Challenge Update, May 2017

This month was a bit slower than April. I’m not surprised, though. Between my final for my Winter class and my intensive Summer class starting, I’ve been really busy. I’m actually proud of how much I have gotten through! You can look at my progress at any time on my challenge page.

Books finished in May:

The Book of Speculation // Erika Swyler (4/5)
Terra Incognita // Ruth Downie (4/5)
Seriously… I’m Kidding // Ellen DeGeneres (4/5)
Landline // Rainbow Rowell (3/5)

It’s really obvious school reading has kept my print reading down. The first is an ebook and the last three here are audiobooks! I’m so glad for those to keep me involved in stories when life gets crazy.

When Are You Reading? Challenge

9/12
One more filled in! The Book of Speculation fit right in at the end of the 1700-1799 time period so I was able to slide it in there. I’ve got some challenging time periods left so we’ll see how this goes. I need a future book as well so it might be time for me to look into a bit of SciFi.

Goodreads Challenge

22/50
Still ahead but not as much as I’d like to be! I’m only about a book ahead of schedule now. I think I’ll get a few read this month with all the books I’m currently in the middle of but I bet I can fight this one well in July when school is out. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Book of the Month

I’m going to say The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler this month. As much as I dislike magical realism, this book won me over and I really enjoyed its story and especially the characters. It was a joy to read and I even got an inter-library-loan of it to finish the last twenty pages after my ehold ran out! I was so determined to finish it.

Added to my TBR

I’ve got the list to 109 but I added three this month! Not my best month lately.

• The Mortifications by Derek Palacio. Palacio was part of the Midwest Literary Walk event I attended in May. I bought a copy of his book and had it signed.
• Running with a Police Escort by Jill Grunenwald. The friend that attended the Midwest Literary Walk with me recommended this book. She knows I run and thought it’s one I might enjoy.
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. This is my next book club selection so I’ll be picking it up as soon as I finish my current print read.

Personal Challenge

I mentioned in my challenge announcement post that I had some non-reading goals set for myself in 2017. I figured this would be a good place to keep myself accountable to those as well. Here goes!

• Keep my 4.0 GPA: Going well so far! I’m keeping an A in my Summer semester class and we’re half-way through it. Final results in July!
• Knit blankets:  I started a new boy blanket which will get me to my ‘carrying capacity,’ the backlog I like to keep for times when my cousins get freakishly fertile. I’ll go back to other personal projects when I finish this one.
• One race per month: I did a 5K on Cinco de Mayo. It’s the shortest race I have in my lineup for the year but a friend of mine was signed up and couldn’t make it in the end so I took her slot. Two friends did it with me and it was likely the most miserable 5K I’ve ever run. It was in the high 40s (Fahrenheit for those outside the US), raining, and 15 mph winds were coming off the Detroit River. We got a beer at the end, but our hands were too numb to hold them! Tris start in June so I’m getting ready for those now.
• Get my novel out to beta readers: I’ll get back to editing in July. I got feedback from two Beta readers I’ll work on incorporating into my next draft. I already have another friend willing to read that draft so I hope to keep working on it through the rest of the summer.

How were your challenges? I hope you made it. If you love historical fiction, give some thought to my challenge for 2017, it’s fun!

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

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WWW Wednesday, 10-May-2017

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived here on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

The Three Ws are:

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

Note: For users of Blogspot blogs, I’m unable to comment on your posts as a WordPress blogger unless you’ve enabled Name/URL comments. This is a known WordPress/Blogspot issue. Please consider enabling this to participate more fully in the community.

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Currently reading: I didn’t think it would happen but A Son of the Circus by John Irving is picking up quickly! It took far too long for this to happen, but it’s finally happening. I’m so glad because I was really close to giving up on it. I got through a lot last week with a lot of time to myself but classes have started up again and I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep it up.
I started a new eBook, Love in the Elephant Tent by Kathleen Cremonesi. If it’s not clear yet, I love circus-themed books. I’ll probably be reading this one for a while but it’s a very fast read so far. She’s already fallen in love in the elephant tent so I’m not sure where this one is going to go.
I needed a new audiobook and started Seriously… I’m Kidding by Ellen Degeneres. I put several on hold but this was available when I needed it. It’s quite short and I expect I’ll wrap it up quickly so maybe one of those other holds will come in while I’m waiting. I love when things work out perfectly like that.

