# Fall Edition of " Watcha Reading" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823 "2005-09-09T15:03:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [September 9, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/1 "2005-09-09T15:03:46Z")
I have just finished an cannot recommend any higher [Gil’s All Fright Diner](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0765314711/qid=1126278736/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-1610263-3326469?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by A. Lee Martinez. > [@](#): > > Two friends–Earl (as in the Earl of Vampires) and Duke (as in the Duke of Werewolves)–are driving along one evening when their truck runs out of gas. They wind up at an all-night diner in Rockwood, a small desert town that has a bit of a zombie problem. They help Loretta, the diner’s owner/cook, fend off the zombies that are drawn to her eatery. Impressed, she asks the two to stay on and help her take care of some other supernatural problems in the town and to learn who is raising the ghouls. Duke and Earl discover that Tammy (also known as Mistress Lilith, Queen of the Night) and her loyal but dumb boyfriend are plotting to end the world in order to resurrect the old gods. Similar in style and humor to the work of Douglas Adams and Joe R. Lansdale, and Shaun of the Dead, this comic horror-fantasy is packed with warped humor and action. The characters are likable, three-dimensional, and quirky. The story is fast paced, interesting, and unpredictable. Martinez carves out a nice little bit of entertainment with surprising depth. It is horror-lite, paranormal and just a ripping good time. Loads of laughs. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/2 "2005-09-09T16:04:15Z")
That sounds great; I’m on it. I’m reading [Tooth and Claw](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0765302640/qid=1126281973/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/002-0845179-1409631?v=glance&s=books) by Jo Walton. It’s a typical Victorian society family drama, except that the family is dragons. It’s a nice counterpoint to the other Victorian era book I’m reading, [The Woman in White](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/055321263X/qid=1126282096/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-0845179-1409631?v=glance&s=books) by Wilkie Collins. I can even match up the characters. Jo Walton was probably thinking Jane Austen when she wrote Tooth and Claw, but so far, it fits nicely with Collins’ book too. I can’t imagine not being able to come right out and say “I won’t marry you because I love someone else”! Manners are much overrated. ---
**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:** [September 9, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/3 "2005-09-09T16:56:31Z")
First is a birthday present from a fellow doper: [\*Luckiest Man : The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig \*](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743245911/qid=1126285064/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-5031197-6364865?v=glance&s=books) by Jonathan Eig. One of the more even-handed biographies I’ve read. Second, [The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0786715634/qid=1126285363/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-5031197-6364865?v=glance&s=books) by Brent Nosworthy. A Napoleonic scholar takes a look at the weapons and tactics of the ACW. Enjoyable and informative. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/4 "2005-09-09T17:00:27Z")
Currently I’m reading _Angela’s Ashes_. My ex-fiancéeliked the film. I bought her a copy of the book a few years ago (turns out she already had it – she kept the copy I gave her, and gave the other one away) and I bought one for myself. Never got round to reading it. In moving boxes the other day I found it. Then I was talking to someone on the phone who mentioned it. I figured it was serendipity and decided to read it. Got about half-way through it the first night, but was too busy to finish it yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/5 "2005-09-09T17:02:44Z")
I’m in a bad mystery phase, mostly because I just haven’t been able to find many new books to put on my “must read” list and therefore I end up picking random books from the teeny tiny library. I’ll watch this thread looking for ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/6 "2005-09-09T17:04:34Z")
Re-reading Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s _From Hell._ G\*ddamn, what a book. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/7 "2005-09-09T17:08:06Z")
_The American Axis_ by Max Wallace. I agree that Henry Ford was an anti-semite and Charles Lindbergh was a Nazi apologist. But I think Wallace is overselling his case - Ford and Lindbergh were more like two ignorant dupes rather than the center of a vast conspiracy to cause the rise of Nazism. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/8 "2005-09-09T17:34:10Z")
I’m currently reading _When We Were Orphans_\* by Kazuo Ishiguro. I just started it, I read chapter two last night, so it’s too early to express an opinion on it. I just finished reading **the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time** by Mark Haddon. That was a terrific book. It seemed gimmicky to me when I first picked it up to read, it’s a ‘detective’ story narrated by an autistic teenager math genius. But I must say I really, really liked it and would highly recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/9 "2005-09-09T17:51:41Z")
