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. This week’s check-in is here!

What are you currently reading?

I’m partway through The Luck of the Vails, by E.F. Benson, which is fairly typical for the era, and rather full of over-described scenery. I am interested in what’s going to actually happen, though from about the halfway point it’s fairly obvious where things are going to go. It’s kind of a shame, because I rather enjoyed the generalised sense of menace… but it’s a mystery story, after all, not SF, so of course it’s trundling slowly toward the reveal.

What have you recently finished reading?

The last thing I finished was The Last Wish, by Andrzej Sapkowski. I’ve reviewed it already, so I won’t say too much; suffice it to say that I enjoyed it and would quite like to pick up the rest of the series. I read it surprisingly fast, and… I don’t know, something about the covers had led me to expect something more tropey and less subtle.

What will you be reading next?

Possibly I’ll reread Band Sinister, by K.J. Charles, because I do love it so and I just persuaded my wife to read it. Otherwise I might pick up one of the books I’ve had backburnered for a while and figure out if I want to finish it; A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland, probably, or Heartstone, by Elle Katharine White. I didn’t drop either because I wasn’t interested, I just had a lot going on. I might start Heartstone over, though; it really has been ages.

What about you? What’re you 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. This week’s check-in is here!

What are you currently reading?

I’ve started on Because Internet, by Gretchen McCulloch, which is all about how the internet (and to some extent, other instant written communication like text messages) is changing the way we speak. I’m not far into it, but I’ve already looked up at least half a dozen times to tell my wife interesting facts or read out good bits.

What have you recently finished reading?

I finished two books yesterday; one was K.J. Charles’ Jackdaw, which I didn’t love as much as the rest of the series, but did warm up to significantly in the last half. And especially when Lucien and Stephen showed up, admittedly.

I also read Seanan McGuire’s Come Tumbling Down, which I really didn’t linger over. Jack’s OCD is a bit too familiar (the bit where she worries about every mole on the body she’s swapped into being potentially cancerous, aaah), but also so… overblown and pathologised that it both felt very much about people like me, but also very disparaging about people like me. Jack literally starts losing her sanity completely because of OCD, and… it felt very extreme, and I did not enjoy it. This is probably largely a personal thing, of course.

What will you read next?

I have nooo idea. Re-cataloguing my books has moved some further up in the queue. The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn by Tyler Whitesides, for example, caught my attention the day before yesterday. Ultimately, though, I’m finding that reading by whim is working well for me, and I want to stick to it. Maybe I’ll pick up something I see people talking about in the comments here, and that’s awesome.

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. Since this post isn’t pre-scheduled, the exact post is up so go here to join in for this week!

What are you currently reading?

As ever, I have several books on the go, but most actively I’m reading Lord Roworth’s Reward. It’s actually the second in a series of Regency romances by Carola Dunn, author of the Daisy Dalrymple books, and it’s really sweet. The male lead is an idiot, of course, but it has a surprisingly (but naturally) diverse cast. I’m definitely intending to get my hands on the first book (though it’ll be weird to read about a younger Felix being an antiSemitic idiot before he learns better), and the third is already on my stack.

What have you recently finished reading?

I just finished Ivory Vikings, by Nancy Marie Brown. It was… okay. If you accept her identification of the person who made the chessmen as Margret the Adroit, some of her detours make more sense. If she’s wrong about the person or even just the general location, a lot of the geopolitical context she discusses is only very, very distantly related to the pieces. I’d have preferred more analysis and descriptions (and photos) of the actual Lewis chessmen, instead of such pure guesswork.

What will you be reading next?

Probably something that’s been languishing on my pile half-read. I’m feeling contrary and reading a lot of romance since events conspired to hear a lot of people dissing romance novels, so it’s possible I’ll pick Heartstone back up. Or even Her Royal Spyness, which definitely seems to have a heavy romance subplot, if the unsuitable Irish man is any indication. (Though more serious than the title sounds, that book is bothering me, though — maybe just a slight embarassment squick!)

What about you? 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?

Lots of things at once, as ever. I just started Barbary Station last night, more or less on a whim: I’d forgotten everything about it except the space pirates, and so I was surprised and pleased to remember that it involves lesbian space pirates. I’m not seeing hugely positive reviews for it when I cast around quickly, but I’m only 10% into it and haven’t really made a decision myself yet. Candidate for my sister’s Christmas present, perhaps (it’s the lesbians).

What have you recently finished reading?

I just finally sat down and finished my reread of Ancillary Sword. Every time, it surprises me how quiet these books are really — most of it is not civilisations crashing into each other, or high octane combat: it’s Breq drinking tea, talking to people, managing relationships. There is an action-filled climactic scene, and one or two in the middle, but this isn’t sensawonder space battles, and it’s even less so than the first book. Which is a thing I enjoy, but is possibly another reason some people don’t get along with these books. You expect something earthshaking, but Breq’s not going to bring down the Radch alone, and doesn’t even want to try. She’s lit the fuse, but now she’s off in another system protecting those important to her and letting what will happen go on without her.

What will you be reading next?

Ancillary Mercy is probably a good bet, but also K.J. Charles’ Gilded Cage came out today, so that’s high on my list! I didn’t get into either of the characters that much from the first book, but I trust Charles to deliver what I didn’t know I wanted.

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 most actively reading Making the Monster by Kathryn Harkup. So far it’s more a biography of Mary Shelley and the writing of the book than really being about the science behind it, but it’s starting to get into the background a little more. I loved Harkup’s book about Agatha Christie’s use of poisons in her fiction — it gave me a whole new appreciation, actually — so I’m hoping this will be the same!

What have you recently finished reading?

Oof, I’m not sure — it’s been a couple of days. The October Man, I think? Which was okay, but the voice was so similar to that of the main series, it kind of dampened my enthusiasm. My review is up for that, anyway, so you can read all my thoughts here.

What will you be reading next?

Who knows? But I’m sort of tempted to dig into Olivia Waite’s  The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics. Romance and classic crime fiction seem to suit my mood at the moment, because you know that typically they will set the world to rights by the end, and there’ll be a happily ever after in the case of romance (and often in crime fiction as well, really).

I think we can really use the world being set to rights. Oof.

What are you reading?