# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Catsmeow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Catsmeow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catsmeow)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/21 "2005-09-09T19:02:44Z")
Just finished Sophie Metropolis by Tori Carrington. If you like Stephanie Plum you’ll like Sophie Metropolis! Evanovich meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding. _G_ I’m currently reading Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner. I’m only into the 5th chapter and it’s been a fun light read. Origin in Death by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) was great. I just love Eve and Roarke. _sigh_ Nothing really substantial on my reading list right now. After Carpe Demon I’ll read The Thing About Jane Spring by Sharon Krum. “Struggling to find romance in spite of her intelligence, attractiveness, and promising career in the Manhattan D.A.'s office, Jane Spring models herself after Doris Day in the hope that a more feminine persona will land her the man of her dreams.” Sounds fun and again, light. ---
**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, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/22 "2005-09-09T19:43:06Z")
> [@Chanteuse](#): > > 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. These books are such a gas! The only one I haven’t read yet is the 11th, as I am on the waiting list at the library. My only beef with the series is that Stephanie seems to be the Lucille Ball of her work and never gets any better at her job. I don’t know who I like more in the story, Ranger or Joe. I want to do them both. is that wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/23 "2005-09-09T20:07:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > \*The Protector’s War \* by \*\*S. M. Stirling \*\* just arrived the other day. Mine is due on Monday. I will put down everything else I’m reading to dig into that book. I just found the first one this summer, and I loved it. ---
**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, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/24 "2005-09-09T20:12:27Z")
> [@Orual](#): > > 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. That one’s in my TBR. I loved **Tigana** but haven’t gotten around to reading Lions yet. Sounds like it should move to the top of the pile. ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/25 "2005-09-09T20:16:31Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > \*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. Read the Bunnies a while ago - wasn’t too impressed. Liked the title better than the book. I just finished Laurie Notaro’s fourth book - I’ve loved all four, but I think my favorite is her first - _The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club : True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life_ . Susan ---
**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, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/26 "2005-09-09T20:24:39Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > These books are such a gas! The only one I haven’t read yet is the 11th, as I am on the waiting list at the library. > > My only beef with the series is that Stephanie seems to be the Lucille Ball of her work and never gets any better at her job. > > I don’t know who I like more in the story, Ranger or Joe. I want to do them both. is that wrong? I know what you mean, but it’s still so much fun!! Grandma and Lula are my favorite characters. Actually, I miscounted, and I’ve read ten–I had to skip number nine because it was checked out. Eleven On Top was the first one I read (it was sent from a book club, I didn’t choose it)–I think you’ll find it worth the wait! BTW, did you know that you can submit ideas for the title of her next book? The contest now is for [Book Twelve](http://www.evanovich.com). The winner gets an acknowledgement in the new book! ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/27 "2005-09-09T20:48:22Z")
I’m reading _Jung: A biography_ by Deirdre Bair, which is the first biography of that man which is any good—balanced and well researched, that is. Very exciting. (Why it’s taken forty years to produce a decent biography of such an influential man is a thread of its own, I guess.) ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/28 "2005-09-09T20:50:31Z")
Edit: Forty years after the man’s dead, I mean. – Nota bene: The Preview function didn’t work, and there you go. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/29 "2005-09-09T21:25:44Z")
I’m reading [The Memoirs of Cleopatra](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312187459/102-5011588-4706508?v=glance) , which couldn’t be any longer, really! It’s good historical fiction, well-written and an easy read. I zipped through the Ceasar bits, but have to admit I’m bogging down a bit with the Antony stuff. I liked her Henry one better. And also [The Premature Baby Book : Everything You Need to Know About Your Premature Baby from Birth to Age One](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0316738220/ref=pd_sim_4/102-5011588-4706508?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance) which is just a fantastic book, should you (ogforbid) need such a thing and [Naturally Healthy Babies and Children: A Commonsense Guide to Herbal Remedies, Nutrition, and Health](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1587611929/102-5011588-4706508?v=glance) which I cannot recommend highly enough. Fantastic and accessable herbal for parents. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/30 "2005-09-09T21:32:19Z")
