Wow, it’s been over 10 months since I last did a WWW Wednesday post! I (mostly) stopped doing meme posts about that long ago to free up more reading time and reduce stress about posting. However, I want to join in again this week because I have a bunch of books I’ve read for which I don’t plan to write reviews.

WWW Wednesday was revived and hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. The idea is to answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses.

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Currently Reading

I have quite a few books started, but I’m mostly focusing on these three. And, to be quite honest, I’ve paused a bit on SOUNDINGS.

HOW HERBS HEALED THE WORLD by Connor Smith: This is an ARC out on July 4. It’s a compendium of several-page-length blurbs about various herbs. It goes over poisons, herbs used by indigenous people, herbs used in cooking, etc. I’m not too far into it yet, about 10%.

GAY THE PRAY AWAY by Natalie Naudus: When I saw my library system had a bunch of audiobook copies of this, I jumped on it. Natalie is known as an audiobook narrator and decided to write her own book drawn from some of her own experiences (if I’m remember correctly). It follows a teenage girl who finds a queer book in the library and begins to realize she’s in a cult. I’m about 50% through this and think it’s great.

SOUNDINGS by Doreen Cunningham: Billed as a “memoir of motherhood, love, and resilience, a woman and her toddler son follow the grey whale migration from Mexico to northernmost Alaska.” At about 60% through, I like this book, but it’s going a bit slowly for me. It’s partly about climate change, partly about how the indigenous people of Alaska hunt for whales, and partly about trying to find herself again after hitting a hard spot in life.

Recently Finished

RESISTANCE WOMEN by Jennifer Chiaverini: Though I own a physical copy of this, I opted to listen to it as an audiobook. This is a WWII historical fiction that follows three women–one American, one German, and one Jewish–as they risk their lives to collect information about the Nazis. I especially appreciated the Author’s Note at the end where I learned most of the people Chiaverini wrote about are real. It’s really a story about how ordinary people did what they could to help take down Nazi rule. It seemed well researched.

YOU ARE HERE by David Nicholls: Look at me, I bought a new release and read it right away! I was craving something with more human connection and this has that. It’s essentially about two people who embark on a coast-to-coast walk across England. These two lonely people start to open up to each other and to new experiences.

EXIT WEST by Mohsin Hamid: This is another book I have a physical copy of, but listened to on audiobook. I’m glad I did because I’m not sure I would’ve finished it otherwise. Set in the Middle East, Nadia and Saeed meet each other just as unrest hits their unnamed city. I liked the beginning and the unique way Hamid wrote his characters. But I kind of lost a little interest when he threw in some magical realism. At its heart, though, it shows how being uprooted changes the relationships you have with others.

Reading Next

The two books I want to focus on next are POISON IN THEIR HEARTS and HOW TO BECOME THE DARK LORD AND DIE TRYING.

The former just came out in the US and while I wanted to request it on NetGalley, the publisher never put it up for whatever reason. And it’s a trilogy finale! So I borrowed it from my library.

Orbit sent me a complimentary copy of HOW TO BECOME THE DARK LORD AND DIE TRYING. I meant to read it this month, but I really needed a break and reset from fantasy. So I spent most of the month reading other genres.

What’s on your WWW Wednesday?