# 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:** 4
**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 11, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/61 "2005-09-11T18:54:35Z")
> [@Selkie](#): > > Rather than focusing on the gory and shocking aspects of the crimes at the center of the stories, she delves into the psychological effects on those swept up in the aftermath. I’ll definitely seek out more of her work upon my next visit to the library. That sounds interesting. I love threads like this. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/62 "2005-09-11T18:58:23Z")
The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, 18th annual collection. Edited by Ellen Datlow and some other people. Anyone know what happened to Terri Windling? I’ve read the rest of these collections, and true to form, this one is full of dreck but with redeeming bright spots. One of those was Chuck Palahniuk’s Guts; not that it was such a great story, but it was one I’d heard a lot about and wondered if I’d be able to stomach (ha!). I began reading it with the stipulation in mind that I’d stop right away if it got to be too much to handle, and I made it through the whole thing. Then I read it again. Yeah, I’m tough! Other good stories so far include Cold Fires by M. Rickert, and Speir-Bahn by Tanith Lee. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/63 "2005-09-11T20:03:26Z")
I just finished [Bodies in Motion](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060781181/qid=1126469166/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-5985081-6725742?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by Mary Anne Mohanraj. I decided to read it after reading the review in the NY Times book review. It’s a series of short stories, all about intra-family relationships, about two Sri Lankan families related by marriage. Because of the way it is written, you often read about the same character from multiple perspectives. The stories start in 1939 and continue to 2002, in both Sri Lanka and the US. I really enjoyed it. I also just finished [Ilium](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0380817926/qid=1126469399/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-5985081-6725742?v=glance&s=books) by Dan Simmons and am waiting for my library hold for the sequel to come through. I was a big Greek mythology geek in middle school and it was interesting to see a new take on the Trojan War. I’m currently trudging through [The Silmarillion](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0618391118/qid=1126469427/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-5985081-6725742?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by Tolkein. It’s just so dense–I’m always flipping to the index to look up characters and places. Yesterday I just bought [The Blind Watchmaker](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393315703/qid=1126469475/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-5985081-6725742?v=glance&s=books) by Dawkins and [The Demon-Haunted World](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345409469/qid=1126469508/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-5985081-6725742?v=glance&s=books) by Sagan. The intelligent design stuff has got my hackles up and I want to be prepared to debate people. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/64 "2005-09-11T20:29:56Z")
I’m about 2/3 of the way through [The Man Who Was Thursday](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140183884/qid=1126470821) by G.K. Chesterton. It’s taking me forever to get through it, but that’s my fault and not the book’s – I’m not loving it as much as the reviews suggest I would, but it is compelling and is a smart, weird, adventure story. Next up I think I’m going to try [Battle Royale](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/156931778X/qid=1126471006) by Koushun Takami. I just saw the movie a few nights ago, and the concept is intriguing and encouraged me to start the book. I’d bought the book a few months ago but have actually been afraid to read it; I expected it to be brutal and depressing. Now I can keep the tone of the movie in mind and take it as satire and social commentary instead of just exploitation. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/65 "2005-09-11T22:24:57Z")
I’m working my way through the first colume of _The Demon Princes_, by Jack Vance. As with everything else I’ve read by Vance, this series has a few head-spinning ideas and lots of strategic plotting, but it’s not really good enough to justify Vance’s monster reputation. And there are too many plot holes. I mean, why did Hildemar Dasce not kill Kirth Gersen when he had the chance, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/66 "2005-09-11T22:29:13Z")
