WWW Wednesday is hosted by  Taking on a World of Words having been previously hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. It simply involves posting answers each Wednesday to three questions.

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading
What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’m currently reading

True Colours by Kristin Hannah could prove to be a good read for me.  It’s too early to say yet.  It hasn’t gripped me yet but I’ve been tired so this reading slump could be entirely down to me. I’m certainly not ready to give up yet.

What I’ve recently finished

I managed to get through a whole audiobook in just a couple of days. That could be a first for me.

A  Pocketful of Happiness written and  read by Richard E Grant is a wonderful memoir.  It covers the final months of his wife Joan’s life  from her diagnosis of stage IV lung cancer in December 2020 until her death at home in September 2021. It’s honest and open and very moving but there is much joy in it too and it’s peppered with  diary entries from throughout his acting career.   I could listen to his voice all day.

What I’m likely to read next

Will it be one of the many titles I started months/weeks ago and put aside?  Mmm….. not sure because I may have something else in mind.

A few days ago I downloaded a kindle sample of The Names by Florence Knapp.  I want to read it but the kindle price is too high at the moment and my Borrowbox and Libby don’t have it yet.  I may have found a possible solution.  Spotify has the audiobook so definitely something to consider. I believe I’m getting better at staying awake while listening to a book 🤭💤

Happy reading

WWW Wednesday is hosted by  Taking on a World of Words having been previously hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. It simply involves posting answers each Wednesday to three questions.

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading
What do you think you’ll read next?

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Well this is my final post of 2025.  To be honest there wasn’t much reading done by me in December so there’s not much to report.  It’s such a busy time although in my case I veer more towards hibernation than pre-christmas activity. 

What I’m currently reading

I did start to listen to The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith but I quickly came to the conclusion it’s not for me.  At almost 31 hours it’s too long.  Spotify only lets me listen to 15 hours per month.  I found the quotes and poems at the start of sections/chapters irritating. I gave up.

Instead I’m listening to Richard E Grant’s memoir, A Pocketful of Happiness.

it’s read by the author and I could listen to his distinctive voice all day. It’s set between the present day and flashbacks to earlier times.  In December 2020 his wife Joan was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer.  Joan died in September 2021.  I’m not far into the story but i think it will be very good.  Emotional, moving, funny.  (And, of course, much shorter than The Hallmarked Man!)

What I’ve recently finished

I’ve only just finished Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent.  It took me ages to read it.  One of those that is okay but easy to put aside.  It wasn’t a page-turner for me.  At times it felt like a very long book (I had to extend my Borrowbox loan) but it’s only about 400 pages. I suppose I was slightly disappointed.  I did finish it but I think I was hoping for something better.

What I think I’ll read next

No idea yet.  Something good I hope!

Here’s to a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Happy reading!

WWW Wednesday is hosted by  Taking on a World of Words having been previously hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. It simply involves posting answers each Wednesday to three questions.

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading
What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’m currently reading

It’s been another slow couple of weeks.  I think I’ve just  run out of steam or maybe I’m kind of hibernating.

Anyway I picked Susie Dent’s Guilty by Definition from my library’s always available shelf on Borrowbox. It’s a little bit quirky but I like it.  It’s just taking me a while to get to the end as I have a tendency to drift off to sleep!

What I’ve recently finished reading

It seems ages since I finished The Death of Shame.  As expected I loved it  and zipped through it. The pace is great and there’s always something that makes you want to keep turning the pages.

What I’m likely to read next

At the moment I’ve no idea.  I need to finish Guilty by Definition first.

Happy reading.

WWW Wednesday is hosted by  Taking on a World of Words having been previously hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. It simply involves posting answers each Wednesday to three questions.

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading
What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’m currently reading

Well I’ve opened The Death of Shame by Ambrose Parry and I’ll start reading as soon as I’m done writing and posting this.  I’m very much looking forward to getting into the, at times murky, world of 19th century Edinburgh.

What I’ve recently finished

This was a slow start for me but it didn’t take too long to get into Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.  It’s set in America and Nigeria.  I like the author’s writing and I did enjoy the book.

What I’m likely to read next

I don’t know yet. I’ve plenty to choose from though!

Happy reading! (I’m off to continue The Death of Shame).

