Category: Currently Reading Page 1 of 64

This is my third post for the week, should be my seventh or eighth. On the plus side, if you are seeing this, it means I stayed awake long enough to put it together yesterday

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 Documents by Kevin Nguyen	I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You by Miranda Hart

If anything was going to make Butler’s Parable of the Sower feel less prescient, it’d be Nguyen’s. It pulls off this odd combination of sweet, comfortable, slightly satirical, and utterly horrifying.

I’ve barely scratched the surface of Hart’s book, but I’m looking forward to pressing on.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Price of Power by Michael Michel	Baby City by Freida McFadden & Kelly Stoddard, read by Phillipa Miller

Michel’s relaunched book is just fantastic. I’d be counting the days for the second book in the series if it had a firm release date (phew! Saved from Math!!)

Baby City was utterly fine–and now I can say I’ve dipped my toe into McFadden’s work (even if it’s a far, far cry from a Domestic Thriller)

What do you think you’ll read next?

Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang	Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green

I’ve heard nothing but good things about Wang and this book. Eager to dive in.

What could be more entertaining than a book about TB? It’s about time I try a John Green (past time, really), might as well try this one.

Are you working on anything good?

Poking my head up long enough to post this–hopefully first of two for today.

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 Price of Power by Michael Michel	Baby City by Freida McFadden & Kelly Stoddard, read by Phillipa Miller

Last night I pulled the “well, just one more chapter and then I’ll get to work” move three times with Price of Power, and that’s a testimony to my self-control. I easily could’ve kept going.

I’m not sure how Baby City ended up on my holds list, but I’m going to trust past me…for a little while, anyway.

What did you recently finish reading?

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler	A Little History of Music by Robert Philip, read by Zeb Soanes

I’ve been thinking almost non-stop about Butler’s book for days now. I’m not sure when I’m going to stop.

I learned a little about music from Philip, almost enough to justify the time spent listening.

What do you think you’ll read next?

My Documents by Kevin Nguyen	Happy Jack and the Scary-Ass Book of Doom by Rich Partain, read by JP Adams

The ARC for Nguyen’s novel looked like a chilling look at what could easily go wrong in the U.S. when I requested it. Now, it just looks chilling. I may regret picking this up.

On the other hand, Partain’s book looks like a fun antidote to all the serious things I’ve been reading and listening to lately.

What’s on your nightstand (or wherever you keep your current reads)?

The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
Gang aft agley,

Is not supposed to be a motto or mission statement or anything like that. But I sure seem to have adopted it as such. But I have got some solid reading in.

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?

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler	Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin, read by Holter Graham & Saskia Maarleveld

I’ve only read 30 or so pages of Butler’s book–it’s not going to be a feel-good read.

By the time this posts, I’ll be an hour or so into Serpent & Dove, hopefully I’m enjoying myself.

What did you recently finish reading?

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto	Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations by Alton Brown

These two were simply delightful, everything I’d hoped they’d be, and maybe more. Vera Wong’s second investigation is heartwarming, sweet, and endearing. Brown’s essays were…I’d say “chef’s kiss,” but he had this great rant about the overuse of “Chef.”

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Price of Power by Michael Michel	A Little History of Music by Robert Philip, read by Zeb Soanes

The plan is to talk a lot about The Price of Power in the next week or so, buckle up for it! (step 1: reading the thing)

A Little History of Music is back in this spot–and will almost certainly not be delayed again.

How are you wrapping up the month?

Hey, I managed to get this up! (didn’t get anything else done today, but let’s accentuate the positive)

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?

A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett	Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations by Alton Brown

Bennett is knocking it out of the park again. I may be enjoying this one more than last year’s, but that’s just because I know what to expect from these characters. I certainly don’t know what to expect from this world, which is even stranger this time out. I got to the part of the book where a character utters the title today, which is always worth a cheer. It wasn’t used the way I initially took it, either, which is perfectly satisfying.

Speaking of satisfying…Alton Brown reading this essay collection is my front-runner for Audiobook of the Year. It’s just ridiculously entertaining.

What did you recently finish reading?

