#wirw

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Selah fruit stand

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What I’m reading Wednesday

A weekly update of what I’ve been reading and what’s up next.

First of all, I am sick. My boyfriend got sick first, he gave it to me, and now our house is a ball of illness. Please send sympathy.

Anyway, I had a real productive reading day on Saturday, finishing The Girl on the Train and following it up with Station Eleven. Take that, seven day loans. Both were very good (although I liked Station Eleven more), and I have things I want to say about them in reviews, but those will have to wait until my head is a little more in the game. They also have this weird crossover moment (I don’t want to say what because it’s kind of a spoiler for The Girl on the Train) that was very pronounced because I read them so close together.

I was at a bit of a loose end after that, so I started reading On Basilisk Station by David Weber. It’s military sci-fi with definite Mass Effect vibes and six legged empath cats, so I’m here for all that. My boyfriend has been reading this series too and has been telling me I’d love it. Score another one for him.

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What I’m reading Wednesday

A weekly update of what I’ve been reading and what’s up next.

Welp, it’s been a bit of a wobbly reading week. I started and gave up on reading not one, but two books. The first one I’d heard nothing but good about, but my god I found it throw across the room awful. I gave it until half way through the book in case things got better, but they sure didn’t. The second, in fairness, was more mediocre than bad, but I needed something better after throw across the room awful.

After those two disappointments I eventually read Atlantia by Ally Condie. It definitely suffers from Every Young Adult Dystopia Ever syndrome (there was a Divide, the privileged people like Below, the less privileged people live Above, everyone has on theme names, etc), but once you get past that the story moves pretty quickly and takes a few unexpected turns.

When I was at the library today I picked up seven day loan copies of both The Girl on the Train and Station Eleven, so I’m going to be reading those before they have to go back. I’m a couple of chapters into The Girl on the Train, enjoying it so far.

[storiesandpapercuts-blog]

What I’m reading Wednesday

A weekly update of what I’ve been reading and what’s up next.

Not a lot of reading got done this past week. My Easter weekend was pretty hectic, I did a lot of travelling and seeing people. Since last Wednesday I finished The Girl with all the Gifts (amazing), read Falling for Hamlet (which I already posted a review for) and started The Long Mars. Unlike the first two Long Earth books, this one is much more about Lobsang, and the tone is a lot more melancholy. I don’t want to say anything to spoil the plot, but this book is taking a bit longer to read.

Did anyone else have a more productive long weekend of reading?

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What I’m reading Wednesday

A belated weekly update of what I’ve been reading and what’s up next.

When I updated last I was half way through The Long Earth. Having finished it, my initial assessment stands. It is everything I want in a book and nothing I don’t. Do read.

I moved on to a couple of shorter YA books next, Mindee Arnett’s The Nightmare Affair and Celia Ree’s Witch Child. To be honest, I picked up The Nightmare Affair because the premise sounded interesting, not expecting too much of it, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. The story (and to a lesser extent, the characters) was definitely formulaic, but it ended up being a really fun and engaging read with a very climactic ending that managed to avoid some of the clichés I was dreading. My initial review of this book was a bit less favourable, but the more it’s sat with me the more I realise I enjoyed it.

Witch Child ended up being another pleasant surprise. I’ve had mixed success with realistic historical fiction, so despite being interested in the premise I took my time getting to it. The story has a very abrupt beginning and the action takes a little while to kick in, but the payoff is worth the journey. I am very much looking forward to reading the sequel when I can track a copy down.

Then it was back to the long earth with the sequel, The Long War. Set a generation after The Long Earth, it continues to explore how humanity might respond to the discovery of infinite, parallel earths. I absolutely adored diving back into this world, it has fast become one of my favourite science fiction settings. There was one small scene that made me really really mad (such terrible storytelling, what were you thinking?), but I’m still completely invested in the story.

Currently I’m about halfway through The Girl with all the Gifts, by M.R. Carey. It’s another slow burn novel, with the earlier chapters feeding you tantalising drips and drabs of information as you try to come to grips with the world. Another definite recommend.

What is everyone else reading?

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What I’m reading Wednesday

A weekly update of what I’ve been reading and what’s up next.

It’s a double edition of wirw this week. Last week I took a short break from tumblr because I wanted to read Prudence without spoiling it for myself. I managed four whole days without looking at my dash. So proud.

After finishing The Virgin Suicides, I wanted to read something a bit more light and plot driven so I read the first two Elvis Cole novels - The Monkey’s Raincoat and Stalking the Angel. I started the series with the fifth book, because it was the earliest we had a copy of, so these weren't re-reads. Elvis is... kind of a douche in these earlier books. I probably wouldn't have persisted with the series if I’d started here. He definitely becomes a better character as the books go on.

I started reading Libba Bray’s Beauty Queens next, but I took a break in the middle to read Prudence. I had been waiting for this novel for so long. A few sections had me gritting my teeth (Rue being mistaken for an Indian goddess, really Gail?), but gosh it was nice to be back in that world. My only other quibble was that the book ended so quickly. I want more, dangit.

Once I finished Beauty Queens I finally finished Court of the Air, a book I have been reading in fits and starts for a couple of months. This book is long, and complicated, but I really enjoyed it and the final battle was everything I could have wanted and more. I’ll definitely read the rest of the series, but I’ll be taking my time with them.

I’m currently just past half way with The Long Earth. It is still everything I want in a book and nothing I don’t. Screaming continues.

What is everybody else reading?

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What I'm reading Wednesday

A weekly update of what I’ve been reading and what’s up next.

Only two books to talk about in this week's wirw - Wuthering Heights and The Virgin Suicides. I actually really loved Wuthering Heights. It was nothing at all like I expected it to be, but I feel like my reading experience was better not knowing too much going in. The Virgin Suicides I wasn't such a fan of.

I've had a couple of books languishing in my currently reading pile for months - Stephen Hunt's Court of the Air and Dan Simmon's Olympos. I've decided to launch project 'Get those books off the list or so help me God', so I'm going to be working on getting those books finished in the coming week.

What is everybody else reading?

[storiesandpapercuts-blog]

What I'm reading Wednesday

A weekly update of what I’ve been reading and what’s up next.

I finished reading Replica. I wrote a short review, but the tl;dr is that I felt let down. After that I finished Robert Crais' The Sentry. It's billed as a Cole and Pike novel, but it was really just a Pike novel. We got to see a pretty different side of Joe Pike in this one, which was nice. Over the weekend I read There Will Come a Time (Carrie Arcos). It's a contemporary young adult novel about a teenage boy dealing with the death of his twin sister. I enjoyed it at the time, but to be honest it hasn't really stuck with me. Last night I finished Catherine and whoa boy do I have a hell of a book hangover. I've downloaded a copy of Wuthering Heights since I haven't read it before and now I'm interested.