It’s the first Wednesday of the month, so it’s time for WWW Wednesday, an idea I borrowed from David Chazan, The Chocolate Lady, who borrowed it from someone else. For this feature, I report
- What I am reading now
- What I just finished reading
- What I intend to read next
This is something you can participate in, too, if you want, by leaving comments about what you’ve been reading or plan to read.
What I am reading now
Lucky me, I pulled Les Misérables by Victor Hugo in my latest Classics Club Spin! It’s 1400+ pages long, going slowly, so I have decided to read another book in between each book of Les Miz (unless I get too close to the library due date). So far, I have finished the first book, “Fantine,” and just returned to the novel after taking my first break, so I am in the book called “Cosette.” I have to be finished for the spin in early October, but this is a library check-out, and I was on a (short) waiting list, so I hope to finish it before it is due back.
What I just finished reading
Right now, I am reading for several events in October and November, and the next one after the Classics Club Spin is the 1949 Club. In the first break from reading Les Misérables, I read my third book for this club, The Emigrants by Vilhelm Moberg. It was originally published in Swedish and is the first book of a quartet of novels about the first emigrants to the U. S. from a specific parish in Sweden. The English translation didn’t come out until 1951, but the Swedish version was published in 1949, so I think it qualifies for the club. Material on the book says that Moberg was considered one of the greatest 20th-century Swedish writers.
What I will read next
I have one more book to read for the 1949 Club, so in my next break from Les Miz, I will probably read The Parasites by Daphne Du Maurier, one of the few Du Maurier novels I don’t think I’ve read (or if I did, it was so long ago I don’t remember). The only thing I know about it is that it is about a theater family, and Du Maurier had close connections to the theater through her father, who was an actor, and through the family’s friendship with J. M. Barrie.
This isn’t certain, though, because I also picked up a set of books by Thomas Costain about the Plantagenets, and the first one, The Conquering Family, was published in 1949, so that’s also a possibility. This is a nonfiction series, though, and it typically takes me longer to read nonfiction, so I may not have time to read it as yet. I understand that George R. R. Martin used these books as a source for his Game of Thrones series.
What about you? What have you been reading lately?
You’re doing well to have read so many 1949 Club books already! I’ve just started my first one. I read The Parasites a few years ago and remember enjoying it, although the Thomas Costain book sounds interesting too.
I usually have to work ahead. On my reviewed books, I’ve already almost finished October, except that I don’t have a review yet for Les Miz or the third or fourth 1949 book.
An interesting batch! I’ve had really mixed feelings about du Maurier, loving Rebecca but finding her other books don’t seem to work for me. I haven’t tried The Parasites, though, so I’ll be interested to hear what you think of it. Keep up the good work with Les Mis! (Maybe you should put a warning inside the front cover for those poor people behind you in the library queue… ;) )
She is very inconsistent, and almost all of her stuff has an odd viewpoint. Even though I love Rebecca, think about what it’s about, a man who kills his wife, and a second wife who is thrilled to hear that. I read a biography about her, and she was not very nice to her husband or children. That’s a good idea about the warning. Even though the book has been checked out before, it’s a paperback, and it doesn’t seem as if it’s been read, or at least, not all the way through.
I like your way of reading Les Mis, some breaks would have done me some good! I enjoyed it overall, but it’s a lot to take in in one sitting
Yes, but unfortunately, I don’t think I can continue breaking. The book is due back at the library in two weeks. Usually, they automatically renew them for you, but I had to wait slightly for this copy, so if someone else decides they want it, I will have to wait to get it back. I think it’s ironic, because it clearly has not been read much at all. Maybe people are getting it, reading a bit of chapter one, and quitting. I have to read another book for the 1949 club, which comes up right afterwards, so I will probably break for that and then try to read all the rest of it.
I hope it goes to plan, Marius was my favourite!
I’m about halfway now. Marius has just alerted Javert to the plan to rob and kill, probably one that is going to end up with Jean Valjean caught again.