It’s time again to ask ourselves the three W’s:
Why would anyone want to learn about math?
Who the heck reads math books for fun?
What can math really do for us, anyway?
Wait, no, that’s not right. We ask these three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.
The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
★★★★★ || Goodreads
This book was a journey. I ended up loving all the characters, even the ones I’d thought I’d hate. My favorite aspect was the world-building. It’s Earth … mostly. But the afterlife … now that’s a different story, because there are different realms, whose very existence depends on human belief, and realms can die if people stop believing in them. Which means, yes, we get to see Valhalla, and that was super exciting for me. As far as major plot twists … there weren’t really any. I guessed all the big “reveals” right from the start, pretty much. But I wasn’t in it for the reveals. I was here for the world and the characters, so I wasn’t disappointed. I thought this take was really unique. Where the next book will take it, I have no idea, because this book wrapped up pretty concisely and can stand on its own. Although, I’m totally not objecting to more books here! I don’t know that this book had a lot of new ideas, per se, but I loved the combination of old ideas and tropes to create something a little different. Plus, librarians get to be the heroes and the villains and everything across the spectrum, and I’m so in for that.
On Turpentine Lane by Elinor Lipman
★★★★☆ || Goodreads
I’m actually surprised that I enjoyed this one as much as I did, and I’m not even sure why? On paper, this seems like a book I would hate, but it was a book club pick, so I read it anyway. There wasn’t even a plot. I wasn’t even particularly drawn to the characters. But somehow, I still really enjoyed it? It was a fast, brainless read that didn’t require a lot of thinking, and the writing was engaging and voicy and funny. Pairs nicely with a cold day, a warm blanket, and some hot chocolate. I don’t even really have anything to say for this one as a review, even, except that yeah, it was a pretty cozy read.
Nothing Hidden Ever Stays by H.R. Mason
★★★☆☆ || Goodreads
This book was a mixed bag. On the one hand, Mason did a fabulous job of creating a really dark, intriguing atmosphere that started out spooky and just kept building from there. Haunted houses are always a big plus for me. There’s also a really neat weaving between the present, as Aubrey tries to uncover the secrets of the house, and the past darkness that took place under its roof, and they came together really nice, little by little, generation by generation. On the other hand, though … there wasn’t really much unique here. It was extremely tropey and predictable. I didn’t care about any of the characters at all, and I figured out most of the “big” reveals, because the foreshadowing was so heavy-handed. The writing was also … distant. It was written in a way where the characters weren’t accessible. It was more akin to a friend relating a story they’d heard around a campfire than actually getting to experience it with the characters, so it didn’t feel nearly as spooky as it should have. There’s also an insta-love/fated love which I wasn’t a fan of, and the timeline was a bit wonky. A chapter would end, the next chapter would begin, and I’d think, “Gee, these characters are acting different towards each other awfully fast,” and then a couple paragraphs later it’d announce that, like, a month had passed. Also, a big potential trigger: insanity is the big fall guy in this book, from the very start. It feels a little icky, if I’m honest, that these characters do evil things because crazy (and the reason isn’t even a compelling one, in my opinion). Second big potential trigger: lots of violence towards women.
Marrow Charm by Kristin Jacques
★★★★★|| Goodreads
I actually thought this was a mid-grade book when I picked it up, but I guess it’s YA? Either way, it’s fabulous. I was so curious about it, because of the alchemy remark on the cover (as above, so below), but also … a little hesitant, if I’m honest? I haven’t loved previous “humans ruined Earth and fled underground to survive” books. So what’s different about this one? First: magic! Humans didn’t so much ruin Earth (although they totally did) as accidentally unleash a ton of magic on it, which absolutely tainted everything. Including humans. This is not your everyday “Earth is ruined, hide underground” type book. The monsters are freaking dark and terrifying and just wonderful. Everything about them. Magic corrupts humans and makes them monsters … though, humans are doing a great job of that just in and of themselves, also.
The Toll by Neal Shusterman
★★★★★|| Goodreads
I have no words for this. It released yesterday, and I made sure to preorder it and cleared my schedule for the afternoon so I’d have time to read it. The last book of this trilogy means much sadness, but also … it was such a satisfying ending? I can’t even be mad. I won’t say it’s a happy ending, but it was unexpected and such a great way to wrap things up. If you’re actually interested in my reactions to this, until I manage to write a review, I did a live tweet chain of this on Twitter with 100% of my reactions and … mostly no spoilers. There were two minor (obvious) spoilers, but they’re clearly tagged.
