# Another "whatcha reading?" thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 26, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918 "2003-09-26T05:28:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/41 "2003-09-27T05:16:07Z")
_Hey Nostradamus!_ by Douglas Coupland It’s broken into four parts narrated by four different people centred around the same incident (sorta). It’s very good. ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/42 "2003-09-27T05:32:03Z")
Janet Evanovich, Visions of Sugar Plums. Lighthearted and fun reading. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/43 "2003-09-27T05:40:27Z")
I am rereading **Forever Amber** by Kathleen Winsor after being reminded of it in another Cafe Society thread. How sweet to have forgotten all and begin again! ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/44 "2003-09-27T05:47:03Z")
_The Age of Spiritual Machines_: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence, by Ray Kurzweil. Great read so far, even though it is mostly optimistic on the future, for many people it will be scary: YMMV on this one. And I also just finished the Al Franken book also: IMO, just like **Equipoise** said. ---
**Author:** ![Wordy\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d2c977/32.png) [@Wordy\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wordy_One)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/45 "2003-09-27T06:15:43Z")
I’ve been on vacation, so I’ve gotten quite a bit of reading done in the last week. I finished: two books in a similar vein, Carolyn See’s _Making a Literary Life_ and Stephen King’s _On Writing_; Philip Roth’s _Goodbye Columbus_; Carolyn See’s _Golden Days_; and a compilation called _Dorothy Parker: Complete Stories_. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/46 "2003-09-27T06:28:44Z")
Well, let’s see. On the nightstand is **Burr** by Gore Vidal. I never got around to reading Vidal before, and I’m enjoying his writing. In the bathroom is **Hold On, Mr. President!"** by Sam Donaldson. This is not as well written as I might have expected from someone who writes for a living, but it has a lot of interesting insights on politicians and political news reporting. In the queue is **The Rainmaker** by John Grisham. This will be about my seventh Grisham book, and I intend to read them all and then keep up. I really like Grisham’s style. I haven’t read either of the Al Franken books I know about yet, but have read **Parliament of Whores** by P. J. O’Rourke. I like O’rourke, and he makes me laugh, but I have to be careful not to read him too often. I’m afraid he might convert this old liberal. Can’t have that! 😉 Oh, this just happens to be my 1,000th post since my new incarnation after the Great Crash. I was going to make number 1,000 in GD, but I’m not feeling all that serious tonight. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nurobath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a88e57/32.png) [@Nurobath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nurobath)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/47 "2003-09-27T07:06:08Z")
I’m currently in the middle of the first trilogy of Farseer books by Robin Hobb. I picked them up based on a recommendation I read here. Best story I’ve read in a long time. Finished Heinlen’s **The Cat Who Walks Through Walls** last week. I did not like that book at all. The characters are all exactly the same. I like some of his other stuff but that on was just bad IMO. Iain M. Banks is up next. **Excession** and **Look To Windward** ---
**Author:** ![theotherangel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df788c/32.png) [@theotherangel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theotherangel)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/48 "2003-09-27T12:00:23Z")
I’m reading, Glen Cook’s, “Deadly Quicksilver Lies”. Then on to the next in the series. ---
**Author:** ![Zap\_Rowsdower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3da27b/32.png) [@Zap\_Rowsdower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zap_Rowsdower)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/49 "2003-09-27T13:10:19Z")
_W.C. Fields: a Biography_ by James Curtis. I’m about halfway through and it is a very interesting read. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2003, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/50 "2003-09-27T14:13:57Z")
Nonfiction, as usual: _The Primal Feast: Food, Sex, Foraging, and Love_ by Susan Allport. Pop science more or less on evolution and natural history – about critters eating, basically. It’s interesting, but not the best effin’ book I’ve read in years. Or even months. ---
**Author:** ![nefertari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7bcc69/32.png) [@nefertari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nefertari)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2003, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/51 "2003-09-28T11:37:06Z")
I’m reading the \Iliad\ too Sir Dirx!..but I’m doing that for fun, so maybe I win the freak contest this thread 🙂 Also having a go at \Les Miserables\ and \Minority Report\ by Philip Dick which is very, very good. It’s a collection of his short stories - they are so…witty. Good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2003, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/52 "2003-09-28T11:50:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AbbySthrnAccent \* > \*\*Janet Evanovich, Visions of Sugar Plums. Lighthearted and fun reading. \*\* I’ve read the entire series (that one’s not technically in the series, but still…). And it’s so true to life! I even drove through Chambersburg once to check things out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/53 "2003-09-28T20:26:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Right now it’s “Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies” by Justin Diamond I don’t mean to nitpick here, but it’s Jared Diamond. Just in case anyone wants to look it up. 