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.
Currently reading: I haven’t made any progress in Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier again this week. I keep thinking about how I can carve out time for it, but I haven’t quite figured it out yet. Reading Buddy and I met on Friday to talk about The God of the Woods by Liz Moore and I’ve already finished the next section we decided on. I’m flying through this one and I can’t wait until we meet again to keep it going! I immediately started Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros after finishing Fourth Wing. I’m about half way through. I’m looking forward to binging the series! This book will be on here a while. I started the Spanish translation of Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, La Novena Casa. This is a thick book by any standards and I know I read much slower in Spanish. I suspect I’ll take a few pauses on it but I’ll keep pushing through!
Recently finished: I’m happy to have two books here this week! The first being, obviously, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. I pushed myself to write the review immediately after finishing it so I could more easily separate my thoughts between the installments in the series. I asked AI how I could change my review format so this is also my first review in that new format. Please take a look and let me know how you like the new format! I gave the book Four out of Five Stars. I also wrapped up I Have a Love Story by Natalie MacMaster and submitted my review. This will probably be my last paid review for a while. There was an event going on that had a lot more physical books than the normal spread so it could be a while before I find another physical copy to review.
I’m really excited to say I am caught up on reviews! I posted three in this past week. The first was, as I mentioned above, for Fourth Wing. The next was Nice Girls Don’t Win by Parvati Shallow. It was a fun read for someone who is a fan of her, but it didn’t feel very complete. I gave it Three out of Five Stars. I also reviewed The Night Watch by Sarah Waters which was a Four Star review for me. I thought the way she paced the timeline in the book was awesome and really unique. It drew me in a lot!
Reading next: I don’t feel like I’ll finish another book in the next week. If I do, I’ll start Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros on audio. I’m seeing a bit of a trend in my books lately.
Leave a comment with your link and comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.
Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.
OK, I’m trying something new. I asked AI how I could optimize my review format and I’m going to incorporate some of those suggestions. Let me know what you think! I’m also jumping this review ahead because I want to immediately start the next in the series and I want my thoughts to have some clear separation. Back to the regularly scheduled programming soon!
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean #1) Publication Date: September 2024 Length: 18 hours and 32 minutes on audio
Cover image via Amazon
Violet’s struggle to find her own strength will push her to the edge. A sweeping fantasy about relationships and finding the truth.
Summary from Amazon:
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general―also known as her tough-as-talons mother―has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter―like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
I can see why this is so popular. I kept being reminded of the Divergent series and that was a massive hit. The dragons were a bit reminiscent of A Song of Ice and Fire. It’s been a while since I read YA Fantasy and I’m remembering the draw of a world where there are so many possibilities- where we can change our fate and become someone else. This was fun- there’s no denying that. And you can bet I’m going to immediately jump into the second book followed by the third and ending with a period of frustration while I wait for further publications.
Yarros did well at assembling a cast of characters to see Violet through her first year. I was worried at times about there being too many people to keep track of, but she did well at narrowing down the ones to focus on to a manageable number. I’ll admit I had my doubts about Violet’s survival sounding plausible but the development she undergoes is well written. I believed that she came from a scrappy small recruit to a hardened rider. Her progression wasn’t easy or fast and she earned it. I did struggle with the feelings between Violet and Xaden, though. They seemed far too sudden and strong. I know part of that is just youthful lust, but it it was the one part of this book that dragged it down for me. It felt like the war and their romance were equally important in Violet’s mind which was very hard to understand given that one can kill you.
Rebecca Yarros. Image via Wikipedia
I had some Harry Potter and The Magicians call backs with the college setting. I think boarding school settings are used a lot in literature because they give young characters a huge amount of autonomy and put them in a very high pressure situation. It gives the plot a lot of structure with chances to educate the reader alongside the characters and a natural progression. It’s a little cheap, but it works well. It felt like the end took a very sudden turn away from the school structure so I’m interested to see where that goes in the second book. As I mentioned, the romance was a bit too strong for me. It was so clear this was going to have an ‘enemies to lovers’ trope almost immediately that I wasn’t fooled by the ‘Dain red herring’ for a second. It felt like Xaden’s personality was pushed to an extreme for the sake of the reversal plot and that rubbed me the wrong way just a bit.
