WWW Wednesday 19th October 2016

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This meme is hosted by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. A similar meme, This Week in Books is hosted by Lipsyy Lost and Found.

Why not join in? Just answer the following three questions in a post and then put a link to that post in the Comments over at Taking on a World of Words.

The questions are:

  1. What are you currently reading?
  2. What did you recently finish reading?
  3. What do you think you’ll read next?

As always, clicking on the cover image will take you to the book’s Goodreads page.

1. What I’m reading at the moment

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín

brooklyn-by-colm-toibinMy first audio book! I’ve been meaning to give audio books a try for ages so I can “read” while doing fascinating tasks like the ironing.

The blurb: Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the hard years following World War Two. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor Eilis in America — to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood “just like Ireland” — she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.

Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, who loves the Dodgers and his big Italian family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love with Tony, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.

2. The last books I read

The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey

the-girl-with-all-the-gifts-by-m-r-careyI’m so glad I finally got to this one! If you like speculative fiction or thrillers with a tinge of horror, read this without finding out more than the little the mysterious blurb gives away. Here’s my (relatively spoiler-free) review.

The blurb: Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite, but they don’t laugh.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children’s cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she’ll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn’t know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

AND

The Power by Naomi Alderman

the-power-by-naomi-aldermanI have read this, but as it’s an ARC, I won’t publish my review until next week and closer to publication. However, I can tell you that a book hasn’t given my so much food for thought in ages. I’ll be pondering this one for ages and recommend you give it a try.

The blurb: In The Power the world is a recognisable place: there’s a rich Nigerian kid who larks around the family pool; a foster girl whose religious parents hide their true nature; a local American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family. But something vital has changed, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power – they can cause agonising pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world changes utterly.

AND

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry-by-rachel-joyceContinuing my love of books with protagonists in their retirement, I thoroughly enjoyed this gentle tale of self-discovery (it’s never too late to find yourself!). Here’s my full review.

The (short version) blurb: When Harold Fry nips out one morning to post a letter, leaving his wife hoovering upstairs, he has no idea that he is about to walk from one end of the country to the other. He has no hiking boots or map, let alone a compass, waterproof or mobile phone. All he knows is that he must keep walking. To save someone else’s life.

3. What I’ll read next

Next week is the half-term holiday so I won’t be posting for WWW Wednesday. I’m not entirely sure what I’ll get to next, but a couple of my options are:

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale

the-suspicions-of-mr-whicher-by-kate-summerscaleAnother audio book! I could get used to this…

The blurb: It is midnight on 30th June 1860 and all is quiet in the Kent family’s elegant house in Road, Wiltshire. The next morning, however, they wake to find that their youngest son has been the victim of an unimaginably gruesome murder – the house was bolted from the inside. As Jack Whicher, the most celebrated detective of his day, arrives at Road to track down the killer, the murder provokes national hysteria at the thought of what might be festering behind the closed doors of respectable middle-class homes – scheming servants, rebellious children, insanity, jealously, loneliness and loathing.

This true story has all the hallmarks of a classic gripping murder mystery. A body, a detective, a country house steeped in secrets and a whole family of suspects – it is the original Victorian whodunnit.

AND/OR/WHO KNOWS?

Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

gemina-the-illuminae-files-2-by-amie-kaufman-and-jay-kristoffThis was published yesterday and I’m hoping my copy will arrive today 🙂 I can’t wait to read the next installment of this series. I loved Illuminae (here’s my review) and hope the sequel is just as good.

The (short) blurb to avoid spoilers for book 1: Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless.

Have you read/are reading any of these? What are you reading? Let me know! 🙂

And elsewhere on the blog…

banana-cake-recipe-with-buttercream-icing-uk

Last week I made banana cake with buttercream frosting and flaked almonds.

Claire Huston / Art and Soul

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75 thoughts on “WWW Wednesday 19th October 2016”

    • I’m just disappointed my copy of Gemina hasn’t even been dispatched yet. Flipping Book Depository again!! 😦
      Brooklyn is good so far, but I have a feeling the film might be better. I’m not finding the main character all that sympathetic, and if I could see Saoirse Ronan playing her I think I might like her more 🙂

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    • The audio book is brilliant for the walk to pre-school, ironing and gardening. I can’t do anything that requires thought or my mind drifts away from the book and I have to rewind!
      Illuminae is great, but best read in physical format rather than e-book because the design is rather special and I think reading it in electronic format would mean you lose something of the effect.
      I’m just catching up with WWW posts and will head over to yours now…

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      • I’ll have to give audiobooks a try one day 🙂
        I’m not much for ereading anyway. My exceptions fall for NetGalley and self-published authors I know whose books are published as ebooks. But I’ll definitely be getting a physical copy of Illuminae!

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  11. I enjoyed Brooklyn…but it was an e-book. I haven’t yet tried audio, and don’t see myself doing that at any time in the future…but you never know. I saw the movie Brooklyn before I read the book…and that worked out fine. Thanks for sharing…and enjoy your week; thanks for visiting my blog.

