Category: Currently Reading Page 9 of 71

It’s the middle of the week, pretty much the middle of the month, and I’m feeling fair-to-middling. Which all works out nicely. Let’s commemorate this synchronicity by going through this week’s WWW Wednesday, shall we?

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?

Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds	Sleep No More by Seanan McGuire, read by Mary Robinette Kowal

Words are failing me to try to describe Pushing Ice. I’m a shade past halfway through this and am so impressed. It’s my first Alastair Reynolds novel, and unless the second half falls off the rails, it won’t be my last.

It’s been too long since I spent time with Toby Daye, and I’m enjoying this revisit. As one expects, as I know what’s going to happen, I’m able to enjoy some of the details more. The details are really nicely added. McGuire gave her fans a treat with this one.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs	The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory by Thomas Fuller

I’ve said somewhere (or maybe a few places), that this Alan Jacobs book is as close to a Mission Statement that The Irresponsible Reader has. This re-read was a good reminder why I say that, as well as a challenge to make an adjustment or three to my approach.

Fuller provides an engaging and interesting book about a football team that can appeal to even those of us who really don’t care that much about SportsBall.

What do you think you’ll read next?

	The Accidental Joe: The Top-Secret Life of a Celebrity Chef by Tom Straw

I have no idea what my next print book will be, it really depends on my frame of mind when I finish Pushing Ice; and how much energy it leaves me with. I have a few options, but I’m not going to commit.

Meanwhile, I’ve been wanting to try The Accidental Joe for some months now, and a local library finally added it to their collection–celebrity chef turned CIA asset? Should be fun.

How’s this week treating you?

After a two-week break, we’re back to WWWing on Wednesdays. This is basically a recap of my year thus far.

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 Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs	The Bang-Bang Sisters by Rio Youers, read by Kristen Sieh

I knew this was my third time reading The Pleasures of Reading, but what I didn’t realize until yesterday when I was logging it I realized that the first time was in 2015 and the second was in 2020. So clearly, I have a start on my 2030 TBR.

As far as The Bang-Bang Sisters? I don’t know what to say…WOW is about as much as I can say with 12% left to go.

What did you recently finish reading?

Robert B. Parker’s Buried Secrets by Christopher Farnsworth	Charlotte Illes Is Not a Teacher by Katie Siegel

I was apprehensive about a fourth author taking over Jesse Stone, but Farnsworth made a believer out of me. I hope he sticks around for a while.

The second installment in the Not a Detective series is a lot of fun.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds	The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory by Thomas Fuller

I’m a little intimidated by Pushing Ice, the January selection for the SF Book Club. I’ve heard good things about it, but it is a heavy-looking 550+ pages.

I’ve heard some good things about Fuller’s book, looking forward to the change of pace (and, hopefully, a good book, too)

What goodies are you starting your year with?

Running late with this again. I’m still trying to shake the COVID symptoms and life’s been busier than I’m used to–I’ve fallen asleep with my leptop open and a post in the works for four nights in a row. I’m trying to focus on just getting something up for the next couple of days without much reference to time.

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 Big Empty by Robert Crais	Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch, read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

On the one hand, I wish Crais wrote faster. On the other hand, whatever he’s doing to bring us stuff like The Big Empty is so good that I don’t want him to mess with his M.O.

I’m really enjoying getting back into the world of Whispers Under Ground and remembering all the things I forgot since my last trip through it.

What did you recently finish reading?

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire	Grave Peril by Jim Butcher, read by James Marsters

Ohhh, McGuire did everything right with her newest Wayward Children novel.

The gut punch at the end of Grave Peril hit just as hard as I remembered, I figure it will no matter how many times I revist this one.

What do you think you’ll read next?

A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay	The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society by C. M. Waggoner, read by Cindy Piller

Mackay’s US debut will make three NetGalley reads in a row for me, which is more than I like to tackle at once, but I want to clear the decks there.

I’d been curious about the Waggoner book, but it was Mike Finn’s post about it that pushed me to get on the wait list. Looking forward to diving in.

What’ve you been reading lately?

It’s Wednesday. Might as well do this, eh?

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?

