WWW Wednesday – October 7, 2026

October 7, 2026 RyanLeave a comment

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.

WWW Wednesday – September 9, 2026

September 9, 2026 Ryan4 Comments

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 continue in my endeavour to read The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I’ve made good, steady progress over the past couple weeks the the tune of 222 pages, though I fear this pace still won’t be enough to get it done before October. I may need to pause my reading when that month rolls around so that I can properly observe the Halloween season, which I refuse to skip. The drama and intrigue has built up considerably, as the titular Count has debuted in the aristocratic circles of Paris. His brief reunion with Mercedes was especially compelling, and it’s clear she already suspects who he really is. I wonder how long before the mask slips, if at all, and he reveals that he used to be the poor, condemned Edmond. I only wish I was better at keeping track of names; at a few points I was confused over who was who and whether somebody was supposed to be dead or not. There are just so many titles and honorifics used interchangeably with names.

I’ve read some more of Calypso by David Sedaris; I continue to enjoy it but don’t have much more to say about it.

Recently Finished

Still nothing, sadly.

Reading Next

I’m still planning to read the first volume of Absolute Martian Manhunter by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez that I got from the library, especially since it’s due back soon, I just need to set aside some time for it.

Until next time, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – August 26, 2026

August 26, 2026 RyanLeave a comment

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’m still plucking away at The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, but I’ve carved out some time for it so I’m actually making progress a little more consistently. This progress is slow, but hey, it’s better than a week or more passing with hardly any time made for it. I’m sitting at page 456 now, which isn’t crazy progress (about 156 pages), but it’s a lot better than only 80 after a couple weeks last time I wrote. The story hit a bit of a speed bump for me over the last few chapters, as focus shifted to two young French aristocrats palling around in Rome. I can appreciate how this shift is used to craft a mystique around a more worldly Edmond, now styling himself almost exclusively and enigmatically as the Count of Monte Cristo, but it took a little while for me to care about these new characters and their points of view. I came around on it all eventually, however, and it’s becoming clearer how his revenge plot may be in motion.

A couple weekends ago I went to the beach with some friends, where I actually managed to start reading something (I’m terrible at actually making myself read when I travel anywhere). The book I started is Calypso by David Sedaris. It’s been a long time since I’ve read one of his essay collections, and while some other books of his have appeared on my radar lately, I bought this copy all the way back during the pandemic (to help keep a local bookshop in business), so I really need to read this one before I think about picking up any others. I keep thinking this is one of his newer ones, which is technically true and was true when I bought it, but it’s 8 years old now. What is it with time?

Recently Finished

Nothing this week!

Reading Next

Though I’m still committed to focusing much of my energy on Monte Cristo, the copy of the first volume of Absolute Martian Manhunter by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez that I reserved at the library came in, so I’m going to make myself read that fairly soon. Though I don’t have much of any history reading this character, I’ve gotten the impression that it’s Weird in a way that I’m going to like a lot more than some of the other Absolute books. Hopefully I can write an update on how that reading goes next week.