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames	That’s Not Right by Scott Meyer, read by Luke Daniels

As I said last week, Bloody Rose is not Kings of the Wyld. While that’s somewhat disappointing, but it’s good that it wasn’t. I put off reading this for far too long, I’m so glad I got to dip back into this world.

I opened the “wrong” audiobook last week, so I’ll have to circle back to A Little History of Music, after I clear off a few Library reserves (why do they insist on becoming available in stacks?). Instead, I had some quirky fun with Scott Meyer. This was not his best, but not his worst either (and his worst, it should be noted, is still plenty of fun). Solid fun, some really good lines, and (as you expect) some great performances from Luke Daniels.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto	Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin, read by Holter Graham & Saskia Maarleveld

Do I know what this return to the world of Vera Wong is about? Nope–and I don’t care. I just want to watch her meddle some more.

Serpent & Dove is one of those I’m listening to based on a recommendation (name withheld in case I don’t like it, no need to shame the lad). I’m really not sure this is my bag, but I hope to be surprised.

What’s keeping you up at night/filling your day?

INTRO

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?

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames	Bibliophobia: A Memoir by Sarah Chihaya, read by Traci Kato-Kiriyama

Bloody Rose has been on the top of my To Be Read pile since it was published in 2018, but I wasn’t sure it could live up to its predecessor, so I put it off, and off, and off, and off…I have to stop running from it. The first 100 pages don’t live up to Kings of the Wylde, but what does? It’s still plenty of fun (as I expected)–and there’s plenty of time for it to get better.

When this posts, I’ll be about 30 minutes into Bibliophobia, so I really don’t know much about it. But how do I not get sucked in? I mean, look at this first paragraph from the blurb:

Books can seduce you. They can, Sarah Chihaya believes, annihilate, reveal, and provoke you. And anyone incurably obsessed with books understands this kind of unsettling literary encounter. Sarah calls books that have this effect “Life Ruiners”.

This book is a memoir about her life with some Life Ruiners. I don’t know that I can think about books that way (check with me in 7 hours of this), but it sounds fascinating.

What did you recently finish reading?

Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader’s Guide to a More Tranquil Mind by Alan Jacobs	Ashes Never Lie by Lee Goldberg, read by Eric Conger, Nicol Zanzarella

Breaking Bread with the Dead is another stack of reasons that I want to be Alan Jacobs when I grow up.

As I said about Ashes Never Lie last week, Sharpe & Walker + Eve Ronin = fun.

What do you think you’ll read next?

A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett	A Little History of Music by Robert Philip, read by Zeb Soanes

As intimidated as I was to start Bloody Rose, I’m even more intimidated by A Drop of Corruption. The first in this series is one of the two best books I read last year. I doubt I’ll say the same about this one, but I bet it’ll be in teh running.

As for A Little History of Music? Eh, I was in the mood to learn a little something. Seemed like a good fit. (although I have a few library books on hold, if one of them comes through I can remain a little ignorant a bit longer)

CLOSING QUESTION?

What a difference a week makes–after talking about a few lackluster (or worse) books at the end of February, I ended the month very strong and the first books of March have continued that streak. It’s a nice place to be.

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 Library Game by Gigi Pandian	Every Tom, Dick & Harry by Elinor Lipman, read by Piper Goodeve

I just started The Library Game today. I thought Pandian had wrapped up this series with the last book, I’m glad to see that I was wrong and I’m eager to see where the series goes from here.

Lipman’s Ms. Demeanor was entertaining enough (although it had its drawbacks), and I’m curious to try something else by her.

What did you recently finish reading?

Perelandra by C.S. Lewis	Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow, read by Wil Wheaton

Perelandra blew me away this week, just as much as it did 20+ years ago when I read it the first time.

A couple of weeks ago in a Saturday Miscellany post, I said something about getting around to trying Doctorow sometime, the manager of Shared Stories told me that I really should start with Red Team Blues. He was right.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader’s Guide to a More Tranquil Mind by Alan Jacobs	Ashes Never Lie by Lee Goldberg, read by Eric Conger,Nicol Zanzarella

It’s time for me to wrap-up my review of Jacobs’ trilogy.

And I’ll be tackling Ashes Never Lie on audio. Sharpe & Walker + Eve Ronin = fun.

How’s March starting for you?

