# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![CadburyAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@CadburyAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CadburyAngel)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/41 "2003-12-04T08:18:19Z")
Just wrapped **Monstrous Regiment** for the third time, and am currently doing my second runthrough of Patricia Highsmith’s **The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Underground,** , and **Ripley’s Game.** I feel like the Ripley books are guilty pleasures, yet the things I read about Highsmith make them seem like sort of classic. I’ve asked for the other two in the series for Christmas, along with the abovementioned Jon Stewart book (thanks to this thread!), **Naked** by David Sedaris and the fifth Harry Potter book, which I will try not to devour in one bite this time. Oh, one book I found recently that I recommend is **The Kid Stays In The Picture** , the autobiography of Robert Evans. I agree that Oryx and Crake sort of snapped off… I felt like the mystery was teased out too much. Nothing tops Alias Grace in my, er, book. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/42 "2003-12-04T08:45:45Z")
My most recent books have been recommendations from this messageboard, classics that I’d never read. Recently finished **A Princess of Mars** by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which I liked an awful lot (and was very easy to read). I’m about halfway through **The Mysterious Island** by Jules Verne. It’s not nearly as dry as I’d been led to believe, but still I never feel compelled to pick it up and start reading it again. In the queue: **Mike Nelson’s Death Rat!** **Triplanetary** by E.E. Smith (another SDMB recommendation) **Bloodsucking Fiends** by Christopher Moore **How to be Good** by Nick Hornby Of course, if I can’t find some way to calm down about the upcoming **Lord of the Rings** movie, I may have to read the book again, or find some Ritalin. I think the thing that’s done more to kill my reading habit than anything else was getting a laptop with a wireless modem. Now I just read the SDMB in bed instead of doing “real” reading. ---
**Author:** ![PalJuicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a8b319/32.png) [@PalJuicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PalJuicy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/43 "2003-12-04T11:13:19Z")
I’m working my way through the novels by Robert Crais. Before that was all of Dennis LeHane’s books; also just finished the new James Lee Burke. Gotta love the library! I know a lot of people who don’t read for enjoyment and two of them have actually said, “I hate to read.” I don’t get that. ---
**Author:** ![HDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bb73d2/32.png) [@HDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HDS)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/44 "2003-12-04T11:35:28Z")
I just finished Fermentation, an erotic novel about a pregnant woman craving cheese. I’ve also been reading through my Marquis de Sade books - my favourite is Philosopy in the Bedroom. It’s laugh out loud funny at times - “never cap the prick you frig” - and does not go on and on about whipping. Two days ago I finished Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett. ---
**Author:** ![lauramarlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a5b964/32.png) [@lauramarlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lauramarlane)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/45 "2003-12-04T12:42:55Z")
**HDS** , I can vaguely remember reading a review of Fermentation, but when I tried to look it up I can’t find it anywhere. Do you remember the author’s name? I’m currently reading the new Anne Rice novel **Blood Canticle** and it’s not doing much for me, I have to confess. The earlier Vampire Chronicles were so much better! I’ve recently finished reading **Coraline** with my kids. My 7 year old adored it and wants “more stories like that!” This is the first time he’s really gotten excited about reading. I guess **Little Bear** just isn’t doing it for him and he wants more gruesome stories like the Gaiman book. Oh well, whatever makes him enjoy reading. Some other things I’ve recently read and enjoyed: **The Well of Lost Plots** by Jasper Fforde, **Year of Wonders** by Geraldine Brooks, and **Mirabilis** by Susann Cokal. I’ve also gorged myself on a few stacks of chick lit novels–but they’re just candy and I wouldn’t really recommend them to anyone. ---
**Author:** ![HDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bb73d2/32.png) [@HDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HDS)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/46 "2003-12-04T12:48:41Z")
It’s by Angelica J. The jacket says that is a pseudonym. My son (seven this month) loved Coraline, too. We found a plaster hand that looked _just_ like the other mothers at a craft store around Halloween. Have you been to the mouse circus site? Neil does a reading from the book. I love hearing authours read their work. ---
**Author:** ![lauramarlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a5b964/32.png) [@lauramarlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lauramarlane)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/47 "2003-12-04T13:15:07Z")
Thanks for the info, **HDS**! We’ve been to the website and my son just loved it. I’ll have to find more creepy books to entertain him with. ---
**Author:** ![graememorrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/graememorrison/32/2287_2.png) [@graememorrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/graememorrison)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/48 "2003-12-04T13:34:57Z")
I just finished reading \*\*‘Forgotten Voices of the Great War’ \*\* by Max Arthur, which i would heartily recommend to anyone with any interest in history, World War One or people in general. Ive nothing else to say about it apart from it made me realize what a cushy life i have compared to the men (or boys in some cases) who just went such a horrifying task, with barely a complaint. Harrowing but well worth it. ---
