WWW Wednesday (25 May)

WWW pic

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s open for anyone to join in and is a great way to share what you’ve been reading! All you have to do is answer three questions and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.

The three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

A similar meme is run by Lipsyy Lost and Found where bloggers share This Week in Books #TWiB.


What I’m reading now:

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All is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker

I’ve only read the first few chapters of this but it’s compulsive reading and had I not been ill yesterday I’d have finished it in one go. It’s such a fascinating idea for a novel.

Synopsis:

You can erase the memory. But you cannot erase the crime.

Jenny’s wounds have healed.
An experimental treatment has removed the memory of a horrific and degrading attack.
She is moving on with her life.

That was the plan. Except it’s not working out.
Something has gone. The light in the eyes. And something was left behind. A scar. On her lower back. Which she can’t stop touching.
And she’s getting worse.
Not to mention the fact that her father is obsessed with finding her attacker and her mother is in toxic denial.

It may be that the only way to uncover what’s wrong is to help Jenny recover her memory. But even if it can be done, pulling at the threads of her suppressed experience will unravel much more than the truth about her attack.

SockPuppet by Matthew Blakstad

Sockpuppet by Matthew Blackstad

This is a really good read, a very modern tale and very interesting. I’m enjoying it.

Synopsis:

Twitter. Facebook. Whatsapp. Google Maps. Every day you share everything about yourself – where you go, what you eat, what you buy, what you think – online. Sometimes you do it on purpose. Usually you do it without even realizing it. At the end of the day, everything from your shoe-size to your credit limit is out there. Your greatest joys, your darkest moments. Your deepest secrets.

If someone wants to know everything about you, all they have to do is look.

But what happens when someone starts spilling state secrets? For politician Bethany Leherer and programmer Danielle Farr, that’s not just an interesting thought-experiment. An online celebrity called sic_girl has started telling the world too much about Bethany and Dani, from their jobs and lives to their most intimate secrets. There’s just one problem: sic_girl doesn’t exist. She’s an construct, a program used to test code. Now Dani and Bethany must race against the clock to find out who’s controlling sic_girl and why… before she destroys the privacy of everyone in the UK.

Where Did I Go by Polly Williamson

Where Did I Go? by Polly Williamson

This is a really interesting read. Polly Williamson has been so open and honest about what it’s like to recover from a brain injury. It’s a moving read.

Synopsis:

“8 December 2011: I went to a small horse competition in the morning. That much I do remember. After that absolutely nothing …”

Polly Williamson’s life changed the day a dramatic incident with a young horse left her with a horrific head injury. She was a horse trainer and former Junior European Champion eventer. She was a wife and mother to two young boys. The accident severed her connection to this former life. It stole away her ability to care for her children and left her struggling to rediscover who she was.

Surviving a near fatal brain injury brings a person face to face with the very basis of their identity. Some will be lucky and pick up their former lives with barely a missed step. Others will have everything that holds them to who they were stripped away by brain damage.

Polly has had her world shattered and seen the fragments of her identity laid bare. Where did I go? is her powerful record of her efforts to pick up the pieces and put her life back together again.

My Favourite Manson Girl by Alison Umminger

My Favourite Manson Girl by Alison Umminger

I’ve almost finished reading this and have enjoyed it. It’s not what I thought it was going to be but it’s a good read.

Synopsis:

Anna has had a miserable year. Everything feels wrong with her life. And rather than stay and face the mess, she steals a credit card and books herself a seat on the first flight out of town to Los Angeles, to crash with her sister. But soon after she lands, cold reality soon dawns on her: Hollywood isn’t the escape she needs. She is trapped in a town full of lost souls and wannabes, with no friends, no cash and no return ticket.

When she’s offered a job researching the murderous Manson girls for a dubious film, she reluctantly accepts – she needs the money. But soon enough, among the fake smiles and glitter-fuelled parties, things turn from strange, to dark, to dangerous . . .

This is not going to be the summer Anna had in mind.


What I recently finished reading:

The Treachery of Trains by Sylvia Ashby

The Treachery of Trains by Sylvia Ashby

I very much enjoyed this novel. I’ve already reviewed it (you can read my review here) and I interviewed the author (which you can read here). I highly recommend this book though, it’s so good.

Synopsis:

Sky has made an abominable mistake at work. Something so awful she doesn’t dare stay in the HR office of XIM Technics for fear of being lynched by her colleagues.

So she gets on a train…

What happens when it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month, or even your year?

Sky Candy is about to find out.

 

This Secret We're Keeping by Rebecca Done

This Secret We’re Keeping by Rebecca Done

This is an interesting novel that left me with a lot to think about. I’ve reviewed this already and you can read my review here.

Synopsis:

A pupil and a teacher. Is it ever right to break the rules?
Jessica Hart has never forgotten Matthew Landley.
After all, he was her first love when she was fifteen years old. But he was also her school maths teacher, and their forbidden affair ended in scandal with his arrest and imprisonment.
Now, seventeen years later, Matthew returns to Norfolk, with a new identity and a long-term girlfriend and a young daughter, who know nothing of what happened before. Yet when he runs into Jessica, neither of them can ignore the emotional ties that bind them together.
With so many secrets to keep hidden, how long can Jessica and Matthew avoid the dark mistakes of their past imploding in the present?
From debut author Rebecca Done, This Secret We’re Keeping is a powerful and provocative novel about the ties which can keep us together – or tear us apart.

