# It's Time for Another "Whatcha Readin'?" Thread! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 8, 2004, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231 "2004-06-08T04:11:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![YellowTail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5ac83/32.png) [@YellowTail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YellowTail)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/61 "2004-06-09T23:22:54Z")
Mickey Spillane’s _Kiss Me, Deadly_. It’s the first of his I’ve read. I can’t recommend it. I like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammet but this is awful. Next on the list is the 4th in the River World series. ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/62 "2004-06-10T01:32:31Z")
[Avoiding Prision & Other Noble Vacation Goals](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0609809830/qid=1086830473/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-4371416-5483841?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) by Wendy Dale [In the Path of an Avalanche](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1550545183/qid=1086830569/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-4371416-5483841?v=glance&s=books) by Vivien Bowers [The White](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375712895/qid=1086830672/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-4371416-5483841) by Deborah Larsen [Abou and the Angel Cohen](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1882593715/qid=1086830725/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-4371416-5483841?v=glance&s=books) by Claude Campbell [Where the Light Remains](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743243145/qid=1086830865/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-4371416-5483841?v=glance&s=books) by Hayden Gabriel ---
**Author:** ![kalex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dfb087/32.png) [@kalex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kalex)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/63 "2004-06-10T04:10:47Z")
Oh, Politzania, Thursday Next is my girl-crush, I cannot wait for Something Rotten to arrive! Heartily recommended. Right now I’m re-reading Imagica by Clive Barker. I so want the Dominions to be reconciled, I really want to see Yzorrdrex. Like Judith, I’d go in a hot minute. If you only know Clive Barker from Hellraiser, this is a lovely, horrible, passionate fantasy. I just got an email from Amazon, The Song of Susannah has shipped, so I suppose that’s next! ---
**Author:** ![Milum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Milum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milum)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/64 "2004-06-10T04:19:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*Lord Derfel \*\* > > Just finished Hemingway’s Across the River and into the Trees. It was alright, but definitely not his best work. Now really **Lord Derfel** , maybe _Across the River and into the Trees_ was flawed and lacked resolution, but by far it was Hemingway’s best story of artistic merit beyond his short stories of genius. Currently I am reading… THE LONG SUMMER \* How Climate Changed Civilization\* Brian Fagan So far so good…but not yet four stars. THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE John D Barrow Four stars. Original thinking. NIKO’S NATURE \* A life of Niko Timbergen and his science of animial behavior\* Hans Kruuk Interesting. Some new ideas among some old. A biography IN SEARCH OF DEEP TIME \* Beyond the fossil record to a new history of life\* Henry Gee The sub-title might be a bit over-stated but still a worthwhile read. JUNG _A biography_ Deidre Bair Nicely written, confirming my suspicion…Jung was a genius and Jung was a nut. GLOBAL BRAIN \* The evolution of mass mind from the big bang to the 21st century \* Howard Bloom Howard Bloom has found the right string baby but leaves it to me and/or you to drop the right yo-yo. Good. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/65 "2004-06-10T04:33:57Z")
> [@AbbySthrnAccent](#): > > [The White](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375712895/qid=1086830672/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-4371416-5483841) by Deborah Larsen I didn’t really like this one-- I actually quit reading it about 3/4 of the way through, something which is very rare for me. I think it was the author’s writing style, but for me, it just seemed so dry and distant-- like the Cliff Notes version. For those who liked **Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers** , by Mary Roach you may like **The American Way of Death** by Jessica Mitford. It’s a tad critical of the funeral industry, to put it mildly, but an interesting read nevertheless. ---
**Author:** ![partlycloudy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/partlycloudy/32/3114_2.png) [@partlycloudy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/partlycloudy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/66 "2004-06-10T05:38:17Z")
I got on a true crime kick after reading **In Cold Blood** by Truman Capote. Now I’m about 50 pages from the end of **Helter Skelter** (by Vince Bugliosi, about the Manson murders, though most of you probably know that). Now I have to start reading for school again - \*\*Totem and Taboo \*\*by S. Freud is first in line. Then I’ll be reading **Man and His Symbols** , by Carl Jung, then **Man’s Search for Meaning** , by Victor Frankl, among others, for my Psychological Theories of Religion class. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/67 "2004-06-10T17:28:52Z")
I am currnetly halfway through The Shining… my first time reading it. I recently finished: Mortification by Robin Robertson - A collection of essays from writers detailing their most mortifying writing related moments. Very amusing in spots and it makes you wonder how these people keep at it. It showcases a lot of smaller authors. No Kings or Clanceys. People like Margaret Drabble and Louis de Bernières. This Way to the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen by Tadeusz Browski - A collection of fictionalized short stories about life in concentration camps by a concentration camp survivor. Very well written. After The Shining I have a big stack to read so I don’t quite know what i’ll pick up next. I set a goal for myself to read 24 books by Dec 31. The Shining will be number 16 so far. ---