I enjoyed the world Yarros built. I haven’t read Shadow and Bone but I watched the show and I got a similar feeling to that world where there are mortal enemies and government secrets abound. The relationship between the dragons and their riders was well developed and I liked the way it was completely fantastical but felt so real. It’s clear she put a lot of time into thinking through the geography of the world and giving it a history the developed the structure it now has.
I listened to a dramatized adaptation from Graphic Audio. It took some getting used to. It was obvious some descriptive lines were cut out and sound effects were used instead. For example, at one point there’s the sound of a bell and a character says “That means I have to go” (or something close to this, forgive me). So I assume in the text there’s a line about the sound of the bell, but nothing was said. This is considered and unabridged edition so I imagine I didn’t miss much, but it was different from what I’ve heard before. This was also full cast which was amazing. I think some dialogue tags were skipped because of the different voice actors. I sometimes struggled to hear non-essential dialogue as someone was coming or leaving the scene, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment. I will saw that the intimate scenes took on a whole different tone with the sound effects! In the end, I liked it and I’m going to continue with the Graphic Audio versions for the next two books in the series.
This is a very classic coming of age tale and I’m all for it. Violet hasn’t thought for herself her whole life and when she’s pushed in a direction she doesn’t want, she makes space for herself there and thrives. If I was in high school, I would have devoured this in a day. It’s the kind of freedom and responsibility that late teens and young adults live for and it was a great ride.
Writer’s Takeaway: There’s a reason so many YA books have a school-like structure. It works and there’s no denying it. The trick is making it feel original. Yarros does well here in having the dragon bonding process be unique to her school even if it’s very reminiscent of Divergent in a lot of other ways. Finding something unique and focusing on it can be enough to avoid being compared to something more original.
A fun ride and I’ve fully jumped on board for the whole series. Four out of Five Stars.
Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.
I’ve read a few Sarah Waters books and really liked them. I was surprised to be needing a WWII book for my challenge this year and I wanted something a little more off the popular path and dove into this one. It was hard to find a copy and I ended up buying the audiobook so I could listen to it during my commute.
Moving back through the 1940s, through air raids, blacked-out streets, illicit partying, and sexual adventure, to end with its beginning in 1941, The Night Watch tells the story of four Londoners—three women and a young man with a past—whose lives, and those of their friends and lovers, connect in tragedy, stunning surprise and exquisite turns, only to change irreversibly in the shadow of a grand historical event.
I didn’t know this book would have time shifts when I started it and I was so surprised by the first one! I liked how we get to know the characters and their interactions well before we’re completely shifted to a different time and arrangement. It was a great way to keep some mystery surrounding the people we were meeting and why certain folks were included. I loved the first big jump and learning more about how the characters got to where they were and how they’re all connected. My biggest complaint is that it felt a little slow at times. I had some problems with one of the characters as well, but I’ll get into that.
At first, I thought Kay was an odd character. I loved that as we went back in time and learned more about her, I understood her better and her actions made more sense. Helen had some odd moments as well but, again, the further I got into the story, the more her actions made sense. The characters got more detailed and richer with the format Waters used. The one character that seemed odd to me the whole time was Vivian. I could get my mind around her relationship with Duncan and her father, but I failed to understand what she was doing with Reggie. What a deplorable man! I was looking forward to finding out how their relationship started and nothing about what I learned made me like him at all. I lost all respect for Viv. She knowingly put herself in that relationship and chose to stay, ignoring every red flag there was. She could have easily stepped out but refused to. It was incredibly frustrating.
Duncan’s story was the most interesting to me. There was a lot of mystery around his relationship with Mr. Mundy and his time in jail, which shifted to mystery about why he was in jail at all. I thought Waters did a great job of keeping me guessing about his story until the very end. I was super surprised with the final reveal!