Ghost Stations by M.D. Presley	Grave Peril by Jim Butcher, read by James Marsters

I really dug Rites of Passage, so it took me maybe 30 seconds to decide I wanted to jump when Presley offered me this follow up, his website says, “Think if Buffy and her Scooby gang went up against the Barksdale Corp from The Wire.” And even if I hadn’t been waiting for the second book in the series, that comparison alone would’ve got me.

Grave Peril is one of those Butcher books I feel bad about forgetting the details of–I keep coming across scenes, characters, events and think they belong to another book. And one of my all-time favorite Butcher lines is in this (and I’d have guessed it was from a later book). But none of that matters, because right now, I’m having a blast–even though I know what the last chapters contain and all the fallout that will ensue from them. (seriously, I’m already flashing forward to Changes)

What did you recently finish reading?

The Killer’s Christmas List by Chris Frost	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

Chris Frost’s debut under that penname was a rollicking read. I hope a sequel is forthcoming. if not, I’ll be ready for whatever Frost/McDonald has in store. More to come on this.

What You Are Looking for Is in the Library was utterly okay. There were some pleasant characters, some sweet moments, and the book as a whole is a nice tribute to the power of books and how the right one can trigger a needed change in someone’s life.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire	Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch, read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

Seanan McGuire. Wayward Children.Not sure there’s much else to say.

I have a similar problem with the third Rivers of London novel as I do with the third Dresden Files novel. I can remember a couple of scenes, a couple of characters that are introduced…and not much else. Am looking forward to the reminders.

Do you have something special grabbing your attention?

It’s time for…

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?

Robert B. Parker’s Hot Property by Mike Lupica	Marvel: What If . . . Marc Spector Was Host to Venom? by Mike Chen, read by Keith Szarabajka, Xavier Casals

Lupica’s new Spenser novel is fantastically smooth–so hard to put down (my two-legged family members keep demanding it however, as does my employer. The four-legged family members are much more understanding).

There might be too many characters in this What If… book. Or too many voices in people’s heads. So you’ve Moon Knights from two different realities, so you’ve got a Khonshu, 2 Marc Spectors, 2 Steven Grants, 2 Jake Lockleys, one Venom–and someone else, too. Sure, 1 Spector, 1 Grant and 1 Lockely are off-screen for most of the book (not all of them from the same physical entity). But it’s really hard to keep track of things at the beginning. I’m far enough in that I’ve got a handle on it, but I tell you, it took longer than it should’ve. Still, it’s not bad.

What did you recently finish reading?

Sizar by Susan Grossey	Enough Rope by Dorothy Parker	The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu, read by Lisa Flanagan

Sizar was a satisfying second adventure for this new series–I’m hoping to have more to say soon.

Enough Rope has some of my favorite Parker poems–and a few that could turn into some when I re-read them. A nice little diversion.

I wasn’t wowed by The Faculty Lounge, but I am glad a listened to it. I will hopefully have something more to say, soon (but not as soon as Sizar).

What do you think you’ll read next?

Shadow of Hyperion by JCM Berne	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’ve heard plenty of good things about Shadow of Hyperion, and if nothing else, am eager to see how Rohan ends up in the physical state he was in for the Christmas story last year. Well, probably not eager. Very curious.

I’m almost certain to be underwhelmed by What You Are Looking for Is in the Library. But I’ve put too much effort into getting this book to not listen. I should get to start tomorrow afternoon.

Are you spending December scrambling to meet any goals, using books to think about some place that’s warmer? Or just reading something that looks good?

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?

1-800-CallLoki by Dawn Blair	The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu, read by Lisa Flanagan

1-800-CallLoki puts the Norse God into the role of protagonist and hero (of sorts). It’s frequently amusing and pretty compelling. I should be wrapping this up soon.

The Faculty Lounge is filled with gentle humor, some good characters, and a plot that is just interesting enough to keep me listening. It’s utterly fine, but unless the last 40% knocks my socks off, it’ll get a “just okay” from me.

What did you recently finish reading?

Instinct: An Animal Rescuers Anthology edited by L. J. Hachmeister	I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue, read by Nasim Pedrad

Instinct was a very mixed bag of animal SF/Fantasty/Urban Fantasy stories, none of them were bad, most were okay, but those that were good, were very good. Just what you expect and hope for out of an anthology like this.

