(WWW Wednesdays is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading.)
To play along just answer the following three questions:
- What did you recently finish reading?
- What are you currently reading?
- What do you think you’ll read next?
Recently finished
I was glad to be done with Deerskin. It was extremely well written and beautiful, but had some really tough subject matter. But I’m glad I read it.
Currently reading
I’m halfway through Right Ho, Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse. I haven’t giggled out loud while reading in a long time, and several times I’ve read bits and pieces out loud to Best Friend. I don’t think he thinks it’s as funny as I do. 🙂
Coming up next
Decisions, decisions. How about The Pox Party, the first in M.T. Anderson’s The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation series?
Have you read any of these books? Share your reviews with me!
While Octavian Nothing took a while to grow on me, sleeper-style, I must say that it’s one of the most memorable books of this decade in my reading life. Its seething commentary on “Enlightenment science” aside, Anderson’s historical saga digs into one’s psyche and stays. And the language prompts us to remember that we live in an impoverished age, word-wise. I read the second book the moment it came out and found it fascinating too.
And thank you for weighing in on The Last Werewolf. I’m a third through and still finding it intriguing, but I’ll let you know how I feel when I’m done. I’ll tread tentatively after your fore-warnings!
I’m enjoying Octavian Nothing, although it’s slow going because there’s a lot of metaphysics/philosophy going on, which is not my forte. But it’s good so far, and I’m interested in seeing how it goes. Hopefully the social commentary is balanced a bit by some other stuff.
I kinda sorta liked The Last Werewolf. The writing was amazing, but I wish the author hadn’t been so heavy-handed with the “main character is a monster” metaphors/examples. It felt gratuitous at several points. I do hope you enjoy it, though. And yes, definitely let me know how you like it!
Oooh! I’m wanting to read Octavian Nothing quite badly…it’s sitting on my shelves so patiently. And I understand your sentiments toward Deerskin, I also liked the story but rape/incest is seriously tough to read about.
I’m liking Octavian Nothing so far, but it’s a bit slow-going when it comes to the philosophy stuff. But there’s a good balance of forward action that internal babbling so far. I just found out the first big twist, so I’m really interested in seeing where it’s going to go.
Deerskin had some incredibly good writing, but like you said, it was at times incredibly tough to read. I admit I skimmed at several points, because I could see where it was heading and knew I wouldn’t be able to stomach it. Sometimes “talking head” stories—where it’s just one character, and it’s in third person, and there’s not much interaction with other characters—can be boring, but McKinley pulled it off brilliantly. And of course who couldn’t love Ash?