The Barn on Half Moon Hill by Milly Johnson

The Barn on Half Moon Hill by Milly Johnson

This is a really sweet novella that I very much enjoyed. It’s been sold for a really good cause so I absolutely recommend you buy a copy.

Synopsis:

Cariad Williams has been writing to Franco Mezzaluna since they were kids. But he has never written back. And now he has become a famous film star. What’s more, he is due to visit Winterworld, the Christmas theme park where Cariad works. The only problem is that she has boasted to her friends that he is her boyfriend and now everyone will find out about her lie…
An exclusive short story from Milly Johnson to raise funds for the Care for Claire charity.

 


What I plan on reading next:

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Nina is Not O.K. by Shappi Khorsandi

I’ve been looking forward to starting this novel ever since it arrived so am definitely going to try and read it this week.

Synopsis:

Nina does not have a drinking problem. She likes a drink, sure. But what 17-year-old doesn’t?

Nina’s mum isn’t so sure. But she’s busy with her new husband and five year old Katie. And Nina’s almost an adult after all.

And if Nina sometimes wakes up with little memory of what happened the night before , then her friends are all too happy to fill in the blanks. Nina’s drunken exploits are the stuff of college legend.

But then one dark Sunday morning, even her friends can’t help piece together Saturday night. All Nina feels is a deep sense of shame, that something very bad has happened to her…

A dark, funny – sometimes shocking – coming of age novel from one of the UK’s leading comedians. NINA IS NOT O.K. will appeal to fans of Caitlin Moran and Lena Dunham.


 

What are you reading at the moment? Have you finished any good books recently? Any books you’re looking forward to reading soon? Please feel free to join in with this meme and share your link below, or if you don’t have a blog please share in the comments below.

31 thoughts on “WWW Wednesday (25 May)

    • It is weird how that happens – I was just thinking that this week when I looked up two books that had such similar premises to each other and both are out close together. It must be that something maybe happens in the media that triggers similar ideas in writers.

  1. I love a mystery at the heart of a novel – in whatever genre – so am intrigued by your recommendations. I’ve almost finished The Coffin Road by Peter May (his latest crime novel) and have been gripped. I love his atmospheric depiction of the Scottish Hebrides (some of which I know well). Would certainly recommend. Janet x

  2. What a great selection of books and as ever, your ability to read a number of books at the same time awes me:). Sock Puppet and Where Did I Go sound fascinating – I hope you feel better and I look forward to reading your reviews in due course.

    • Thank you. I’ve always read multiple books at the same time – ever since I first learnt to read, so it’s just normal to me. I do have to keep to different genres otherwise I can get a little confused. Where Did I go is really interesting, I’d recommend it.

      • I sometimes break off when I hit a wall with a book – there’s one I started reading at the beginning of the week, and I might go back to it if I feel less stressed, as it is very dark. But it is never intentional! Thank you for the recommendation – I thought it looked something a bit different…

  3. I’m glad you liked Sockpuppet. It sounds so interesting! Happy reading and thanks for participating in WWW Wednesday!

  4. All Is Not Forgotten. I need that book. The more I hear about it, the more curious I am. Had the same issue with The Ex back in January. I’m having a case of obsessive need to read a book asap, haha. The subject is fascinated and absolutely scary.
    I like the sound of Nina Is Not Okay. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it.
    Happy reading!
    Here’s my week in books https://chocolatenwafflesblog.wordpress.com/2016/05/25/this-week-in-books-may-25th-2016/

    • It’s a fascinating read, I’ve not finished it yet but I’d already recommend it! I think it’s going to give me a book hangover! I’ve not read The Ex but I really want to now, I’ll look out for it!
      I’m hoping to start Nina is Not OK by the weekend, I’m looking forward to it.
      Happy reading to you too. 🙂

  5. Okay, this is going to sound weird but: While I don’t think you could force me to read any of the books on your list, because they’re so far outside the realm of what I enjoy – wow! Great list of books that look very fascinating!!

  6. I’ve been trying to get my hands on Nina is Not OK for a while but having requested and entered various giveaways it’s looking like I may actually have to buy it. I may however wait for your review first 🙂

    Also liking the sound of All Is Not Forgotten. I do love stories about memory loss and amnesia for some strange reason so it should be right up my street.

    As someone who spends a lot of time around horses I will probably avoid Where Did I Go? I prefer to pretend that these things don’t happen.

    • I hope to start Nina is Not OK by the weekend and will definitely review it once I’ve read it. I hope you manage to get a copy of it. I’m sure there’s a giveaway for it on Goodreads at the moment if you’re on there.
      All is Not Forgotten is so good, it’s fascinating me and I would recommend it already and I haven’t even finished it yet!
      You’re possibly right to avoid Where Did I Go? but having said that she does make a great recovery so it does have a positive ending.

  7. I’m reading NY best sellers, untethered soul right now. I finished reading Heal Yourself by Louise Hay. And next I want to read Mastering your Mean Girl by Melissa Ambrossini along with many, many others! I also want to read Be Here Now, Life with a Yogi and the 4 agreements hehe

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