I Hope This Finds You Well was better than I’d anticipated it could be, I rather enjoyed it–and hopefully I can expand on it soon.

What do you think you’ll read next?

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman	Marvel: What If . . . Marc Spector Was Host to Venom? by Mike Chen, read by Keith Szarabajka, Xavier Casals

I’d hoped to be well into the Osman book today, but oh, well–I still have a couple of days before it’s due at the Library (this will not be joining the ranks of the books I didn’t read)

The Moon Knight/Venom story is probably not going to do much for me–but I trust Chen, and the Wanda/Spider-Man book was so good that I have to give it a shot.

U.S. Readers, do you have a book set aside to help you ignore family, or are you going to put things off for day? Non-U.S. readers, what do you have underway?

I can’t think of an introductory paragraph (or even a sentence) today. So let’s just jump into things:

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?

Instinct: An Animal Rescuers Anthology edited by L. J. Hachmeister	Running and Jumping by Steven Kedie	Comedy Book: How Comedy Conquered Culture–and the Magic That Makes It Work by Jesse David Fox

I’m almost certainly finishing the Kedie book today–it’s intense. I don’t know where it’s going to end up, but my blood pressure will be better when it does.

Instinct is a mixed bag–but mostly good. The Jim Butcher story made me so glad when I read it I wouldn’t care if the rest of the stories were horrible (they’re not, but I really would be fine with that).

Jesse David Fox is the kind of guy I’d like to talk comedy with, I have so many follow-up questions about the material in the first half of this book (not because he didn’t give enough information, I just want more). This is the kind of book I’ve wanted for ages.

What did you recently finish reading?

Teen Titans: Starfire by Kami Garcia, Gabriel Picolo (Illustrator)	The Late Lord Thorpe by Peter Grainger, read by Gildart Jackson

I really liked this take on Starfire (and Cyborg)–giving her Ehlers–Danlos syndrome was an interesting move (and might have got my daughter to read the whole series).

I’m already missing David Smith (and, yes, Grainger fooled me).

What do you think you’ll read next?

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan	I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue, read by Nasim Pedrad

Altered Carbon is one of those that I think I might have read a couple of decades ago, but I’m not sure. Anyway, this is the book for the Sci-Fi book club.

it was a while ago that I put a hold on I Hope This Finds You Well at the library, and I honestly don’t remember what it was about the book that intrigued me. It looks promising, and I trust post-me. Mostly.

Tell me what you’re reading–help me feel like I’m not in this rut I’ve been in lately (you’ll note how slow things have been turning over here lately).

Every title in this post is one that I own. That doesn’t happen too often–it’s rather nice to have a bunch of things to decrease Mt. TBR all together like this.

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?

Instinct: An Animal Rescuers Anthology edited by L. J. Hachmeister	Running and Jumping by Steven Kedie	The Late Lord Thorpe by Peter Grainger, read by Gildart Jackson

I need some shorter reads that I can dip into here and there, so what better time to finally get around to this collection? Urban Fantasy stories starring some of my favorite fictional animals–how have I not read this yet?

And yeah, I decided to squeeze in another title before Kedie’s work, but I am getting this read now.

I’m still working through The Late Lord Thorpe–my job has been actively working against me listening to it a lot over the last few days (and will continue to do so through the end of the week), so I have no idea how long it will be before David Smith and his creator show me how wrong I was last week.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham

I think DS Miller’s first adventure was a bit more on the amusing side–but this second book is so good that I didn’t care. This was a really compelling and twisty read.

What do you think you’ll read next?

1-800-CallLoki (The Loki Adventures Omnibus) by Dawn Blair

This omnibus has been sitting near the top of my TBR for too long, it’s time to knock it out.

Given how long the new Grainger is taking me, and library due dates coming up, I honestly have no idea what my next audiobook will be (yes, the audiobook of What You Are Looking for Is in the Library had to be returned unlistened…the amount of work I’m putting into listening to this is outweighing my expectations, but at this point, it’s the principle of the thing)

What authors and titles have caught your attention lately?