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 here if you want to check out other posts.

What are you currently reading?

I’ve decided to try and finish Within the Sanctuary of Wings (Marie Brennan) this evening — I’ve been putting it off, partially because I just don’t want the series to be over. I’ve also recently picked up Shanghai Sparrow (Gaie Sebold). I haven’t got very far into it; it feels kind of typical steampunky stuff, but it’s fun enough to pass the time.

I probably shouldn’t be reading this much, and instead should be swotting up on the hypothalamic-pituitary axis and the ins and outs of homeostasis, but if I close my eyes, my exams can’t see me, right?

Right?

What did you recently finish reading?

Dino Gangs (Josh Young), which is partly a biography of Phil Currie’s career and partly about his major theory: that dinosaurs were social, and tyrannosaurids in particular may have hunted as a pack. It’s a little repetitive, and honestly I’d stick to David Hone’s The Tyrannosaur Chronicles, if you’re not planning to just read everything in reach.

Before that, it was a reread of Death Before Wicket (Kerry Greenwood). Not my favourite of Phryne’s adventures, but I might actually have liked it a bit better this time than last. The mysticism stuff still makes me roll my eyes, buuuut… it’s not the first or last time that’s happened with Phryne.

What do you think you’ll read next?

I’m planning to read Lightning in the Blood (Marie Brennan). I’ve been looking forward to it for ages! That’s nothing but a nibble, though; after that, I think I’ll get started on my reread of Assassin’s Apprentice, since everyone else doing the reread is probably two books ahead of me by now. (Oops.)

There’s also The House of Binding Thorns (Aliette de Bodard), since my copy just arrived a day or two ago. I had a review copy on my ereader, but… sometimes I just get round to paper books better.

I found that there’s actually a link-up for posts basically like my ‘what are you reading Wednesday’ posts, which I transplanted from Dreamwidth way back. So that’s how I’ll do these Wednesday updates from now on! 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 this shall save me from Grammarly shouting at me about the former grammar of these posts.

Check out the WWW Wednesdays linkup!

What are you currently reading?

The Deeper Genome, by John Parrington. So far it’s very good at explaining the basics and how things were discovered, although this is not information I personally need, all things considered! I’m looking forward to the later chapters, which complicate matters beyond the central dogma.

What have you recently finished reading?

Yesterday, I managed to read three books, so I’ll just stick to those. First off, I finished Waking Gods, by Sylvain Neuvel. It’s the second book in a series, and it has a cruel, cruel ending. I need to know what happens next. I was initially leery of the format, but it actually really worked (for me, anyway).

Secondly, I read The Worm at the Core, by Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynski (I hope I typed that correctly). It’s an examination of the role of death in how humans live, and I found it really fascinating (and not at all depressing; if anything, the opposite). I have a generally spiritual-ish background heavy on the arts, but I’m going into science and finding that I have difficulty seeing where a ‘soul’ could fit in. This book shows how important that struggle is for all humans — so at least I know I’m not alone in not being sure, and perhaps not liking the conclusions I’m coming to.

Thirdly, I read Sarah Gailey’s River of Teeth, which features hippo-herding (and feral hippos) in the US. It’s alternate history based on a suggestion that was once seriously made, to raise hippos for meat. It has a non-binary-gendered hero called Hero, who has a romance with the main character, and this made me pretty happy — quite apart from the awesome hippos. Rosa the stealth hippo might be my favourite.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Ugh, I have no idea. I just got to my parents’ where a stack of books I’ve ordered over the past couple of months was awaiting me. I’ve got some fiction I’ve been meaning to read for ages, like Laura Lam’s False Hearts… but also non-fiction I’ve been hankering after, like Robert Weinberg’s One Renegade Cell. And then there’s a bunch of books awaiting review, too. I don’t know! I’ll probably go on instinct.

Before you go, psst: if you want more frequent updates on what I’m currently reading, you can find me on Litsy as shanaqui! It’s kind of like Twitter or Instagram, but all books all the time.