# BOOKS! We read BOOKS! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 3, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763 "2003-12-03T19:52:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/21 "2003-12-04T02:42:44Z")
Reads as of late: _The Razor’s Edge_ - W. Somerset Maugham _Slaughter-House Five_ - Kurt Vonnegut _Just A Couple Of Days_ - Tony Vigorito _Running With Scissors_ - Augusten Burroughs Just started: _The Picture Of Dorian Gray_ - Oscar Wilde. And of course … _Yellow River_ - I. P. Daley. ---
**Author:** ![mug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@mug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mug)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/22 "2003-12-04T02:43:59Z")
Currently reading: **Critical Space** by Greg Rucka, the last book in a series about bodyguard Atticus Kodiak. Outstanding books and well written. I’d recommend them to anyone who likes the action/suspense genre. Next up: **Forever** by Pete Hamill **Forty Words For Sorrow** by Giles Blunt **Nine** by Jan Burke ---
**Author:** ![beajerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@beajerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beajerry)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/23 "2003-12-04T02:45:09Z")
Salmon of Doubt by Adams. And Naked Pictures of Famous People by John Stewart. Just finished Seek My Face by Updike. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/24 "2003-12-04T02:46:56Z")
I’m currently reading _Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege 1942-1943_ by Antony Beevor. A definitive account of the ultimate “long, hard slog”. Just finished reading _Moneyball_ by Michael Lewis and _Drop City_ by T.C. Boyle over Thanksgiving. I love baseball, though I’m not a huge stat freak so I skimmed the sabermetric stuff in Moneyball but greatly enjoyed the story as a whole. I’m glad Billy Beane still works for one of the local teams. Boyle is one of my favorite authors and Drop City was a welcome relief after his previous novel, the depressing _A Friend of the Earth_. On the shelf waiting to be read are Neal Stephenson’s _Quicksilver_, Simon Winchester’s _Meaning of Everything_, and Jim Derogatis’ collection of 1990’s rock reviews and interviews _Milk It!_ and a few other things that have been there longer. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/25 "2003-12-04T03:15:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > \*\*I’m currently reading the **Guardians of the Flame** by Joel Rosenberg. The first 3/4 books in one big hardcover. Before that, I read **Interesting Times** by Terry Pratchett. And before that, it was **Guards, Guards!** and **Men At Arms** , also by Pratchett. And before that, it was **Issola** by Stephen Brust. > > I’m liking the Rosenberg so far, I’d suggest Pratchett to anyone, and Brust rules. \*\* I just finished rereading Guards! Guards! too (today, actually) and plan on rereading Men at Arms, possibly as early as this weekend (once my exams are over!). I unfortunately don’t read enough during the school semester, and actually haven’t read a book since September, when I devoured the Neanderthal Parallax trilogy by Robert. J. Sawyer. I can’t wait to go home for Christmas and go to my brother’s place and grab a bunch of books from him (he is my personal library). Since I am graduating this term, I should have plenty of time to read in the new year! ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/26 "2003-12-04T03:57:36Z")
See, I have plenty of time to read, I usually get at least 45 minutes of solid reading time for each way I’m going on the train. If it’s a small book, I usually make it through in a day, with my between class reading times and such. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/27 "2003-12-04T04:09:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > **And before that, it was Issola by Stephen Brust.** Currently reading Brust’s **Paths of the Dead** (sequel to _The Phoenix Guards_ and _500 Years After_… and before that is was Pratchett’s **Night Watch**. As an aside, Brust has never appeared to me to be a very high profile author, but he’s certainly one of my favourites – and a fair bit of one book shelf carries most of his novels. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/28 "2003-12-04T04:15:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Beltane \* > \*\* My boyfriend is reading her Anita Blake series, which I also loved. I think I actually like her new series better though. I do hope she writes more Anita Blake Novels, however. (These two series occur in very similar, but not identical modern worlds- one where vampires exist and have recently “came out of the coffin” and the other where Fey -Sidhe, brownie, leprechauns, etc exist both are very much multi-genre books with very strong female protagonists) \*\* Then you might be interested in Charlaine Harris’ _Dead Until Dark_ series. Similar theme in that Vamps are trying to become mainstream. I just finished _Daytime Drama_, which has some of the hottest gay sex scenes I’ve read in quite some time. Other recent recommendations are Douglas Coupland’s _All Familes Are Psychotic_ and _Hey Nostradamus_. I’d also include _Skipping Towards Gomorrah_ by **Dan Savage**. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Babbington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mr.Babbington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Babbington)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/29 "2003-12-04T04:29:05Z")
Some might think me hopelessly uncool and Not-With-It, but I just found Neil Gaiman. Read **American Gods** , which I found completely awesome. Sam’s manifesto in the middle of the book was one of the best things I have read in a very long time, not to mention the depiction of the underworld. Other recent fun: The Sharpe novels, by Bernard Cornwell. Just a rollicking, swashbuckling (sort of, only with rifles) good time. Says so in the scriptures. The Bounty, by Caroline Alexander. Fletcher Christian WAS a bastard. Who knew? I’m sure there’s more, but I can’t think of any right now. ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/30 "2003-12-04T04:33:02Z")