🙂 > [@](#): > > Am about halfway through Luck in the Shadows, a fantasy by Lynn Flewelling. I love her stuff. Been reading a lot of fantasy lately. I liked this series a lot! I just read it recently. Had never heard much about her writing–she’s pretty obscure–and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I usually don’t like quest-type fantasy much. I also read the 2nd in the series but have yet to get through the third. > [@](#): > > I was going to read the Discworld series, but I gave up after the first one. Thought it was just a wretched book, quite frankly. \Were you reading an early book? I liked them myself, but they’re generally agreed to be pretty bad. Terry Pratchett gets far better with age. His later books–say “Small Gods” or “Jingo”–are very different. They hardly even seem to be written by the same person. And they really have very little continuity–if you care a lot about spoilers, some of that goes on, but I think they can all stand on their own. My first was “Feet of Clay” and it’s in one of his “mini-series” within the Discworld universe.\ Books I’m reading: Angelica by Sharon Shinn. I really liked her Samaria series at first, but my hatred is starting to grow. I’m not sure if I’ll even read this one, which just came out recently. Her characters seem more and more like Mary Sues every time I read one of her books. The vaguely Romani-like race she calls the Edori also annoy the fuck out of me, and this features them prominently. Honestly, woman. Making every single Edori virtually perfect is just as racist as making them all EEEEEeevil. No culture is perfect. Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermeyer. This little gem of a YA fantasy book was recently reprinted and my library _finally_ got a copy. It was just as good as I’d always heard it was. And there’s a sequel coming out! The Lord of Castle Black by Steven Brust. Another book I’d been awaiting forever and finally got my hands on. I know the ridiculously overblown prose annoys a lot of people but I like it. Also, I was checking on Amazon to make sure of the title and apparently he’s writing a book about Sethra Lavode. Yay! I always liked her character. and lastly: Tong Lashing by Peter David. The third and last (possibly?) in the Sir Apropos of Nothing series. The anti-hero is great fun; I absolutely love him. The puns get on my nerves, though. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/54 "2003-09-28T20:35:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tanaqui \* > \*\*\Were you reading an early book? I liked them myself, but they’re generally agreed to be pretty bad. Terry Pratchett gets far better with age. His later books–say “Small Gods” or “Jingo”–are very different. They hardly even seem to be written by the same person. And they really have very little continuity–if you care a lot about spoilers, some of that goes on, but I think they can all stand on their own. My first was “Feet of Clay” and it’s in one of his “mini-series” within the Discworld universe.\ > \*\* It was the first in the series; I thought it made sense to read them in order. Couldn’t get through it, though. It’s very rare that I leave a book midstream. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/55 "2003-09-28T20:41:42Z")
I’m reading _That Old Ace in the Hole_ by Annie Proulx. It’s pretty darn funny. ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2003, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/56 "2003-09-28T20:57:32Z")
**Guys and Dolls** , the collected short stories of Damon Runyon. Once you get into the rhythm of his prose style, it just carries you along with lots of laughs and no small amount of biting between the lines commentary. Next on the list is **The Illiad** (put me down as another freak panel member I guess), although I’d like to find a better translation than the E. V. Rieu edition I have. Then comes **Paradise Lost** , which I will follow up with **The Human Comedy** , if everything goes according to the schedule I have in mind right now. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/57 "2003-09-28T21:10:06Z")
**Time Traveler’s Wife** by Audrey Niffenegger. I checked it out of the library and it was so good, I think I’m going to have to buy it. I also have **Forever Amber** and **Aztec** checked out of the library based on some Doper recommendations. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/58 "2003-09-28T23:25:48Z")
Plowing through some series I started and will damn well finish. Takes a bit longer to do when you don’t read them all straight through, but I like mix it up. **Hornblower and the Antropos** is in my bag for train reading. **Dragonfly in Amber** by Diana Gabaldon is by the computer in the living room and Orson Scott Card’s **Shadow of the Hegemon** is by my bed. All will be dropped the minute I get my hands on **Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them** ---
**Author:** ![hardygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@hardygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hardygrrl)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2003, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/59 "2003-09-28T23:54:06Z")
Right now, **Lies (and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them)** by Al Franken. Next up is **Under the Banner of Heaven** by Jon Krakauer and **Porno** by Irvine Welsh. It’s the sequel to **Trainspotting**. ---
**Author:** ![nisosbar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@nisosbar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nisosbar)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/60 "2003-09-29T23:57:59Z")
Finished **Hell House** , and started **Domain** by James Herbert last night. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918.md?page=4)