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?

No surprises here this week: I’m partway through the next Daisy Dalrymple book, which is To Davy Jones Below. I’m enjoying Alec and Daisy being married at last, and so far free of making asinine assumptions about each other’s emotions (I’m still not over Styx and Stones and the weird blow-up in that book that lasted all of a chapter). Sending them off on a boat to the US is a good way of varying the setting.

What have you recently finished reading?

I finished up rereading Susan Cooper’s Greenwitch; it felt so short! I love all the stuff it hints at with Barney being able to scry — there’s always so much material in this series for wondering about things for yourself. And Cooper is just so good with characters: the resentment of Will by Simon and Barney was great. Of course they didn’t welcome another boy hanging round with their Great-Uncle and having adventures too with open arms!

What will you be reading next?

I need to finish a library book or two, so probably John Man’s Ninja, or my reread of Jeff Vandermeer’s Authority (which I’ve been neglecting horribly). Or I might just curl up with my reread of The Lord of the Rings, which has also gone untouched so long. The possibilities are more or less endless.

What are you reading right now?

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?

Really actively, I think I’ve only got John Man’s book on ninjas on the go now. It’s the usual sort of light non-fiction he always writes, with some bits of travel and chasing down the true story, talking to descendents, etc, and some chapters based on the documented facts from sources. It has significant overlap with his book on samurai, of course.

What have you recently finished reading?

I just finished Styx and Stones, which is the… sixth? Daisy Dalrymple mystery. I enjoyed it a lot, though the argument between Alec and Daisy in the middle just felt rather manufactured. I do enjoy Daisy’s sympathy for women like the Scarlet Woman of the village, while she remains pretty wholesome and clean-cut herself. She’s a bit of a Mary Sue, I suppose, but in a male detective no one would think anything of it.

What will you be reading next?

Most likely it’ll be the copy of the collected Earthsea books and stories that my wife gave me as an early Christmas present! It’s gorgeous, though a bit of a handful to settle down and read. I might have to ration it to avoid wrist strain!

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 still partway through Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race. There are no major surprises for me, but despite knowing better I’m still a little surprised by how recent some of these racial issues are, and how recently there have been really, really gross racist views going unchallenged. The issue about policing… I thought it was better in the UK than in the US, but aside from fewer fatalities, some of it sounds very familiar from the US news.

We’re also listening to Rivers of London while doing crafts various,

What have you recently finished reading?

A Most Novel Revenge, by Ashley Weaver. Amory isn’t as charming to me as Daisy, and Milo’s far from being the kind of character I enjoy, but the mysteries are a nice way to while away an afternoon or two, so I’ve stuck with them so far. They’re a bit lukewarm in many ways, and my reviews are probably gonna end up damning them with faint praise.

What will you be reading next?

I don’t know. I’m tempted to read Sailing to Sarantium, since my wife’s reading it at the moment. Then there’s always the Daisy Dalrymple books, and a plethora of library books I’ve been telling myself I’ll get to any minute now. Or there’s one of the British Library Crime Classics I haven’t read… Or one of the books I already have in progress but half-abandoned.

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?

At the gym (where I go on the treadmill and sulkily walk 45 minutes, at the moment) I’m reading Rosewater by Tade Thompson; I got a good chunk read last time, so I’m starting to get a handle on the world. I’m slightly put-off by the amount of sex; it’s not actually excessive if I try to enumerate the number of times it’s come up, but it sticks in my mind when I think about the book.

At home, I’m reading Dead in the Water, the next Daisy Dalrymple book I’ve got to. That’s rather more restful!

What have you recently finished reading?

Ugh, I think the last thing I finished might just have been the last Daisy Dalrymple book, Damsel in Distress! It was fun too, with Phillip Petrie getting a bit more development and a little story of his own. He may not be the brightest, but he is a dear.

What will you be reading next?

I’d like to say any one of the many books I’ve been wanting for ages and desperate to pounce on, or one of the books I’ve been intending to reread, or whatever. But apparently my stress levels say it’s cosy mysteries all the way, so I’m going to guess it’ll be Styx and Stones and then Rattle His Bones, the next two Daisy Dalrymple books! I might try and finish rereading Murder Must Advertise as well, though…

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?

Well, me and Lisa are listening to the radioplay of Strong Poison again while we’re crafting in the evenings, which is very soothing. I know the story so well now… and we get to grin and anticipate the good bits of piffle. “I’m told I make love rather nicely,” indeed.

Other than that, I just started a book on the Sumerians. It’s primary intent is to be a textbook, but I don’t mind an academic slant, so I’m hoping I’ll still enjoy it. I’m interested so far, anyway! I also fired up The Tea Master and the Detective on the Kindle app on my phone, which I’ll probably read while on the treadmill tonight. (Plantar fasciitis means I’m about limited to a brisk walk on the treadmill at the moment for exercise; normally I’d be running, but…)

What have you recently finished reading?

The Testament of Loki, by Joanne Harris. I’ve enjoyed the rest of her Norse-inspired books, but the concept of this one was a little too goofy for me, somehow. I just couldn’t get into it, even though I love modern takes on mythology. This one just felt cringy for me — Loki in a teen girl’s body, with the teen girl present and conscious and afraid — ugh at that part, and then meh at the video game bit.

What will you be reading next?

