This Week in Books – 11-10-23

This Week in Books is a feature hosted by Lipsy at Lipsyy Lost and Found that allows bloggers to share:

• What they’ve recently finished reading
• What they are currently reading
• What they are planning to read next

A similar meme is run by Taking on a World of Words.

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The last book I finished reading was Our Hideous Progeny by C. E. McGill – a book I picked up on a whim (OK, I admit it, it was the cover!) and thoroughly enjoyed.

Mary is the great-niece of Victor Frankenstein. She knows her great uncle disappeared in mysterious circumstances in the Arctic but she doesn’t know why or how…

The 1850s is a time of discovery and London is ablaze with the latest scientific theories and debates, especially when a spectacular new exhibition of dinosaur sculptures opens at the Crystal Palace. Mary, with a sharp mind and a sharper tongue, is keen to make her name in this world of science, alongside her geologist husband Henry, but without wealth and connections, their options are limited.

But when Mary discovers some old family papers that allude to the shocking truth behind her great-uncle’s past, she thinks she may have found the key to securing their future… Their quest takes them to the wilds of Scotland, to Henry’s intriguing but reclusive sister Maisie, and to a deadly chase with a rival who is out to steal their secret…

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I am currently reading The Moor’s Account by Laila Lalami.

In 1527, hundreds of settlers arrived on the coast of modern-day Florida and claimed the region for Spain. Within a year of navigational errors, disease, starvation and fierce resistance from indigenous tribes, only four survivors remained. Three were nobleman, whose stories found their way into the official record. The fourth was known only as Estebanico, a vibrant merchant from Barbary forced into slavery and a new name, reborn as the first African explorer of the Americas.

This is his story: a journey across the great swathes of the New World, where would-be conquerors are transformed into humble servants, fearful outcasts into healers, and the silenced into storytellers.

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My next read might be Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati.

Mother. Monarch. Murderer. Magnificent.

You are born to a king, but marry a tyrant. You stand helplessly as he sacrifices your child to placate the gods. You watch him wage war on a foreign shore and comfort yourself with violent thoughts of your own.

You play the part, fooling enemies who deny you justice. Slowly, you plot.

You are Clytemnestra.

But when the husband who owns you returns in triumph, what then?

Acceptance or vengeance – infamy follows both. So you bide your time and wait, until you might force the gods’ hands and take revenge. Until you rise. For you understood something that the others don’t. If power isn’t given to you, you have to take it for yourself.

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And that’s my week in books! What are you reading this week? Let me know in the comments! 😎