# What are you reading now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 15, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187 "2005-02-15T14:06:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187/102 "2005-02-27T10:16:11Z")
I screwed up the title of the book I’m on now. It’s _American Dreams: Lost and Found_. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187/103 "2005-02-27T13:44:29Z")
Just realized I never said – er, admitted – what I’m reading at the moment (well, I finished it yesterday): Jeffery Deaver’s _Vanished Man_. This is one in his series on paraplegic evidence genius Lincoln Rhyme and model-turned-CSI cop Amelia Sachs. I love a good plausible set of characters, don’t you? The first one, _The Bone Collector_, was absolutely one of the best thrillers I’ve read in years, and I’ve been a bit disappointed by the following books, so I didn’t rush right out to get this one (which came out in '03) – but it was pretty entertaining. A serial killer with some serious magic (as in stage magic) chops is running around NYC killing people – at random? It’s not clear. Lots of nice plot twists – definitely enjoyable, if not the best freakin’ thriller ever. Pick it up in the library if you like the genre. ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187/104 "2005-02-27T17:08:55Z")
Last night I finished reading **Love in a Dead Language** , by Lee Siegel. I loved it. It’s very funny, with many layers of satire and a lot of playing with language. It’s kind of about sex, and kind of about love, and kind of about cultural misconceptions and academic pretentiousness. Check it out. I finished **Maximum City** , by Sukhetu Mehta, last week. **Maximum City** is about the contemporary city of Bombay–its vitality, corruption, inequality and opportunity (which often appears in very strange forms.) I enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it to other people, though it’s a little uneven. Some of the author’s analysis strikes me as a bit facile. But the subject matter is really fascinating, as are the people Mehta interviews. The sensory descriptions of Bombay are great, too. The first chapter, an account of what it’s like to move to Bombay from New York and try to set up an apartment, is, IMHO, the best part of the book. Last week I also got done with **Rumpole on Trial** , which was a fun light read. Rumpole of the Bailey’s a fun character to follow. I just finished **Lost Papers** , by Andre Aciman. That’s a book of essays about memory and what it’s like to always feel like you’re living in exile. I recommend this book, too, though Aciman’s neuroticism (neuroticness?) alternately interested and annoyed me. ---
**Author:** ![Detritus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@Detritus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Detritus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187/105 "2005-02-28T00:31:45Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Just finished **Assassin’s Apprentice** and a novella in Legends II by **Robin Hobb**. Absolutely fell in love with this writer. **Robin Hobb** rules! I had never heard of her before I read _Homecoming_ in Ledgends II, but after reading that I totally binged and read the Farseer trilogy, the Liveship Traders trilogy, and then the Tawny Man trilogy one after the other. It was delicious! Ms. Hobbs has also written a good deal under the pen name **Megan Lindholm** , but most if not all are currently out of print in the US and I haven’t been able to get my hands on any yet. In an [interview with Ms. Hobbs](http://collection.nlc-bnc.ca/100/202/300/january/2001/01-01-22/hobb.html) I read recently she stated that R. Hobbs and M. Lindholm have quite different writing styles, so I am not terribly heartbroken about not having sampled any Lindholm. After Hobbes I was still in a bit of an epic mood (Liveship Traders much more epic than Farseer–make sure you read that series!) so I am re-reading \*\* Robert Jordan’s\*\* Wheel of Time series. I keep telling myself that another volume has to come out someday. Perhaps by the time I finish I will be mired in an epic-that-will-never-freaking-end mood and I’ll re-read **GRR Martin’s** Song of Ice and Fire. Another really great fantasy epic series. I don’t think GRRM has taken as long between releases as Jordan has (yet), but it sure feels like it. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187/106 "2005-03-03T13:11:28Z")
> [@Landshark](#): > > Sure. _Pandora’s Star_ is part one of what I think is going to be a 2 part series. The setting is a human Commonwealth of worlds that has had very limited contact with aliens. The economy is driven by a network of artificial wormholes that allows for instantaneous travel between worlds (which is mostly done by trains!) > > The story gets rolling when an astronomer who is observing a very distant star sees the light from it being completely cut off. The Commonwealth decides this has to be investigated and builds it’s first faster-than-light ship to do so. (The ship’s FTL drive is based on the artificial wormhole technology.) Things start getting wild after the ship arrives at it’s destination. > > Getting any further into what happens will just ruin the surprises for you. To me, _Pandora’s Star_ epitomizes what’s best about space opera. The section about the Alamo Avengers was one of the most exciting things I’ve read in years. However, I worry that Hamilton has written himself into the same problem as he had with the _Night’s Dawn_ series, that of having an opponent that is just too powerful to beat, necessitating a need to have a deus ex machina come down and right things, but hopefully not. Bad news for us Americans: The sequel, _Judas Unleashed_, is not being released until January 2006. In Britain it is being released in August, iirc. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187/107 "2005-03-03T13:13:50Z")
