WWW Wednesday is a tag currently hosted at Taking on A World of Words. The three W’s are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Happy Wednesday, everyone!
I hope you had a lovely March! This past week has been a little bit busy as I’m preparing for my next certification exam. However, it seems like I’ve been able to read plenty regardless! We’ve had quite a few warm days and I tend to be fine with making that an excuse to take a break and read outside for a bit 😅 Here’s what I ended up reading this week!
Currently Reading:
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Before the Coffee Gets Cold takes place in a small cafe in Japan that has been serving coffee for over a hundred years, plus the opportunity to travel to the past. The story follows four characters who take up the cafe’s orders. However, the cafe works under several conditions: customers must sit in the same seat, they must not leave the cafe, and they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold.
This book has been on my radar for some time now, and after finding out Emma from Words and Peace was reading it too she invited me to do a buddy read. This is definitely picking up for me! We have Part 4 left, and I’ve been enjoying the different characters’ stories and the unique way this book is written.
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Silmarillion is a posthumously-published collection of stories and legends that far predate the events of The Hobbit.
I’m not too far into this so far, but I’m enjoying the expansion of our knowledge of the world from the original trilogy. While part of me wishes I finished this when I was in my major fantasy world, I’m also happy I waited a bit after finishing the trilogy to pick this one up.
Recently Read:
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
These Violent Delights is a Romeo and Juliet retelling that takes place in 1926 Shanghai. It follows Juliette Cai, a former flapper who resumes her role as heir of the Scarlet Gang. Their only rivals are the White Flowers, whose heir, Roma Montagov, was Juliette’s first love and betrayal. But as both gangs become unstable and the death toll climbs, Juliette and Roma must put their grudges aside and work together before the city they compete for crumbles before their eyes.
This was so good! This book is not only a retelling but mixes in historical fiction, mystery, monster horror, and romance all in one. I’m looking forward to reading the conclusion this fall!
Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel
Only Human is the third and final book in the Themis Files trilogy. As a child, Rose Franklin discovered a giant metal hand that she would research as an adult, continuing to discover the rest of the body parts that formed Themis. Her and her team protected the Earth from global conflict and alien invasion. After ten years in another world, Rose returns to find the planet in shambles.
While I did enjoy this book overall, I honestly think this conclusion was the weakest book in the trilogy. I liked the exploration of the aftermath of life on Earth, but I think it would have been better overall if the mixed media aspect of this book was executed differently to connect with the character’s emotions a little more.
Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn
Here Comes the Sun is a story set in Jamaica following Margot, who is sending her younger sister to school in order for her to avoid the same fate that Margot had. When plans for a new hotel threaten their village, Margot sees it as not only an opportunity for financial independence, but also to admit her love for another woman. With the struggles that women in their community continue to face, each of them must face their own past in order pave their own paths to freedom.
I ended up reading the second half of this book all in one sitting. There are so many elements of this book that could be discussed for hours and hours, and I found myself absolutely absorbed by all of the characters’ lives and the story. I definitely recommend this one!
Up Next:
This is for Tonight by Jessica Patrick
This is for Tonight follows Andi Kennedy, who’s trying to grow her YouTube channel so she can pay for college. Her goal is to head to the Cabazon Valley Music and Arts Festival to film an interview with a famous band. But she finds herself competing for the spot with Jay Bankar, the annoying host of a popular prank channel. But as their competition grows, Andi finds a growing connection to him where she’ll have to decide what’s more important.
Thank you to Fierce Reads for the review copy! I may have ended up with a decent-sized ARC pile to review, so I’m kicking off April with one of them. With all of the SFF and hard-hitting contemporaries I’ve been reading lately, I’m looking forward to reading something a little bit lighter.
WWW Wednesday: 3/24/21
WWW Wednesday is a tag currently hosted at Taking on A World of Words. The three W’s are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
WWW Wednesday: 3/17/21
WWW Wednesday is a tag currently hosted at Taking on A World of Words. The three W's are: What are you currently reading?What did you recently finish reading?What do you think you’ll read next? Happy Wednesday, everyone! This week has been a bit of a diversion from...
WWW Wednesday: 3/10/21
WWW Wednesday is a tag currently hosted at Taking on A World of Words. The three W’s are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
You know, I was never able to get into The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. I tried a few times ions ago but I couldn’t seem to get very far. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts when you finish. Maybe they will inspire me to try again 🙂
Thank you! It’s definitely something I’ve decided to take slow as well. I’m into deep worldbuilding stuff so it could just be a me thing but I’ve definitely had to slow down on it!
All of your books look so good! Thanks for sharing, and here’s MY WWW POST
Thank you! They’ve all been great reads so far.
I am definitely putting Here Comes the Sun on my TBR and probably recommending it to my international book club. So many other great reads on your list too! Have a great week! My WWW: https://greatmorrisonmigration.wordpress.com/2021/03/31/www-wednesdays-march-31-2021/
Ooh, great! I hope you enjoy it if you and your book club reads it! It’s definitely a great book for a book club discussion.
I enjoyed The Themis Files series, but I agree the last was probably my least favorite. Happy Reading! https://teripolen.com/2021/03/31/www-wednesday-what-am-i-reading-amreading-52/
Thank you! It was definitely an interesting series overall. I think my favorite was actually the second one which is rare for me!
I need to take the plunge into this one by Tolkien.
These Violent Delights sounds like such an intriguing mix of genres!
I loved a lot the first book by Neuvel, but I was disappointed by book 2, so I decided not to try book 3, which is confirmed by your opinion of it.
It was interesting how it kind of declined over time. I did like it overall but I don’t feel like mixed media was the best fit for it!
By the way good luck for your certification exam. What area is it in, if I may ask?
Thank you! It’s for Salesforce. I just passed my Admin and I’m studying for the Platform Developer exam.
I really need to jump on the These Violent Delights bandwagon and get to it some day. Hope you have a fabulous week of reading!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it if you do decide to pick it up!