**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:** [December 4, 2003, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/49 "2003-12-04T13:38:32Z")
Currently reading _The Demon in the Freezer_ by Richard Preston–it’s a fascinating look at the modern history of smallpox. The books I’ve just finished reading: _There are Alligators in our Sewers_ by Paul Dickson & Joseph C. Goulden _Witness_ by Karen Hesse (a good read!!) _The Book of Answers_ by Barbara Berliner _The Spell of the Sorcerer’s Skull_ by John Bellairs (I’ve actually been on a Bellairs binge and have recently read all the books by him that I own.) _Idiom Savant_ by Jerry Dunn. This is a fun look at slang used in different U.S. subcultures. ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/50 "2003-12-04T14:51:37Z")
I’m not big on fiction, but I do like to read. So, I’ll toss in my $.02 Recently completed: [Physics Demystified](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0071382011/qid=1070549091/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-1674943-7118512?v=glance&s=books) [AI Techniques for Game Programming](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/193184108X/qid=1070549126/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-1674943-7118512?v=glance&s=books) Ongoing: [Britannicas ‘Great Books of the Western World’](http://store.britannica.com/escalate/store/DetailPage?pls=britannica&bc=britannica&pc=GBWW&pls0affiliate_id=adtracking&pls1adtracking=SEARCHGBWW3) [The Annals of America](http://store.britannica.com/escalate/store/DetailPage?pls=britannica&bc=britannica&pc=ANNALS03) ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/51 "2003-12-04T15:06:33Z")
just finished Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke, so now i need to get the rest of the Rama series, and before that, Porno by Irvine Welsh, which is the sequel to Trainspotting. and has a quality ending. Next up, Star Maker, by i cant remember who. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/52 "2003-12-04T15:16:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Krisfer the Cat \* > **I have a book called Kings and Queens of England: A Tourist Guide is that the same one TVTime?** No. I was doing the last post from memory and I didn’t get the whole thing. The correct title is **The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England**. It’s by Antonia Fraser. She also wrote **The Gunpowder Plot** which I enjoyed. TV ---
**Author:** ![Beltane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@Beltane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beltane)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/53 "2003-12-04T15:53:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Homebrew \* > \*\*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**. \*\* I Loved \* Dead Until Dark \*. (I read that series between the two L.K. Hamilton series) Much lighter, happier reading than the Anita Blake stuff, but I still prefer Hamilton’s stuff somehow. What is \*daytime drama \* about? I mean is it pure erotica (nothing wrong with that, but it’s not my usual fare) or is the sex just a bonus to an otherwise good plot? I’ve been thinking about reading \* Skipping towards Gomorrah \* myself. I haven’t known anyone who has read it, so it’s nice to have a recommendation. I’d like to second the people who have recommended both Brust and the Guardian’s of the Flame series. Has anyone read any of the latter books in the GotF series? I loved the first several, but the friend who turned me on to them said the latter ones (\*not quite the three musketeers \* or something similar- and those that come after) are not as good as the early ones. Can anyone recommend any good alternate history? I’ve read 1632 and the series of books that began with “island in the sea of time” and would like to read more in that vein. ---
**Author:** ![CaptEgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@CaptEgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptEgo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/54 "2003-12-04T16:03:53Z")
I noted one mention of Stephenson ala _Quicksilver_ but feel compelled to include an extra endorsement. For anyone who likes a brainy hyper-caffeinated freight train of a story Stephenson is one of our best young writers. I’ve enjoyed everything from _Zodiac_ to _Cryptonomicon_ for a number of different reasons and recommend them heartily. A nod to another Allison Weir book _Eleanor of Aquitaine_ an inciteful look at the life of remarkable woman. Finally a comment about Pratchett. I’m quite pleased to note that people who are hooked on Pratchett continue to me amazed by him. Unlike so many other authors (it seems) we aren’t forced to nostalgically look back at ‘past favourites’ but seem to be constantly amazed at how much better and better he gets. I recently zoomed through \* The Amazing Maurice\* (being sold as a ‘young readers’ choice…as if such a distinction was necessary!) and found myself laughing and nodding in agreement and shaking my head in amazement at what a wonderful storyteller Pterry is. I await the paperback version of _Night Watch_ with barely restrained impatient. ---
