# Books that apparently,you're the only person to read **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2004, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020 "2004-03-13T02:56:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Iacob\_Matthew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Iacob\_Matthew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iacob_Matthew)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/61 "2004-03-15T01:51:30Z")
_Second Game_, by Katherine Maclean and Charles DeVet, extended from a short story by the same title. The short’s won a hugo, so it had to be popular, even though the only other person I know who’s read it is my father. I got the book used, so someone else has to have read it. It’s almost as good as the short, and adds a lot to it. The only two things I don’t like are only referenced only one time apiece and were easily fixed with scotch-tape and a single gum wrapper, ripped as to fit. With those in place, I can see no reason why this isn’t counted as one of the great stories of our time. The book from my H.S. U.S. History class is something it seems not even the teacher bothered to read, and I know for a fact that no other students in my class touched it, but that’s to be expected, kinda… ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/62 "2004-03-15T03:10:04Z")
> [@bashere](#): > > I was pretty well convinced I was the only person to have ever heard of **Last Stand of the DNA Cowboys** by Mick Farren, but when I asked about the first three at a SF store in Toronto, the clerk said “By Mick Farren?” before I finished the name. Anyone else heard of him? I read it. It’s my favorite of Farren’s, though I don’t really like him all that much. Mrs. Evil Captor however is a huge Mick Farren fan so of course she’s read it, too. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/63 "2004-03-15T03:26:29Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > _Under the Frog_ by Tibor Fischer. It’s a humorous account of the 1956 Hungarian uprising, if that can be believed. The account of the Jesuit priest returning to his hometown to face off with the local Communist lackey in a winner-take-all eating contest has to be the one of the funniest things I’ve ever read. You’re not alone! **Under the Frog** was hilarious. I know a lot of Hungarians, so I was able to populate the book’s characters with real accents and personalities. A great read for anyone who’s enjoys the sardonic, almost fatalistic sense of humor of many eastern Europeans. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/64 "2004-03-15T11:24:13Z")
> [@gooti](#): > > **Biting The Sun** by Tanith Lee. My hubby isn’t into sci-fi or fantasy at all and I kind of picked this up by accident. > > I’ve read a lot of her short stories in anthologies but I had never read any novels by her before this. I was pleasantly surprised. (It’s actually two novellas, but WTF?). I’ve read that too. Out of the library when I was about 16. Loved it. Would like to read it again one day. ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/65 "2004-03-15T14:32:12Z")
I’m chiming in as another person who loved _The Faerie Queene_. I don’t know that anything I read is particularly obscure. They are not generally widely read, but there are plenty of scholars who do enjoy them. I do remember one sci-fi book I came across years ago: _The Sword of Rhiannon_. I don’t know who wrote it, and couldn’t tell you a thing about it now, but I sure loved it back then. There was also a book I read, again years ago, called _Heart of Jade_. My mother (!!) recommended it to me–the best I can recall, it was a pornographic book set in the Aztec/conquistador era. I was in my late teens when she had me read it; I’m not quite sure why. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/66 "2004-03-15T19:03:05Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I haven’t met too many other people who have read James Morrow or Tim Powers, who are two of my absolute favorite authors. Everyone should read _Blameless in Abaddon_, and _The Anubis Gates_ is just too fuckin’ cool. James Morrow is one of my new favorite authors - I read _Towing Jehovah_ & _Blameless in Abbadon_ last year, recently finished _Bible Stories for Adults_ and have _Only Begotten Daughter_ on the To Read List. Did Tim Powers write _Dinner at Deviant’s Palace_ ? That was going to be my contribution to this thread, along with Rebecca Ore’s Alien series. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/67 "2004-03-15T20:49:04Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I haven’t met too many other people who have read James Morrow or Tim Powers, who are two of my absolute favorite authors. Everyone should read _Blameless in Abaddon_, and _The Anubis Gates_ is just too fuckin’ cool. I’ve read all of Jim Morrow’s books (I get them free), though I much prefer **Only Begotten Daughter** or **Towing Jehovah**. Same with Tim Powers. Loved **The Anubis Gates** and **Dinner at Deviant’s Palace** , but **Last Call** is my favorite. I’ve read **Becoming Alien** and **Being Alien** , too. ---
**Author:** ![JackaRoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@JackaRoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackaRoe)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/68 "2004-03-15T20:58:48Z")
> [@Tentacle Monster](#): > > There’s a book called _Those About To Die_ that I haven’t been able to find outside of my old high school library. It’s an interesting book about the Roman colosseum. I remember having that book a long time ago. Seems my dad had a garage sale while I was in the Navy and sold it along with many other books of mine. I have read Galapagos a few times. Love Vonneguts’s work. I have also read _Dinner at Deviant’s_. Good story set over the California landscape. I have never met anyone who has heard of **Jack Vance** hence never read any of his books. The closet I came was while playing Dark Ages of Camelot, an online role playing game, so9meone recognized my name as a main charater from one of Vances’s series, “The Cadwal Chronicles”. So has anyone read anything by **Jack Vance**. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/69 "2004-03-15T21:46:17Z")
I don’t think anybody’s read this series of books about a kid named Harry Pottter. Ok I was kidding. Seriously though the only people I know who have read the book \*\*A Fan’s Notes \*\* by Frederic Exely have done so because I lent them my copy and told them to read it. His two other books, Pages from a Cold Island and Last Notes from Home are just as good. ---
