WWW Wednesday: Reading Updates

I was in the mood to post a bookish update (I have a lot of bookish thoughts right now!), so here is my first WWW Wednesday, hosted by https://samannelizabeth.wordpress.com/.

WWW Wednesday is a meme where you answer the 3 W’s (What are you currently reading, What did you recently finish reading, and What do you think you’ll read next), so here I go:

What are you currently reading?

OK, so this takes some explaining. I started  hearing about Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels a year or so ago, and the hype has been continuously building since then. However, until very recently, I was, for various reasons, fairly committed to never reading any of them. Why? It’s hard to explain. The first reason is that I figured any series with this ridiculous amount of hype must not be able to live up to it, and although I sometimes do like to read whatever the “it” book currently is, a lot of the time I’m really reluctant to do so. Maybe it’s a bookish hipster thing? Am I trying to not be too mainstream? But I only do this selectively, so I don’t think that’s entirely it.

The other reason I’ve hesitated to reach for the Ferrante novels, despite how amazing they’re supposed to be, is that I just didn’t think I’d be interested in them. I hate to say this, but realistic fiction typically just isn’t my genre. I don’t hate all realistic fiction, but it takes a really, really good realistic fiction book to hook me, since what attracts me to books tends to be their uniqueness and realistic fiction, by definition, is less “out there” than various genre fiction. My go-to genres have always been science fiction and fantasy, in all their iterations (magical realism, dystopian fiction, speculative fiction, etc) and, although I know that this is not always the case, those genres have always tended to present themselves as the most creative and unique books. I definitely need to open my mind back up to more realistic fiction, but lately, I’ve been getting worse and worse about this; it’s rare for me to read anything non-SFF/F, and the Ferrante novels just didn’t fit my non-realistic vibe.

At a certain point, however, I decided that I just had to know what these books were like. Spurred by discovering a forgotten Barnes and Noble gift card with $17 left on it, I hit the bookstore the other day and picked up My Brilliant Friend. And OH MY GOD.

To be clear, I’ve just started this book, but the thing is that I typically form opinions on books very quickly. I can usually tell from the first page if I’m going to vibe with the book, and after reading the first paragraph of My Brilliant Friend, I am totally on board. I don’t want to talk too much about it (mainly because I’m only on page 40), but the writing is immersive, detailed, and I’ve been completely sucked in. I can’t wait to keep reading, and I hope this feeling lasts throughout the whole book. I mean, I could always be wrong and start disliking it, but so far I’m extremely impressed.
What did you recently finish reading?

 

I stayed up until 2 a.m. finishing Mr. Splitfoot the other night because there was no way I could physically abandon the story at that point. I ended up LOVING this book and gave it 4.5 stars. I loved the structure of the book and how it switched between two timelines that came crashing together at the end. Highly, highly recommended for fans of weird fiction. Also, it’s my first completed book for #SmashYourStack!
What do you think you’ll read next?

 

I pre-ordered A Court of Mist and Fury, which turned out to be a bad move–the release date was yesterday but I won’t get it in the mail until Friday. I should have just picked up a copy on the release date! Now I know for next time to skip the pre-ordering. I may just wait until Bout of Books to start it, since I’m deep in Ferrante mode anyways and want to save this one til I can fully appreciate it.

 

What is everyone reading right now??