**Author:** ![heater2000ca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@heater2000ca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heater2000ca)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/55 "2003-12-04T16:08:20Z")
I love threads like this, gives me awesome titles to add to my To Be Read list. And yes, it’s getting longer faster than it’s getting shorter. I’m reading as fast as I can. I’m terrified that I too will die with unread books, **Baldwin**. I’m reading **The October Horse** by Colleen McCullough, who also wrote **The Thorn Birds**. This is the 5th (6th?!) in a series about Rome. Awesome research went into this series, and great historical detail is preserved in this work of fiction. It’s wonderful. I think the first one (if anyone is interested) is called **The First Man in Rome**. That’s a huge book, so I haven’t read much in the last few weeks. I did read **The Story of Lucy Gault** for a book club, that was a good read. It’s by William Trevor. Made me start thinking in Irish brogue … 🙂 In my upcoming pile by the bed are **Infinite Jest** by David Foster Wallace (I think), **The Amber Room** by Steve Berry (the waiting list for **Da Vinci’s Code** is too long, and someone suggested this to me in place of it), and **Fender Benders** by Bill Fitzhugh. I think my favourite book of the last little while would have to be the first in the **Neanderthal Parallax** series mentioned by **mnemosyne** , by Robert J. Sawyer. Very, very strong first book, I can’t wait to get the rest out of the library. I would recommend any of his books, they’re very good at explaining science to idiots (me) without making me feel like an idiot. Another good one was **She’s Not There** by Jennifer Finney Boylan. I’m not a huge non-fiction fan, and every time I think about the title, I get that annoying song going in my head, but the book was really well written. My book club is about to discuss **Prodigal Summer** by Barbara Kingsolver, which I loved both times I read it, and **Family Matters** , by Rohinton Mistry, which was just beautiful and heartbreaking. ---
**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, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/56 "2003-12-04T16:16:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Beltane \* > \*\*I’d like to second the people who have recommended both Brust and the Guardian’s of the Flame series. Has anyone read any of the latter books in the GotF series? I loved the first several, but the friend who turned me on to them said the latter ones (\*not quite the three musketeers \* or something similar- and those that come after) are not as good as the early ones. > > Can anyone recommend any good alternate history? I’ve read 1632 and the series of books that began with “island in the sea of time” and would like to read more in that vein. \*\* I’ve read _Not Exactly the Three Musketeers_ and _Not Quite Scaramouche_ and I enjoyed them, but I hadn’t read the first Guardians of the Flame book when I read them, so YMMV. How about _Ruled Britannia_ by Harry Turtledove? The Spanish Armada isn’t destroyed by a storm, so the Spanish rule England and Shakespeare’s a subversie playwright? I haven’t read it yet, but it sounds interesting and I usually like Turtledove. ---
**Author:** ![heater2000ca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@heater2000ca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heater2000ca)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/57 "2003-12-04T16:20:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Beltane \* > \*\*Can anyone recommend any good alternate history? I’ve read 1632 and the series of books that began with “island in the sea of time” and would like to read more in that vein. \*\* I can recommend **Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus** , by Orson Scott Card. Very interesting alternate history (what if Columbus never did make it to America), and very well researched alternatives. I started reading **Years of Rice and Salt** by Kim Stanley Robinson, but I couldn’t finish it. You might like it though. It’s an alternate history about what would have happened if Europe had been wiped out by the Black Plague, and Islam and Buddhist societies eventually resettled in Europe. I found the writer’s style to be too all-over-the-place, I would have preferred to focus on just a few characters, not many throughout history. YMMV. I would (again) mention the Robert J Sawyer series, starting with **Hominids**. That series shows an alternate earth where Neanderthals didn’t die out, but instead become the dominant species on that version earth, and homo sapiens die out. Very interesting ideas, and lots of inside anthropology jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Lao\_Tsu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lao\_Tsu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lao_Tsu)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/58 "2003-12-04T16:29:41Z")
I just finished with _Ilium_ by Dan Simmons. I thoroughly enjoyed this work, though I never really got into his earlier stuff. Right now I’m slogging through _Atonement_ for book group. Not liking it much. Gonna get going on _The DaVinci Code_ soon as I can. I sure envy Ukelele Ike for finding that IWW treasure. Lucky dog. ( Yes, I’m serious.) ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/59 "2003-12-04T16:30:38Z")
Just starting **The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay**. Just returned **Ulysses** to library, but got hopelessly bogged down in the newsroom-snippet section \. On coffee table: **Ship Ablaze** about the General Slocum, remember **Eve**? A few plays I’ve seen recently, like TRAVESTIES by Stoppard and Neil Simon’s 45 SECONDS TO BROADWAY. ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763/60 "2003-12-04T17:00:44Z")
\*\*Red River to Appomattox \*\* - Volume 3 of Shelby Foote’s excellent Civil War Narrative. **The Brass Ring** - Autobiography of cartoonist Bill Maudlin **Combat Over Spain** - The Spanish Civil War from the Fascist point of view, by the Duke of Lerma [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-we-read-books/216763.md?page=4)