# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![HDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bb73d2/32.png) [@HDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HDS)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/81 "2003-10-03T23:14:10Z")
Justine by the Marquis de Sade. Quills piqued my curiousity. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/82 "2003-10-04T02:26:30Z")
Just finished **The First Casualty** by Phillip Knightley, a history of war correspondents from the Crimean War to the present. Just started **The Innocents Abroad** by Mark Twain. ---
**Author:** ![nisosbar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@nisosbar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nisosbar)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/83 "2003-10-06T12:42:06Z")
Finished **Domain** by James Herbert last night. Starting **The Khufra Run** by Jack Higgins today. ---
**Author:** ![nisosbar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@nisosbar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nisosbar)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/84 "2003-10-10T14:15:05Z")
See now, I’m currently reading Clan of the Cave Bear, and I am finding that I just can’t get into it, and I’m only on page 50 or so. It’s just sort of a soft and gushy, emotionally-driven, mother/child kind of book about relationships, and I’m just **really** not into that. I’m almost certain that I won’t be able to get much further into it. OTOH, there are dozens of books sitting on my bookshelf, begging me to read them - like House on the Borderland, Relic, Temple, Still Life and other pulpy horror-type books, and I have a feeling I’m going to weaken and start reading one of those instead. I find it noteworthy that Clan was recently named “one of the most important works” by one of those insufferable thinking institutes (No doubt, Joyce Carol Oates is on that same list… 😃 ). It so happens that I am also reading Jack Higgins’ The Khufra Run, an older action book recently re-issued in Mass Market Paperback, and I’m flying through it (“flying” for me) - the dumb, pointless, unimportant, hack work. That must mean I’m stupid. (Please don’t mind me as I hack and cough a bad cold away here…) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2003, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/85 "2003-10-10T14:29:28Z")
I just got started on Portrait of a Burger as a Young Calf (non-fiction) by Peter Lovenheim. He’s a journalist who decided to follow the life of a calf from conception to slaughter, and so far I’m finding it fascinating. Whether you eat meat or not, if you just like to know how things work, I think you would find this interesting. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2003, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/86 "2003-10-11T19:06:12Z")
I’m just now finishing up **The Tao of Pooh** by Benjamin Hoff, perhaps one of the greatest books ever written. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![nisosbar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@nisosbar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nisosbar)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/87 "2003-10-11T20:04:46Z")
Started The House on the Borderland, by William Hope Hodgson, today - interesting how it’s over 100 years old, and hasn’t dated nearly as much as some books I’ve read which are only 30 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/88 "2003-10-11T20:52:14Z")
Just finished up: [A Point of Honour](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/031287202X/qid=1065905946/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-5583379-3584045?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) -great dialogue. [Slammerkin](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0151006725/qid=1065905982/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-5583379-3584045?v=glance&s=books) - like a really really depressing Crimson Petal and White. [We Need to Talk About Kevin](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1582432678/qid%3D1065906085/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/002-5583379-3584045) - took a little while to get going but had a really powerful ending And I’m now working [Bonesetter’s Daughter](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0804114986/qid=1065906012/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-5583379-3584045) I’ve really enjoyed all of these. ---
**Author:** ![aaaaaarrgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@aaaaaarrgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaaaaarrgg)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/89 "2003-10-12T04:13:13Z")
i just finished neil gaiman’s _american gods_ last night. it was my first book of his that i’ve read, but definitely not the last. ---
**Author:** ![cletus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@cletus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cletus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/90 "2003-10-12T05:19:46Z")
The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien I can’t believe I haven’t read this saga yet. 🙂 After I finish LOTR, I’m going to read the last two books in the _Dune_ saga by Frank Herbert. I can compare them to see which is better. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/91 "2003-10-12T18:59:39Z")