I thought I’d find a character to relate to in the story, but I didn’t. I think there were emotions each of them went through that I related to at a high level, but there wasn’t a single character I connected with more than the others. The backdrop of the war made it feel even more inaccessible. The bombing in London is such a unique and horrible time in history and it’s hard to imagine living through that onslaught.
Sarah Waters Image via Goodreads
I loved how Waters wove the characters together. Each time jump was a chance to see what other arrangement of relationships the characters could create to bump into each other. It was fun to see how folks were paired off and I looked forward to seeing how they would meet someone else that set them up for the section we had just read.
We see a lot of changing and shifting in the characters, but Vivian didn’t feel to me like she was much different in the three time periods. Going back in time gave us more of her story, but it didn’t feel to me like it showed any change or growth, just more of the unnecessary suffering she put herself through. I had some empathy for her after her ‘middle’ story, but it put her situation after the war in a worse light. We invested so much time in her that I hoped her final story (first chronologically, last in the book) would redeem her situation but I don’t feel like it did.
The audiobook was narrated by Juanita McMahon. Her narration didn’t move me much one way or the other. Her voice for Duncan seemed a little whiney, but with what we learn about him, it didn’t seem out of character. Her voice for Reggie might have made me hate him even more. Her female voices didn’t seem starkly differentiated.
We’re all shaped by events in our past and Waters takes a great look at the events that shaped a handful of interconnected people. I liked how she showed us who they were before, during, and after the Blitz. The event itself made a massive impact on London and its inhabitants. It was great to see that layered with the massive impacts the characters made on each other. It left you questioning if interpersonal relationships or international politics shook their lives more.
Writer’s Takeaway: I like how Waters played with time in this story. She refused to info dump anything that wasn’t relevant to the current plotline and she didn’t flashback to anything that was referenced. I liked how it created a lot of mystery. I was almost at the point of tearing my hair out to find out what had happened to Duncan! The jumps in time were so satisfying because the answered so many questions but at the same time created new ones. I don’t see this type of plotting much and it was really enjoyable.
A fun ride and a different side of World War II. Four out of Five Stars.
Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.
I’m a big Survivor fan. I’ve seen every episode of every season and Parvati Shallow is a legend of the game. I was looking for something to get me pumped about Season 50 before it premiered and a contestant memoir seemed like the perfect pick-me-up.
At twenty-five years old, Parvati Shallow was plunged into fame and fortune after becoming the million-dollar winner of the reality television series Survivor. But despite her success, the ghosts of her traumatic past, coupled with the harsh glare of the public eye, kept her locked in a survival cycle of fear and shame that sabotaged her self-confidence and eroded her self-trust. It wasn’t until a series of painful life events, including the death of her younger brother and a challenging divorce, that she found herself on a path of healing that would awaken her true power and reset the course of her life.
In Nice Girls Don’t Win, Shallow shares the stories that allowed her to transform her most difficult moments into potent catalysts for empowerment. From her childhood growing up in a Florida commune run by a tyrannical female guru, to her journey out of the South and into the L.A. casting rooms that would eventually drop her in the lush but brutal landscapes of Survivor, Shallow shows readers what it took to build herself into the ultimate survivor—for better and, more often, for worse. She then reveals what it took to rebuild herself into something much greater.
I had some expectations going into this book and in a way those were met, but in other ways I was disappointed. I wanted more about her time on Survivor and that was the biggest gap I had with this book. Survivor put Parv on the map and while she talked a bit about her times on the show, it wasn’t a major focus. I was also curious to learn more about her life before she became a Survivor icon and in that sense I was hugely satisfied. I wasn’t anticipating so much about her time after Survivor, but that’s on me. She was on the show so long ago that I should have suspected the time since would be part of a recently released memoir. I appreciated the perspective she has since her time on the show and I’m honestly looking forward to seeing her in a few other things I plan to watch.
