this week, but the short version is: reliably entertaining with a dash of holiday cheer.

It took me a little longer to finish Starter Villain than I expected–it was just one of those weeks. That just prolonged the time I got to spend in that world. I’m ready to listen again (well, not really…it’s still too fresh. But give me a couple of months…)

What do you think you’ll read next?

A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke	Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller, read by January LaVoy

I wondered if Olivia Black was done with the Record Shop Mysteries by the end of the last one, and it certainly appears she is with the launch of this new series. So, what is it? It’s got an Odd Couple-ish pair of roommates solving supernatural mysteries in Boston. The grumpy roommate is a new ghost, and the younger, happier woman is alive. Hard to get more mismatched than that.

The Library brought me Lula Dean’s Little Library again, so I can finish it–and decide if it was worth coming back to.

Tell me what kinds of things you’re reading that I should add to my pile.

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?

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?

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?

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?

No intro today…I really don’t have much to say. Let’s just get on with 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?

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson	On Classical Trinitarianism: Retrieving the Nicene Doctrine of the Triune God edited by Matthew Barrett	An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka, read by Will Watt

I’ve barely scratched the surface of The Space Between Worlds but I can tell that this is one that’s going to mess with my head, but the writing is so nice that I don’t care. I’m reading this for a SF Book Club that meets next week. I’ve never tried a book club before, I’m looking forward to doing that (he says days in advance, we’ll see if my introversion will let me leave the house).

I’m still plugging away at On Classical Trinitarianism, it’s rewarding…but I spend a lot of time feeling that I’m not quite smart enough to read it. But I’m getting enough out of it to put up with feeling like I’m wearing a dunce cap.

I’m not far in An Inheritance of Magic, but I’m digging Watt’s narration and am enjoying revisiting this world before An Instruction in Shadow releases next month.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Debt Collector by Steven Max Russo	Sleepless City by Reed Farrel Coleman, read by Peter Giles

Russo’s latest novel is one of those where you end up reading a lot further in each session than 1. you intended to and 2. you realize until you stop. I don’t know if it’s the story, the character, or his prose—but something just moved so smoothly about this. I’ll try to say more soon—and I should have a Q&A with Russo about it, too.

I’d like to say I adjusted to Giles’ narration, but his raspy narration and a couple of interesting (to try to be charitable) pronunciation choices never really settled with me. I did like some of the supporting character voices and accents he used, I have to say. Coleman’s story was just as gripping as I remembered.

What do you think you’ll read next?

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

I have no idea what Black Maria is about—a few weeks ago, Vern Smith from Run Amok Crime sent me a copy of the ARC. He’s yet to lead me astray, so I’m going for it.

I remember reading the back cover/jacket flap for Born to Be Hanged a year or so ago, and thinking it looked pretty fun (and maybe educational). Who doesn’t like a good pirate story, right? When I saw it browsing the library’s audiobooks, I had to jump.

What’s the end of September hold for you?

Yup. I’m late with this. It’s not even Wednesday for many of you…it’d been a day and I needed some good no-screen time today, and thankfully my wife drug me away from them. But I’m home now, and have time to finish this off.

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 urore-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’m reading (and meant to finish yesterday) the ARC for Candle & Crow by Kevin Hearne—it might be my favorite thing in this series, I am making progress in On Classical Trinitarianism: Retrieving the Nicene Doctrine of the Triune God edited by Matthew Barrett, and I’m listening to Sleepless City by Reed Farrel Coleman, read by Peter Giles on audiobook. (Giles’ raspy, tough, Bales-as-Batman narration has had to have shredded his vocal cords, I hope he was taken care of)

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What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary and #CrimeTime by Jeneva Rose and Drew Pyne, read by: Abelardo Campuzano, Jennifer Damiano, Phil Thron, Gary Tiedemann, Peter Berkrot, P.J. Ochlan, Nancy Linari, Chris Andrew Ciulla, Piper Goodeve, Kevin R. Free and Samantha Desz on audio.

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be The Debt Collector by Steven Max Russo—a book I told Russo I’d read before March 20 of this year. Ugh. My next audiobook should be An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka, read by Will Watt. I don’t know if I can handle Jacka with a different narrator (as age-appropriate as he might be compared to Gildart Jackson)

What are you working through?

Library Due Dates, a faulty memory, and one of “those” weeks have conspired to make me change my reading schedule for 5 times since I posted my last WWW. So, expect to see the entries from my “Up Next” section from last week in the next couple of months (I’m so glad the question is “What do you think you’ll read next?”). I’m the only one who cares, but it irks me.

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’m reading Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (a book I received in the mail on release day in 2021 and somehow haven’t read yet), On Classical Trinitarianism: Retrieving the Nicene Doctrine of the Triune God edited by Matthew Barrett (a book I really should’ve considered the page count of before requesting from NetGalley), and am listening to Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller, read by January LaVoy on audiobook (a perfectly fine book incapable of nuance or subtlety).

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Nadine Matheson’s The Kill List and Marvel: What If . . . Wanda Maximoff and Peter Parker Were Siblings? by Seanan McGuire, read by Allyson Voller on audio.

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Candle & Crow by Kevin Hearne set in a world I’m not ready to say goodbye to, but apparently I will be. My next audiobook should be Chasing Embers by James Bennett, read by Colin Mace.

Are you reading anything good?