WWW Wednesday is hosted by  Taking on a World of Words having been previously hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. It simply involves posting answers each Wednesday to three questions.

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading
What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’m currently reading

I’ve made some progress with Dream Count but I’m nowhere near finished.  I was slow to start but enjoying it now  I just hope I can get it finished before my loan expires in 8 days – I’ve managed to catch a stinking head cold and don’t feel much like reading.

What I’ve recently finished

Nothing this week.  See above.

What I think I’ll read next

Typically my reservation for The Death of Shame by Ambrose Parry landed in my Borrowbox about 2 days after I started Dream Count.  This will definitely be my next read.  The Death of Shame is the fifth and final instalment in the Will Raven and Sarah Fisher series. I’ve loved all the titles so far.  The series is set in 19th century Edinburgh and there’s something for everyone – historical, medical, mystery, thriller, crime, corruption, sometimes romance.

Happy reading !

WWW Wednesday is hosted by  Taking on a World of Words having been previously hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. It simply involves posting answers each Wednesday to three questions.

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading
What do you think you’ll read next?

*********

Okay so it’s been 5 weeks since I last posted. I’ve been busy.  I had family staying for a week.  I’m finding it less easy to sit and read for longer periods of time.  I’ve been trying to avoid screens at bedtime (I read ebooks)

I have been reading but I’ve just not finished many books.  Perhaps I should add a new category ‘Books I’ve started, put aside but still intend to finish’.  There were two of these books the last time I posted and I still haven’t finished them. 

What I’m currently reading

I had Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Dream Count reserved on Borrowbox and when my turn came I put other things aside to read it.  It’s early days.  So far it’s good.  Beautiful writing.  Will I stick with it?  Who knows?  Hopefully yes.

What I’ve recently finished

I really enjoyed Al Pacino’s memoir Sonny Boy.  I borrowed it from my library’s Libby.  I stuck with the ebook although my son recommended that I listen to the audiobook which is read by Pacino.  The audiobook had a longer wait time.

What I’m likely to read next

It’s likely to be Ambrose Parry’s The Death of Shame.  I’ve had it reserved on Borrowbox for a while and it should be available this week. Why do my library reserves, placed at different times, always seem to become available at the same time?

Then of course it could be any of the following ‘Books I’ve started, put aside, but still intend to finish.’

I’ve also just checked recent downloads to my Kindle library.  I’m shocked at how many I’ve acquired recently. I don’t even remember choosing them. (All freebies. Either Prime Reading or First Reads).  Needless to say I’ve not looked at any of them yet.

Anyway, Happy Reading!

WWW Wednesday is hosted by  Taking on a World of Words having been previously hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. It simply involves posting answers each Wednesday to three questions.

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading
What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’m currently reading

Perhaps this should be titled What I’ve still not finished!

Nothing new here.  I haven’t even looked at either of them in the past two weeks.  Maybe this week?

What I’ve recently finished

Most of my life I’ve avoided classics.  Although I’ve always loved reading, at school I hated being told what to read and then analysing the text.  I suppose E M Forster’s A Passage to India is a classic and I had never considered it something I might like.

On a whim I borrowed it from Libby and I loved it.  It’s beautifully written and quite sad.  I also felt angry at the arrogance and cruelty of the English in India.

What I’m likely to read next

I think it should be the two books that I haven’t finished yet –  The Kingdom by Jo Nesbo and The South by Tash Aw.

Happy reading!

WWW Wednesday is hosted by  Taking on a World of Words having been previously hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. It simply involves posting answers each Wednesday to three questions.

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading
What do you think you’ll read next?

I haven’t posted for weeks so this is more of a short summary of what I started reading, what I finished and what I didn’t finish (or maybe just haven’t finished yet).

It’s been a strange month.  I just don’t seem to have had the concentration to finish many books – or maybe the books haven’t hooked me in and made me want to read into the early hours.  I’m hoping that’s going to change.

What I’m currently reading

I’ve recently started reading The South by Tash Aw.  So far, so good.

Technically I’m still reading The Kingdom by Joe Nesbo.  It’s kind of been pushed to the side – because it’s not from the library there’s been no urgency.   It’s also on Play Books rather than Kindle and I sometimes forget it’s there.  I will get back to it!