Besides herself, the only person who is well developed in the book is her ex-husband, John. I don’t remember much about him from his season on Survivor. (If you watch, he was on Russel’s season so everyone else just kind of disappeared in my memory.) This is the second book I’ve read recently where someone wrote extensively about a relationship that ended. I think it’s hard to take what’s said about the person at face value. Ultimately, this is a relationship that ended and there was likely a lot of finger pointing about who should take responsibility. In writing her book, Shallow is giving her side which will, understandably, show her in a positive light. How much John is ultimately responsible isn’t something I’m going to pass judgement on.
Parvati takes center stage in this memoir and it was fun to see her grow and change. She’s appeared on US Survivor three times and I liked seeing how she told her story about how she was growing and changing between those public appearances. Since I watched all three of her seasons in a short time and not as they came out, I felt like she grew up very quickly but I can see from this story that it was a long and complicated process. I think she’s very brave to live in such a public eye and I have a lot of respect for what she’s done.
There wasn’t a lot in Parvati’s story that I could relate to. Her childhood was overshadowed by the cult her parents were a part of and her adult life has been lived in a very public eye- two things I’m happy to say I haven’t experienced. I admire the community of strong women she’s built around herself, but it’s not something I’ve been able to do for myself. One of the things I like about memoirs is getting to explore something so different from my own life and in that sense, this book delivered.
Parvati Shallow. Image via Wikipedia
I watched Shallow most recently on the second season of The Traitors and I enjoyed her discussion of that appearance and how stressful it was for her. I could tell that the different game format was a completely different approach for her and I’m glad she discussed that. I enjoy watching shows like The Traitors and The Challenge that have Survivor players who have to adapt to different challenges. It’s fun to see who thrives and who burns up fast.
I thought the end of the book was a bit of a disappointment. One of the hard things about writing a memoir is knowing when to end it. Most memoirs are written a while past when someone becomes famous and covering that time between when they become known and when they become who they are when writing is tricky. There wasn’t a lot in Shallow’s recent life that felt related to the earlier parts of her story. It felt like she’d taken a sharp left turn to get to a new place and then wrote the book. She didn’t have a lot of time in her life that she’d been in this new place so there wasn’t much reflection that helped relate it back to where she’d been before. It felt like an odd place to leave off after what I’d read up until that point.
Shallow narrated the audiobook which I think is always the right call with a memoir. The passions someone gives their own story are just so much stronger than what anyone else would give it. Shallow has a great way of using her voice to inject playfulness and she was able to display that well in this recording. I’m not sure she could narrate any other book, but she was the perfect choice to do her own audiobook.
Parvati put a lot of herself into the public eye and it’s easy to see why it’s hard to live with that. She’s found a way to feel strong and at peace and I applaud her for that. It hasn’t been an easy journey and she showed a lot of the turbulence along the way in this book. I applaud her for finding her power and focus again after being pushed around so much.
Writer’s Takeaway: This book made me think about memoir a lot more. Is there a right time for a celebrity memoir? At the peak of fame can serve some purpose, giving a backstory as to how the person arrived where they are. In old age or retirement is another option, being able to look at the full journey. But there are misses with both of these. With the first, a miss of what comes while the person is still in the limelight. With the later, a miss of interest as someone might fade into obscurity. But finding the perfect middle ground is a guess. I think Shallow took a good guess based on her continued appearances on reality competition shows. It felt to me like there was more to her current chapter in life and I wish she’d waited just a bit longer to be able to close it before writing this book.
An enjoyable read for a big Survivor fan like me. Three out of Five Stars
Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.
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.
Currently reading: I found a little time to read Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier so I’m moving forward, but at a snail’s pace. This is pretty typical for me with ebooks so I’m not worried about it. I’m just glad I got a bit in! Ready Buddy and I are meeting on Friday to talk about The God of the Woods by Liz Moore so I’ll dive into the next section of this soon and keep moving! I’m itching to know what happens. I thought I would have finished Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros by now, but a sick kiddo has left me working from home with no commute to help knock it out. I’m sure I’ll have it done by next week, though! I’m working through my review copy of I Have a Love Story by Natalie MacMaster and hope to have it finished next week. It’s a fun mix of memoir and a coffee table book and I’m learning a lot about a type of music I knew nothing about. This might be my last review book for a bit (depending on availability) so I’m soaking it in.