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    • I’m really glad to hear the movie version of Brooklyn is good. I’d love to see it! Unfortunately, getting out to the cinema is a rare event, so I have to wait until these things make it to TV 🙂
      Thank you for visiting my post and happy reading!

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  12. I really want to read The Girl with All the Gifts! I think everyone is going to be reading Gemina this week! I’ve been back and forth on if I want to get a copy of it or not since I didn’t really like Illuminae that much. I enjoyed the last 50 or so pages though and I kind of want to see what happens next. I may wait until my library has it available.

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    • I’d love to be reading Gemina this week but it doesn’t look like my copy will even turn up! 😦
      I often get things from the library when I’m not sure about it. It’s what I’ll be doing with A Torch Against the Night because I wasn’t that keen on An Ember in the Ashes!

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  13. Audiobooks are perfect to add fun to chores! I also listen to them in the shower, which explains why there is no hot water left when I’m done and why I look like an old prune, haha. I can’t wait to discover your thoughts on The Power! Happy reading!

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  15. Brooklyn sounds really good! I hope you’re enjoying the audio. All of the other books you read sound great too! I recently bought The Girl with All the Gifts on my Kindle so I’m looking forward to that. And GEMINA!!! Oh man, I’m trying to wait to read it until November but when I got it yesterday it’s just so pretty.

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    • I’m upset my copy of Gemina hasn’t even been dispatched yet – flipping Book Depository strikes again! 😦 Can’t wait to get my hands on it!
      I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy The Girl with All the Gifts 🙂
      I’m just catching up with WWW posts and will head over to yours now…

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    • I was looking at the library display stand of the audio books they have as mp3 players (because I can’t be doing with juggling 13 CDs, and I don’t have a portable CD player). They don’t have that many and, of the selection they had, I’d heard of Brooklyn because of the film (which got great reviews). So I decided to give it a go! Niamh Cusack does the narration and she’s very good with all the different accents. I’m particularly impressed with her Northern Irish vs. Southern Irish!

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  17. The Power definitely sounds interesting – I’ll look out for your thoughts. I also haven’t done the whole audio book thing yet but really want to. Brooklyn seems like a good book to start on. I liked the film a lot but haven’t read it.

    Have a great week!

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    • I would love to see the film. Hopefully it’ll come to television soon as I won’t have long to wait!
      The Power is one that everyone should read. I’ve read more “enjoyable” books, but I haven’t read anything which has given me this much food for thought for ages. I just wish I had a book club to talk to about it!
      Happy reading 🙂

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  19. I like listening to audio books at night as I’m a bit of an insomniac and listening to something stops me stressing over my problems, and helps me sleep. It does mean it takes me forever to listen to each one though! Lovely cake BTW!

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  20. I had The Girl with All the Gifts in my hands on Sunday during a trip to B&N but couldn’t decide if I wanted to pay the much higher price of buying it in store. I’ll be ordering this one through Amazon, I think I will also enjoy this read. Yay for Illuminae! I got my copy last night and can’t wait to start it either tonight or tomorrow 🙂

    P.S. that pie looks AMAZING! *heart eyes*

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    • I was lucky to pick up a copy of The Girl with All the Gifts at the library. It had been on my TBR for a while, but I hadn’t got round to it. And then the librarians had put it on the display stand near the entrance and I grabbed it while I had the chance 🙂
      The banana cake was lovely. And it’s so easy to make (which usually makes it easier to enjoy!).

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  25. I am really looking forward to Gemina, I hope they have a copy at my local bookstore (I have a birthday voucher I’m eager to spend!) I’m sorry your copy hasn’t arrived yet 😦

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  26. The Power sounds great! Girl power all the way!! And thanks for reminding me I want to read the Illuminae. Even better now that the second book is out!!! I’ve never been in to audio books, but I can see how they would be great for when you’re ironing or folding clothes. If I started listening to them, it would definitely cut down my TV viewing!

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    • I’m hoping I’ll be able to “read” more with the help of audio books 🙂
      I just hope my copy of Gemina arrives soon. I really enjoyed Illuminae – I hope you do too. It takes a while to get into at first because the format is so different, but eventually it’s very absorbing and creepier in places than I’d imagined!

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  28. I keep trying different audiobooks but I just can’t get into them. I listen to a couple of chapters and then get bored with listening to it. 😛 I hope you like them better than I do!
    I’ve heard so many good things about The Girl with All the Gifts so I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it too. I definitely need to check that one out!
    Thanks for stopping by my WWW 🙂

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  31. I’m glad you enjoyed The Girl With All The Gifts and I want to read Gemina some time soon as well. And congrats on your first audiobook! I tried to start one a few times in the past, but somehow I never seem to like the voices of the narrator.

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    • I’m about to start my second audiobook now and I’m hoping the voice keeps me interested because it’s non-fiction!
      Gemina only got published in the UK today (don’t know why 2 days behind US, but might be because Thursdays are traditionally book release day here), but I’m still hoping to have a copy to read this weekend 🙂

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  32. I haven’t read Brooklyn but have seen the movie which I loved! It was so nice to watch a film that wasn’t full of bad language or violence but had a really sweet theme at its core but with difficult choices. Be interesting to see what you make of it 🙂

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