**Author:** ![xcheopis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bc8723/32.png) [@xcheopis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xcheopis)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/70 "2004-03-16T00:48:43Z")
> [@JackaRoe](#): > > So has anyone read anything by **Jack Vance**. “I can provide you a heart spasm, a brain hemorrhage, or a convulsion of the small intestine, whichever you prefer.” “Your arguments are impressive.” ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/71 "2004-03-16T05:24:35Z")
I tend to like books by good authors that are a bit… under appreciated. (also known as out of print, hard to find, disappeared into the black hole that is mass market paperback publishing…) So, I’m terribly fond of Joan D. Vinge, but I can’t even remember the title of her short story collection with ‘Tin Man.’ I think it won a Nebula, but that was almost 20 years ago. For Tim Powers, I’ve enjoyed all his books that I’ve gotten my hands on. **Dinner at Deviant’s Palace** reads like a continuation of H.P. Lovecraft’s ‘The Colour Out of Space.’ I also enjoyed his **Drawing of the Dark** though it’s far from his later works. If you can find it, Jane Lindskold’s **Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls** is a great, and disturbing read. I also enjoy Timothy Zahn’s earlier works, as well as his more famous ones. **Spinneret** is fun. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/72 "2004-03-16T08:34:50Z")
I’ve thought of several others. _We Have always Lived in the Castle_, _Raising Demons_ & _Life Among the Savages_ by Shirley Jackson - Even Cowgirls Get the Blues\* by Tom Robbins I know people have heard of that one, but I’ve yet to find anyone else who admits to reading it. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/73 "2004-03-16T12:33:44Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > - Even Cowgirls Get the Blues\* by Tom Robbins I know people have heard of that one, but I’ve yet to find anyone else who admits to reading it. Ahem. I bought Mr. singular an autographed first edition a few years ago. Took a lot of searching to find it, but the look on his face when he opened it was worth every tedious minute. ---
**Author:** ![xcheopis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bc8723/32.png) [@xcheopis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xcheopis)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/74 "2004-03-16T13:52:26Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > I’ve thought of several others. _We Have always Lived in the Castle_, _Raising Demons_ & _Life Among the Savages_ by Shirley Jackson Shirley Jackson was my first favourite horror writer! Have you read **The Sundial**? Weird and creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/75 "2004-03-16T15:30:18Z")
When I was about eleven, I read (over and over again, checking it out of the library on a regular schedule) a book called **Sir MacHinery**. The plot involves a scientist who moves to Scotland to build his prototype robot. Some brownies discover the robot, and, reading the word “machinery” off the boxes he shipped it, figure he must be a Scottish knight in armor and dub him “Sir MacHinery”. Sir MacHinery goes on to help the brownies battle ghosts and goblins of all sorts. Never met anyone else who has even heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![booklover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@booklover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booklover)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/76 "2004-03-16T15:38:11Z")
I’ve read both the Green Sky Trilogy by Zilpha Keatley Snyder and _The Bone People_ by Keri Hulme. They’re great books, but I always find the latter a bit disturbing. Personally, I love _The Last Magician_ by Janette Turner Hospital, a surreal story about the adult lives of a group of childhood friends in Australia. Her other books are terrific too, but this one has always remained my favorite. Nobody I know has ever even heard of this author. ---
**Author:** ![beajerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@beajerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beajerry)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/77 "2004-03-16T16:19:44Z")
I read the Book Of Love, but I can’t tell you who wrote it. ---
**Author:** ![GCU\_Stout\_Heart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gcu_stout_heart/32/3032_2.png) [@GCU\_Stout\_Heart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GCU_Stout_Heart)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/78 "2004-03-16T19:23:44Z")
> [@Marlitharn](#): > > None of my friends like to read very much; I can’t even get them to read the Discworld books. So when I make Discworld jokes, no one laughs. ☹ That’s me! That’s me! Sooo _sooo_ frustrating… the number of times I’ve said “Sausage inna bun?” to resounding blank stares is deeply saddening. And yet, I know millions of people read the Discworld novels. Where are you all? (Any closet readers work in Stobhill Hospital?) Lou ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/79 "2004-03-16T19:31:39Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > Both “In His Own Write” and “A Spaniard In The Works” by John Lennon. > > I _love_ the way he used gobbledygook as a medium, and he had a wicked sense of humor. The thing is, I _understand_ most of what he was saying through the gobbledygook! I remember reading it at school, and laughing so hard I could barely breathe. Somebody would ask me what was so funny. I’d hand them the book. Without exception, every single one of them handed it back to me, looking at me as if I were from outer space. > > Jumble Jim, who shall remain nameless, was slowly asking his way through the underpants… I agree. I really enjoyed those. I saw a play based on “A Spaniard in the Works” once. It really translated well. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020/80 "2004-03-16T19:36:17Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > I’ve thought of several others. _We Have always Lived in the Castle_, _Raising Demons_ & _Life Among the Savages_ by Shirley Jackson > > - Even Cowgirls Get the Blues\* by Tom Robbins I know people have heard of that one, but I’ve yet to find anyone else who admits to reading it. I read it. I’ve read all but the last two Robbins books. I tried reading the last one but just didn’t get into it. My favorite was **Skinny Legs and All** , followed by **Still Life with Woodpecker** and **Jitterbug Perfume**. **Cowgirls** was good, but it’s been a while since I read it and I don’t remember so much of it now. Of course, the movie sucked as only a black hole can suck. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-apparently-youre-the-only-person-to-read/234020.md?page=5)