It’s the first Wednesday of the 11th month of the year. It also means one thing – a WWW Wednesday update! WWW Wednesday is a bookish meme originally hosted by SAM@TAKING ON A WORLD OF WORDS. The mechanics for WWW Wednesday is quite simple, you just have to answer three questions:

  1. What are you currently reading?
  2. What have you finished reading?
  3. What will you read next?
www-wednesdays
What are you currently reading?

I am opening my November reading month with George Orwell’s timeless classic work, 1984. A dystopian tale, it is a highly innovative and inventive work that ushered in a new literary era. My first Orwell work (which I have learned is a pseudonym), it is also a book that has long been on my to-be-read list. Due to month-end closing activities, I haven’t made that much progress yet but I was already introduced to the mantra that loomed over the narrative – the presence of Big Brother. With month-end closing nearly done, I hope to complete reading this book soon. Contrary to expectation, the writing is easier to understand.

What have you finished reading?

Thankfully, before the start of month end closing activities, I managed to complete two books from 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. The first book is Ukrainian-British writer Marina Lewycka’s A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian. The novel relates the story of the Majevkij family, migrants from Ukraine who currently live in Petersborough, England. Long estranged, the rift between sisters Vera and Nadezhda grew deeper after their mother’s death. However, an unexpected event surprisingly united them to achieve a common goal. Branded as a humorous novel, I found the novel to be the contrary as it tackles heavy themes such as family feud, migration, and the history of Ukraine. A distraction from the primary narrative is Nikolai’s endeavor to write a “short history of tractors”.

From England, my reading journey next brought me to China with Tsao Hsueh-Chin’s Dream of the Red Chamber. Considered as one of China’s Four Great Classical Novels, it charts the story of the old, noble family of Chia family in the middle period of the Qing Dynasty China. The primary protagonist is Paoyu and the story revolves mostly around him. The first thing that I have noticed about the novel is the endless number of characters which made it cumbersome following the primary narrative. It was, nonetheless, an entertaining read for it captures the atmosphere of the period.

What will you read next?

I completed October by reading various books listed as 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. For November, I have no clear plan yet on how I am going to go about it. My initial plan is to read new books (meaning published this year) I have just purchased. The first one, and one that I am looking forward to a lot is Nigerian writer Akwaeke Emezi’s The Death of Vivek Oji. My first Emezi, Freshwater, which I have read earlier this year, left me so much to anticipate so when I learned that she is publishing a new book this year, I was quick to add the book to my cart. Another book I am looking forward to is Megha Majumdar’s A Burning. It is part of my 2020 Top 10 Books I Look Forward To list. Ironically, I forgot why I added it to the list but still I am hoping that it will live up to the hype.

And thus concludes another WWW Wednesday update! I hope everyone is having a great midweek! Do keep safe and as always, enjoy reading!