Recently finished: I got the ILL for The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler and finished the last twenty pages! I thought I might have been exaggerating when I said that was all I had left but I was really close. The book was fun and I’m glad I saw it through to the end. I was able to finish it while I ate lunch the day I picked up the hold. I wish I’d just sat down in a comfy chair and finished it without leaving. I wrote a full review on Monday if you want to go check that out.
I wrapped up Terra Incognita by Ruth Downie on Monday night! I wasn’t expecting to finish it so quickly so that was a pleasant surprise for me. I liked the book and I’m looking forward to reading more about these characters as I continue the series down the road. I’ll have a review up next week.

Reading Next: I still have my eyes set on The Circle by Dave Eggers. I’m having a slow go at my physical book right now but the carrot of seeing this movie is pushing me forward.

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Leave a comment with your link and a comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.

Have any opinions on these choices?

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Book Review: The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler (4/5)

This is one of those books that was popping up everywhere for a few months. I added it to my list and was really surprised my library only offered an ebook copy. I always read ebooks really slowly on my phone, mostly while I’m eating lunch at work or waiting at the doctor’s office. Recently, I’d been reading it more consistently and was really hooked by the climax at the end. The two plotlines were converging and I was loving it. But, as all good bookworms have experienced, I lost the hold! Because it’s an ebook, it auto-returned and I couldn’t even agree to pay overdue fines to finish it. Fortunately, the ILL system in my area is pretty great and I was able to get a physical copy a week and a half later. I literally had twenty pages left. I finished the book while eating lunch the day I picked it up.

Cover image via Goodreads

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler

Summary from Goodreads:

Simon Watson, a young librarian, lives alone on the Long Island Sound in his family home, a house perched on the edge of a cliff that is slowly crumbling into the sea. His parents are long dead, his mother having drowned in the water his house overlooks.

One day, Simon receives a mysterious book from an antiquarian bookseller; it has been sent to him because it is inscribed with the name Verona Bonn, Simon’s grandmother. Simon must unlock the mysteries of the book, and decode his family history, before fate deals its next deadly hand.

The book started out a little slower than I was expecting and there was a bit more magical realism than I had anticipated. Magical realism isn’t something I enjoy and I think if Swyler had put any more into it, I wouldn’t have liked this book. As it stands, it was just enough to be fun without being overwhelming. Simon is very lost in his life and it seems appropriate that a book would help a librarian find his way. The subplot with Alice was a nice touch. I liked the back-and-forth between Amos and Simon. I could tell there would be some kind of relationship between them and the way it came together at the end was fun.

I’m always weary when I see a writer pick the opposite gender for their main character. Sometimes it’s fine and sometimes it seems awkward. It’s hard for me to tell if a female author is writing a man well, as in this case. Simon felt very relatable and I couldn’t tell if it’s because of the female writer or he’s a relatable human.

Amos was a great character. The bit about him literally disappearing was a bit much for me, but I thought his emotional development from Wild Boy to a father was realistic and his emotional turmoil as it related to Evangeline was moving and real. I wanted better things for him, but he was very happy for a time. I wish he’d handled his grief better and thought about Bess more.

Alice was most relatable to me. I tend to be the practical one come whatever situation. When Simon’s let go and the house is collapsing, she’s not swept up in her emotions but trying to find a way out of a bad situation for him. I could see myself reacting to bad news the way she did and trying to find jobs for Simon. I also related to the betrayal she felt with Simon stole from the library. It wasn’t an affront to her but reflected badly on her. I could sympathize with that sense of guilt.

Erika Swyler
Image via Allen & Unwin

I liked the descriptions of the horseshoe crabs. It was a little hard to understand where they came from (magical realism) but it explained the deaths in Simon’s family and it was a great tension-building tool that Swyler used. I knew something bad was going to happen when they showed up!

Amos’s journey seemed odd to me. He came from the woods, couldn’t talk but learned English and then spoke through Tarot cards. It seemed too much of a stretch and he didn’t seem to grow as a character. His ability to disappear didn’t add much to him, even at the end. I would have liked that to be flushed out a bit more.

