WWW Wednesdays

It's time for WWW Wednesdays hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words

  

This mid-weekly meme consists of answering The Three Ws:

What are you currently reading?

 What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

I'm reading . . .

 

I borrowed an ARC of this book, which will be published this September, from a librarian friend.  It is a suspenseful read that hooked me immediately.  More from Goodreads.

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I finished reading . . .

I didn't expect to, but I fell completely in love with the oddball called Ove.  On the surface, Ove is a stickler for details, unsociable, ornery, and set in his ways.  As the story unfolds, however,  the details of the trials and traumas Ove has suffered over the years give insight into what has shaped his character.  When it appears that Ove can no longer endure the sadness and losses of his life, encounters with his new neighbors and a stray cat lead to unexpected friendships and give new meaning to Ove's life.  This novel, filled with dark humor and unforgettable characters, is ultimately uplifting and profound.  More from Goodreads.

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I'm reading next . . .

 

This mystery, described as a dark and gothic tale, is very popular at the library.  It took a while to get my hands on a copy.  More from Goodreads.

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I'm waiting for . . .

 

Publisher:  St. Martin's Press

Publication Date:  November 22, 2016

From barnesandnoble.com:  "They think I am still a little girl who is not capable of being a Queen.”

Lord Melbourne turned to look at Victoria. “They are mistaken. I have not known you long, but I observe in you a natural dignity that cannot be learnt. To me, ma’am, you are every inch a Queen.”

In 1837, less than a month after her eighteenth birthday, Alexandrina Victoria – sheltered, small in stature, and female – became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Many thought it was preposterous: Alexandrina — Drina to her family — had always been tightly controlled by her mother and her household, and was surely too unprepossessing to hold the throne. Yet from the moment William IV died, the young Queen startled everyone: abandoning her hated first name in favor of Victoria; insisting, for the first time in her life, on sleeping in a room apart from her mother; resolute about meeting with her ministers alone.

One of those ministers, Lord Melbourne, became Victoria’s private secretary. Perhaps he might have become more than that, except everyone argued she was destined to marry her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. But Victoria had met Albert as a child and found him stiff and critical: surely the last man she would want for a husband….

Drawing on Victoria’s diaries as well as her own brilliant gifts for history and drama, Daisy Goodwin, author of the bestselling novels The American Heiress and The Fortune Hunter as well as creator and screenwriter of the new PBS/Masterpiece drama Victoria, brings the young queen even more richly to life in this magnificent novel.

What are your Wednesday updates?

WWW Wednesdays was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution. Retweeting and sharing on Google+ are appreciated.  

WWW Wednesdays

It's time for WWW Wednesdays hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words

  

This weekly meme consists of answering The Three Ws:

What are you currently reading?

 What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

I'm reading . . .

 

I'm reading this book with two of my book clubs. Ove is an oddball of sorts who is currently at a crossroads in life.  More from Goodreads.

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I finished reading . . .

 

Sad to say, but for me this book just didn't live up to the hype.  The characters, of which there were many, didn't engage me and I couldn't connect with the lifestyle and customs of the village.

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I'm reading next . . .

 

This is another book club read, and one I'm eager to begin.  More from Goodreads.

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What I'm Waiting For . . .

 

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Publication Date:  September 20, 2016

From barnesandnoble.com:  In Emma Donoghue's latest masterpiece, an English nurse brought to a small Irish village to observe what appears to be a miracle-a girl said to have survived without food for months-soon finds herself fighting to save the child's life.

Tourists flock to the cabin of eleven-year-old Anna O'Donnell, who believes herself to be living off manna from heaven, and a journalist is sent to cover the sensation. Lib Wright, a veteran of Florence Nightingale's Crimean campaign, is hired to keep watch over the girl.

Written with all the propulsive tension that made Room a huge bestseller, The Wonder works beautifully on many levels—a tale of two strangers who transform each other's lives, a powerful psychological thriller, and a story of love pitted against evil.

What are your Wednesday updates?

WWW Wednesdays was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution. Retweeting and sharing on Google+ are appreciated.  

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . .

                                                      

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea, where bloggers post the first paragraph(s) of a book they are currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.

Today I'm featuring A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman, which I am reading with one of my book clubs.

 

Goodreads Page

1

A Man Called Ove Buys a Computer That is Not a Computer

Ove is fifty-nine. 

He drives a Saab.  He's the kind of man who points at people he doesn't like the look of, as if they were burglars and his forefinger a policeman's torch.  He stands at the counter of a shop where owners of Japanese cars come to purchase white cables.  Ove eyes the sales assistant for a long time before shaking a medium-sized white box at him.

What do you think?  Would you continue reading?   

My first impression of Ove is that he is lacking in social skills and doesn't care what others think.  As I read on, I'm learning what makes him tick.  For years he has been a stickler for rules and life alone is getting to be too much for him.   But his recent interactions with a stray cat and new neighbors may just change his outlook on life.

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution. Retweeting and sharing on Google+ are appreciated. 

WWW Wednesdays

It's time for WWW Wednesdays hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words

  

This weekly meme consists of answering The Three Ws:

What are you currently reading?

 What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

I'm reading . . .

After hearing so much about this book, I was pleased when it was selected by one of my book groups for discussion this month.   More from Goodreads.

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I finished reading . . .

 

  

When I saw this book's title at BEA this year, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy.  It sounded like the perfect summer read, and I had a hunch that it would be the perfect vacation take along.   My instincts were right.

While the title is what originally attracted me, the characters and realistic life situations had me fully engaged from start to end.  Brimming with laugh-out-loud one-liners and dialogue, Garvin finds the humor in life's messiness, unfairness, and relationships gone wrong.  This novel is immensely enjoyable and fully captures the intricacies of contemporary life.

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I'm reading next . . .

This is another book club read.  More from Goodreads.

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I'm waiting for . . . 

 

Publisher:  Penguin Publishing Group

Publication Date:  September 6, 2016

 

 

From barnesandnoble.com:  As Paris teeters on the edge of the German occupation, a young French woman closes the door to her late grandmother’s treasure-filled apartment, unsure if she’ll ever return.  

 

An elusive courtesan, Marthe de Florian cultivated a life of art and beauty, casting out all recollections of her impoverished childhood in the dark alleys of Montmartre. With Europe on the brink of war, she shares her story with her granddaughter Solange Beaugiron, using her prized possessions to reveal her innermost secrets. Most striking of all are a beautiful string of pearls and a magnificent portrait of Marthe painted by the Italian artist Giovanni Boldini. As Marthe’s tale unfolds, like velvet itself, stitched with its own shadow and light, it helps to guide Solange on her own path.  

Inspired by the true account of an abandoned Parisian apartment, Alyson Richman brings to life Solange, the young woman forced to leave her fabled grandmother’s legacy behind to save all that she loved.

What are your Wednesday updates?

WWW Wednesdays was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution. Retweeting and sharing on Google+ are appreciated.