**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:** [June 10, 2004, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/68 "2004-06-10T17:34:46Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#): > > I am currnetly halfway through The Shining… my first time reading it. You lucky so-and-so. I hope you like it as much as I did. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/69 "2004-06-10T20:41:58Z")
Just finished _The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay_ by Michael Chabon…the best book I’ve read in a good long while. Before that, _On the Road_ by Jack Kerouac. Also quite good. Now I’m reading _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ for the third or fourth time. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/70 "2004-06-12T05:02:01Z")
I’m reading \*An Unfinished Song: The Life of Victor Jara \*. He was a Chilean folk singer who was murdered during the military takeover of Chile in 1973; the book was written by his widow, Joan Jara. Whether you agree with Jara’s politics or not–he was a communist and an Allende supporter–it’s a very tragic and disturbing story. (It’s also out of print but can be obtained through Amazon and excerpts are available online.) ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/71 "2004-06-12T06:34:20Z")
**Song of Susannah** ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/72 "2004-06-12T07:02:26Z")
•_Mars on Earth_ (Nonfiction) •_1633_ •_Stiff_ (Nonfiction) •_Luftwaffe Secret Projects: Ground Attack Aircraft_ (Nonfiction) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/73 "2004-06-12T12:10:15Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I’ve also just bought a translation into Latin of the first Harry Potter book - _Harrius Potter et Lapis Philosophi_. It’s slow going, but amusing too. Do they translate the cod-Latin spells into English? > [@notquitekarpov](#): > > Next is to be “The Masterpieces of Shirley Jackson” a short story horror/mystery collection of an author I have never read - a birthday present. Any good , anyone know? Good is not a sufficient adjective. Start with The Haunting of Hill House; it’s one of the greatest works of modern fiction. Then move on to We Have Always Lived In The Castle before you go back to the short stories. **ISiddiqui** - you have dissed the sacred Pterry. Prepare to die. Next book on my own reading list is _Ring_, the book by Koji Suzuki on which the film is based. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/74 "2004-06-12T12:21:18Z")
Currently _Annals of a Former World_ by John McPhee, and _Rest in Pieces_ by Rita Mae Brown. After _Rest in Pieces_, I have _Wish You Were Here_, also by Rita Mae Brown. Since I got my Sony Clie, I have been buying a lot of eBooks - it’s too easy to browse and instantly download them. A girl in one of my classes turned me on to John Sandford (crime mysteries), and I’m planning on reading that series. I read the first one, _Rules of Prey_, it was pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/75 "2004-06-12T17:28:39Z")
I’m reading “JonBenet: Inside the Murder Investigation” by Steve Thomas. (I have almost thrown the book across the room a couple of times in frustration. That poor little girl is never going to get justice, ever.) I’m doing a paper on the case for my forensics class. After I finish this one I’ve got about 3 others to go. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_With_The_Golden_Gun)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/76 "2004-06-12T17:51:21Z")
Recently read: **The Stand** - If you don’t know the plot of this book, I pity you. I thought it was okay, but not great. I preferred **Carrie** **Catcher in the Rye** - A bit of a departure from **The Stand** , and rather good. I’d recommend it. Not that much in the way of plot, I saw it as more of a character study. **The Lovely Bones** - Book about a girl who gets kidnapped and dies. I tried to get through this book, but by around page 120 I realized I was reaching literary depths of depression not seen since the awfulness that is **Ethan Frome** came along. So I decided to cheer myself up with the lighthearted comedy: **All Quiet on the Western Front** - Very well written story about a German soldier in WWI. Very depressing as well, makes me glad wars aren’t fought like that anymore. I finished it in 6 days, which is pretty fast for me. Then again, I read **Carrie** in 4 days, and Michael Crichton’s **Prey** in 5. And right now I am reading H. G. Wells **The War of the Worlds**. Pretty good, though the Victorian style of writing takes some getting used to, especially since, up until recently, my idea of literature was Michael Crichton and Stephen King. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/77 "2004-06-12T18:43:49Z")
Currently reading: (sorry, too lazy to give actual summaries) Robots in Time: Dictator The Canterbury Tales, in English or Chaucerian depending on how much energy I have Just finished: The Fall of Hyperion Callahan’s Lady About to Read: A Portrait of Dorian Gray As you can tell, I read very little nonfiction, but I read more fiction than most people read total of every genus. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/78 "2004-06-12T23:23:37Z")
I’m reading Chuck Pahlaniuk’s **Diary** , a novel. Lots of bitterness and sarcasm but entertaining so far. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/79 "2004-06-13T00:13:14Z")
I can’t go a day without reading, I usually try to go through 3 books a week(from the library; I can’t afford them). In the past 2 weeks I have read the latest book (can’t recall the title) by Michael Savage(and found myself agreeing with everything he said), Deliver Us From Evil by Hannity(again agreeing with all he writes), a book on marriage by Ravi Zacharias, and am now starting The Real Jimmy Carter(how our worst ex president undermines american foreign policy, coddles dictators, etc). Ad always the Bible(it never gets old) ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231/80 "2004-06-13T01:07:14Z")
As always…an endless amount of reading. I just finished reading ‘Chindi’ by Jack McDevitt and I’m about to start on ‘The Cryptonomicon’ that a pal loaned to me. Beyond that I’ve also got a book of Wilde quotes stacked up in a holding pattern and shortly I’ll begin ‘Re-Birth’ by John Wyndham. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-for-another-whatcha-readin-thread/249231.md?page=5)