Tonight, I just finished _Changer_ by Jane Lindskold, about as neat a little surprise of a book as I’ve seen in a while. It’s out of print, though, which is sad. I also recently read _The Wolves in the Walls_ by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, and _Endless Nights_, the new Sandman graphic novel that isn’t really a Sandman graphic novel. Both were good, but not great. Next up is _The Return of the King_, in preparation for the movie of course. Jack Whyte’s _Fort at River’s Bend_ is on its way here as I type, and _Reviving Ophelia_ is also waiting for me on the shelf, because my girls are growing up. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/31 "2003-12-04T04:44:52Z")
Thanks to a couple of dopers who recommended her: I am reading \*\*Lindsey Davis’ Falco Detective series \*\* I’m on book three. Thank you, thank you, thank you. **Asking for Trouble** by Elizabeth Young. Vastly entertaining in a neurotic Bridget Jones Diary kinda way. ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/32 "2003-12-04T05:26:04Z")
Currently reading: **Elizabeth, the Queen** (Alison Weir) Recently read books (past 3 months) **The Six Wives of Henry VIII** (Alison Weir) **Children of England: Heirs of Henry VIII** (Alison Weir) **Monstrous Regiment** (Terry Pratchett) **Vive La Revolution** (Marc Steele) **Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar** (Simon Sebag Montefiore) **Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self** (Claire Tomalin) **Straight Face** (autobiography of actor Nigel Hawthorne) **Napoleon** (Vincent Cronin) **Wellington: The Iron Duke** (Richard Holmes) **Churchill** (Roy Jenkins) **Mussolini** (R.J.B. Bosworth) **The Second World War** (Winston Churchill) **Catherine the Great** (Henri Troyat) **Prince of Princes: The Life of Potemkin** (Simon Sebag Montefiore) Someone listed **Stalingrad** by Anthony Beevor. I recommend his sequel, **The Fall of Berlin 1945** , to accompany that excellent book. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/33 "2003-12-04T05:49:03Z")
I am, at the moment, reading **Master and Commander** by Patrick O’Brian, along with its illustrated companion volume **Patrick O’Brian’s Navy** , which is on loan from **Gunslinger** while he reads my copy of James Lileks’ **Gallery of Regrettable Food**. I have also recently read **The Three Musketeers** by Alexandre Dumas _pere_, and a vocabulary building book published as part of a set with a dictionary and thesaurus from Merriam-Webster. Yes, I’m basically reading a dictionary. Partly because it goes into a slight bit of detail about the origins of words from their Greek and Latin meanings (although I’ve yet to come across a word I did not already know), but mostly because my entire library of books is still in New York State in my parents’ house and they won’t pay to ship them down to me. I’ll retrieve them myself in March. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/34 "2003-12-04T05:56:44Z")
I’m reading _Bogombo Snuff Box_, which is a collection of Vonnegut short fiction, and rereading _The Catcher in the Rye_ by Salinger. I’m also reading Knuth Volume 1 and I’ve downloaded the GNU MDK (MIX Development Kit) and I’ve gotten it working. Haven’t written any programs in it yet, though. Oh, and I’m re-rereading _Made in America_ by Bill Bryson, and I’m wondering in which of my many, many old SF anthology paperbacks is the wonderful short story “The Man Who Lost the Sea” by Sturgeon. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/35 "2003-12-04T06:16:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DataZak \* > \*\*Currently reading: **Elizabeth, the Queen** (Alison Weir) > > Recently read books (past 3 months) > > **The Six Wives of Henry VIII** (Alison Weir) > > **Children of England: Heirs of Henry VIII** (Alison Weir). \*\* You HAVE to read Weir’s _Henry VIII: The King and His Court._ It’s amazingly rich in detail about the Tudor period. It’s not a biography, per se, but more about the times, the culture, the clothing, houses, and food of the era. It’s simply marvelous. ---
**Author:** ![CaptBushido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@CaptBushido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptBushido)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/36 "2003-12-04T06:17:19Z")
**Russia at War** by Alexander Werth is the last thing I knocked back. I’m about to start on Gibbon’s **The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire** You can’t imagine how hard it is to explain to people that “Yes, I am a 19 year old college student, but no, I’m not a history major. No, these large historical documentaries are not required for a class. Yes, I read them for fun. What of it?” ---
**Author:** ![CaptBushido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@CaptBushido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptBushido)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/37 "2003-12-04T06:19:34Z")
[quote] You can’t imagine how hard it is to explain to people that…quote] Actually looking at the recommendations of the last few posters, I think maybe some of you guys probably CAN. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/38 "2003-12-04T06:43:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Apollyon \* > \*\*Currently reading Brust’s **Paths of the Dead** (sequel to _The Phoenix Guards_ and _500 Years After_… and before that is was Pratchett’s **Night Watch**. > > As an aside, Brust has never appeared to me to be a very high profile author, but he’s certainly one of my favourites – and a fair bit of one book shelf carries most of his novels. \*\* I’d never heard of him until I met my girlfriend, that’s for sure. I have the first book in the series on Morrolan, I’m just holding off right now. And **Night Watch** was SUCH a great book, one of my favorite All Time books. **Mr. Babbington** -You owe it to yourself to read _Neverwhere_, too. And I usually don’t read comics, but _Sandman_ is just…wow! ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/39 "2003-12-04T07:06:15Z")
While you’re reading about the British Navy and food, check out _Lobscouse and Spotted Dog_ by Anne Chotzinoff Grossman and Lisa Grossman Thomas, “Which It’s a Gastronomic Companion to the AUBREY/MATURIN NOVELS”. Much of the food discussed here is, in fact, regrettable, but some sounds really good. (I still wish Lileks had included the recipes.) ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/40 "2003-12-04T07:16:10Z")
**LISSA** - Thanks for the recommendation. I understand how **CaptBushido** feels. A lot of people I know can’t believe I read the books I read for FUN. Hey, I like reading about dead rulers and what they did during their lifetimes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763.md?page=3)