“necessitating a need”? You know, I actually _previewed_ that last post! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187/108 "2005-03-03T13:37:47Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > To me, _Pandora’s Star_ epitomizes what’s best about space opera. The section about the Alamo Avengers was one of the most exciting things I’ve read in years. I felt the same way about the extended battle sequences closer to the end of the novel. It was thrilling and was a prime example for me of literally not being able to put the book down. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2005, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187/109 "2005-03-03T13:52:09Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#): > > Cook Off by Amy Sutherland. It’s about national cookoffs and the people who religiously compete in them. This is what I’m reading now, and finding it fascinating, although I don’t much like any of the people I’ve read about so far. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187/110 "2005-03-03T15:55:56Z")
> [@Detritus](#): > > **Robin Hobb** rules! I had never heard of her before I read _Homecoming_ in Legends II, but after reading that I totally binged and read the Farseer trilogy, the Liveship Traders trilogy, and then the Tawny Man trilogy one after the other. It was delicious! Definitely delicious. There’s a Hobb forum at SFF World. The best part for me about discovering Hobb **now** is that I don’t have to wait for the next book in these series. 🙂 I hate waiting. I’m like the old lady who asked Stephen King back in 1990 if he was going to finish The Dark Tower before she died. ---
**Author:** ![Detritus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@Detritus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Detritus)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187/111 "2005-03-03T17:21:50Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > …best part for me about discovering Hobb **now** is that I don’t have to wait for the next book in these series. 🙂 I hate waiting. I’m like the old lady who asked Stephen King back in 1990 if he was going to finish The Dark Tower before she died. [minor hijack] I picked up **Assassin’s Apprentice** first to make sure I liked the style as much as I had the novella and about halfway through ordered the other 8 books all in one go. It’s such a warm fuzzy feeling to have a whole series waiting there on your bookshelf! You know, I wonder about that lady. Could waiting for Roland to find the Tower be enough to keep a person alive past her time? I hope so, for her sake. {/minor hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187/112 "2005-03-03T17:27:05Z")
I’m reading **Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed** by Jared Diamond right now. Pretty good so far. ---
**Author:** ![NE\_Texan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e99b99/32.png) [@NE\_Texan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NE_Texan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187/113 "2005-03-10T04:41:35Z")
I recently finished **Return to the Whorl** , the last of Wolfe’s volumes in his New Sun/Long Sun/Short Sun series. Makes me want to reread all 12 to get all the connections - I may do that soon. Currently reading **Scout’s Honor: A Father’s Unlikely Foray into the Woods** , by Peter Applebome, and **Runes of the Earth** , by Donaldson. (I just reread the previous two Covenant series in prep for this one, since it had been a while). On my “to read” pile, I have the PUllman novels someone mentioned upthread (Golden Compass and it’s two sequels), which I found cheap but new at a thrift store. And now that someone’s mentioned **The Wizard** , I’m going to have to add re-reading **The Knight** to the list, and run down and get the sequel. The Banks book - **The Algebraist** - I haven’t seen that one. Is there a US edition yet, or is it just UK? AAARgghh… so many books, so little time… ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187/114 "2005-03-10T09:28:12Z")
Just finished _The Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy_. Next up is \*The Game \* by Ken Dryden. Brilliant book. If you even kind of like hockey or sports, the book is a must read. After that I’ll read _Collapse_ by Jared Diamond. ---
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187/115 "2005-03-10T09:53:48Z")
> [@Detritus](#): > > Ms. Hobbs has also written a good deal under the pen name **Megan Lindholm** , but most if not all are currently out of print in the US and I haven’t been able to get my hands on any yet. I’ve come across a few in libraries and I have to say I am not enchanted at all. I _love_ the Farseer and Liveship books but none of her Lindholm books have worked for me. I hope she does more Farseer books. There’s got to be more in store for Nettle. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2005, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187/116 "2005-03-10T09:56:39Z")
Last night I finished _A book for Eleanor Farjeon_, a collection of stories printed in tribute to her. (Not about her, just neat stories.) Anyone who likes her would get pleasure from it. I’m going through David Lodge’s _Art of fiction_, a collection of newspaper columns he wrote about different elements and effects in the novel. Fun. And I’m reading _1215: the year of Magna Carta_, a little popular history book detailing life in England in that time period. Lots of fun everyday detail. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-now/290187.md?page=5)