The message about holding onto the past was well done. The cards were a bit much for me, but the message with the house and family secrets was well done. Enola had moved on physically and emotionally from her childhood while Simon was stuck in the house and his past. He started trying to get away when he applied for jobs in Georgia but he seemed to self-sabotage when he let his phone die and be disconnected. By the end, he’d gotten ahold of himself and his goals though not in the way I expected. I was really surprised Alice went with him, too. She seemed much more practical than someone who was going to quit her job to travel with the circus. That bothered me a bit.

Writer’s Takeaway: I liked Swyler’s dual timelines. I normally don’t like a back-and-forth approach but this one worked for me. I think it’s because the plots were so different that I didn’t confuse them easily and they converged slowly and mostly at the end which made for a great climax individually and for the book as a whole. It was great pacing.

I really enjoyed the book and its structure. Four out of Five stars.

This book fulfills the 1700-1799 time period for the When Are You Reading? Challenge.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Related Posts:
Book Review: The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler | Pages and Tea
Book Review: The Book of Speculation | A House with Books
Review: The Book of Speculation and The Mermaid Girl | Indirect Libre
After reading The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler | Play It Again, Swig

WWW Wednesday, 3-May-2017

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived here on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

The Three Ws are:

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

Note: For users of Blogspot blogs, I’m unable to comment on your posts as a WordPress blogger unless you’ve enabled Name/URL comments. This is a known WordPress/Blogspot issue. Please consider enabling this to participate more fully in the community.

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Currently reading: You guys, the worst thing ever happened. I lost my hold on The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler! I’m so mad. I put in a request for an inter-library loan for the physical copy and I’m hoping it comes in soon so I can devour the rest of this book. Ugh!
A Son of the Circus by John Irving has got me down. I usually find something in an Irving novel that moves it along for me, but not so far in this one. I’m not reading it much in my down time because I’m so bored with it. Maybe it will pick up? Maybe I’m overly optimistic?
I’m really getting into Terra Incognita by Ruth Downie. I don’t remember too much from the first book but I don’t really need to and I’m still enjoying this book. I think I’ll finish it pretty fast with all the driving and running I’m doing this week!

Recently finished: Again, nothing! Boo long books! I’m so cyclical with books now, I’m either finishing them all or in the middle of them all, haha. I hope to have ‘Speculation’ here next week!

Reading Next: It will be The Circle by Dave Eggers! I’ve been sneaking pages as I walk past my book shelf, but I’m not counting it as started yet. I can’t wait to read this one and go see the movie! I hope I can get through it really fast.

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Leave a comment with your link and a comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.

Have any opinions on these choices?

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

WWW Wednesday, 26-April-2017

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived here on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

The Three Ws are:

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

Note: For users of Blogspot blogs, I’m unable to comment on your posts as a WordPress blogger unless you’ve enabled Name/URL comments. This is a known WordPress/Blogspot issue. Please consider enabling this to participate more fully in the community.

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Currently reading: I’m getting so close to the end of The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler! I had to wait 40 minutes to see the eye doctor last Thursday and I got completely sucked in. Without studying to do during my lunch breaks, I think I’ll finish this one very soon!
A Son of the Circus by John Irving is not really picking up. I really hoped it would, but I’m plodding along still. With a week I’ll be without my husband, maybe I’ll find some time?
I started Terra Incognita by Ruth Downie on Saturday. Time will tell how well I remember the plot of the first one I really think it’s been maybe ten years since I read it because I’m thinking it was in high school!

Recently finished: I finished Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See on Friday while driving around for work. I thought the ending was really well done. I got to listen to the end of the story in pretty rapid succession over the last few days which was a really great experience. I adore getting to binge on books, especially ones that are this moving. The story was beautiful and I understand there’s a movie I can watch soon! It will be fun to compare them. When I heard See speak, she said it was very different from the book! I was sad to realize this book wouldn’t count for a new time period in the When Are You Reading? Challenge, but it’s a very new time and culture for me! My review will be up tomorrow so please check that out!