Look what just came in. The Toll by @NealShusterman. This will be a reaction thread as I read this because I've waited long enough and it's worth it. NO SPOILERS. Just reactions. Maybe a few quotes, so maybe avoid those if you want to be surprised on that front. #amreading pic.twitter.com/lh2LRoIGTq
— Sammie (@srbetler) November 5, 2019
Change is the Only Constant by Ben Orlin
Status: pg 40/287
Change is the Only Constant is an engaging and eloquent exploration of the intersection between calculus and daily life, complete with Orlin’s sly humor and memorably bad drawings. By spinning 28 engaging mathematical tales, Orlin shows us that calculus is simply another language to express the very things we humans grapple with every day — love, risk, time, and most importantly, change. Divided into two parts, “Moments” and “Eternities,” and drawing on everyone from Sherlock Holmes to Mark Twain to David Foster Wallace, Change is the Only Constant unearths connections between calculus, art, literature, and a beloved dog named Elvis. This is not just math for math’s sake; it’s math for the sake of becoming a wiser and more thoughtful human.
This book isn’t exactly thrilling, but I knew that going in. Math is such a touchy subject for me, because it’s obviously important, but boy oh boy do I hate the stuff. With the burning passion of a thousand suns. Still, I do my best to read several nonfiction books every year, and this is supposed to be a book about math in the real world, written in a way that’s accessible. And … I guess it is? There are moments that still really make my eyes glass over and I have no idea what the author is talking about, but it’s pretty funny and engaging, also, with witty quips and groan-inducing jokes (which are some of my favorite). I figure I’ll just take this one slowly while reading some fiction alongside it.
I keep hearing everyone talking about Sing, Unburied, Sing, and I’ve been wanting to read it. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. But I figured that since it’s a series, I should probably read the first book first (even though I think they’re standalones? I’m not sure). So I borrowed Salvage the Bones, and I need to get that back to the library this week, so I’ll be trying to squeeze that in.
Then … the moment I’ve been waiting for! Drumroll, please. I’ll finally be reading the Six of Crows duology: Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. I’ve wanted to read this series for quite a while now, and I’m so excited to be able to start it! Yes, I know, I’m behind on ARCs and should really be working on those, but you’ll have to forgive me for this brief break, because it’s Six of Crows. This is important. I must meet Kaz Brekker.
You’re so lucky you can clear your afternoon and READ A WHOLE BOOK. Never in a million years would I be able to do that, so big congrats! I need to start that series, too. I know, I might be the last one who hasn’t started:-)
It was clearly just meant to be, because everything lined up just PERFECTLY for me to be able to do it. xD I didn’t work at the library, so I worked my flex hour job, so I just got up super early and did 90% of my work by noon, when it arrived. I still had to cook dinner and take my daughter to a library event. Couldn’t get out of those. But it was just super lucky aligning of the release date with everything else. xD You’re definitly not the last one, though. I’ve had several people comment that they haven’t read it yet, so you’re good. 😉
Marrow Charm sounds neat! Seems like a new take on an old concept maybe, but still neat.
And… I might have to pick up that math book. Not that I’m a huge fan of math, but I know it’s important and I’ve forgotten most of the higher math I used to know.
I definitely think it’s worth trying! The trope is an old one, but the way it’s done here was certainly not what I expected and well done, if you like something a bit darker with a silver lining of hope.
RIGHT? Ugh. Math. It doesn’t teach you math, but it basically tells how the basic principles of calculus (derivatives and integrals) apply to a bunch of different things in life, which I thought was pretty interesting (if not, at times, a little over my head). He’s got another book he previously published, and I might pick that one up later, too.
I added his first math book to my TBR, since I might need a refresher on the earlier stuff before we get to calculus… I’m hoping that it’s like Spanish: I remember much more from high school Spanish classes than I realize. Hopefully I remember more math, too. But I’m not holding my breath.
He explains what a derivative and an integral are the very first thing and gives a real-world example of each, so it’s easy to pick up! Those are the really only two concepts the book focuses around, because they’re the core of calculus, so if you’ve got a good mental idea of those two, you’ll be fine. 😉
Oh, that’s good to know! (But I also like the title of the other book more: Math With Bad Drawings. Just makes me smile, which is good if I’m going to be willingly reading a book about math.)
Then you’ll be happy to know that he carried over the bad drawings concept into this one. 😉 They definitely made me laugh! I think you’ll enjoy them both. Well … as much as you can enjoy a book about math, anyway. 😛
Yay! 😀 I read a lot of science books for fun, so maybe math for fun won’t be too big a stretch?
I dunno. Science *is* fun. Math is just torture lol.
LOL! XD
Aaaah my The Toll was supposed to be here today!!!!
Was it not?! You should read it. It’s soooo worth it.
I’m very upset and hoping it arrives tomorrow I had the shipping confirmation yesterday so fingers crossed
*crosses fingers* I hope it does, too!
