# What are you reading this month, dopers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2006, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011 "2006-09-25T02:47:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![XaMcQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/f9ae1b/32.png) [@XaMcQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XaMcQ)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/1 "2006-09-25T02:47:21Z")
Tell a little about what books you just read, are reading, and plan to read next. Why did you pick them? Did you enjoy them? Etc. This month I’ve read **Young Men and Fire,** by Norman MacLean, about the 1949 Mann Gulch Fire that claimed the lives of fourteen Smoke Jumpers. My younger brother is a firefighter, so I’m interested in stories about fighting fires, and the reviews on [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) were mostly good. I found the story fascinating but the prose hard to put up with. From there I jumped to Sebastian Junger’s **FIRE** , which also has an account of a forest fire disaster, along with accounts of reporting from a war zone and other interesting pieces. Then it was back to fiction. I read a pretty intriguing first novel by Kit Whitfield, called **Benighted** , in which she creates a world where almost everyone is a lycanthrope, and tells us what it is like for the few who aren’t, along with a murder mystery. Rachel Caine’s new Weather Warden book: **Firestorm** , was sadly disappointing. This is book five in the series of fast-paced action/paranormal/romance books about a secret group of paranormally talented people who control the elements of Fire, Air & Water, and Earth, with the mostly unwilling help of the enslaved djinn. I loved the first three, was a bit let down by the fourth and found the fifth one too repetitious and chaotic, with too much happening and not enough of it forwarding the plotlines laid down in the previous novels. I took a step down to a book I expected to be bad: Josepha Sherman’s **The Shattered Oath**. Standard fantasy fare about an exiled Prince of the Fae in the human realm. It was cliche and amatuerish in spots, but not as terrible as I thought it might be, and it was free anyway. Much anticipated books have just arrived in the mail, though! **To Ride a Rathorn,** by P.C. Hodgell is what I’m reading now. Hodgell is a marvellous fantasy writer whose books come out way too far apart. This is book four of a series she started in 1982 with **God Stalk,** and you do need to have read them all, in order. But it’s great stuff. I expect to love it. Robin Hobb’s new book, **Forest Mage** also arrived. I loved the Farseer works, and while I didn’t like the first book in this series as much as I loved those, I admired her ambition to do something entirely different and difficult besides. Also, I’m looking forward to reading E.E. Knight’s **Valentine’s Exile,** book five of the Vampire Earth books. These books about a ragtag group of human resisters fighting back against an alien occupation kick ass and take names. Books in route to me from [paperbackswap.com](http://paperbackswap.com) are **A Perfect Storm** , which I have read from the library and will reread when I get it, and **Faery in Shadow** by C.J. Cherryh(a favorite writer most of the time). How’s about you guys? ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/2 "2006-09-25T02:52:27Z")
I’m re-reading Dune in-between all my readings for school (Ostrogorsky and Tacitus, anyone?). I like to read it every few years or so\* and find that like in re-readings of LOTR, I notice details that I hadn’t before. I’ve never read any of the other books in the Dune series, but I’ve heard bad things. I’m still deciding whether I’ll go there or not. \*usually at weird life crossroads, where I benefit the most from getting the Litany Against Fear pounded into my head every 50 pages or so. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/3 "2006-09-25T03:38:40Z")
I’m re-reading two _Star Wars_ novels and I just checked out a bunch of books from the library as well. I’m reading them two at a time: _Princesses: the Six Daughters of George III_ by Flora Fraser And a novel entitled _The Kitchen Boy: a Novel of the Last Tsar_ by Robert Alexander I also have Keith Olbermann’s new book on order from [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). I can’t wait until it gets here! ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/4 "2006-09-25T03:42:37Z")
Three Days to Never by Tim Powers. I always hoping that he’ll come up with something that I like as much as The Anubis Gates. I’m about 40 pages in–so far, so good. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/5 "2006-09-25T03:45:17Z")
S. M. Stirling’s **A Meeting At Corvallis** arrived last week, so it’s currently being read. Next up will likely be Robert Rankin’s **The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse**. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/6 "2006-09-25T04:09:43Z")
I just read _To Feel Stuff,_ which was set in the Brown University Infirmary and was really not worth the time. I’ve just started _Mapping the World of Harry Potter,_ a collection of essays by SF writers I mostly haven’t heard of. I ordered \*A Meeting in Corvallis \* from SFBC, but somehow they didn’t register it, damn it, so I’m having to re-order. I have the second set of Gene Wolfe “Sun” books waiting, and about 10 non-fiction works on Southeast Asia. I’ll probably re-read _HP and the Order of the Phoenix_ and \*HP and the Half-Blood Prince \* in the next few weeks. ---