I’m working my way through a one-volume anthology of H. G. Wells’s science fiction novels. I just finished _The First Men in the Moon_; \*The Food of the Gods \* is up next. They’re in chronological order, and the last one (_In the Days of the Comet_) is over twice as long as the first (_The Time Machine_). Apparently the phenomenon of books getting fatter as the author gets more famous didn’t start with Stephen King. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/67 "2005-09-12T02:02:18Z")
> [@Dung Beetle](#): > > The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, 18th annual collection. Edited by Ellen Datlow and some other people. Anyone know what happened to Terri Windling? Ms. Datlow hangs out at the Shocklines board. Want I should ask her? She seems like a nice lady, who wouldn’t take offense. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/68 "2005-09-12T03:08:05Z")
I just discovered Carl Hiaasen and I’m on a bender. It only took a couple of days to scarf down [Sick Puppy](http://a1204.g.akamai.net/7/1204/1401/04110808011/images.barnesandnoble.com/images/8500000/8508700.jpg). It’s a hilarious little morality tale about an eco-nut with a short fuse, a sleazy lobbyist, a guy who likes barbie dolls more than he probably should, a hit man named Mr. Gash who is an absolutely perfectly rendered creep, a big goofy Labrador Retriever, an ex-governor who wears a NASCAR flag and some swamp land on the other side of a bridge in Florida. How can you resist? “Sick Puppy” was so good that I am now well into [Lucky You](http://a1204.g.akamai.net/7/1204/1401/04110808011/images.barnesandnoble.com/images/8500000/8508699.jpg). It’s all about winning the lottery – and then having to share it with two white supremacist survivalists. I can’t get enough of this guy. > [@AuntiePam](#): > > …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 truly loved that book, **AuntiePam** , but I liked [The Moonstone](http://a1204.g.akamai.net/7/1204/1401/04111116011/images.barnesandnoble.com/images/8600000/8609090.jpg) even more. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/69 "2005-09-12T06:52:03Z")
If you like Hiaasen’s books look for the series by Tim Dorsey: Hammerhead Ranch Motel, Orange Crush, Florida Road Kill, Stingray Shuffle, Triggerfish Twist and Cadillac Beach. Bizarre murders, hilarious plotting and the unlikeliest “hero”: the appalling and fascinating Serge Storms; mass murderer and Florida history buff. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/70 "2005-09-12T11:59:40Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Ms. Datlow hangs out at the Shocklines board. Want I should ask her? She seems like a nice lady, who wouldn’t take offense. Sure! I was wondering if it’s something everybody already knew about. I just don’t have time to keep up with the hot news. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Atrael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Atrael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atrael)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/71 "2005-09-12T13:33:12Z")
I just finished re-reading most of the _1632_ books, except for \*The Galileo Affair \* which I didn’t like much. I’m currently reading the Wheel of Time series again in anticipation of _Knife of Dreams_ which is supposed to be released in October, but which I figure will be delayed a month or so. Every time a new one is released, I go back and re-read all the old ones, so that I can remember what the hell is going on. Oh, and Khadaji, if you like the \* Women of the Otherwold\* series, you might enjoy [_Dead Witch Walking_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060572965/qid=1126532555/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-2367293-7415320?v=glance&s=books) by Kim Harrison and it’s sequals. An amusing light-hearted read. ---
**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 12, 2005, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/72 "2005-09-12T13:43:58Z")
I am _still_ on the 4th or 5th book of **Lindsey Davis’** series. I love it, but my man Falco, will always wait patiently for me whilst I race after another book to read that comes in from the library. I also never want to finish this series…unless it becomes a total stinkbomb, but I cannot imagine Davis stooping to such suckitude. **Three Men and a Boat To say nothing of the dog** by Jerome K. Jerome. This is such a delightful, comic gem. I think I am reading it slower than it took them to row the Thames, but it is just great. ( I may have to buy this one as it is due back to the library interloan soon and cannot be renewed…again.) ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/73 "2005-09-12T14:03:31Z")
> [@movingfinger](#): > > If you like Hiaasen’s books look for the series by Tim Dorsey: Hammerhead Ranch Motel, Orange Crush, Florida Road Kill, Stingray Shuffle, Triggerfish Twist and Cadillac Beach. > > Bizarre murders, hilarious plotting and the unlikeliest “hero”: the appalling and fascinating Serge Storms; mass murderer and Florida history buff. That’s why I love these book threads, thanks **movingfinger**. I believe that’s where I’ll be heading next. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nightingale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@Nightingale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightingale)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/74 "2005-09-12T16:29:50Z")