I’m currently reading **Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix** in the British edition. I still have to catch up. Next up is **The Half-Blood Prince**. I’ve just finished Dan Simmons’ modern-day Dracula story **Children of the Night** , which I’ve been looking for for a while. I have a stack of books by m bedside that I have to get to, and I’m not sure in what order. For kicks I’ve been rereading a little Fredric Brown – the collection **The Freak Show Murders** and **Madball** and **Before She Kills**. They used to reprint a Fredric Brown book on average about once a year until a decade or so ago, and it’s sad that he’s out of print. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/10 "2005-09-09T17:53:55Z")
\*The Protector’s War \* by \*\*S. M. Stirling \*\* just arrived the other day, so that is in current rotation with \*The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse \* by **Robert Rankin** , which is in the truck. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/11 "2005-09-09T18:00:58Z")
_The Long and the Short and the Tall_ by Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. His personal account of the Pacific war as a Marine fighting correspondent. Alvin’s a dear friend of my family’s and it means all the more to me because of that. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/12 "2005-09-09T18:02:21Z")
I’m reading the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. So far there are eleven books, of which I’ve read nine. Her lead character, Stephanie Plum, is a bond enoforcement agent from Jersey (and she’s more lucky than talented at it) with two hunky men in her life and a knack for getting her cars blown to bits! I’m thoroughly enjoying them, as Ms. Evanovich delivers a delightful combination of crime-solving and humor. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/13 "2005-09-09T18:05:01Z")
[The Fabric of the Cosmos](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375727205/qid=1126289104/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-4173344-8842536?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) By Brian Greene. Thanks again to **Mathochist** for clearing up that problem I was having with it. I interrupted my trek through the various suns of Gene Wolfe to read _Lolita_. Having done that I’m starting _Lake of the Long Sun_. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/14 "2005-09-09T18:09:02Z")
Just finished _The Second Book Of Jorkins_ by Lord Dunsany. Working on _Lint_ by Aylett. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/15 "2005-09-09T18:13:47Z")
I just started **The Devil in the White City** about the Chicago World’s Fair and H. H. Holmes, America’s arguable first serial killer. So far it’s a good read. ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/16 "2005-09-09T18:23:29Z")
I’ve been in a historical fiction mood. Reading [Pope Joan](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345416260/qid=1126290381/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-1769533-3296637?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) and just finished [The Other Boleyn Girl](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743227441/ref=pd_null_recs_b_t/103-1769533-3296637?v=glance&s=books). I started on The Queen’s Fool, which is sort of a follow-up to The Other Boleyn Girl but didn’t enjoy it nearly as much. I still plan to finish it eventually though. ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/17 "2005-09-09T18:30:35Z")
Just finished _Baudolino_ by Umberto Eco. Now I’m in the midst of Guy Gavriel Kay’s _The Lions of Al-Rassan_. I’ve never read any Kay before. He’s awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siddhartha_Vicious)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/18 "2005-09-09T18:35:18Z")
I just finished **Wicked** by Gregory Maguire. It’s the story of the Wizard of Oz from the Wicked Witch of the West’s perspective, from birth to death. Turns out that Glinda and WWW were college roommates. It’s a great read and I highly recommend it. And **photopat** , I read that not too long ago. It’s a fascinating book. More about the World’s Fair than the serial killer, but fascinating nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/19 "2005-09-09T18:55:53Z")
**A Hanging Offense** , by Buckner Melton, Jr., about a mutiny on a warship of the early 19th century. Very interesting stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Enterprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/76d3ee/32.png) [@Enterprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enterprise)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/20 "2005-09-09T19:01:02Z")
Got a whole lot of things to read for university, so that’s padding my reading list a bit: _A Princess of Mars_ by Edgar Rice Borroughs, _Neuromancer by…who? I forget…_…some others. Privately, I’m going to start _The Confusion_, by Neil Stephenson, and currently am reading _Wellington: The Years of the Sword_ by Elizabeth Longford. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823.md?page=2)