Hi all, Just got back from vacation in Denver- read _Zeke & Ned_ by Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana. Very excellent as usual. Recently finished _Porno_ by Irvine Welsh, put me on a Welsh kick-went back and re-read Trainspotting- now re-reading \*Porno \* again - those are my lunch break books. Also re-read \*The Acid House \* by the same author. Got to remember not to leave those out on my work desk 😉 Now reading the third Harry Potter Book and touched on P.J O’ Rourkes _Modern Manners_ on the car drive home. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/92 "2003-10-12T19:15:08Z")
I am currently reading “History of My Life,” books 7-8 by Giacomo Casanova. ---
**Author:** ![RahRahMah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/54ee81/32.png) [@RahRahMah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RahRahMah)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/93 "2003-10-12T22:52:39Z")
**War and Peace** , just started a couple days ago, and **Bertrand Russells History of Modern Philosophy** ---
**Author:** ![RahRahMah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/54ee81/32.png) [@RahRahMah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RahRahMah)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/94 "2003-10-12T22:52:48Z")
**War and Peace** , just started a couple days ago, and **Bertrand Russells History of Western Philosophy** ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/95 "2003-10-12T23:56:27Z")
**Stalking Darkness** by Lynn Flewelling – I thought it was #2 in a trilogy, but apparently it’s #2 of 2, and the next book, which I thought was #3 of a trilogy, is actually a stand-alone. Cool! I’m so glad to see another Flewelling reader here – she’s getting more attention among fantasy fans. Also reading **Stewart O’Nan** ’s new book, **The Night Country**. It’s about teenagers who died in a car crash. They come back a year later, on Halloween. For O’Nan readers, you know this won’t be a typical ghost story. I promised someone I’d read **The Robber Bride** by Margaret Atwood next, and I promised myself I’d read **The Lord of the Rings** very soon. ---
**Author:** ![nisosbar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@nisosbar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nisosbar)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/96 "2003-10-13T02:43:31Z")
Just finished **House on the Borderland** and will start something new tomorrow - was going to try **The Stand** , but not sure I’m ready for such a big book! 😃 I think I’ll start **Ghost Train** by Stephen Laws. (halfway through **Khufra Run** , will probably finish that Tuesday or Wednesday) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/97 "2003-10-13T02:49:16Z")
Like **Elaella** I almost always read more than one book at a time. Since I usually write more than one short story at a time too, I guess that’s how my brain is wired to deal with the written word. Anyway, I just finished **Dawin’s Radio** by Greg Bear and \*\* Oryx and Crake\*\* Margaret Atwood …I didn’t get them until Tuesday, so I guess I really liked them 😃 I didn’t get out of the Bs at the library this week - now I’m working on \*\*Lives of the Monster Dogs \*\* by Kirsten Bakis and \*\*Tamsin \*\* by Peter S. Beagle. Since I’ve got to read them by two weeks from Tuesday, this interupts my readings of **Spindle’s End** by Robin McKinley and \*\* The Dogs of Babel \*\* by Carolyn Parkhurst, both of which I’ve vowed to finish before taking anything else out of the library. But that’s probably a lie to myself. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/98 "2003-10-13T02:58:23Z")
[teensy weensy hijack – I didn’t want to start a horror thread] **nisosbar** , I can’t help but notice that you read a lot of horror, and not just the ordinary KingKoontzRiceSaulAndrews. Like Ghost Train. I haven’t heard anyone mention that book for years. Where are you getting your recommendations? ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/99 "2003-10-13T03:22:07Z")
I’m reading Joyce’s **Ulysses** … but interspersed with chapters from that I’m re-reading the **Chronicles of Narnia** by C.S. Lewis. It’s actually interesting to compare Joyce’s writing to Lewis’s (or Tolkien’s); they were basically contemporaries, but from a colony and a colonizer (sounds like something with which one might zap a colon), and with very different writing styles. ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918/100 "2003-10-13T04:16:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Elaella \* > \*\*The people in my life simply don’t understand how I don’t get all of the details of several different books confused. There are only a couple of people who understand my addiction to books and the fact that just because I buy a book doesn’t mean I have to read it right away. I may not read it for months or years after purchasing it. \*\* Yup, I’m like that too. My brother got fed up with my taking more than 8 months to finish “Fargo Rock City” (which he gave to me for Christmas last year) that he took it from my room the last time he was over at my place! _Blood and Gold_ by Anne Rice, but only on Saturdays… or whenever I have to spend time on the bus. _Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography_ by Jimmy McDonough… I plan to finish that by Nov. 25, or whenever my brother has his birthday party. (it’s my present to him, and I figure I may as well read it while I’ve got it) _Life of Pi_ by Yann Martel. F\_X [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-whatcha-reading-thread/203918.md?page=6)