**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 25, 2006, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/7 "2006-09-25T04:16:29Z")
I’m in the middle of [**The True History of the Kelly Gang**](http://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Kelly-Gang-Peter-Carey/dp/0571209874), by Peter Carey. A fictional account of the life and death of Australia’s famous outlaw, Ned Kelly and an amazing book – evocative, incredibly well imagined and genuinely exciting. It won the Booker Prize in 2001 and it’s an adjectival\* page turner. \*Since the book is presented as a series of journals and letters from Ned Kelly to his baby daughter, our hero tries to clean up his language to spare her delicate sensibilities. He substitutes “adjectival” for the more colorful expletive – as in “Shut your adjectival mouth or I’ll blow your adjectival head off.” It’s my new favorite word. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/8 "2006-09-25T04:21:02Z")
I just finished **Forever** by Pete Hamill, which I must have heard about from a Doper. It’s about a young man who emigrates to America from Ireland in 1740, seeking vengeance. In America he’s given the gift of eternal (?) life, as long as he doesn’t leave Manhattan. The book’s full of interesting and well-told historical detail, but I think Hamill copped out on the ending. Just started **The Dogs of Winter** by Kem Nunn. I picked this up because David Milch is shooting a pilot based on Kem Nunn’s “surf noir” books and I was curious. For me, “surfing” is Frankie and Annette with a dollop of the Beach Boys, so I was skeptical about someone making noir out of a happy sunny California sport. Well, this is **very** noirish and a great read. Much as I’m ticked at Milch for his part in what happened to Deadwood, I’m looking forward to John from Cincinnati. Next up is **The Road** , where Cormac McCarthy takes on a nuclear holocaust. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/9 "2006-09-25T04:23:45Z")
I’ve moved seriously into a non-fiction phase, and I’m simultaneously reading a few different books. I’m just finishing _Guns, Germs and Steel_. I’m about 3 pages from the end in the 2003 Afterword. Adding to the Jared Diamond fest I’m about half way through _Collapse_ too. I found the chapters on the Norse in Greenland and Iceland very interesting. I’m also reading _The Long Tail_. I first read about the article on which the book is based right here on the SDMB. I don’t recall the thread, but to the poster who posted the link, thanks. The article was great, and so far so good on the book. Last weekend I bought a book called\* The Lost Millenium\* which examines the history of chronology, and claims by some that we are not actually in 2006. It’s written by a mathematics professor from the University of Victoria, and so far seems to be a fairly serious examination of the subject. In the same section of the bookstore I also picked up a book that posits what life would have been like in 500 in Great Britain and Ireland. I haven’t started it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/10 "2006-09-25T04:30:26Z")
I’m currently reading: Off the Main Sequence and The Number of the Beast by R.A. Heinlein Burning Chrome by William Gibson Ancestor’s Tale by Richard Dawkins The Elements of Style by Strunk & White Bully for Brontosaurus, Ever Since Darwin, and The Mismeasure of Man by S.J. Gould The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan Don Quixote by Cervantes Six Easy Pieces and Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feinman by Richard Feinman A few dozen comic books Buddha, Volume 4 by Osamu Tezuka A Contract with God and Minor Miracles by Will Eisner A Sci-Fi anthology called Greatest Stories of Science Fiction Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin and The Tao of Willie by Willie Nelson And I’m into them all enough that I made that list without going to look at the stack. And I know it’s comprehensive. Unless you count the stack of National Geographics that I’m behind on. And yes, I have really, really, really bad ADD. Thanks for asking. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/11 "2006-09-25T04:38:26Z")
I admire people who read twenty or thirty books at once. It’s second only to my admiration of people who stack books all around their offices and homes rather than getting them back on the shelf. (Seriously–I really like this.) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/12 "2006-09-25T04:51:49Z")
In the last few weeks, I’ve read _The Heart is a Lonely Hunter_ by Carson McCullers, and _Native Son_ by Richard Wright. I’m now working on _An American Tragedy_, by Theodore Dreiser. When this book is done, which is going to take a while because it’s long and the writing style isn’t thrilling, I will have read the top 21 books on that Modern Library list I’m always talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/13 "2006-09-25T05:05:21Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] I admire people who read twenty or thirty books at once. It’s second only to my admiration of people who stack books all around their offices and homes rather than getting them back on the shelf. (Seriously–I really like this.) [/QUOTE] You wouldn’t like it if you had to live with it. To paraphrase _The Simpsons_, “Nothing stubs a toe like Leon Uris.” \*\* Guin, \*\* I really liked _The Kitchen Boy_. I just finished his latest book: _Rasputin’s Daughter._ If you like _The Kitchen Boy_, I think you’ll like this one, too. Right now, I’m reading _Mary_, a fictionalized biography of Mary Lincoln. I’ve always had a soft spot for Mary, who I feel got the short end of history’s stick, and this book gives a sympathetic portrayal. [Note: there are some issues in the book which sticklers for historical accuracy may decry.] I’m really enjoying it. I’m also reading _The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All_ which I’m not enjoying as much. ---