The Library of the Unwritten sounds interesting! That one is going on my TBR. I too have been wanting to read Jesmyn Ward. I own Sing, Unburied, Sing but haven’t had a chance to read it yet. Happy Reading!
Definitely recommend it! I had so much fun with that one.
I’ve heard great things about it! I might even have a copy? Is it bad that I don’t know if I do or not and now I’m going to have to go check? LOL.
I think many avid readers are in the same boat. I had to tear all my bookshelves apart and completely reorganize, because I couldn’t find some of the books I was looking for. I’ve been working on this project for days now. Plus, I have found multiple duplicates of books, which I didn’t know I had. How does anyone keep their bookshelves organized?
Ahhhh I’m so glad I’m not the only one. xD plus, I have a pretty large collection of Kindle books, but then once I buy them, it’s sort of out of sight, out of mind. thank goodness Amazon has that flag that says when you purchased something, because I’ve gone to purchase Dread Nation, like, three times in the past year and keep forgetting I own it. xD
I honestly don’t know how anyone manages those gorgeously organized shelves. I think it’s probably dark magic.
We have a family Kindle account, so it has a ridiculous 900 books on it (never going to read them all). The flagging system is good, because I definitely have tried to by a few books that other family members have already purchased. Dark magic or they only display a portion of their books and hide the rest. Someone suggested that I just buy more bookshelves, but I think that will just make the problem worse, because I’ll buy more books.
I absolutely refuse to look at how many Kindle books are actually on my account, because it’s a single account and it’s probably some terribly depressing number lol.
The more bookshelves you have, the more space you have, the more you feel like you need to fill that space. XD It’s a vicious cycle.
I hope you continue to enjoy your reading, Sammie! Here’s my WWW post for this week: https://thebookwormchronicles.wordpress.com/2019/11/06/www-wednesday-6th-november-2019/ 🙂
Thanks!
Ooh I can’t wait to pick up the toll!
I’m currently reading House of salt and sorrows!
Enjoy your reading!
(www.evelynreads.com)
It was for sure worth it! Also, I’m so jealous. D: I’ve had a hold on that forever now, and the person who checked it out just … hasn’t brought it back. I can’t wait to read it.
Ooh I hate when that happens!
I really need to read the sequel to Scythe ASAP, so I can get The Toll. I loved Scythe so much. Maybe I can squeeze it in for this month. I hope you enjoy Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. I loved them!
I actually thought Thunderhead was better than Scythe, so yeah, I definitely recommend that one! I just picked up Six of Crows today, and I’m enjoying it so far. 🙂 I think I’ll like it.
Oh. My. God. THE TOLL. I haven’t read it yet but I am so glad you loved it. I cannot wait. I’m soooo excited.
And ahhh!! Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom is one of my favorite book duos. I’m doing a reread soon cause it’s just been too long. I hope you love them!!! Say hi to Kaz for me. 🙂
I hope you love it! I read it too quickly, and now no one I know has finished it, so I have no one to yell with. xD I can’t wait for more people to get done haha.
is it?! I’m so glad. Everyone seems to love it, so I’m really hoping I do, too. Just started it this morning, and I’m having fun with it so far.
i felt the same way about nothing hidden ever stays.
and yeees, have fun with the six of crows read!!!
I’m so glad it wasn’t just me! i feel like I’ve sort of become the unpopular opinion lady, and I’m okay with that, but it also feels weird because I’d much rather just love what everyone else loves because gosh that would be so much easier lol.
HOLY MOLY YOU ALREADY FINISHED THE TOLL!? I’m so freaking impressed I don’t even have words. I’m so excited to see you rated it FIVE STARS! There’s nothing worse than being completely underwhelmed by a release you’ve been highly anticipating all year! But I don’t think I expected anything different with Shusterman 🤣 I just saw today that I actually pre-ordered the ebook as well in anticipation of the physical book taking longer to get to me and…. Oh gosh, I don’t know whether to start this or Darkdawn this weekend?! HALP.
Hope you enjoy the rest of your week and happy reading! … Although that maths book. Totally relate to your feelings towards maths. Maths and I don’t jam in the slightest. Yikes.
I DID AND I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO OR WHAT I AM ANYMORE. I need a hug. I’m going to *try* to get my review out this weekend or maybe Monday, but … we’ll see. I work for the next three days a lot in both jobs, and I’m just exhausted after reading that big book in a day. xD
Ummm … oh gosh, that’s such a hard choice! I can’t even tell you which I liked more. Ummm. If you want lots of action that’ll sweep you away, go with Darkdawn. If you want a slow, complex build with everything coming together bit by bit in that frustrating and satisfying way Thunderhead does, go with Toll.
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