One half of the Mystery/Crime novels I read last month came in the last two days—the other was an audiobook re-read. July wasn’t much better—if you take audiobooks out of the equation, it was 53 days between that kind of book for me—which is pretty much unheard of. You can believe that I have built up a healthy stack to work through. I don’t mind the break…it’s just weird.

Other than that, September’s off to a bang—I’ve been surrounded by several reminders of why I’m a reader (and blogger). If I only could find more time for that…

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’m reading The Kill List by Nadine Matheson, which is as disturbing as I’ve come to expect from Matheson. I’m listening to Marvel: What If . . . Wanda Maximoff and Peter Parker Were Siblings? by Seanan McGuire, read by Allyson Voller on audiobook, which is so much better than I’d hoped.

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Peter David’s Buddy the Knight and The Queen of Sorrow and Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend by MJ Wassmer, read by Stephen R. Thorne on audio. Both of them did so, so many things right—and so little wrong.

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Chronos Warlock by Shami Stovall and I’m so eager to dive in. My next audiobook should be I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue, read by Nasim Pedrad.

What’s got you excited (or maudlin, or disaffected, or…)?

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’m reading the zany Big Trouble in Little Italy by Nicole Sharp, and am listening to Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch, read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith on audiobook (if only so I can remember how good the rest are in comparison).

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Alex Robins’ Panacea and The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song, read by Natalie Naudus on audio. Two books that were heavier than I anticipated (which says more about my expectations than anything)

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Ways and Truths and Lives by Matt Edwards and my next audiobook should be Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend by MJ Wassmer, read by Stephen R. Thorne. Yes, that audiobook was in this spot last week, too. But I hit play on the wrong app before I remembered that fact.

How’re you wrapping up August?

It’s a race to the finish line for this year’s 20 Books of Summer (one of those self-imposed goals that becomes all the more important as the deadline gets closer but is totally meaningless in reality). It’s mathematically possible (maybe even probable) that I’ll finish in time. But it’ll be by the proverbial skin of my teeth, the sands of the hourglass will be almost depleted, etc., etc. I failed when I set up my reading order and ended up with three straight fantasy novels, which might be too much of that genre in a row for me. Hopefully, the varied voices/tones in the books will be enough.

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?

Today, I’m starting Bard Tidings by Paul Regnier, and am listening to The Night Ends with FireE by K. X. Song, read by Natalie Naudus on audiobook.

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished H.C. Newell’s Curse of the Fallen—I’m reeling from the ending (but really shouldn’t be)—and Malibu Burning by Lee Golberg, read by Eric Conger on audio.

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next book should be Panacea by Alex Robins (I still love that cover) and my next audiobook should be Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend by MJ Wassmer, read by Stephen R. Thorne (that cover makes me think of a Rom-Com for some reason)

What kinds of things are you reading lately?

Noted traveler and tea aficionado, Arthur Dent, once commented that he “could never get the hang of Thursdays.” And I frequently get where he was coming from. Thankfully, today’s a Wednesday—and I can get a handle on them. If nothing else, it’s the day I ramble about the books I’ve been/am/will be reading this week and get intimidated/inspired by what those who comment here (notably, Allyson Johnson) say in response.

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’m reading Heart of Fire by Raina Nightingale, and am just starting No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister, read by a full cast on audiobook (thanks to Carol for the recommendation).

What did you recently finish reading?

The last books that I finished were A. Y. Chan’s The Legendary Mo Seto and Homerooms and Hall Passes by Tom O’Donnell, read by James Fouhey on audio.

What do you think you’ll read next?

I’ve got some good banter on my horizon, my next book should be Blood Reunion by JCM Berne and my next audiobook should be Fool Moon by Jim Butcher, read by James Marsters.

Are you reading anything worth talking about?

Did you know that we are two days away from National Book Lover’s Day here in the States? (yes, there is a Day for everything under the sun—it’s also Veep Day, Shop Online for Groceries Day, National Rice Pudding Day, National Hand Holding Day, and Co-Working Day). Which makes it at least the 5th consecutive year that I don’t have anything prepped for it. You’d think that’d be a gimme of a post, right? But I’ve yet to come up with a decent idea.*

Also, around these parts, Every day is Book Lover’s Day. Anyway, I felt like I needed a couple of nonsense sentences before we got to the meat of this post. Let’s get on with things.

* Okay, I might have just thought of a post I could put together

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’m reading Mystery Science Theater 3000: A Cultural History by Matt Foy and Christopher J. Olson, which might be trying too hard to explain humor. I’m listening to Amari and the Great Game by B. B. Alston, read by Imani Parks on audiobook to remind me exactly where the story has us before I open the third volume.

What did you recently finish reading?

I just finished Brock Poulsen’s Bizarre Frontier Omnibus #1, and that will not be the last time I read Poulsen* . I also just finished and enjoyed Mortal Coil by Derek Landy, read by Brian Bowles on audio, which was fun even if I had trouble adjusting to a new narrator, and was troubled that I let my son read this in grade school.

* In case he reads this, I hope he notices that I spelled his name correctly this time.

What do you think you’ll read next?

My next books will be some fun MG-lit, I’ll be reading The Legendary Mo Seto by A. Y. Chan and my next audiobook should be Homerooms and Hall Passes by Tom O’Donnell, read by James Fouhey (the premise alone gets it 3 Stars).

What kinds of things have caught your eye lately?