#WWWWednesday – 21st February 2024

WWWWednesdays

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!


Currently reading

The List of Suspicious ThingsThe List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey (ARC, Penguin)

Yorkshire, 1979. Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family Down South. Because of the murders.

Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn’t an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv’s mum stopped talking. Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all?

So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don’t. But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families – and between each other – than they ever thought possible.

What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?

The Other PrincessThe Other Princess by Denny S. Bryce (eARC, Allison & Busby via NetGalley)

A princess enslaved becomes goddaughter to a queen.

By the time she was seven years old, Aina had been born into life as an Egbado princess, witnessed the brutal killing of her entire family, and been enslaved to a rival chieftain. With a death sentence hanging over her head, she would also face being bartered as an exotic trophy, renamed and presented to the distant Queen Victoria as a ‘gift’.

From these traumatic beginnings, Sarah Forbes Bonetta’s will to survive led her to negotiate Her Majesty’s court, friends in high places and to flourish in a world far removed from her rural African upbringing. From West Africa to Windsor Castle, The Other Princess is a vivid imagining of the life of Queen Victoria’s Black goddaughter, shining a light on a woman searching for home, love and identity.


Recently finished

Remember, Remember by Elle Machray (HarperNorth)

In Every Mirror She’s Black by Lola Akinmade Åkerström (Head of Zeus)

Notes of Change (Sam Plank Mystery #7) by Susan Grossey


What Cathy Will Read Next

The Story CollectorThe Story Collector by Iris Costello (ARC, Penguin)

London, 1915: Tarot reader Katerina is trying to hold her life together amid the wartime chaos. When she opens a bakery that offers divination alongside sweet treats, she is hailed as a beacon of hope. But Katerina is hiding a dark truth that could cost her everything.

Germany, 1918: A mute British soldier is taken to a prisoner of war camp where he meets Miriam, a researcher. She is drawn to his gentle manner and secretly vows to help him. But soon she will have to make an impossible will she save the one she loves, or herself?

Cornwall, Present Recently widowed Edie is astonished to discover a mysterious box hidden in the wall of her newly renovated cottage. As Edie starts to investigate, she uncovers a secret that has lain hidden for over a century…

#TopTenTuesday Bookish Superpowers I Wish I Had #TuesdayBookBlog

Top Ten TuesdayTop Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

  • Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
  • Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
  • Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
  • Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Bookish Superpowers I Wish I Had, a topic suggested by… me! Full disclosure, I used  this idea for the topic Bookish Jobs (Real or Imaginary) I Would Do For Free last year. Unfortunately, I’ve developed no additional superpowers since then, so I’m taking the easy route and just reproducing a slightly revised version here.

SuperpowersThe ability to…

  1. Insert myself on any publisher’s list for proof copies
  2. Create an insightful review of every book I read without any effort at all
  3. Increase my reading speed at will but still recall every word of a book
  4. Detect whether I’m going to enjoy a book purely by looking at it
  5. Automatically create a beautiful Instagram post from an image in my head
  6. Have WordPress automatically share my blog posts to X (it will never catch on…)
  7. Have household tasks completed by an invisible servant while I’m reading
  8. Have books I really, really want to read have 90% off stickers on them (100% would be mean)
  9. Have every book I buy be pre-signed and personally dedicated to me by the author
  10. Never be interrupted while reading

What bookish super powers do you wish you had?