WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog! Feel free to leave a link to your own down below as well.
The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Currently Reading
I’m still making my way through The Buying of Lot 37 by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, which I’m continuing to enjoy. The most recent episode I read through was great because it was the first episode to ever mention the character of Jackie Fierro, one of the protagonists of the Welcome to Night Vale novel that did not come out until another year after the episode in question was originally released. A wonderful insight was provided in the introduction to the episode, where Fink talks about how they’d already written hundreds of pages about Jackie for the novel before her introduction here, but it was still a year away from being published. It was a peak behind the curtain I really enjoyed.
So, last week we all wondered together what novel I’d pick up next. I hadn’t even decided yet myself. Well surprise! It is a Star Wars book. I’ve been reading Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson, a novel that gives an origin story to a character who stands out yet remains mysterious and unfortunately underused in the new Star Wars trilogy. I’m actually loving how different of a story is being presented here. The frame narrative is about a rival Captain in the First Order named Cardinal interrogating a Resistance spy for information he can use against Phasma. This spy, in turn, tells tales of Phasma’s life on the harsh planet she grew up on. I love how intimate the frame setting is, as well as the presentation of the distinct society that Phasma was a part of.
Recently Finished
Over the weekend I finished reading The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. I really loved this novel. A lot of classic science fiction is respectable for the ideas they introduced, by a bit of a letdown for me when I actually read them. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, however, which presents an alien invasion as more of a moral dilemma and less clear-cut. While certain developments feel inevitable, one cannot help but be left with the sense that a great failing in human (and perhaps inhuman) nature led to such things. I couldn’t help but imagine how the Doctor (Doctor Who) might have sorted that problem. She’d have know what to do. I should have a review up before the end of the week.
I also read Sabrina by Nick Drnaso, which I borrowed from my local library. When I first heard about the book it was in a video discussing how the book is, broadly speaking, a hard look at what life in our time is like, especially with the rise of social media and the notion of “fake news” infecting the discourse about daily events. More specifically put, this book is titled after a fictional young woman who gets abducted and murdered, a video tape of her execution being sent to various media sources soon after. It was a powerfully evocative read that I won’t soon forget. It was the first graphic novel to ever make it onto the longlist for the Man Booker prize.
Reading Next
With as much as I have on my plate with reading right now I don’t have any plans for what to read next. The future is but a track being freshly laid before a train already in motion. I also struggle for consciousness; night shifts can be rough, my friends.
Until next week, thank you for reading. Feel free to share your posts below.
Muse with Me 
I loved the John Wyndham too even though I am not generally a fan of science fiction.
I’ve enjoyed every book of his I’ve read so far, which is rare for me with older sci-fi like this. I do like H. G. Wells, for instance, but a few of his books have left a lot to be desired upon completion.
I don’t know Wells so much, beyond obviously the very famous ones
Enjoy your reading!
(www.evelynreads.com)
Sabrina sounds absolutely fascinating but I think it could be a little too powerful for me. I do think I should try to read more classic sci fi and fantasy.
If this helps, the actual abduction and murder are not depicted in Sabrina. It deals much more with how people are dealing with it her disappearance and subsequent murder. It can get quite intense, but in a more subdued, tonal way rather than with its visuals.
Drum roll, please. And the winner is Star Wars! Which, I mean, of course it is. 😛 Sabrina sounds like an interesting, but difficult, read. I’m gonna have to look into that one.
To be fair, the last Star Wars novel I read was back in March 😛 A pretty predictable pick for me nonetheless, but it is on my 2019 to-read list, so I’m not just lollygagging.
I’m impressed that you have a 2019 TBR and are actually sticking to it. xD My TBRs seem to go out the window, like, five days after I make them. 😛
When in doubt, Star Wars always gets my vote! I really appreciate you linking to Goodreads because I could so quickly add The Buying of Lot 37 which looks awesome. How long have you been working nightshift? I remember my brain being like mush when worked nights.
Have a great week!
Welcome to Night Vale is pretty great, though Lot 37 is the third volume, so you may want to start at volume one: Mostly Void, Partially Stars.
I’ve been working nights for the past 4 years. I actually deal with them quite well for the most part, just the other morning was after a series of shorter sleeps that left me more wiped out.
4 years?!? Wow. I was a complete zombie so I am in awe.
I will start with Mostly Void, Partially Stars – thank you! I bet volume three would have been a hard place to start.
I’m a total Star Wars fan, but I’ve never read any of the books. I’m sure I’d enjoy them, but just need more hours in the day!
I know what you mean, though the new canon of books has made it a lot more doable than before. Fortunately, it is easy to be choosy with them too. I would recommend Bloodline by Claudia Gray as a great place to start, or even just as a one-off read. It’s excellent.