Recently finished: I finally wrapped up Women’s Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery! For such a short book, it took me a long time. It was one I didn’t mind setting aside to focus on other things and I let myself take on a lot of review books that kept kicking it down the road. Once I realized it was a comedy, I could enjoy it a bit more but it still wasn’t for me. I gave it Two out of Five Stars. I’ll get a review together for this one in a while as I’m slowly taking down my backlog.
Speaking of reviews, I posted my review for Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus on Thursday. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a while and I gave it a full Five out of Five Stars.
Reading next: I’m going to do something I haven’t done in a while. I’ve decided to binge a series. I think the last time I did this was the Divergent books which I read in 2014. It’s time for another binge! So I’ll jump right into Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros on audio when I finish the first book. I’m going to do the dramatic reading again now that I’m finally getting used to the sound effects and voice actors.
Leave a comment with your link and comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.
Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.
This book was recommended to me by both my mom and AI when I asked for book recommendations. So I’m hearing that my mom knows me as well as AI. Hm. Anyway. I found a copy of it on the book exchange shelf at my resort on vacation and it seemed like a sign to pick it up and get started. Suffice it to say, I’ve asked both my mom and AI for some more suggestions as this was a huge hit.
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.
I’m usually frustrated by stories of women in history who have very modern mentalities. But I’m forgiving here because Elizabeth’s ‘ahead of it’s time’ mentality is on full display in this story and it’s the very focus of most of the tension. She actively fights back against the position women are given in her time and breaks out of that mold at every opportunity. Her story is more of a way to see what a modern woman would be like in the 60s and the chaos that it would have caused. The comedy was in the reactions Elizabeth elicited and the horror some felt when others were bold enough to do the same.
The characters in this book weren’t very believable and that’s what made them funny. This book was a comedy, among other things, and I enjoyed laughing at the way the characters behaved. Mad and Elizabeth are very academic in a time when that wasn’t what women were ‘supposed’ to be. They fight, over and over, for a chance to do what they want and behave how they want. It’s a strong reminder of how society has shifted and how differently women are perceived now.
Elizabeth was a delight and I really enjoyed reading about her. I adored her intellectual relationship with Calvin and how she both met and betrayed every ideal he had of a partner. I loved the way she raised Mad the way she wanted to and never changed her fierce dedication to her daughter despite the reactions she got. She was an amazing mom and a woman any woman would root for.
I think most women can think of a time they felt they were being treated differently because of their gender. Elizabeth’s life was full of these moments and some of them hit home with me. I’m sure the other moments would hit home with a different reader given their lived experience. Garmus did an amazing job of looking at the ways society has shifted in regards to women and poking at the ways it hasn’t changed at all. It helped me feel a lot of connection with women of the time period and also see where I could still make change.
Bonnie Garmus. Image via Wikipedia
I really connected with Elizabeth’s passion for rowing. I’m a swimmer, another highly cardiovascular sport, and I saw a lot of similarities in the culture surrounding her rowing club and the difficulties she had getting into the sport. I thought it was wonderful how fully she threw herself into the sport and the benefits she got from being involved. A woman involved in sports was one of her many radical choices, but its easy to see now how beneficial it was and we know today how great it is for women to be involved in sports. I’m glad this part was included.
There wasn’t much I disliked about this book, but there was one part that made me roll my eyes. I had just finished reading It Ends With Us when I read this book and that made it two books in a row that the main female character ends up pregnant when they don’t want to be. It seems to be a very popular mechanic in writing that characters are very fertile at the exact wrong moment! I read another book after this where it happened, too. A coincidence, maybe, but a frustrating run of very fertile women.