Survival in the Killing Fields by Hiang S Ngor ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/31 "2005-09-09T21:42:50Z")
_A Murder Is Announced_, Agatha Christie, just finished 15 minutes ago. I was told the reader could solve the mystery given the clues in the text. Either the person who told me that has their story wrong, or I’m an idiot, 'cause there was no freaking way I would’ve figured this out. And, of course, the ultimate bathroom book, _The Dictionary Of Cultural Literacy_. I should have this read by 2016. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/32 "2005-09-09T21:50:02Z")
I’ve recently finished [The Contortionist’s Handbook](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1931561486/qid=1126303030/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-9444286-5839850?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by Craig Clevenger, which was very good, and I’ve just started Chuck Palahniuk’s [Stranger Than Fiction](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385722222/qid=1126303120/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-9444286-5839850?v=glance&s=books). ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/33 "2005-09-09T22:33:16Z")
> [@Greywolf73](#): > > 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. Hey, I happen to have two copies of another Phillippa Gregory’s books, The Virgin’s Lover. I didn’t like it as much as the other two, but you are welcome to it if you like. Email me your address if you want it. ---
**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, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/34 "2005-09-09T23:53:46Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > Hey, I happen to have two copies of another Phillippa Gregory’s books, The Virgin’s Lover. I didn’t like it as much as the other two, but you are welcome to it if you like. Email me your address if you want it. Yes, thank you! Haven’t read that one yet. Email on the way. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Shana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shana)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/35 "2005-09-09T23:59:56Z")
I’m currently reading **The Girlfriend’s Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood** by Vicki Iovine…And because that book is scaring the caca out of me, I am also occasionally switching to **The Da Vinci Code** by Dan Brown (Yes, I’m the only one who hasn’t read this book yet) and **The Hours** by Michael Cunningham… I’m not usually a read three books at a time kinda gal, but I’m trying it out 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/36 "2005-09-10T00:34:31Z")
Reading now: • _Law School Confidential_, by Robert H. Miller. • _Law School for Dummies_, by Rebecca Greene. • _The Story of Civilization, Vol. VII: The Age of Reason Begins_, by Will and Ariel Durant. • _The Pagan Mysteries of Halloween_, by Jean Markdale. • _Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural_, edited by Herbet A. Wise and Phyllis Fraser. Just finished: • _Yestermorrow: Obvious Answers to Impossible Futures_, by Ray Bradbury. Coming up: • _Christmas in America: A History_, by Penne L. Restad. ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/37 "2005-09-10T01:34:28Z")
I’m reading Iain Banks’ _The Bridge_ which I’m really enjoying. I love his fiction but find his sci-fi very difficult to get into - I’ve been stalled on _nsider Phlebas_ for so long that I don’t even know where my copy is anymore. The Booker shortlist has just been announced, and I’d like to read those before the winner is announced. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/38 "2005-09-10T01:36:04Z")
I have been struggling against the dark spirit of Mordor, re-reading _Lord of the Rings_ for the first time in 30-odd years. I plan to start a thread or two on different aspects of the opus, including Tollers’s attitude to women and smoking, and the significance of his wartime experiences in the development of his yearning for Arcadian simplicity. Also, just how much of himself did he see in Frodo, Aragorn and Gandalf. Are they indeed three aspects of the Tolkienian self-perceived persona? Was C.S. Lewis the inspiration for Sam Gamgee? I don’t want to touch on any controversial stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/39 "2005-09-10T01:59:36Z")
Just finished: Birds without Wings by Louis de Bernieres, In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith. About to embark on: Zorro by Isabel Allende, but I have the feeling it is going to be trash. Her novels have gone more and more in that direction over the last few years. ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/40 "2005-09-10T02:05:40Z")
I’m half way through East of Eden and I reckon I’ll make a push on it this weekend. Next on the list is the Da Vinci Code, for which I paid about a buck at a sale. After that, I’ve got nothing. Back to the Book Attic with me!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823.md?page=3)