What have you recently finished reading?

I reread Karel Čapek’s R.U.R., which I’d forgotten I’d read before. I think I “got” it better this time than previously, judging from my previous reaction. It’s still weird how all the men are in love with Helena, though.

Before that, I finished David Hone’s The Future of Dinosaurs, which… well, I’ve already posted the review; it was interesting, but quite dense to get through. At the same time, I guess it was kind of bitty as well, since it covers a broad range of topics.

What are you currently reading?

I’m most actively reading The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective, by Sara Lodge, which I’m finding quite interesting given my interest in the development of crime fiction as a genre. It’s not really about that, but it does discuss fiction alongside the real-life female inquiry agents, etc. It’s funny reading it and thinking about Sayers’ Lord Peter thinking he’s so clever and innovative by recruiting Miss Climpson etc; clearly just a couple of decades before that was a whole well-known thing, based on the evidence of ads in papers and at least one court case so far.

As ever, I have a number of irons on the fire — probably too many — but I’m not making a lot of progress on anything else I’m reading.

What will you read next?

Who knows? The next week or two are gonna be pretty focused on moving into the new house, and then organising and shelving my book collection. Something unexpected might jump out at me! Right now I have no plans except to pick up whatever I feel in the mood for, to be honest. It’s likely to be non-fiction, given the givens.