Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:
- What are you currently reading?
- What did you recently finish reading?
- What do you think you’ll read next?
Why not join in too? Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!
What I’m Currently Reading
Our Noble Selves by Kate Atkinson (Doubleday via NetGalley)
It’s the summer of 1951 and everyone is looking to put the dark days of the war behind them. The government’s solution: The Festival of Britain, a celebration of the country’s creativity, grit and ingenuity.
For foreign correspondent turned war reporter Harry Flynn, it might offer the chance of redemption after a bad war in the Far East and a peace that is proving no easier to negotiate. Having failed to resume his journalistic career, he reluctantly joins an oddball team of misfits, ne’er-do-wells and downright chancers helping to ready the Festival of Britain for launch.
Flynn’s attempts to resume some semblance of a romantic life also founder when one of his dates goes missing and he is deemed to be the last person to have seen her alive. Could he have been in some way responsible for her disappearance?
Little does he realize that the answer to some of his mounting problems may lie in the hands of a precocious, straight-talking thirteen-year-old called Veronica and a rather scruffy terrier who goes by the name of Mrs Betty…
A Shroud of Snow (Bradecote and Catchpoll #14) by Sarah Hawskwood (ARC, Allison & Busby)
December, 1145. Hamelin Isenmongere, a trader in iron and charcoal, is considered by many to be the most popular man in Worcester. Why then is he found on the quayside near his warehouse with his head beaten in?
As winter bites, Undersheriff Hugh Bradecote, Serjeant Catchpoll and Underserjeant Walkelin are on the trail of a killer. However, they must tread cautiously when the trail of evidence leads them back to Worcester Ccastle itself where William de Beauchamp is more concerned that they seek out a spy within its walls. It is up to the Sheriff’s men to discover whether the murder was an act of betrayal by someone close to home, or one that casts a shadow over the fight for England’s crown.
Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (Pan Macmillan)
Sarah Wynn-Williams, a young diplomat from New Zealand, pitched for her dream job. She saw Facebook’s potential and knew it could change the world for the better. But, when she got there and rose to its top ranks, things turned out a little different.
From wild schemes cooked up on private jets to risking prison abroad, Careless People exposes both the personal and political fallout when boundless power and a rotten culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative, Wynn-Williams rubs shoulders with Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg and world leaders, revealing what really goes on among the global elite – and the consequences this has for all of us.
Candid and entertaining, this is an intimate memoir set amid powerful forces. As all our lives are upended by technology and those who control it, Careless People will change how you see the world.
What I’ve Just Read
Conqueror (Agricola #4) by Simon Turney (Head of Zeus)
Following years of distinguished military and political exploits, Agricola has been rewarded with control of Aquitania by the Emperor Vespasian.
But Agricola’s greatest glories have always come in that rainy northern corner of the Britannia. When Vespasian sends him back to Britannia, this time as governor, he has a chance to cement his place in Roman history.
To conquer Britannia completely Agricola must overcome its many Celtic tribes. The Ordovices have massacred a Roman cavalry unit. The Selgovae and Damnonii resist Imperial rule fiercely. And he must take them on with ever fewer troops due to a series of changes at the heart of Roman power.
Failure will mean disgrace or death, but if he should succeed, Agricola will be forever lauded among the pantheon of Rome’s heroes. (Review to follow)
Trials of the Heart by Stephen Wade (Northodox Press)
What I’ll Be Reading Next
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Penguin)
Sybil Van Antwerp is seventy-three, slowly losing her sight and always writing letters . . .
To her children. Her favourite authors. Her ex-sister-in-law. The journalist poking into her past. Her doctor. Suitors. Kindly neighbours. The infuriating gardening club.
All receive Sybil’s witty, wise correspondence, rich with everyday concerns.
But there is one letter that she has never sent. It concerns the darkest period of her life. To post it, Sybil must find forgiveness within herself.
The hardest letter to write is the one you’d never dare to send.
What Cathy Read Next... 