The three ‘W’s are what are you reading now, what have you recently finished reading, and what are you going to read next, and you can find this week’s post at the host’s blog here if you want to check out other posts.

What are you currently reading?

At this very moment, typing this the night before, Beauty, by Robin McKinley. I’m very sure I’ll have finished it by morning, though! I’m also partway through Donald Johanson’s book, Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind. It’s out of date in terms of the conclusions, of course: much has moved on since Lucy was found. But it’s still a fascinating insight into the early days of palaeoanthropology, and into the conditions out on a dig.

What have you recently finished reading?

The Unexpected Truth About Animals, which is okay, but contained a lot of stuff that was not unexpected for me, and was not in fact that interesting. There were some titbits, but mostly… nah, it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped.

What will you be reading next?

Rose Daughter, by Robin McKinley; I always enjoy reading her two takes on Beauty and the Beast at around the same time, to watch what she does differently each time.

What are you currently reading?

The three ‘W’s are what are you reading now, what have you recently finished reading, and what are you going to read next, and you can find this week’s post at the host’s blog here if you want to check out other posts.

What are you currently reading?

I’m making another attack on Space Opera; I’m half-tempted to just ditch it, but I keep wondering if there’s a plot in there somewhere, under the frippery. I’m also reading Kassia St Clair’s The Golden Thread, which is just the sort of focused history I like. I just learned that Viking sails were made of wool — which surprises me, but I’m not sure what I thought they were made of.

What have you recently finished reading?

The Hollow Man, by John Dickson Carr. It’s a clever setup for a mystery, but I feel kinda meh about it because it has no characters that I like. There’s no personal side to it: it’s all about the central puzzle. So meh.

What will you be reading next?

The Priory of the Orange Tree, maybe? Finishing my reread of Glamour in Glass and the rest of that series? Not sure! I am trying pretty hard to finish the books I start, at the moment, and also trying to read the books I buy this year before buying any more, so either of those are good guesses.

What are you currently reading?

The three ‘W’s are what are you reading now, what have you recently finished reading, and what are you going to read next, and you can find this week’s post at the host’s blog here if you want to check out other posts.

What are you currently reading?

I’ve just started reading Pale Rider by Laura Spinney, which is about the 1918 flu epidemic. I’m very curious whether this is going to teach me anything new, given I’ve already read The Great Influenza, and that was pretty in-depth. I’m excited to see, though! It does sound from the introduction like it might go a bit more into the political/social impact of the flu, as well as the medical aspect, which should be interesting.

What have you recently finished reading?

Death at Bishop’s Keep, by Robin Paige, which was… okay. The main female character is an interesting idea, though perhaps a little anachronistic by way of wishful thinking, but the main male character is kind of meh. I also finished Fayke Newes, by Derek Taylor: it’s all about the media vs those in power, from Henry VIII through to Trump, and it was pretty fascinating to read about how the press developed. It ends on a bit of a paean to unbiased reporting that kind of belies all the evidence presented within the book that really objective reporting that doesn’t bow to power is, um, rare to say the least.

What will you be reading next?

Well, I just got The Priory of the Orange Tree in the mail today, hurrah! But I’ll probably also read My Sister, the Serial Killer, since it seems quite short and I’ve heard enthusiastic things. The Priory of the Orange Tree is a bit of a huge book, so I predict it’ll take me some time, and won’t exactly be my bedtime/treadmill/out and about reading.

What are you currently reading?

The three ‘W’s are what are you reading now, what have you recently finished reading, and what are you going to read next, and you can find this week’s post at the host’s blog here if you want to check out other posts.

What are you currently reading?

Most actively, it’s Space Opera, by Cat Valente. It feels way, way too beholden to Douglas Adams in terms of the tone and humour, while Valente’s usual adjective-vomit is in full spate. It’s a style choice, and I’ve enjoyed some of her other books despite that being very much her usual style… but in Space Opera it feels like I’m standing in front of a firehose of adjectives. I lose the point of sentences before I’ve got to the end. I know some other people have really enjoyed this, but… gah. I’m not sure I can find the plot for sheer adjectival profusion.

I mean, it’s also very much the style of and critical reaction to the musicians she’s writing about, so it’s probably intentional, and I’m probably a joy-stealing curmudgeon, but… all the same, you can’t make yourself enjoy something.

I’m also reading Heartstone, by Elle Katherine White. I’m enjoying that and figuring out what various characters’ deals are, and thinking I could use reading some more fantasy romance in this vein. (Which is, in summary: Pride and Prejudice, but with dragons.)

What have you recently finished reading?

The last thing I finished was, uhh… The Case of the Murdered Muckraker, which was a fairly typical Daisy Dalrymple book, only with death-defying aerial stunts and a chase across the country, set in the USA. Ms Geneveieve/Eugene Cannon was a particularly interesting glimpse of a character.

What will you be reading next?

I have no idea. I have a book on Aztecs from the library, so maybe that. Or maybe I should get back to my neglected read of The Dark Days Club, by Alison Goodman? I was enjoying that, but it kind of got shelved and I didn’t pick it back up. Whoops.

What are you currently reading?

The three ‘W’s are what are you reading now, what have you recently finished reading, and what are you going to read next, and you can find this week’s post at the host’s blog here if you want to check out other posts.

What are you currently reading?

Way too much at once, as ever! Most actively, Threads of Life, by Clare Hunter. It’s about the history of embroidery and its meaning/use in different cultures/contexts, so it’s covered all sorts from banner-making for political events to traditional sewing. The BBC radio thing is very very abridged and the book contains a lot more interesting things, in case anyone was wondering!

What have you recently finished reading?

I think the last thing was The Copernicus Complex, by Caleb Scharf. Not bad, but I felt like I came to more or less the same conclusions long ago, and thus I was the choir, being preached to. Basically, he’s pointing out that we can’t rely on our world being mediocre (i.e. not the centre of the universe in any sense), but we also have no good evidence that it’s especially rare in the sense of being fine-tuned for life. Which to me is so obvious I find it frustrating.

What will you be reading next?

The Raven Tower! I got a copy from Orbit and I’m pretty excited to get right to it. I’ve been excited for this for waaaay too long now, I need to tuck in as soon as I can. There’s a couple of things I already have on the go that I should probably finish first, though.

What are you currently reading?