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?

Far, far too much at once, of course! I’m partway through rereading Raven Stratagem, by Yoon Ha Lee — I tore through my reread of Ninefox Gambit. The books really are pretty compulsive reading, especially now that (given it’s a reread) I know the world a little and what things are possible. I did find the magic-math a little mind-bending the first time, but it’s easier this time. Aaaaahhhh Jedao. AAAH.

I’m also reading Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt, because I can never stay away from books about Ancient Egypt. I’m not very far into it, but it seems so far to be taking a common-sense approach that attempts to unify the various different threads of evidence (graves, texts, monuments, artefacts) rather than relying on just the mummies, or just the texts.

What have you recently finished reading?

I just finished Nessa Carey’s new book, about CRISPR (or really, gene editing a little more broadly). It’s rather short and the emphasis is much more on the pop than on the science aspect, but it does feature an extremely excellent description of how exactly CRISPR works, and the discussion of the ethics is timely and important, if rather basic because it’s addressed to a non-scientific audience.

What will you be reading next?

*shakes Magic 8 Ball* “My sources say no”?

Well, I’m guessing I’m going to be as capricious as usual. I do know that I’d like to have fewer books on the go at once, so chances are high I’ll be finishing Inheritors of the Earth — a discussion of whether species diversity is really under threat in the Anthropocene, taking a common-sense approach to things like invasive species — and other books recently added to my currently reading pile, like Hild. Probably especially Hild, since it’s a book-club read!

What are you reading? Please do comment and let me know so I can raid your books when you’re done!

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?

A couple of things, me being me, but most actively I’m actually rereading two books: I’m mid-Wimsey reread, of course, so I’m partway through Unnatural Death. I’m kind of enjoying how obvious Agatha Dawson and Clara Whittaker’s lesbian relationship is, while wondering what Sayers thought of it — the narrative is pretty non-judgemental, but the preface suggests that Sayers put her own words in Miss Climpson’s disapproving mouth. Kind of disappointing, if so; I always rather thought Wimsey didn’t care.

I’m also rereading Enchanted Glass, by Diana Wynne Jones; I remembered being fond of it, and I am, though the only concrete thing I seem to have remembered about it was the line: “I seem to have excalibured this knife.” It’s rather charming, and I do enjoy the way she didn’t explain much. As she rightly said in an essay somewhere, kids work this stuff out. It’s adults who expect everything to be pinned down and explained. Hopefully I retain enough of the child to just enjoy.

What have you recently finished reading?

King Arthur, by Nicholas Higham. He examines all the various historical origins for King Arthur… and rejects them one by one. His evidence seems thorough and sound, though of course it always helps that I’m in agreement with him. He covered all the fictional texts I would’ve expected, and the bibliography is very thorough (although I couldn’t find what edition of Malory he used, and he did persist in saying Le Morte d’Arthur, instead of the correct Le Morte Darthur), so all in all I’m inclined to believe it’s all pretty sound. Romans, Sarmatians, Narts, Greeks — all dismissed as sources, after discussion and presenting the evidence for and against.

What are you reading next?

I really don’t know. I’d like to focus on Record of a Spaceborn Few, and I still need to read The Priory of the Orange Tree to the end. I’ve got rather behind on reading during this holiday, which has involved a lot of people and not enough time using the opportunity to hide from chores to just craft things and read all day. I’ll be travelling back to the UK tomorrow, and I have the radioplay of Unnatural Death and some cross-stitch for the drive up from Ebbsfleet to Yorkshire, but I’ll be reading Record of a Spaceborn Few on the train, probably.

What are you currently reading?