WWW Wednesday & September TBR

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book feature hosted by Taking on a World of Words

What did you recently finish reading?

It’s been awhile since I’ve finished a book. My reading in August was pretty mediocre, unfortunately, but I’m really hoping that will change this month.

What are you currently reading?

The answer is everything, basically. See picture below.

The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante – I feel like I’ve been reading this book for years, but it’s only been 2 months or so. Since this is the last book of Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels, I expected to be blown away and for this to be a solid 5-star read; the fact that it hasn’t seemed that way is what’s causing me to read so slowly and start other books in the meantime.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll – I’ve been listening to this audiobook for awhile and liking it, but this weekend I went on a road trip for a friend’s bachelorette weekend and listened to this on the way down. Without giving away any spoilers, I reached a point in the book where this big twist comes out and I got completely hooked on the story; I’m still reeling whenever I think of certain scenes. The only problem was that I got to my destination about 3/4 done with the book, and my library checkout expired before my return trip home! I was super disappointed because all of the copies were checked out and I had to put another hold on it.

The Circle by Dave Eggers – faced with the prospect of a 5-hour drive back home after my weekend away and no audiobook, I sort of randomly decided to give The Circle a try. I wanted something really absorbing and I definitely got that, and then some. I really, really like this book; it’s sort of very near-future scifi, focusing on a twentysomething who starts work at the world’s most famous tech company and gets sucked into company life, which seems like it aims to absorb you fully through social media. A big part of why I like this book so much is due to the narrator, Dion Graham, who is absolutely fantastic. He has a great voice and does a wonderful job with each new character, and his enthusiasm keeps you listening. He’s the first audiobook narrator that I looked up thinking that I’d listen to other books just because of his narration; I found out that he also narrates (among others) A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (one of Dave Eggers’s other books) as well as Octavia Butler’s Wild Seed (and he’s won several awards for his narration).

Nobody is Ever Missing by Catherine Lacey – I haven’t picked this book up in awhile, but I think it’s really well-written and I just need to jump back on board. It’s about a woman who runs away from her life in the U.S. and hitchhikes across New Zealand, all in sort of this dreamlike haze of narration.

Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link – I’ve read a few of the short stories in this collection, and I may end up putting the rest on pause until October–not because it’s not great, but because Kelly Link’s mix of fantasy/scifi/horror would work well for that month. I do like to do some Halloween-themed reading in October, and my plate for September is pretty darn full right now.

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin – I couldn’t resist the temptation to start this book even though I have so many others going! I’ve been waiting for this book for a year now, and after reading the first few chapters I realized that I really need to go back and re-read some of The Fifth Season (the first book in this series) so that I’m not forgetting any of the events that the characters are referring to. It’s been a full year since I’ve read it, so some refreshing is definitely necessary.

 

What are you planning to read next?

As I mentioned before, my main goal in September is to finish the plethora of books I’m currently reading. Once that happens (or once I finish a few of them, at least) I’m planning on starting Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi. I love Tahereh Mafi; her Shatter Me series got me through the intense stress of studying for/taking/recovering from my grad school exams, and I’m really interested in this book despite the fact that it’s middle grade, which I never read.

 

What are you guys reading right now? Feel free to link me to your WWW Wednesday!