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!
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 still haven’t finished The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas yet, but I’m currently at page 1005, so it really feels like I’m in the home stretch now. I actually endeavoured to hit the 1000-page mark before October, since I’ve taken a brief hiatus from reading it so I can pick up some horror novels instead for the Halloween season. At this point in the story, the Count has almost completely fulfilled his revenge against Fernand, or so it seems, with his plans deviating in one crucial way due the intervention of Mercedes. I really enjoyed the scene where she confronts him, revealing she knew he was Edmond the second she first heard him speak. It’s a scene I’d been anticipating for many chapters and I found it struck like lightning, and it was very satisfying. I also appreciate that it seems their relationship will not be rekindled, though their affection for each other is as strong as it was. The damage has been done and there is no going back, and I like this poignant approach to it. I hope it stays this way by the end.
I’ve already started my second Halloween read for this year, which is A Lush and Seething Hell by John Hornor Jacobs, containing two novella-sized tales of cosmic horror. The foreword by Chuck Wendig hypes up Jacobs considerably in a way that caught me off guard a little; though this book caught my attention some time ago and I recall it being well liked, Jacobs is not an author I hear talked about all that much. Starting the first story, however, his talent as an author is very apparent. Especially compared to my most recently finished book, I found myself immediately immersed in the prose of the first story in this book. So far, I’m rather enjoying the cosmic horror elements too, evoking a bit of The King in Yellow to me so far, and I hope it pays off well.
Recently Finished
Though I didn’t quite finish it ahead of October, on the first of the month I finished reading Calypso by David Sedaris. Though full of the usual humour and wit, I enjoyed this book for its more poignant tone and he reflected a lot on loss and aging among members of his family, framed around a lot of time spent at a summer beach home called the Sea Section. It’s a bit sobering that I still regard this in my mind as one of his more recent essay collections, which is more or less true, but it’s already eight years old, and so much has happened since it came out. I wonder what he might have to say about the pandemic, for example. I’m not sure if I want to pick up his latest collection of essays or dip back to an older one I haven’t read yet.
Over just a couple of reading sessions, to kick of my selection of horror books, I read A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck, a novella about a Mormon man who dies of brain cancer and finds himself condemned to a Zoroastrian hell where he must search a literal Library of Babel to find the book containing his life story, without errors. Initially, I had a bit of trouble getting into the story, as I found the prose to be somewhat awkward at first, but I adjusted rather quickly and got really absorbed in it. Although some sequences do become horrific and violent, the most effective part of it was the existential dread it instilled in me. I found myself actually trying to bargain a little on the character’s behalf and reason a way out of his nigh-insurmountable task. I highly recommend checking it out, especially considering how quick of a read it is.
Reading Next
What I read next depends on how quickly I can finish A Lush and Seething Hell. If it ends up dragging out a little bit into the month, I will prioritize reading Angel Down by Daniel Kraus. Otherwise, if I feel I have enough time, I’m going to start reading Night Shift by Stephen King, since it’s been a while since I read one of his short story collections. Also, I have a couple of graphic novels from the library that I want to read too. First up, which I may have finished by next week, is Bad Dreams in the Night by Adam Ellis, a collection of horror stories. I’ve actually already read his second collection of stories, so I’m technically reading these out of order, but they’re standalone tales so I don’t believe that’s going to matter.
Until next time, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.