I’ve hit a run of not-great books lately. Nothing horrible, just books that I wanted more from. I’m sure that streak is about to end, but for now, getting through them (in the hope I’m about to be proven wrong) is such a slog. It actually saps some mental energy

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?

Beast of the North Woods by Annelise Ryan	Good Material by Dolly Alderton, read by Arthur Darvill & Vanessa Kirby

Ryan’s latest adventure is both more-of-the-same (but it’s still fresh enough to keep working) and I-can’t-believe-she’s-doing-this. In short, I’m enjoying this–it’s possible I’ll have just finished this about the time this posts–I imagine I’ll be pretty satisfied about now.

I don’t know why I’m still listening to Good Material, I have to say. Andy is very likely the least likable protagonist I’ve come across in months. And I’ve read/listened to books with murderers and assassins as the main characters. Andy is just a whiny man-child whose stand-up had better be a lot funnier than his narration. I’ve yet to see any reason for this story to be told–or what the story is, really. Maybe it’s the narration by Arthur Darville, and my subconscious recognized him and kicked in the loyalty he’s earned from screen roles (the rest of my brain caught up as I was putting this post together). Also, I’m at 56% and have yet to run into Kirby (and was surprised to learn I’m supposed to).

What did you recently finish reading?

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson	Passageways by Rebecca Carey Lyles, Editor	Johnny Careless by Kevin Wade, read by John Pirhalla

I’m so glad that I finally finished Snow Crash (although you could argue that Stephenson didn’t actually finish it, he just stopped writing). A lot of it fell flat, but when it worked? It was so money, baby…

Similarly, there were some really good starts to short stories in Passageways, but few of them delivered on the end (or middle, too often).

I’m not sure that I’m going to muster up the energy required to say much about Johnny Careless, it’s a thing I listened to. I wouldn’t rail against it, but I’m sure not going to encourage anyone to give it a shot.

What do you think you’ll read next?

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Where the Bones Lie by Nick Kolakowski	Dead Money by Jakob Kerr, read by Rachel Music

For years, all I’ve needed on a cover is “Nick Kolakowski” to want to read it. But I know that most of you need more than that to get convinced–okay, this is a modern PI noir set in the seedy side of Hollywood–where so much of the best PI noir from the last 100 years comes from. I expect this to be fast, furious, and a little unnerving.

Yeah, Dead Money was in this spot last week, too. But I decided I wanted a genre break, so I put it off. This debut thriller still looks pretty good to me.

Is February ending on a high note for you?

How is it that January seemed to be 450 days long, and we’re over halfway through February in maybe 6 days? It just makes no sense…

I wasn’t able to translate the holiday into extra reading–or furniture buying (not that I was thinking about it, but what else are you supposed to do with Presidents’ Day?). I did get some quality time with some family members, so I’m not complaining at all. And wherever this paragraph was headed, I lost my path. So, let’s just get on with the WWW Wednesday.

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?

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson	Passageways by Rebecca Carey Lyles, Editor	Johnny Careless by Kevin Wade, read by John Pirhalla

Last week, I said that I’d tried Snow Crash a couple of times before–I’m pretty sure that if I’d read another chapter or two, I wouldn’t have stopped. This is fun.

Passageways is an uneven, but interesting, collection that I should have wrapped up by the end of the month.

Wade’s first novel has promise, and still has a few hours to make me a fan. But it has to overcome a couple of serious deficits (and odd switches between 1st and 3rd-person narration that I don’t understand).

What did you recently finish reading?

Installment Immortality by Seanan McGuire	Ingredients: The Strange Chemistry of What We Put in Us and on Us by George Zaidan

McGuire’s latest was duly impressive. I need to come up with another 200+ words to express that by the end of the week. But that’ll do for a start.

Zaidan’s book is a great mix of information, cynicism, analysis, careful explanation, and goofy humor. Highly recommended.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Beast of the North Woods by Annelise Ryan	Dead Money by Jakob Kerr, read by Rachel Music

It’s the third adventure for Morgan Carter. I’m looking forward to seeing how she goes about this creature hunt.

I apparently have another debut thriller on deck. Hopefully, this one makes a better first impression.

Are you in the middle of something good right now, or are you waiting for something to convince you it’s worth your time?