I’m currently on a David Weber kick. I’m reading [Windrider’s Oath](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1416508953/qid=1126543099/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-6251338-5628166?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) and waiting for my copy of [We Few](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/074349881X/ref=pd_sim_3/102-6251338-5628166?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance) to arrive from Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/75 "2005-09-12T17:34:59Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > I am _still_ on the 4th or 5th book of **Lindsey Davis’** series. I love it, but my man Falco, will always wait patiently for me whilst I race after another book to read that comes in from the library. I also never want to finish this series…unless it becomes a total stinkbomb, but I cannot imagine Davis stooping to such suckitude. > **Three Men and a Boat To say nothing of the dog** by Jerome K. Jerome. This is such a delightful, comic gem. I think I am reading it slower than it took them to row the Thames, but it is just great. ( I may have to buy this one as it is due back to the library interloan soon and cannot be renewed…again.) A tiny bit of ignorance fought today! I was going to mention that the subtitle (To say nothing of the dog) was actually the title used for Connie Willis’ book that incorporated much of Jerome K. Jerome’s book. I found out, however, that he does actually use that subtitle. (See, I’ve never actually _read_ Jerome’s book, I just know of it through Willis). However, the correct title is Three Men **in** a Boat. Just in case anyone’s looking for it. ---
**Author:** ![marque\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@marque\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marque_elf)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/76 "2005-09-12T18:48:59Z")
I’m reading \*John Adams \* by David McCullough. I just finished _1776_ by him and enjoyed it. I don’t usually read 2 books by the same author back to back but _1776_ went by so quickly that I wanted to read something else concerning the same era. Adams has been slighted unjustly. He was crucial to the creation and survival of the infant country. He led an amazing life. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/77 "2005-09-13T03:15:13Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > I just discovered Carl Hiaasen and I’m on a bender. It only took a couple of days to scarf down [Sick Puppy](http://a1204.g.akamai.net/7/1204/1401/04110808011/images.barnesandnoble.com/images/8500000/8508700.jpg). It’s a hilarious little morality tale about an eco-nut with a short fuse, a sleazy lobbyist, a guy who likes barbie dolls more than he probably should, a hit man named Mr. Gash who is an absolutely perfectly rendered creep, a big goofy Labrador Retriever, an ex-governor who wears a NASCAR flag and some swamp land on the other side of a bridge in Florida. How can you resist? “Sick Puppy” was alright, but I like some of his earlier ones a lot better. And if you want to get the stuff about Skink more in order, go back and catch “Double Whammy” (I think that was Hiaasen’s first novel). Earlier books “Tourist Season” and “Skin Tight” are also particularly enjoyable. (And a bit more tight, plot-wise, than some of the later ones like “Sick Puppy” and “Stormy Weather”). * * * I’m currently re-reading the first five Harry Potters, then going to move on to #6 (which I haven’t read yet). I’m currently rereading #3, Prisoner of Azkaban. Also recently finished _Killing Floor_, by Lee Child. The first of his Jack Reacher novels. A pretty cool character, and I look forward to digging into the others in that series. (These are mystery/thriller novels). ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/78 "2005-09-13T15:19:57Z")
Last night I got my copy of **Thud!** , Pratchett’s new book. I’m resisting the urge to start reading it right away though. I want to finish **The Devil in the White City** first. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/79 "2005-09-13T15:49:29Z")
> [@Dung Beetle](#): > > Sure! I was wondering if it’s something everybody already knew about. I just don’t have time to keep up with the hot news. 🙂 Ms. Datlow’s response: “Terri decided she wanted to devote more time to writing. We are still co-editing original anthologies but The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror just took up too much of her time.” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823/80 "2005-09-13T15:52:15Z")
Thanks, **AuntiePam**! Wow, I sort of talked to a celebrity! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fall-edition-of-watcha-reading/320823.md?page=5)