Reading Next: My plan is still The Circle by Dave Eggers. I may have to find an ebook before I get to that, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. I’m getting more and more excited for this book each week when you all tell me how excited you are as well, haha.

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Leave a comment with your link and a comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.

Have any opinions on these choices?

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

WWW Wednesday, 19-April-2017

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived here on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

The Three Ws are:

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

Note: For users of Blogspot blogs, I’m unable to comment on your posts as a WordPress blogger unless you’ve enabled Name/URL comments. This is a known WordPress/Blogspot issue. Please consider enabling this to participate more fully in the community.

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Currently reading: I didn’t have a chapter to read for school this week so I got through some of The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler during my lunch breaks. The plot is really picking up and I’m considering devoting myself to this one when In finish Circus.
A Son of the Circus by John Irving is still a slow go. I’m not completely surprised, but I wish there as a bit more keeping me engaged by now. I’m about 100 pages in and it’s still dragging a bit.
I’m in love with Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. I really hope to put this on my ‘finished’ list next week because I’m listening to it at every opportunity and loving the story. I heard See say that there’s a movie based on the plot that doesn’t follow much at all but I’m curious to see it still.

Recently finished: After such a great showing last week, I’m empty this week! I hope to have Snow Flower here next week. Boo.

Reading Next:  Terra Incognita by Ruth Downie is still next for audiobooks. I’ll pick it up as soon as Snow Flower is over.
For physical books, I’m going to pick up The Circle by Dave Eggers. I’ve been seeing all of the trailers for the movie and my love for Emma Watson is running over now that it’s combined with Eggers. I have yet to read a book of his I didn’t love.

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Leave a comment with your link and a comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.

Have any opinions on these choices?

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

WWW Wednesday, 12-April-2017

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived here on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

The Three Ws are:

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

Note: For users of Blogspot blogs, I’m unable to comment on your posts as a WordPress blogger unless you’ve enabled Name/URL comments. This is a known WordPress/Blogspot issue. Please consider enabling this to participate more fully in the community.

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Currently reading: I was an hour early for a conference on Friday so I spent the time reading The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler at Starbucks. I got through a few chapters and I’m about halfway through the book now. Slow and steady but really enjoying this one.
A Son of the Circus has been a slow start. I’m hoping it picks up because this brick is over 600 pages long! I love Irving but this is very different from his earlier books. I hope I can still enjoy it.
I started listening to Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See on Saturday for a two-hour workout so I made great progress in it already. It’s not too long so I’m hoping I can get through this one quickly.

Recently finished: I finally finished Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs! Hubby and I split up to finish it and I came through on Friday, him on Saturday. My review of it went up yesterday and I warn you, it is not glowing. I gave it 2 out of 5 Stars. We watched the movie as well and I’ll post about that tomorrow.
I also got through Once In a Great City by David Maraniss. This was really fun to listen to and for anyone based in Detroit, I think it’s worth reading. It gives a great image of what our city was and what it could be again. I gave it 4 out of 5 Stars. I’ll be posting about this book again as Maraniss visits Detroit to talk about the book.

Reading Next: I think I’ll need another audiobook next, which seems crazy after finishing two this week! Next on my list is Terra Incognita by Ruth Downie. It’s been years since I read the first in this series so I may have to read some summaries to refresh myself. The subsequent books are also available on audio so I hope to move through some of them soon.

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Leave a comment with your link and a comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.

Have any opinions on these choices?

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

WWW Wednesday, 5-April-2017

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived here on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

The Three Ws are:

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

Note: For users of Blogspot blogs, I’m unable to comment on your posts as a WordPress blogger unless you’ve enabled Name/URL comments. This is a known WordPress/Blogspot issue. Please consider enabling this to participate more fully in the community.

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Currently reading: My husband and I made some major progress on Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs this weekend! We have about 2:30 left on it and we might just finish it separately because we don’t have another road trip coming up soon. Yay for progress!
I read a few pages of The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler when I forgot my textbook for lunch reading. I’m still really enjoying this book, but it’s slow going for sure.
I think I’ll finish Once In a Great City by David Maraniss  this week. It’s a good one to listen to during my long runs and it’s fun listening to it while I drive because more than once, I’ve been on the freeways or in sight of the buildings he mentions and it’s really exhilarating.
I started a new physical book, A Son of the Circus by John Irving. Many of you know how much I love Irving and I’m also a big fan of circus books so this is one I’m really looking forward to! It’s a long one so I expect it to be here a while.

