It’s time again to ask ourselves the three W’s:
Want to be a criminal but don’t know where to start?
What are some creative crimes to help ease you into unlawfulness?
What should your criminal moniker be?
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.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
★★★★☆ || Goodreads
I finally finished this! Once it got going, I sat down and read the last 150 pages or so in one go. I’m officially in love with Kaz Brekker and his suave manipulation and inability to work out his own feels. Silly man. I loved how every time I thought something was going horribly wrong, there was a contingency plan. I’m super impressed by that kind of planning, first, but second, I never expected the things that happened! It made the read so much fun. I’m going to take a little break to sort through library reads before starting Crooked Kingdom, but man, I’m so looking forward to it!
Change is the Only Constant by Ben Orlin
★★★☆☆ || Goodreads
I so wanted to give this four stars, because I think it deserves four stars, but it’d be a bit disingenuous for me to rate it so highly because I freaking hate math. Especially calculus, because I ended up taking it for three years straight. This book pretty well reminded me of that. If you’re even slightly math inclined or math curious, I think this book would easily be a four or five star read. The little illustrations really made the book, I thought, because they were cute and silly, but also I’m a more visual learner and they definitely helped. In fact, I wish any of my calculus teachers had actually had a book like this to read, because Orlin’s real-world examples and explanations made it really easy to grasp some concepts I used to really struggle with. I think calculus teachers, particularly pre-calc or high school teachers, could benefit from some of these ideas in a classroom as a hands-on demonstration of what certain concepts mean. All in all, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, but in the end … math is still math.
The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw
★★★☆☆ || Goodreads
Oh how I struggled with this one. On the one hand, it was a pretty short, quick read, and I really bought into the mystery and loved the little snippets of the sisters when they were alive, etc. On the other … it felt really YA. Which isn’t a bad thing, because it is YA, but it felt YA in a way that I couldn’t connect with. So, in other words, I just wasn’t this book’s audience, and it kind of showed. I mean, first of all, the kids are all out partying and drinking and doing who knows what, which was sooo not my teen experience back when I was that age to begin with. But second, not to be that lady, but all I could think was, WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS?! Yeah, sure, it’s an entire season where boys normally end up dead, and all the parents are like, “Yeah, cool, sure, go off unsupervised wherever you like and try not to die because that’d be a bummer, lolz.” The whole premise of the book hinges on an insta-love romance that I just wasn’t feeling. I’m not a fan of insta-love at the best of times, and this felt a bit yuck by the ending. The two big “twists” I saw coming from a mile away. Didn’t like the main character, either. Actually, I didn’t feel like I really knew or liked any of the characters. The most compelling part of the story was the sisters’ history in the flashbacks, but that was extremely brief. Also, the witches are mostly a lie. There’s a hint at magical realism from time to time in this book, but then it immediately walks it back and says they weren’t witches and there was nothing magical about it, so … I’m not sure which it was supposed to be?
Reviews Posted This Week
How to Become a Federal Criminal by Mike Chase
Status: 123/299
Have you ever clogged a toilet in a national forest? That could get you six months in federal prison. Written a letter to a pirate? You might be looking at three years in the slammer. Leaving the country with too many nickels, drinking a beer on a bicycle in a national park, or importing a pregnant polar bear are all very real crimes, and this riotously funny, ridiculously entertaining, and fully illustrated book shows how just about anyone can become—or may already be—a federal criminal.
Whether you’re a criminal defense lawyer or just a self-taught expert in outrageous offenses, How to Become a Federal Criminal is your wonderfully weird window into a criminally overlooked sector of American government.
This book is everything I hoped for and then some! Patrons at my library kept stopping and checking on this one after seeing the title, and after about the fifth conversation I had about it, I finally checked it out myself. I’ve always been a fan of ridiculous laws and thought they were just fun, but Mike Chase’s humor really brings a unique aspect to the table. The illustrations were just icing on the cake. Hubby (who’s a super picky, mainly fantasy reader) finally peeked at it to see what I was laughing about, and I had to beat him off with another book to keep him from stealing this one from me before I was finished.
There have been a few sections that just weren’t quite my thing and seemed to drag on (the weird food laws especially), but I’m definitely enjoying this! I’ll be doing a “Unique Ways to Become A Federal Criminal” in a couple weeks as a Top Ten Tuesday post featuring this book, so keep an eye out for that!
I’m continuing with the theme of “where did all these library books come from? Oh no, too many. Abort. ABORT!” and sticking to a list of library books that need to be returned soonish. Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry is still at the top of that list, and I expect to read that in the next day or two, since it should go pretty quickly.