I should dig into another library book, so either the one I have on Otzi the Iceman and the archaeology around his body, or possibly John Man’s books on samurai or ninjas. They should be pretty quick reads, based on past experience with his work! And I really, really should finish rereading Authority.

What about you? What are 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.

What are you currently reading?

The Crucible of Creation, by Simon Conway Morris. He did a lot of work on the Burgess Shale, so he’s got an interesting perspective on evolution, and he’s pretty sharply critical of Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Dawkins’ perspectives, so I’m pretty fascinated. I’m onto the middle chapters where he’s doing an imaginative reconstruction of the Burgess Shale lifeforms when alive, which is a bit weird, though. (Interesting thought experiment, I guess, but I’m not sure what it adds?)

What have you recently finished reading?

The Mycenaeans by Rodney Castleden. I need to read around a bit to decide how in or out of date the book is, though it’s obviously a step-up from Kitto’s book on the Greeks. He weirdly manages to talk about Alexander and Achilles, and the affinity Alexander felt for Achilles, without mentioning Hephaestion once. Patroclus is mentioned, but only in passing (Achilles organises his funeral games, Achilles seeks revenge, etc) — it’s not an important point in the context, but it feels so weird to just ignore that aspect of Alexander and Achilles. Instead he talks about Alexander’s fascination with Roxane as being like Achilles’ with Briseis…!

What will you be reading next?

I’m not sure. I have rather weirdly and for no apparent reason been told that I’m not to use one of my local libraries anymore, without explanation, so I need to finish the books I have out from that one. So possibly The Traitor God, by Cameron Johnston. Or maybe the book on the Sumerians… Who knows!

This week this post goes live without cover thumbnails, because WordPress is being super weird and suddenly no longer letting me add images. 🙁

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.

What are you currently reading?

The Secret of Chimneys, by Agatha Christie. I’m trying to whittle down my library pile and Christie’s a good quick read, so, tada. I’m not a little confused at this point, partly because I read the first two chapters a couple of weeks ago and then tried to pick up where I left off, but hopefully I’ll get up to speed soon…

Also, The Roman Forum, by David Watkin, which takes a view less archaeological (and less focused on the Romans exclusively) than a lot of other writers. He talks about the afterlife of the forum too, the way its been used over time — something I honestly find more interesting, especially for being a rare approach, though I think he’s too down on archaeology.

What have you recently finished reading?

The Greeks, by H.D.F. Kitto. Out of date in information and decidedly so in attitude, and yet his enthusiasm is boundless and kind of worth reading anyway, if you can handle him being very much of his moment re: issues like enfranchisement of women. (He’s not anti, but he’s so condescending about it that you almost wish he’d straight up say that women are too stupid for the vote, so you could be properly fully annoyed at him.)

What will you be reading next?

Goodness only knows. There’s the next Murderbot, there’s a whole range of library books… Oh, I do know I need to start on The Division Bell Mystery, because I’m buddy reading that with someone on Litsy. Better grab that off the shelf!

What are you reading at the moment?

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?

Various things, as ever, but most actively I’m getting stuck in to reading The Lord of the Rings again. I’m at the sign of the Prancing Pony, so things are about to kick off, and Strider’s just joined the party. I can never not remember the feel of the scenery from Lord of the Rings Online, and I always hear the voices of the BBC Radio adaptation. So I get to imagine it in much higher detail than I normally manage! It’s totally added something to my reading of the books, given my lack of visual imagination when left to my own devices.

What have you recently finished reading?

Rogue Protocol was the most recent book I finished, I think! Oh my goodness, Miki! I don’t want Exit Strategy to be the last book — it feels like so little space for everything to come together. I haven’t been reading other people’s reviews… I really hope it does all come together wonderfully.

What will you read next?

One possibility is Exit Strategy, or I might try and save it. The next thing I’ll focus on finishing is probably Requiem for a Mezzo, maybe if I have a nice relaxing bath after going to the gym tomorrow night… Then there’s a book on the history of science that I’ve had out of the library rather too long now, which I think I might focus on as my next non-fiction read.

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 mostly engaged in rereading The Hobbit, because I felt the need for something cosy, and our Sunday afternoon walk in the local country park feels a little like walking through Hobbiton. I’m also reading Pax Romana, by Adrian Goldsworthy, because it’s due back at the library and I can’t renew it (someone’s reserved it). Other than that, of course, there’s a whole assortment of things I’m partway through — but those are the two I’m focused on.

What have you recently finished reading?

The last thing I finished was In the Vanishers’ Palace, which… despite all my hopes and excitement, I did not love. I think I’d better let my review speak for me on that one, but it’s a few days before that one goes live. It just didn’t work for me, in sum.

Daughter of Mystery was the book I read before that, and that did work for me, for the most part. I’m eager to get the second book and follow other characters as well. It’s like… it’s a solid enough world, and a solid enough romance, but alone they wouldn’t really be anything I’d want to shout about. Yet together they make something rather satisfying.

What will you be reading next?

Well, probably The Lord of the Rings will be one thing, but I have a couple of John Man’s non-fiction books out of the library that are due back soonish. I should get back to reading Ashley Weaver’s detective books, and various other library books like A Talent for Murder (AKA what “really” happened that time when Agatha Christie went missing)… In summary, lots of library books.

Then of course there’s finishing books I’m partway through; Carola Dunn’s Requiem for a Mezzo, for instance, and my reread of Vandermeer’s Authority…

What about you? What are you reading?