Recently finished: I finished Lotería by Mario Alberto Zambrano Saturday night. It was a lot faster of a read than I thought and I was glad to get through it. The images in it were beautiful and the story was a big puzzle to solve which was a cool structure. My review is already up so please go check it out. I gave it 4 out of 5 Stars.

Reading Next: The plan is still to listen to Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See on audio, though I may power through Library of Souls before I pick it up, just depending on what the hubby and I decide to do with that one. I’m looking forward to See’s book, though!

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Leave a comment with your link and a comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.

Have any opinions on these choices?

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

WWW Wednesday, 29-March-2017

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived here on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

The Three Ws are:

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

Note: For users of Blogspot blogs, I’m unable to comment on your posts as a WordPress blogger unless you’ve enabled Name/URL comments. This is a known WordPress/Blogspot issue. Please consider enabling this to participate more fully in the community.

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Currently reading: I decided not to take Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs off of this list. Hubby and I are going on a road trip for a friend’s baby shower this weekend so we’ll have six hours in the car and I hope we can make some decent progress on this book!
I’ve been picking up The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler as much as possible because I’m really enjoying the story and I don’t want to forget what I’ve read each time I pick it up. I think I’m getting close to some major action and I can’t wait!
I’ve made steady progress on Once In a Great City by David Maraniss because of long runs and time spent cooking so I’m happy with how this one is going. I think I’ll have it finished next week!
I started  Lotería by Mario Alberto Zambrano! I’m so excited to finally be reading this one. I bought it two years ago because I thought it was pretty, haha. I don’t normally pick books out by their covers so this was a fun treat for myself.

Recently finished: I finally finished Night Soldiers by Alan Furst! It was a mad scramble to finish it over the weekend before I had to return it on Tuesday but I managed and I’m so proud, woo! The review went up yesterday so go check it out!

Reading Next: I think I’ll need an audiobook next and at the top of my list is Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. I have a signed copy of this one but I’m making an effort to knock down my TBR through audio whenever possible so I’ll go for it. Besides, then I don’t have to worry about my signed copy getting battered at all!

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Leave a comment with your link and a comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.

Have any opinions on these choices?

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

WWW Wednesday, 22-March-2017

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived here on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

The Three Ws are:

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

Note: For users of Blogspot blogs, I’m unable to comment on your posts as a WordPress blogger unless you’ve enabled Name/URL comments. This is a known WordPress/Blogspot issue. Please consider enabling this to participate more fully in the community.

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Currently reading: I’m tempted to take Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs off of this list because I’m barely moving with it. I was only moderately enjoying it while reading it and I don’t feel any pressure to get back to it. Plus, hubs and I usually only listen to these on long car rides and there are none of those coming up soon.
I was really hoping to make progress with The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler during Spring Break but no luck! I read for school during lunch instead of reading at home, which felt like a treat, but meant I was slow on making progress here.
I got through another big chunk of Night Soldiers by Alan Furst this weekend. I’m still not sure I’ll finish it, but it will be close! I’m trying to keep my TV ban, but I did allow myself an hour on Saturday. It’s too hard to resist getting some quality knitting time in, haha.
I was hoping to be further in Once In a Great City by David Maraniss but I forgot headphones for my long workout on Saturday! I was so mad. So there’s 90 of listening time I won’t get back. I’m really enjoying the book and the focus on a city I know so well.

Recently finished: Noting! I’m so sad about this one. I’m really hoping to make progress this week, honestly! I’m in the middle of a few long books now and I swear I’m making steady progress, haha. Maybe next week?

Reading Next: I keep staring longingly at my bookshelf when I walk past, wondering what I will read next. I have it boiled down to two, Lotería by Mario Alberto Zambrano or You Are An Ironman by Jacques Steinberg. The first looks like a quick read and there are beautiful images in it. The second seems like something I should read before triathlon season gets into full swing. What do you guys think?

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Leave a comment with your link and a comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.

Have any opinions on these choices?

Until next time, write on.

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