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 decided to pick another book from my winter TBR list and finally started reading Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes, a nonfiction book discussing women from Greek mythology, both how they are represented in the surviving art and literature from ancient times and how they have been depicted in more modern times. So far, I’ve only read the first chapter, on Pandora herself, and I am really enjoying this book. As much as I love Greek mythology, reading some texts about it can be unfortunately dry, but Haynes’s writing style reads like an engaging lecture, so it’s been easy to hang onto every word. It’s also reminding me about details I’ve sadly forgotten from my university days, as I’ve read Hesiod before but had no recollection of his depiction of Pandora, especially the idea that she’s supposed to be the first woman. I’ve come away learning/relearning so much already.
Recently Finished
Last week, I read through Bomb by Steve Sheinkin and Nick Bertozzi, a graphic novel telling the story of the Manhattan Project’s creation of the atomic bomb and the network of spies working to steal their plans for the USSR. As I had been worried about last week, this book very much was more of a Middle Grade read, although considering some of the language choices perhaps YA would be more appropriate. In any case, the target audience didn’t matter, as it made for a rather good (if simplified) telling of a world-changing development in world history. Most notably, funnily enough, I’ve never come away from something understanding how a nuclear bomb works better than I did with this book. It’s written for younger readers, so that tracks, but perhaps it should always be explained a little like this, since adulthood doesn’t magically make nuclear physics any easier.
Earlier this week, I also finished reading Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel, the second book in the Themis Files trilogy. Something changed in my feelings toward this book as I was getting further through it last week. Though I still have some ambivalence towards certain aspects of the story, the real gravity of the threat that humanity was facing started to take hold as I realized that, like the first book, this novel about people piloting a giant alien robot isn’t really about piloting a giant robot. I still came away from this book finding it weaker than the first one, but it also gives such a stark and dismal look at facing an all-powerful alien threat, with some great hard science thrown in as the characters try to understand the threat before them and how to deal with it, that I got a lot more invested by the end. The ending felt unfortunately more like a tacked-on sequel hook than a satisfying ending, but I’m hoping that the third one ends things on a high note.
Reading Next
The book I read next will likely be We Stand on Guard by Brian K. Vaughn and Steve Skroce, a graphic novel about a group of Canadian civilians turned freedom fighters defending their country from invasion by the US, who are equipped with giant, robotic war machines. I don’t feel like I’m on a giant robot kick, but it’s starting to look like I am. I’ve actually been meaning to read this for a while, and recent events have reminded me of this book’s existence, so I thought now would be as good a time as any to take it out of the library and give it a read.
Until next time, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.
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