Elizabeth fights for almost everything in her life and the story highlights her struggles. But it does so with humor. Elizabeth isn’t a woman who rolls over and gives up when things get hard. She fights back. She doesn’t let her gender hold her back and she refuses to let arbitrary limits put a stop to her or her daughter. She’s brave and bold and she inspires others. I think she’s a great reminder to continue to fight today for a better tomorrow for women and girls.
Writer’s Takeaway: Garmus didn’t hold back on technical know-how and jargon, the same way Elizabeth didn’t hold back on her show. I loved how this challenged the readers (as the fictional viewers were challenged) to learn a few things. I had to remember that sodium chloride is salt and I learned about the reactions taking place as I cooked. I think often a fiction writer feels the need to overexplain something or to put it in terms that the most uninformed reader could understand. But Garmus didn’t do this. I appreciated the challenge and the trust that I could figure it out.
This was one of the best books I’ve read this year by far. Five out of Five Stars.
Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.
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.
Currently reading: I got back to Women’s Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery and I think I might finish it this week! Realizing it’s a comedy has helped me enjoy it a lot more. I realize that there isn’t much plot, but I can enjoy the funny situations now without wondering how it connects to something larger. I was able to read some from Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier as well. I had to go to the IT Help Desk at work and ended up sitting for a long time. Pulling this book out was an easy solution! After my Reading Buddy and I met, I powered through the next section of The God of the Woods by Liz Moore in two days. Easy to say I’m enjoying this a lot. We don’t have a date set for when we’ll meet again so I’m on pause with this for a while. I’m absolutely loving Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. The full cast reading is growing on me, too. It took some getting used to since some of the descriptions are taken out in favor of the sound effects and voice actors. I’m almost done with Part 1 and will pick up Part 2 right away!
Recently finished: I’ve finished up No Man’s Land by Becky Jensen as expected. I won’t write a review for this one here since it’s for my review job. I enjoyed it a lot, though, and would recommend it to those who liked Wild by Cheryl Strayed.
I’ve been getting to my reviews finally! My review of The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah went up on Monday. I thought this one was a little slow at times and it was hard for me to really get into it. I did like that it was set in the Dust Bowl and wasn’t The Grapes of Wrath. I gave it Three out of Five Stars. I also posted my review of A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin. I liked this book well enough, but I struggled with the fact that this is the final published book of the series! Knowing that colored my enjoyment a lot and I ended up giving it Three out of Five Stars because it was so hard to enjoy.
Reading next: I’ve got another book for review in the mail that I plan to start as soon as I can. It’s I Have a Love Story by Natalie MacMaster. I find it a bit hard to review memoirs, but I’m looking forward to learning about someone I haven’t heard of before. Based on the description, I’m guessing I’ve heard her play but not known who was creating the music.
Leave a comment with your link and comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.
Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.
I finally did it! I read the final ASoIaF book and I’m caught up with the rest of the world. I’ve now joined the legions of fans bitter that the show took a LOT of liberties with what happened after the source material and who are frustratedly waiting for the remaining books while fully accepting that they may not come. I can’t say this is a happy club to have joined.
Cover image via Amazon
A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire Book #5)
In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance—beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.
Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys’s claim to Westeros forever.
Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone—a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.
From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.
This is a hard one to review. The story itself was great- intriguing and full of fun twists while still moving forward. What I struggle with more than anything is that this seems to effectively be the end. There’s so much that hasn’t happened and it feels like the HBO show is the best I’ll ever get as far as closure and I’m not OK with that. This is a long book and a lot happens. But it’s not an ending and it feels like readers have been sidled with it as the best they’ll get.
Martin draws amazing characters. They’re very unique from each other and have unique values and motivations that make them all stand apart. The fact that he’s able to do this with such a large cast of characters is truly commendable. Just thinking of the difference between Jon and Cercei seems incredible.
Jon has always been my favorite character. I like how decisive he is and how he doesn’t let the opinions of others deter him from what he knows is right. There are times I think he makes brash decisions, but he shows remorse when he is wrong and strength to do what is right. He’s the kind of person I would want leading the Night’s Watch if I was a brother. This book highlighted his relationship with the Wildlings which was glossed over in the show and I enjoyed the deep dive into that.