What I’ve read since my last post

Both these titles were borrowed from Libby.   I enjoyed The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable.  It’s set in 18th century Venice and is a fictional reimagining of the story of Anna Maria Della Pieta, a pupil of Vivaldi and possibly one of the greatest violinists, but being female all but disappeared from history.  (I saw the title mentioned on Wicked Witch’s Blog – thank you Janette)

The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid was an audiobook loan via Libby. My husband started reading this and I looked to see if the library had the ebook.   It only had the audio version.  It was great … and I got to the end without switching off too often.  It helped that it was read by Cathleen McCarron who is a wonderful narrator.

I also started to read Creation Lake by Rachel Kuchner after hearing about it on television but I’m afraid it just wasn’t for me.  I tried but returned it to the library without finishing it.  I’m beginning to think that me and Booker Prize shortlists and winners are rarely a good fit.

What I think I’ll read next

Hmmmm.  Not sure.  I suspect it might take a while to get through my current reads. I have reserved a couple of books on Libby but it will be end of October for one and December for the other.

Happy reading!

WWW Wednesday is hosted by  Taking on a World of Words having been previously hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. It simply involves posting answers each Wednesday to three questions.

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading
What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’m currently reading

I ‘won’ a book in a giveaway and could pick one from four.  I chose Jo Nesbo’s The Kingdom I think I’m going to like it.

What I’ve recently finished reading

The Storytellers by Sue Heath was a lovely warm, easy read. A ‘found family’ story.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Women of Arlington Hall by Jane Healy.   Graduate Cat Killeen cancels her wedding and goes to Virginia to work on a secret military project as a codebreaker during the early days of the Cold War.  I really liked the book; it was much better than I thought it would be.  I believe it was a freebie from Amazon Prime July First Reads.

The Tesla Files by Sönke Iwersen and Michael Verfürden wasn’t a book that was on my list of possible reads.  I mostly read fiction.  My husband mentioned he had heard this book talked about on a podcast and thought he might like to read it.  I was also intrigued and was delighted to find it on NetGalley as a read now title (now archived).

It was both fascinating and horrifying.  I couldn’t put it down.  I’m definitely not, and never have been a fan of Elon Musk. I don’t really understand how he has been allowed to get away with so much.

The authors are respected journalists for a German business newspaper and via a whistleblower were given access to 23000 leaked documents, 100 gigabytes of confidential data and interviews with customers and employees. What they discovered was shocking.

I feel anyone who aspires to own a Tesla or work for them should read this book before making a decision. 

What I think I’ll read next

At the moment I’ve no idea.  Maybe just a ‘lucky dip’ from my vast Kindle library.

Happy reading.

WWW Wednesday is hosted by  Taking on a World of Words having been previously hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm. It simply involves posting answers each Wednesday to three questions.

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading
What do you think you’ll read next?

**********

What I’m currently reading

The Storytellers by Sue Heath was an Amazon First Reads offer for July (free for Prime members).  It’s an easy read – four different characters who are in the local library for various reasons:  an elderly widow who is searching for someone; a recently retired man who seems a bit lost without his work and is keeping out of the way; a younger woman who has given up her job hoping to find a change of career but in the meantime is ‘hiding’ in the library; and a young man who is working in the library.  They form an unlikely writing group to enter a short story competition.  I’m enjoying it.

What I’ve just finished reading (over the past two weeks)

I finished Last Orders which sadly is Denzil Meyrick’s last book.  I really enjoyed the whole series. 

I also managed to get to the end of The Third Gilmore Girl without running out of Spotify audiobook hours.  I’m now back watching the Gilmore Girls on Netflix.  There are a lot of episodes and I had watched a few but I’ve picked up where I left off.

The Notekeeper by Hannah Treave was a recent ‘always available’ title from my library’s Borrowbox.  I liked it.

I borrowed The Lost Bookshop from Prime Reading.  I’m not sure how to categorize it – historical fiction, Irish/British fiction, mystery? and maybe a hint of magic.  Not my usual choice but it was good.

What I think I’ll read next

You’ve probably guessed by now, I like a bargain, especially free books.  I ‘won’ a choice of book in a weekly prize draw and I picked Jo Nesbo’s The Kingdom.  I think this will be my next read. It was published a while ago so I hope I haven’t read it previously.  I don’t think I have.  It should make a change from the recent romances and feel good stories that I’ve quite enjoyed.

Happy reading.