WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words.
The three W’s are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Currently Reading:
I’m flying through the fun My (Not So) Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella. This has been a pleasant surprise and reminds me of some of my favorite Kinsella standalone novels from the past. It’s been a perfect, light summer read and I don’t want it to end too soon.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng is as stunning and gripping as I had expected. I was blown away by Everything You Never Told Me and wasn’t sure if I’d love Little Fires Everywhere as much. So far, I don’t think I have to worry about that. I’m trying to make myself savor this phenomenal novel.
Recently Finished:
I thoroughly enjoyed the very unique and clever mystery novel The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. It was well-written and incredibly entertaining, although it did get a bit tiresome during the middle section. I think this could make an excellent miniseries in the future.
I was also very impressed with Madeline Miller’s short story Galatea. Like her longer novels, this was a beautifully and lyrically written retelling of a classic myth. I absolutely loved the feminist themes and would highly recommend this well-crafted work in miniature.
Reading Next:
I want to get started on the annotated edition of Mansfield Park by Jane Austen as soon as possible. This will be a re-read for me, but my first time reading this particular edition. Mansfield Park is my least favorite Austen novel, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love it. I’m looking forward to spending time with this tome over the course of the month as part of Austen in August.
I’m in the mood to try Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danier after bingeing the TV series a few weeks ago. To be honest, I’m still not sure how I feel about the show, but I certainly couldn’t stop watching it. I’m interested to see if the book is as “bingeable.” It seems to be a polarizing read and I’m very curious to see where my opinion will fall. Regardless, it seems like a quick summer read.
Have you read any of these? What are you reading this week?
I just finished Olga Tokarczuk’s “Flights” which was marvellous, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Travels with a Donky in the Cevennes” – very entertaining! I must admit I’m quite drawn to “Evelyn Hardcastle…”
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Ooh both of those sound lovely! I really enjoyed Evelyn Hardcastle; it was such a fun, clever read. Hope you enjoy it too if you pick it up!
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Ooo, I haven’t read the book but I would totally watch a “The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle” miniseries from what I’ve heard of it. Fantastic idea.
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Thanks, Libby! Hopefully someone in Hollywood will agree with us…
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I LOVED Sweetbitter (the book) but I know not everyone did. For me it was the perfect escape into a world so unlike my own but totally absorbing. I thought it perfectly captured being young and in a big city and also what little I know of the restaurant world (my husband is a bartender/manager.) Hope you enjoy it!
Glad to hear you’re enjoying Little Fires so much. I loved it too.
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I completely agree with your description of Sweetbitter and am really enjoying it so far. I was hoping it would be an engrossing, escapist read and it really is.
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Glad you’re enjoying My (Not So) Perfect Life. It’s a nice pool/beach read IMO. Little Fires Everywhere and The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle are on my TBR.
I want to re-read Mansfield Park since reading Jane Austen: The Secret Radical. The book suggests that Mansfield Park was actually a deeply political novel that doesn’t just touch on the issue of slavery but is actually all about it. It says that Austen’s contemporary audience would have appreciated references to things that were regular headlines at the time, but those references are lost on casual 21st century Austen readers. I don’t completely buy all of the analyses in The Secret Radical (I think in some cases there is a lot of confirmation bias) but in this case, the argument is very convincing.
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I thought My Not So Perfect Life was such a fun summer read. Hope you enjoy Little Fires Everywhere and Evelyn Hardcastle when you pick them up. I definitely think MP in particular contains a lot of contemporary references that modern readers miss. I’m hoping the annotated edition will shed some light on them. I want to pick up The Secret Radical at some point too. It sounds like some of her arguments are at least worth considering.
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Oh her arguments for MP were fascinating, and I also think she made some interesting points regarding Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey. I think she was pushing it a little with her analysis of Sense and Sensibility, but regardless it’s still worth a read.
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My So-Called Perfect Life was so good! I think it’s one of my favourite Sophie Kinsella books.
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I really, really enjoyed it! It was a perfect summer read.
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I have always wanted to read Little Fires Everywhere, it sounds just like my kind of novel… I’m considering reading it on audiobook because I also heard it’s good.
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Ooh I bet it would be excellent as an audiobook! Enjoy!
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