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’ve finally started reading American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, though I’ve only gotten about 30 pages in so far, covering two chapters, which is at least enough to make a distinct impression. So far, I’m a little worried that this will be a bit of slog. The first chapter was definitely more interesting, as we are introduced to some of the insufferable people Patrick Bateman keeps as company, himself included, to a lesser extent. A bunch of superficial jerks being superficial jerks, though I’m interested in how Patrick himself seems disillusioned by it while still being completely embroiled in it. The second chapter was so much about Patrick’s morning routine and all of the products he uses to maintain his looks, with which he’s obsessed. I’ve been told a lot of the book is focused on details like this, though I’m hoping it’s more tolerable as a whole throughout than it was in this chapter.

Recently Finished

Unlike last week, where I did not post because I had no real updates to share, I’ve engaged in veritable blitz of volumes of Berserk by Kentaro Miura. I read four of them in total—38, 39, 40, and 41—which has caught me up completely with the volumes currently published in English. It’s a bittersweet completion, however, as volume 41 marked the last manuscript penned by Miura himself before his untimely passing. This volume was especially enjoyable, full of touching moments and heartache, as the characters are finally at a perfect place for quiet introspection and more restful growth. Volumes had been consistently good up until this point, but a little unremarkable; 41 had exceptional payoff to the characters’ hard-fought journey, with substantial emotional stakes added to keep things compelling. It also included a bombshell of an ending that has me eager for more, if we do indeed get a continuation of this story in some way.

I also finished reading Springfield Confidential by Mike Reiss over the weekend, and my enthusiasm for it kind of tapered off by the ending. I think this was due to the fact that at a certain point, I’m not sure when, the focus seemed to shift away from The Simpsons too much. Especially in the final chapters, this book became about Mike Reiss’s career, and we get quite a lot of information on his work after departing from the show for a while. It still managed to hold more interest for the most part, but I did not pick up this book to read about Mike Reiss. I picked up this book to read about production on The Simpsons. When it’s talking about that, it’s quite good. A lot of it doesn’t talk about that, and it ultimately suffers a little as a result. Reiss’s writing style came off as increasingly hacky the further I got too, which hurt it more so.

Reading Next

Right now, I don’t have especially concrete plans on what I want to read next. Finishing Berserk was a big deal for me, and I think I want a little breather from comics after pushing through those last four volumes. I do have some ideas about what book I want to pick up next, but I need to properly get into a groove with American Psycho first before I can look that far ahead.

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