WWW Wednesday #23: 7th of April 2021

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Hello Hello! How are you?

It’s the middle of my final week in face-to-face learning, then I have 2 weeks off and then just one last week in online learning and that’s my year done. Apart from all the assignments and my thesis I have to finish and hand in, ahah. This has not been a very productive week for me yet, but hopefully, tomorrow will be a bit better since I don’t have class until very late which leaves me time to get things done in the day. How is your week going?

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over at Taking On A World of Words.

WWW Wednesday is based on 3 questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

I got a little bit more into this book and I think I am starting to enjoy it more. The long chapters are what has been putting me off picking this up again because one chapter just takes so long to read. I am enjoying the writing style though, the story is a little boring at the minute, but I’m hoping it gets better. I have heard that it has a really slow start but then it takes off, so I’m going to keep pushing through and hopefully finish it soon.

City of Lost Souls (#5 The Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare

This is the next book Fiona, Erika and I are reading for the Shadowhunter mission and I read the first section a couple of days ago. I can already tell that it’s a bit faster in pace and things are happening. It’s feeling less draggy than the last book which I appreciate. I actually read the first 100 pages relatively fast for a Clare book (the long chapters slow me down). I’m going to be picking this up for the next 100 pages tonight or tomorrow!

A Court of Thorns and Roses (#1 A Court of Thorns and Roses) by Sarah J. Maas

Noly and I have restarted our ACOTAR reread and we have been giving it a better shot this time as we are already about 30% in I think. We both love this series and it is kind of one of the reasons we “met” so we wanted to reread it before picking up A Court of Silver Flames. We’ve been going slow because we are really busy and are usually tired by the time we get around to it, but I think we can read this series relatively soon if we keep persevering. It’s just hard to reread this book and “enjoy it” know what happens after ahah.

 Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli

This is one of the books I’m reading for an #UltimateBlogTour organised by Dave from @The_WriteReads this month and I’m already about 50% in and really enjoying it. I was, and still am, a little bit shocked that this is considered YA because it is filled with swear words. I have seen the f-word about 4 times on each page, and I don’t know how I feel about that, but it is an enjoyable read. I have an appointment at the hairdresser’s today so hoping to finish this off while I wait!

Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston

The last book I have on the go at the minute is the book club pick for the TWR Gang this month and I already like it a lot. It got dark really quick a few chapters in and I have no idea what is going on, but the writing style is easy to follow and nice. I’m also loving the setting. The start seemed really kind of cute and flowery, but now that the main character and the fox are in the forest, it’s a lot darker – which is what I like. The first discussion for this is tomorrow and I can’t wait to pick up the second section this weekend.

D’autres vies que la mienne by Emmanuel Carrère

The first French book that I actually had some choice in picking (it’s for an assignment but I still picked which subject and book) and that I have read this past week was quite a surprise. I haven’t read a French book that was somewhat my choice in years maybe and that’s maybe why I jumped off the French literature bandwagon and ran away screaming ahah. I was worried I would struggle with this book or that it would bore me to tears, but strangely it didn’t. However, it was extremely triggering for me and I had to stop and put it down a couple of times, but the writing style was nice and some sentences were stunning. I did enjoy it, I just wish it hadn’t affected me so much.

Carnages by Maxime Chattam

So I continued that last book on with yet another French book. Who am I? This was a 100-page mystery about a school shooting. It was quick, the chapters were very short, but there was a bunch of information packed into this tiny book and I did really enjoy it. I liked the detective, and I liked the way that he discovered who the culprit was. I have wanted to read this author for ages so I’m glad that I finally bit the bullet and I’ll keep reading his backlist soon.

L’Adversaire by Emmanuel Carrère

The next book I finished was AGAIN a French book. It is also the second book I needed to read for my assignment and I enjoyed this one more. L’Adversaire is kind of a French version of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (a book I really want to read soon) and I found it both morbid and amazing. I really enjoyed reading about what happened to this man and his family and how the author perceived things. What I didn’t like is how the end turned very religious and went down the “are you a believer” road, which I appreciate not a bit. Overall, this was a really interesting and well-written book, so I’ll definitely pick up more works by this author. Just hopefully with less religion.

The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King

The final book I finished in the last week was the final #BBNYA2020 blog tour book and also the winner of last year’s competition. While this was not my favourite out of the 10 books I got to read for the tours, I have to agree with its place in the finals and I can see why so many panellists loved it. I was expecting more fantasy right from the start and I think my expectations were just off as to what I actually got, which made it a tad less enjoyable to me. However, I really enjoyed it and it was so unique, the writing style was incredible and I’ll definitely read more by this author. My review and spot on the tour is tomorrow!

Whispers Under Ground (#3 Rivers of London) by Ben Aaronovitch

Our little Rivers of London readalong is trundling along nicely and I’m so excited to be picking up the third book in this series. I loved both books so far, although Moon Over Soho was my favourite of the two and I’m so intrigued as to what Whispers Under Ground will be. I can’t wait to see my favourite characters again and discover more about the over-arching plot, see more of London and what case Peter will have to figure out this time. I will try to read the first section of this tonight.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

The second book I decided to pick up for the Women’s Prize Longlist buddy read is the only fantasy on the list and the one that everyone is the most sceptical about – except me. When I saw this on the list, I knew I needed to read it because I’ve been hearing a lot about it and the blurb is so intriguing. We’ll be reading this book next week but I want to start it this weekend to give myself the time to finish it for the discussion (not like The Vanishing Half, I totally failed that week aha). I am beyond excited to discover this book.

Shadow Service Volume 1 by Cavan Scott

I was sent an email about this graphic novel/comic a few months ago by Jamie-Lee Nardone and it really intrigued me so I decided to give it a go. I can’t remember what this is about, I know that it has witches though and if you know me, you know that’s all I need to know. I’m going to try to pick it up soon and I’m excited!

The Gallery of Wonders (#1 Magora) by Marc Remus

The final book on my list for this week is the BOTM for the Middle Grade Marvels book club and the book I will be picking up either tomorrow night or Friday to read and discuss with the Marvels members! Again, I don’t really remember the blurb, but I know it sounded good enough for me to want to read it with everyone and I think it’s going to be really fun, so I’m excited.

That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed this post, see you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx