# Time for another installment of . . . "So, whatcha reading?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 14, 2001, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281 "2001-08-14T22:52:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jane\_D\_oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/839c29/32.png) [@Jane\_D\_oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jane_D_oh)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/61 "2001-08-15T16:42:00Z")
I just finished **Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy** a good read although I’m still thinking about the ending. I am about two hundred pages into **The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood** I am enjoying it sooooo much. It is by far the best tale I’ve read in a long time. It’s been kinda a feminist summer, reading wise. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/62 "2001-08-15T16:47:04Z")
I’ve been on a Sci-Fi kick recently I just finished Deadman Switch by Timothy Zahn. Before that I read to surprisingly complementary stories. Earth: Set in the near future, global warming and population explosion is destroying the planet. Seeds of Time, by Kay Kenyon: Nearly identical premise. How both authors treat the premise are totally different and fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![grayhairedmomma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/47e85d/32.png) [@grayhairedmomma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grayhairedmomma)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/63 "2001-08-15T17:44:30Z")
> [@](#): > > I am a serially monogomous girl, even unto literature. I read one book, finish it, then start another. I’m intrigued by all you guys with multiple books going at once (the bus book, the bedside book, the lunch book); I tote around a single book until I’m done with it, then pick up another. Yeah me too. Also, if I read a good story by an author I’ve never read before, I tend to read the other works of that author exclusively until I’ve read everything printed or it becomes apparent that the story I liked was the only good one they wrote. I’m currently on a mystery kick. I love the _Ellery Queen & Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazines_. In the past month or so I’ve read several Dashielle Hammet stories, I purchased two books that are compilations of his novels. (I don’t have them in front of me and I can’t remember the titles of all of the novels in the books.) I’m currently on _The Dain Curse_. I must say that I find his writing style wonderfully exciting. The stories move along at a good pace and the descriptions are good without getting too bogged down in the details. Sadly the only time I have to read is on the subway for about 1 hour each day. Not being able to completely immerse myself in a story from beginning to end is very frustrating. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/64 "2001-08-15T18:00:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bean\_shadow \* > \*\* > Stephen King’s **Four Past Midnight** : Just finished _The Langoliers_, which I really enjoyed, although for some reason the ending was a let down. I’m not sure why. I currently have skipped to _The Sun Dog_ because I love his Castle Rock stories. \*\* I thought _The Langoliers_ was the best out of those stories, and _Secret Window, Secret Garden_ was good, too. But I’m just that way. I read all of his stuff. My own personal reading? Right now, I’m re-reading a couple of classics (for me, anyway. I feel outgunned by the stuff you all are reading): _Brain Droppings_ by George Carlin, and _How to Be a Superhero_ by Mark Leigh and Mike Lepine. For the bathroom, either an _Uncle John’s Bathroom rader_, or Dave Barry. ---
**Author:** ![Outrider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9d8465/32.png) [@Outrider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Outrider)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/65 "2001-08-15T18:00:55Z")
Just finished [A Hope in the Unseen](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0767901266/qid=997898194/sr=2-1/ref=aps_sr_b_1_1/107-2605696-9039760) by Ron Suskind. I had to read that for school (Dartmouth - I’m gonna be a frosh there), and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend it. Next up: [One Hundred Years of Solitude](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060929790/qid=997898252/sr=2-1/107-2605696-9039760) by Marquez. And at the same time I’m reading: [Learning Perl - 3rd edition](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596001320/qid=997898336/sr=2-1/107-2605696-9039760) by Schwartz & Phoenix ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/66 "2001-08-15T18:31:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jodi \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > I’ve been working away at them at random, reading each as the mood hits. > > I can_not_ do this. I am a serially monogomous girl, even unto literature. I read one book, finish it, then start another. I’m intrigued by all you guys with multiple books going at once (the bus book, the bedside book, the lunch book); I tote around a single book until I’m done with it, then pick up another. Maybe I’m just not bright enough to keep multiple plots/subjects straight, but I’ve never enjoyed reading more than one book at once. > > ZYADA, if you like regencies, do you read Joan Wolf? She’s my favorite of the throwaway bodice-ripper genre. \*\* I may have read her, but not enough to recognize the name. I’ll be sure to grab some of hers on my next book run. And I used to do the multiple books thing as a child when I spent a lot of time at my great-grandmother’s house. Thus a Grandma Reed book and a home book. Now, like you, I prefer to stick to one book at a time (although I’ll read the Smithsonian concurrently with a book) ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/67 "2001-08-15T18:49:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Outrider \* > \*\*Next up: [One Hundred Years of Solitude](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060929790/qid=997898252/sr=2-1/107-2605696-9039760) by Marquez. > \*\* Just finished that one and loved it. Currently working on **The General in His Labrynth** also by Garcia Marquez. Then I’ve got the 2nd Techno-mage book from the Babylon 5 universe to get through (god, I feel like such a geek typing that). And somewhere in the mail are **Pyramids** and **Guards, Guards**. If anyone wants to take a chance, I would recommend [\*\*Catapult : Harry and I Build a Siege Weapon \*\*](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0156005565/qid=997901161/sr=1-15/ref=sc_b_15/002-9992272-5864031) by Jim Paul. The true story of a guy and his buddy who want to build a trebuchet to launch rocks off a cliff by the Golden Gate bridge. ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/68 "2001-08-15T19:25:48Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Enderw24 \* \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rackensack \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > _The Origins of Virtue_ … > > I’m not sure I’m prepared to go all the way with him…\*\* > > Sorry, I just found the phrasing kinda humorous. > > Thanks rackensack, I’ll look into The Third Chimpanzee and see if it looks interesting. I wish I had done this all BEFORE school starts because heavy books and textbooks don’t mix too well. \*\* What can I say, it was late . . . . If by “heavy” you mean “difficult going”, I don’t think you have to worry about that with Diamond. While he’s very solid scientifically and marshals the evidence carefully for his arguments, he also writes extremely well and is IMO quite easy to read. If “heavy” means “another N ounces of weight in my backpack,” then I’d definitely recommend _The Third Chimpanzee_ first; it’s about 20% shorter than _GG&S_. ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/69 "2001-08-15T19:32:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pcubed \* > \*\*If anyone wants to take a chance, I would recommend [\*\*Catapult : Harry and I Build a Siege Weapon \*\*](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0156005565/qid=997901161/sr=1-15/ref=sc_b_15/002-9992272-5864031) by Jim Paul. The true story of a guy and his buddy who want to build a trebuchet to launch rocks off a cliff by the Golden Gate bridge. \*\* I’ll second that recommendation; have you read Paul’s other book, _Medieval in L.A._? I haven’t yet, though I keep seeing it in remainder bins. ---
**Author:** ![Danimal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Danimal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danimal)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/70 "2001-08-15T19:33:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by thinksnow \* > \*_[A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole_ > \*\* Tried that once, acquired an immediate dislike for the main character, and put it down after twenty pages. Let me know if it’s worth revisiting. My current project: W.H. Murray’s _Rob Roy MacGregor: His Life and Times._ I’m preparing to write a novel set in 1716, and am doing background research. It’s a very good book for learning what Scottish life was like in the 1671-1734 period, but Murray has contracted a serious case of hero-worship which I think distorts his view of Rob Roy. ---
**Author:** ![GrandfatherTrout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@GrandfatherTrout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandfatherTrout)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/71 "2001-08-15T19:49:36Z")
I also loved **Guns/Germs/Steel.** It should be required reading for all anthropology students and aspiring science writers, as a shining example of how to present a complicated argument in a lucid, methodical, and eminently readable manner. I’ve been lugging around Mervyn Peake’s **Gormenghast** novels (_Titus Groan, Gormenghast,_ and _Titus Awakes_) in an omnibus edition for a couple weeks. I’m only 125 pages in, sadly, because I only get to read it on the subway. It seems like fun, albeit claustrophobic. Whether I make it through all 1,164 pages of the three novels without stopping to read other things along the way remains to be seen. Sitting on the floor waiting patiently are Michael Pollan’s **The Botany of Desire** (which looks fabulous) and **Always Coming Home** by Ursula K. Le Guin and **Sea of Silver Light** by Tad Williams and also **Ubik** by Phillip K. Dick. Wow. Lots of SF there. Hadn’t really realized. Anyway, if the Peake continues to be as dense as it is now–and I suspect it will–I may skip all of the above when it’s time to come up for air and do a couple of Pratchett’s **Discworld** novels to cleanse the palate. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/72 "2001-08-15T20:24:21Z")
Danimal, I’ve discussed A Confederacy of Dunces with a lot of people who say they are just as repulsed by Ignatius as you are, and just can’t get past it. Yes, he’s hideous and to me that’s one of the many many things to appreciate about this book – his loathesome deliciousness. Well, not delicious in the literal sense. You never really _like_ him. But I think one acquires as much an appreciation of his physical repulsiveness as his intellectual extremities. And, it’s a hoot. ---
**Author:** ![GrandfatherTrout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@GrandfatherTrout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandfatherTrout)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/73 "2001-08-15T21:04:06Z")
at least the first volume of **The Lord of the Rings** in time for The Movie. How could I forget? ---
**Author:** ![Tyklfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3e96dc/32.png) [@Tyklfe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tyklfe)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/74 "2001-08-15T21:25:02Z")
I’m reading the first Harry Potter book to my Girlfriend right now. I’ve read all four and really enjoyed them and so far, so is she (we’ll read all of them as well as LOTRs by December, I hope). ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/75 "2001-08-15T21:27:57Z")
> [@](#): > > I am a serially monogomous girl, even unto literature. I read one book, finish it, then start another. I’m intrigued by all you guys with multiple books going at once (the bus book, the bedside book, the lunch book); I tote around a single book until I’m done with it, then pick up another. I tend to keep several books going at once, depending on my mood and the book’s availability, usually reading the nearest book within reach. Right now, I’m reading [list] [li]_The Metaphysical Club_ by Louis Menand, a fascinating group biography of leading 19th century intellectuals, including William James and Oliver Wendell Holmes, whose informal discussions as members of the eponymous club formed American pragmatist philosophy[/li][li]_Atom_ by Lawrence Krauss, an account of the evolution of the universe from the Big Bang to the ultimate end, seen from the perspective of a single atom of oxygen.[/li][li]_A Woman’s View: How Hollywood Spoke to Women 1930-1960_ by Jeanine Basinger. Pretty much what the title says, it’s an excellent bit of film scholarship. I’ve also read her book on silent film stars. Eve, you got competition.[/li][li]_Hating Whitey_ by David Horowitz. Right-wing ravings from a former Marxist radical turned neocon provocateur.[/li]_The Stainless Steel Rat Sings The Blues_ by Harry Harrison. The obligatory science fiction book. ---
**Author:** ![VitrolicBump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a587f6/32.png) [@VitrolicBump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VitrolicBump)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/76 "2001-08-15T21:33:50Z")
Do _not_ give me any ideas! I need to start my school year off with the extra time I have given myself to read my textbooks and make notes. If I start one extra. book then there is no stopping me. I will not do well in my courses. Although, being here (and on other boards) is not going to help me either, but I need a little fun. 🙂 [sub]Hi, Tyklfe![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/77 "2001-08-15T22:00:54Z")
I just started Madeleine L’Engle’s _The Irrational Season_. It’s Book 3 of the Crosswick Journals. Her journal writing/non-fiction is incredible stuff. The book itself is focused on a Catholic church year, starting with Advent. She’s just wonderfully realistic and honest. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/78 "2001-08-15T22:01:25Z")
**The Hand Behind the Mouse** a (to my mind) long-overdue biography of Ub Iwerks by his grand-daughter Leslie Iwerks and John Kenworthy. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/79 "2001-08-15T22:09:36Z")
Just finished \*The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon \*. It was the strangest book I’ve read in a long time. I’m not sure if I enjoyed it or not, although at points it was breathtakingly wonderful. (I’ve had that Queen Caroline bio for a year now, started it twice, haven’t been able to get into it). I used to read multiple books at once, back before children… ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2001, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281/80 "2001-08-15T23:01:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lamar Mundane \* > \*\*and: **We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families - Stories from Rwanda** , Philip Gourevitch. It’s been on my list for a long time, finally getting around to it. \*\* This was the best nonfiction book I’ve read in years. He pulled off a difficult subject remarkably. Eminently readable and moving(and should be required reading for all us insular Americans). I highly recommend it to everyone, whether you know anything about Rwanda or not. I plan on re-reading it soon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-for-another-installment-of-so-whatcha-reading/76281.md?page=5)