It’s hard to relate to these characters. Living in a society where violence is so common and war is raging doesn’t resonate with me. Many of these characters are also in places of political influence and power which I have neve been. Despite this, I still can understand their motivations and values which shows how well crafted they are. Jon sees humanity in a group that has been ‘othered’ for years. Cersei wants to protect her son. These are common traits, but they’re magnified because of the position the characters hold.
George RR Martin Image via GeorgeRRMartin.com
I really enjoy Dany’s story in this book. I missed her in the prior book so it was great to see her journey again. She grows from a young girl to a woman in Meereen and I loved seeing her come into her own. She navigates those around her who do not have her best interests at heart and finds allies who can support her. The TV show has her turning into a very cold-hearted ruler but in this book, we still see the tenderness of a young girl starting to fortify with betrayal. I’d love to see how Martin develops her in future books and I hope the show isn’t the best we’ll get.
There wasn’t a part of this book that I particularly disliked, but I’m so frustrated that the end is still the middle of the series that I couldn’t enjoy the last 100ish pages of the book. I had a similar sense of dread at the end of A Feast for Crows thinking I wouldn’t hear from those characters again (and was shocked when Arya and Cersei showed up). It’s a general feeling of disappointment and anger at Martin for not delivering an ending to his fans. I fear for him that his legacy as ‘America’s Tolkien’ won’t endure if he’s unable to finish this series.
The audiobook was narrated by the amazing Roy Dotrice. He has done all the previous audiobooks and I cannot state enough times how amazing he is. With such a wide cast of characters, he finds a way to use his voice to keep them separate and engaging. I’m beyond crushed that Dotrice wasn’t able to finish the series before he passed in 2017. I think whoever picks up this series (should that happen) will have massive shoes to fill and I wish them luck with the comparisons to this behemoth that they will inevitably face.
Many of the characters faced harsh consequences in this book. Cersei was forced to atone for her relationship with Lancel, Jon faced the anger of his Brothers for how he worked with the Wildlings, Dany’s decision to stay in Meereen shook her hold on the region, and Tyrion had to watch his back at all times for what he did to his father. Consequences will catch up with you, no matter where you go. It’s refreshing to see characters brought low by consequences in the middle of a series and show that adversity is a setback, not an end.
Writer’s Takeaway:In the same vein, I think having such major setbacks for his characters in book five of what should be a seven book series shows amazing pacing by Martin. Cersei could be brought low by the High Sparrow, but she won’t let him break her. Her suffering shifts her and develops her, changing her priorities and enemies. It’s an amazing show of character development that needs an epic to achieve. If you’ve made it this far, it’s clear that I wish he’d finish this series himself instead of letting the showrunners wrap up the narrative. I think the rich detail Martin was able to inject into his story would give it a much more satisfying ending than a hurried final season was able to do.
While well written, this book is overshadowed by the fact that it’s the fifth book of an unfinished seven book series. That disappointment can’t be overcome. Three out of Five Stars.
This book will be used to fulfill the 1200-1499 time period of the 2026 When Are You Reading? Challenge as it’s meant to mimic the War of the Roses.
Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.
I’ve only read one Kristin Hannah book before and this seemed like a good choice to fill in some missing time periods of my When Are You Reading? Challenge. I read ebooks slowly, but I had a few bouts of insomnia that gave me middle-of-the-night reading time to finish this up. Then some accelerated reading while on vacation helped me wrap this up while the kids were falling asleep. eBook win!
Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows.
By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.
In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa―like so many of her neighbors―must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.
This book felt really slow to me for a long time. Elsa’s time on the farm seemed to drag forever as things got worse. It was hard to feel engaged with a character who seemed to be going through the motions. Things picked up once she left for California and I found myself picking the book up more often from there. Pacing aside, there was a lot to like about this book. I enjoyed depictions of the folks arriving in California and how they made lives from what they could find. It’s a time in US history that seems to be dominated to Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath in literature and this is a welcome addition and separate perspective.
