Happy Wednesday everyone! Wednesdays also mean WWW Wednesday updates. WWW Wednesday is a bookish meme hosted originally by SAM@TAKING ON A WORLD OF WORDS. 

The mechanics for WWW Wednesday are 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?

Whoa. Just like that, we are now in the last month of the year. In a matter of days, we will be welcoming a new year. I hope 2025 is not in a rush but time takes its natural course. unfortunately, we can neither stop nor reverse it. As the year draws to a close, I hope that the year has been kind to everyone. I hope everyone has completed their goals or is on track to achieving them. I hope that everyone gets repaid for their hard work. I hope the remainder of the year will shower everyone with blessings and good news. As I approach the final stretch of the year, my focus, reading-wise, has shifted to the remaining books in my reading challenges. This is actually a trend, considering how I have always scrambled toward the end of the year to catch up on my active reading challenges. With my 2024 Top 24 Reading List done, I am now focusing on the remaining books on my 2024 Beat the Backlist Challenge list.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is one of the books I included on the aforementioned list. I have been hearing a lot about it and it is also listed as one of the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. These are the reasons why I obtained a copy of the book back in 2019. Unfortunately, it has been left to gather dust on my bookshelf, hence, its inclusion in my 2024 Beat the Backlist Challenge list. I barely had any iota about what the book was about despite its celebrity status. Nevertheless, this did not preclude me from reading the book which started with a crime, a moral crime; the introduction actually apprised me of what the book was about. It was about adultery, the case of Hester Prynne. I know most are familiar with the story and I am bracing for navigation across moral lines and ideals. Perhaps I am wrong but the story is going to be slow journey and I will try to savor it.

What have you finished reading?

The past week has been rather slow. It has been some time since I read a meager one book in a week. That was exactly what happened in the past week. I was able to complete just one book but I am still glad because it is a book that is part of my 2024 Beat the Backlist Challenge. It was nearly a decade ago since I obtained a copy of David Wroblewski’s The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. I had my copy of the book way longer than I had with The Scarlet Letter. I can’t remember the reason why I bought the book but I guess the price was right; I bought it from a book thrift shop. I have been meaning to read the book but other books took precedence. As such, for me to finally read the book, I included it in my 2024 Beat the Backlist Challenge, making it the sixteenth book from the list I read.

Originally published in 2008, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is the debut novel of Wroblewski. The novel transports us to 1970s rural Wisconsin where we meet the titular Edgar Sawtelle. Edgar was born mute and grew up in a barn known for breeding dogs using cutting-edge genetic theories. Surrounded by canines all his life, Edgar has developed a fondness for the dogs, even preferring their company over the adults around him. Their connection became even more pronounced when he helped train the dogs through sign language. His story started in the mid-twentieth century. The farm was once home to his father Edgar (Gar for short) and his uncle Claude. Gar showed interest in the family business, making him the heir apparent. Claude, on the other hand, had very little interest in the family’s business. With the onset of the Korean War, Claude enlisted in the Navy while Gar took over the family business. Gar married Gertrude (Trudy), and the couple had one child, Edgar. The natural harmony that existed in the Sawtelle dog farm was disrupted by the sudden reappearance of Claude. Claude’s reappearance set into motion a chain of events that commenced with the sudden demise of Gar. However, his death was wrapped in mystery, at least from Edgar’s perspective. The appearance of Gar’s ghost only deepened the mystery. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is, palpably, the coming-of-age story of Edgar, flanked by subjects such as isolation, loss, revenge, and love. Overall, it was a canine-filled story.

What will you read next?