WWW Wednesday: 12 September 2018

Published on by Margaret

IMG_1384-0

WWW Wednesday is run by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

I’m currently reading:

The Clockmaker’s DaughterI’m reading Kate Morton’s latest book, The Clockmaker’s Daughter due to be published on 20th September 2018. I’m enjoying it very much so far. It’s set in the 1860s at Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames where a group of young artists led by Edward Radcliffe are spending the summer and also in 2017 with Elodie, a young archivist in London, who finds a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist’s sketchbook containing the drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river. It’s a story of murder, mystery and thievery, of art, love and loss.

East of Eden

I’m also reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck. It’s the story of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly re-enact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel. I like Steinbeck’s writing, particularly the opening description of the Salinas Valley in California, but so far I’ve not found the book as absorbing as The Grapes of Wrath, which I loved, but then I’ve only read up to page 125 (612 pages in total) and am just getting used to the leisurely pace of the novel.

I’ve recently finished:  

Wedlock: How Georgian Britain’s Worst Husband Met His Match by Wendy Moore, non fiction about Mary Eleanor Bowes who was the richest heiress in 18th century Britain. She fell under the spell of a handsome Irish soldier, Andrew Robinson Stoney and found herself trapped in an appallingly brutal marriage, terrorised by violence, humiliation, deception and kidnap, and fearful for her life. It’s full of detail and reads more like a novel than non-fiction .

Dead Woman Walking

Another book I’ve finished recently is Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton. I loved it – very clever plotting, great characters and set in an area of Northumberland that I know quite well (a bonus). It begins with a balloon flight that ends in disaster and only Jessica survives as the balloon crashes to the ground, but she is pursued by a man who is determined to kill her. I love this kind of book, full of suspense and surprises and one that draws me within its pages.

My next book could be:

Cold Earth (Shetland Island, #7)

Ann Cleeves’ 7th book in her Shetland series, Cold Earth because I really want to read her 8th book, Wild Fire which was published last week, only to discover that I haven’t read Cold Earth yet!

Synopsis

In the dark days of a Shetland winter, torrential rain triggers a landslide that crosses the main Lerwick-Sumburgh road and sweeps down to the sea.

At the burial of his old friend Magnus Tait, Jimmy Perez watches the flood of mud and peaty water smash through a croft house in its path. Everyone thinks the croft is uninhabited, but in the wreckage he finds the body of a dark-haired woman wearing a red silk dress. In his mind, she shares his Mediterranean ancestry and soon he becomes obsessed with tracing her identity.

Then it emerges that she was already dead before the landslide hit the house. Perez knows he must find out who she was, and how she died.

Have you read any of these books?  Do any of them tempt you? 

34 thoughts on “WWW Wednesday: 12 September 2018”

    1. I noticed that you’d read Wedlock a while back. I’ve been reading it slowly for months, which I often do with non-fiction – It’s an amazing account.

      Like

    1. It is fascinating, Emily and is quite shocking, but I managed to to cope with the descriptions of the violence Stoney inflicted on Mary Eleanor – and I’m a squeamish reader!

      Like

  3. I did try one of Kate Morton’s early books but couldn’t get very far with it . I know she has a huge following but it just wasn’t for me. East of Eden is on my classics club list but first I have to read Grapes of Wrath both of which my husband loved

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Love the sound of Dead Woman Walking, I’m going to add that to my TBR list. I recently finished The Craftsman by Sharon Bolton and thought it was brilliant!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I want to read The Clockmaker’s Daughter, Margaret, so it’s good to hear that you’re enjoying it. Wedlock really interests me, too. I think Ann Cleeves is so very talented at creating setting and atmosphere; I look forward to what you think of Cold Earth when you get there. A nice lot of books there!

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Snap with The Clockmaker’s Daughter as I’m just starting that. I’ve enjoyed some of Kate Morton’s previous books, such as The House of Riverton, but really struggled with The Distant Hours (which is still sitting unfinished on my bookshelf – and I rarely DNF books – plus it’s so huge!). I’m hoping to get on better with this one (although it’s also quite large) and have high hopes from reviews I’ve read.

    Here’s my WWW link: https://whatcathyreadnext.wordpress.com/2018/09/12/www-wednesdays-12th-september-18/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I struggled a bit with The Distant Hours too but I did finish it. I thought it was too long and moved at a snail’s pace – the least satisfying of her books that I’ve read. I like The Secret Keeper the most.

      Liked by 1 person

        1. Not at all! I’ve now read 51% of The Clockmaker’s Daughter and unfortunately I think this one is too long as well. It’s full of good sections that make me want to know more, but so much detail again. I’m having to accept that this is not a quick read and be patient.

          Liked by 1 person

  10. I love your list for this week! Steinbeck is, quite possibly, my favorite author of all time and, although East of Eden was my least favorite of his, I still loved it. I’ve read it three times so that’s obvious. I’ve never read Ann Cleeves before yet everyone with similar book tastes loves her. I’ll go back at the beginning and start her series.

    Here is my line-up for this week: https://macsbooks311.wordpress.com/2018/09/12/wwwwednesdays/

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Oh, you’ve got some really good ones here. Not that I’ve read any of them. However, I’m definitely looking forward to Kate Morton’s new book – maybe later this fall. And I’m also going to start the books in Ann Cleeves’ Shetland series at some point before long. If I remember how I was with the Vera books, I’ll likely read them one after the other. I own that Bolton book, but haven’t read it yet. Do you think she’s finished with the Lacey Flint series? I’m betting she is.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Kay, you have some treats in store. It does look as though Lacey Flint’s days have come to an end doesn’t it. But did you there is a Lacey Flint short story, The Corpse in the Copse in the 2nd Crime Club Killer Women Anthology? I haven’t read it yet.

      Like

  13. I’m really looking forward to The Grapes of Wrath! I’ve never read East of Eden, but it sounds completely different than I ever would have guessed! I’m getting ready to reread Of Mice and Men – it’s so beautiful and heartbreaking! Happy reading!

    Like

  16. East of Eden is one of my favorite novels—I really have to reread Grapes of Wrath, as it’s been over 40 years since I read it in high school—but EoE is wonderful. I agree, it does start a bit slowly, but once you get to CA it picks up. I was lucky enough to visit the Salinas Valley while listening to it on a road trip, and it was a magnificent experience.

    Like

Comments are closed.