**Author:** ![toadbriar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@toadbriar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadbriar)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/14 "2006-09-25T05:05:46Z")
I’m short on fresh book right now, so I am rereading. I just finished a short story anthology called **Blue Motel**. I am currently reading something from a forensic psychologist called **Guilty By Reason of Insanity**. I’m not sure what I’ll read next - whatever looks good that I forgot I had - probably some old **Year’s Best Horror** or something. I do mean to reread **The Raptor and the Lamb** , which is a quite engaging comparison of how carnivores and herbivores are adapted to suit their various niches. I may also reread **Tribe of Tiger** , which is about different feline species, current and extinct (nimravids are coooool!) I’d like to read **House of Leaves** but I’ve not picked it up yet. Most of my books are used, so it’s hard to pay $20 for a new one. Oh I did forget I was trying to find **Deviant** , which is a book about Ed Gein. I have it somewhere but forgot what it looked like. I should see again if I can’t dig it up. sorry. ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/15 "2006-09-25T05:15:28Z")
Currently reading Gene Wilder’s autobiography, **Kiss Me Like A Stranger**. I have the latest Discworld novel, **Wintersmith** and Robert Harris’ **Imperium** arriving soon from Amazon UK ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/16 "2006-09-25T05:41:46Z")
I’ve been getting a lot of reading done, and most of it within my self-inflicted novel niche - modern fiction by young male authors. I don’t know why, but that’s all I feel like reading currently. On the train on Saturday I read **The Conjuror’s Bird** by Martin Davies, and **Sea Otters Gambolling in the Wild, Wild Surf** by John Bennett, on my return trip last night. Short books, in fact, a little too short, as they didn’t quite fill up my 2-hour journeys. Really enjoyed both. I also recently finished **The Shadow of the Wind** by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, which was a little fraught, but still a good read. Maybe that was the translation. Speaking of translations, **The Dream Merchant** is a YA novel by Isabel Hoving, translated from the original Dutch. Another good fun read. **The Highest Tide** by Jim Lynch appealed to my inner beachcomber, trapped inland. A very good scientician’s novel, lots of tidbits and a greenie message. I’m sure there’s more I’ve missed. Oh, one to avoid: **Odalisque** by Fiona McIntosh. Although it reminded me that reading bad fiction sometimes is a good reminder of what GOOD fiction shouldn’t be like. Does that make sense? No. ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/17 "2006-09-25T07:18:07Z")
I’ve almost finished _The Constant Gardener_, by John LeCarre. I loved the movie, and I plesantly surprised to find myself really liking this. My mum’s a big fan of his, so I’ll snaffle a couple more of his books of her bookshelf, see if I’ve found myself a new author to enjoy. I’ve just started Sarah Waters’ _Night Watch_. It’s shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize, and I’d like to be familiar with a couple before they announce it. So far it’s good. At work I’m reading _Black Dogs_ by Ian McEwan. He’s quickly become one of my favourite authors, and when I finished _Black Dogs_ I’ll only have a couple more of his books before I’ve read them all. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/18 "2006-09-25T10:32:41Z")
I’m reading a title called **Kreol** , by author Gunnar Harding. It goes into depth with some of the most prominent characters in the pre-jazz era of New Orleans. next title might be that **Everything is illuminated** which seems to be the hot thing in the litterary community. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/19 "2006-09-25T10:48:25Z")
Susan Orleans’s _Orchid Thief_, on which the movie _Adaptation_ was based. I’m not engrossed. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011/20 "2006-09-25T11:03:52Z")
My goal this summer was to finish three series by the first day of fall - The Dark Tower series, The Crown of Stars series, and what exists yet of The Young Wizard series - with a couple of days to spare, I did that. In a very rare turn of events, I’m currently only reading one book: [Idlewild](http://www.amazon.com/Idlewild-Nick-Sagan/dp/0399150978/sr=1-1/qid=1159181777/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2557312-9335914?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Nick Sagan. So far it’s strange, and I like it 🙂 **toadbriar** , **House of Leaves** is one of the worst “horror” novels I’ve ever read (not worse book, mind you. It’s just not a horror novel like claimed IMHO) but you can get for much less than $20 at [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_kk_2/104-2557312-9335914?ie=UTF8&search-alias=stripbooks&field-keywords=mark%20z.%20danielewski) and [Half.com](http://people.half.ebay.com/Mark-Z-Danielewski_W0QQmZbooksQQcidZ1024454446). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-this-month-dopers/374011.md?page=2)