Then … a brief break from all the nonfiction reads (because, you know, I’ve totally done so many? Pffft) with Imaginary Friend. I’ve been wanting to read this for a while, and I actually watched it unboxed at my library, and a choir of angels sang … and then we realized it was damaged and had to be returned and a new copy received. And then waiting for the slog of processing. So it’s a little later than I hoped it’d be, but from what I’ve heard, it should be well worth the wait!
Then I figure I’ll round things out with another nonfiction read: Things My Son Needs to Know about the World. I own this one, but it’s been sitting on my shelf judging me, and it’s another pretty short one, so I’m hoping to whip through it quick enough. I love Fredrik Backman, so it’s been hard to restrain myself, but I’ve held it off as a reward for getting through my library books without too many distractions. xD
I’m dying to hear what you think of Imaginary Friend, I have read some mixed reviews and I know it’s a beast of a book😁
It iiiis and now I’m questioning whether I’ll have a chance to get through it before I no longer have a chance lol. I might have to put it on hold. We’ll see. xD
She joined the cult! I’m so excited and proud of my new recruit! Loves and hugs!!!
DO WE GET HATS? I feel like it’s not a cult without special hats.
We get tatoos… most get the crow and cup…. or NMNF… I want brick by brick.
I dunno, I already have a tattoo. I’m not sure I want another one. xD A hat sounds easier.
Kaz is awesome! I have a “Heartbrekker” candle from MLCco that pretty much is the physical embodiment of my love of Kaz. LOL
My WWW:
http://megabunnyreads.home.blog/2019/11/27/www-wednesday/
oooh, that sounds like a great candle! I love bookish candles, but I have a really bad sense of smell, so I refuse to buy any, because they’d just be wasted. I just live through others telling me how wonderful they are. xD
Enjoy your reading! I’m about to finish capturing the devil!
(www.evelynreads.com)
That’s the last book in the series, right? Was it a good conclusion?
It is! And yes I loved it! This series is just soo good!
I’m curious about How To Become a Federal Criminal. Enjoy your week, and here’s MY WWW POST
It is soooo funny! If you’re looking for some just enjoyable nonfiction that makes you laugh, it’s definitely got that going for it.
Curious to know your thoughts on Imaginary Friend. This books keeps popping up and grabbing my attention for some reason. Another blog I follow liked it, if I recall, so if you do as well I may have to pick it up at some point.
Have a great week!
http://musewithmeblog.com/2019/11/27/www-wednesday-november-27-2019/
Ahhhh I haven’t even started it yet, because I’m very bad at this whole reading thing, obviously. 😛 I only picked it up because I’ve seen several bloggers that i have similar tastes with enjoying it. xD Yay for book bloggers!
I’m glad you ended up liking Six of Crows so much. The characters are so much fun and Kaz is one that you won’t easily forget. I want to read Imaginary Friend too but that book is so HUGE I am way too intimidated to start haha.
Here’s my WWW: https://thenightisdarkandfullofbooks.wordpress.com/2019/11/27/www-wednesday-15-desperately-trying-to-avoid-a-reading-slump/
I confess that despite being late in replying to these … I haven’t started it yet, either. xD Because it is huge and wow, look at all the books I have to read LOL.
Sounds like you’ve had a real mixed bag of reading. Although it might be a bit wasted on me as I live in the UK, I do like the sound of How to Become a Federal Criminal by Mike Chase 😀 Here’s my WWW for this week: https://thebookwormchronicles.wordpress.com/2019/11/27/www-wednesday-27th-november-2019/ 🙂
Perish the thought! You just have to take a short flight across a big water next time you want to become a federal criminal, and then you have the benefit of escaping back to your native land no problem! Or … something like that? xD
So glad Six of Crows picked up for you. I enjoyed it more than Crooked Kingdom, but overall, I really enjoyed the duology.
Really? A couple other people I’ve talked to said Crooked Kingdom was better. xD Well, we’ll see. I think the second book might be easier for me (or at least I hope so) just because I’m now familiar with the characters/world. My biggest struggle was just getting into it in the first place.
I am really looking forward to your tips on how to be a Federal Criminal! 😀 That sounds like a lot to fun.
Oh my gosh, Nicole, I can’t even choose! It’s going to be a top TEN Tuesday, which really limits me, and, like, how dare Jana limit my enthusiasm for committing federal crimes. xD I can’t wait to share more about this book, though. I’ve had so much fun with it.
I’m super glad you enjoyed Six of Crows! 🤩 I haven’t read it yet, but I’m dying to. I have to read Imaginary Friend too but I’m a bit uncertain because of the mixed reviews! I hope you enjoy your next reads 😄❤
I always feel like I tend to enjoy books with mixed reviews if the reviews are mostly negative. If the reviews are mostly positive, I tend to hate them. Why? I don’t know. I have to be contrarian, I guess? xD I definitely recommend Six of Crows, though!
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