Elsa felt a little flat at first but quickly grew on me. She’s a work horse and that’s not a character type that gets portrayed a lot in literature but it’s one I can relate to. I’m a working mom and I saw a lot of similarities to what I do daily and what Elsa did living on the farm with two young kids. It’s not exciting, but it’s real and when that reality was confronted with the Dust Bowl and migration, Elsa had to grow and change. I really enjoyed watching her develop.
Loreda was a wonderful character. She was the most dynamic person in the book and I loved seeing how her perspective shifted. She has heartbreaking loss early on and finds ways to shift her perspective and find her own strength. She’s brave, smart, and determined which contrasts well with Elsa’s quiet persistence.
I think a lot of mothers would relate to Elsa. She loves her children fiercely, even with they push back against her. She makes hard choices to make their lives better and works as hard as she can to give them every opportunity possible. I’m thankful I don’t live on a farm struggling during the Dust Bowl and I’m thankful to have a supportive spouse so my situation isn’t as dire as Elsa’s. I could understand what drove her to make the decisions she did and push herself to do what she needed to do.
Kristin Hannah Image via USA Today
I thought the story really picked up when Jack came into the picture. I started to see how things were finally going to change for Elsa’s family and how they could take control of their lives. There was so much suffering in the book so when there was finally hope as well the tone shifted to allow a glimpse of a brighter future.
It felt like the book dragged at times. This is a bit of a spoiler (but not for the shocking end!) so skip this paragraph if you want to avoid that. I thought the time Elsa waited before leaving for California got repetitive. I felt the same thing when they moved to the migrant camp. The book was able to emphasize how hard life was, but it felt like a little too much when the action of the book was beyond those two parts when Elsa finally took action to do something about her situation.
Struggle has been part of the American identity for the entire history of the country. We might not be struggling with drought and depression in the same ways today, but that struggle is still here. History remembers the changemakers and what they fought to do. I think that will be true today of our current struggles.
Writer’s Takeaway:Hannah has done a wonderful job of giving a depiction of the Dust Bowl. It’s clear she did a lot of research for this book. The only story I’m familiar with from this time is The Grapes of Wrath and I love having a woman’s story in this time that shows that unique struggle. Her ability to create a vivid picture of rural Texas farms and California cotton fields is commendable. It’s easy to see why Hannah is dominating the historical fiction field.
Overall enjoyable but a few slow spots dragged it down. Three out of Five Stars.
Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.
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?
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Currently reading: I’m getting close to returning to Women’s Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery. Maybe one more week? I didn’t do much with Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier either. I’m hoping this one picks up soon. I haven’t seen the movie so I have zero expectations. My Reading Buddy and I plan to meet tomorrow to talk about The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. I’m hoping to jump right back into this and race to the next stopping point as soon as I can! I’ve almost finished No Man’s Land by Becky Jensen and expect it to be off this list by next week! My deadline for the review isn’t until April 9th and it’s been nice not to feel rushed to finish.
Recently finished: I finished The Night Watch by Sarah Waters on my way home from work yesterday! This one got heavy at times and was a bit hard to listen to at parts, but I enjoyed it. The story moved backward in time and Waters was able to keep some mystery alive right until the end. For now, I’m giving this Four out of Five Stars. I’m several reviews behind so I’ll see if my thoughts change between now and when I finally get around to writing it.
Reading next: I already downloaded Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros and will be starting it today! It’s a dramatized read with a full cast and sound effects which sounds unlike anything else I’ve ever listened to. I’m excited and a bit nervous at the same time. I can’t wait to see how it goes!
Leave a comment with your link and comment (if you’re so inclined). Take a look at the other participant links in the comments and look at what others are reading.
Some of the links on this post may be affiliate links. Taking on a World of Words is a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to products. If you purchase a product or service through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but Sam will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated.
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