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

Last week I hadn’t made enough progress for a good update, but in the two weeks since my last WWW post I’ve managed to read quite a lot more of Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. At writing, I sit at 367 pages in, or a little over half way. I’ve certainly been having mixed feelings about starting the year with this book, as for a good while I found it frightfully dull reading. It wasn’t until about the 300-page mark that I started to feel a growing appreciation for it. I suppose I just had to adjust to its voice, and staying committed has paid off. The plot is surprisingly scant, as this really is mostly about whaling; I’d been told this, but I sorely underestimated how much this was about whaling and cetology of the time, as well as talking trash about poor depictions of whales in art. Highlights from recent chapters include an encounter with a giant squid, which was surprisingly naturalistic, and the haunting description of sailors who have fallen overboard in the Arctic being found later frozen in ice flows “as a fly is found glued in amber.”

---

Recently Finished

Yesterday, I decided to set Moby-Dick aside briefly and finally read through Teeth by Dallas Hunt, a Canadian book of poetry. I’ve said it many times before, but I always have a bit of trouble with poetry, especially in retaining what I’ve read. I really don’t know what my issue is, but I try to read some when a book catches my eye anyway to keep my horizons broadened. This book is mostly written in a free verse style, which I appreciate a lot as I find it to be accessible. One that I especially enjoyed had Hunt venting frustration with the expectations of poetry and literature written by Indigenous authors and the cliches therein. It reminded me of how, even when trying to be supportive of a marginalized group, it is important not to forget they deal with the same mundane tribulations as anybody else.

---

Reading Next

I finally got 2120 by George Wylesol from the library after it being on order since September, so I’m likely going to be reading that soon. I’m really intrigued by it, but part of me is a little apprehensive about the choose-your-own-adventure aspects of it, as I’m a little worried it will feel more like a gimmick.

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