# What are you reading? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 2, 2004, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943 "2004-04-02T20:28:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [April 3, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/41 "2004-04-03T16:35:25Z")
Just finished my first ever comic book. Well, actually a collection-type book of Daredevil comics. Interesting, but I would never attempt at this point to tell anyone if this is a good example of the genre. Still too much a beginner. Also just finished _Black Rubber Dress_ by Lauren Henderson. I just love Henderson, and her sleuth-heroine Sam Jones. For mystery lovers who aren’t too uptight. Reading Cornelia Funke’s _The Thief Lord_, a children’s book that would probably appeal to most Harry Potter fans. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/42 "2004-04-03T20:16:50Z")
Hi… I just got done reading _The Queen’s Fool_ by Phillipa Gregory. Kinda historical fluff but entertaining. At work, I’m re-reading Irvine Welsh’s _Marabou Stork Nightmare_ , which is probably my favorite book by this author (who also wrote _Trainspotting_. ) ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/43 "2004-04-03T20:33:51Z")
I am reading this sentence as I write it. Before that I was reading the title of this thread. The current _book_ I am reading is actually two books (I am flicking backwards and forwards at my whim). [Cloud Atlas](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0340822775/ref=sr_aps_books_1_1/026-4072248-0464433#product-details). And [George Orwell: Essays](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0141183063/qid=1081024387/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_3_1/026-4072248-0464433#product-details) ---
**Author:** ![dal\_timgar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@dal\_timgar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dal_timgar)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/44 "2004-04-03T21:02:52Z")
Someone just loaned me: BEHOLD A PALE HORSE by William Cooper It goes in the same category as: RULE BY SECRECY by Jim Marrs but I can’t say I recommend it YET. Dal Timgar > [@HumptysHamhole](#): > > What book are you reading right now? Describe it in brief – do you recommend it? ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/45 "2004-04-04T15:53:34Z")
I’ve just started the 4th Harry Potter book. (I’ve only recently become a fan.) Seems good so far. ---
**Author:** ![Zap\_Rowsdower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3da27b/32.png) [@Zap\_Rowsdower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zap_Rowsdower)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/46 "2004-04-04T16:18:12Z")
**Reel Shame:Bad Movies and the Hollywood Stars Who Made Them**. Very enjoyable read on soon to be or on the decline stars and some of the bad movies they were in. ---
**Author:** ![Scribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Scribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribe)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/47 "2004-04-04T20:00:33Z")
I’m reading Mick Foley’s first book, Mankind: Have a Nice Day. [I almost never watch wrestling on TV, but I did like it as a kid.] Why? I needed some light reading (I prefer light non-fiction) as work has been very busy. My mom read the book and said that Foley is good at bringing out the human interest side of wrestling. She’s right…it’s mostly the story of a guy’s life who does wrestling for a living instead of a wrestler writing a book, if you understand what I am getting at. (I’m also reading a book on prayer before bedtime.) ---
**Author:** ![Globe-trotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cab0a1/32.png) [@Globe-trotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Globe-trotter)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/48 "2004-04-04T20:19:23Z")
Here’s what I’m currently reading at the moment. _Prague_ by Arthur Philips, a story about American expats in Budapest in the early 90s, after the fall of communism. Seriously underwhelmed thus far. I have to read it since it’s for a book club. I can’t wait to find out what the big deal is with this book. _I, Claudius_ by Robert Graves. Much more fun! I want to see the series now. _Soul Music_ by Terry Pratchett. Not bad. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/49 "2004-04-04T20:21:35Z")
Cruel Miracles by Orson Scott Card. It’s a collection of sci-fi short stories with religion as its theme. I’m undecided on whether I like it or not yet due to my own sometimes rabid atheism but would suggest it to others that might like the juxtaposition of its theme and genre. ---
**Author:** ![enigmatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@enigmatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enigmatic)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/50 "2004-04-04T20:26:10Z")
I am reading a wide variety of things at the moment, including Revelation space and the first of Robin Hobbs Fool series. However the book I have with me right at this moment is Inversions by Iain banks, it’s a little to early to tell which way the plot’s going to jump but it shows every sign of being just as good as the rest of his books. I’ve just finished reading Supreme “the story of the year” by Alan Moore, a very neat dissection of comic book evolution. ---
**Author:** ![Den\_Mum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@Den\_Mum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Den_Mum)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/51 "2004-04-04T20:29:58Z")
For Christmas my wife got me the first three Jack Aubrey books by Patrick O’Brian. **Master and Commander, Post Captain, and H.M.S. Surprise**. I just got around to starting them 2 weeks ago and I’m half way through **H.M.S. Surprise**. Tells you way more than you ever wanted to know about life aboard a British man-o-war during the 18th century, and quite a bit about 18th century life, class distintions, sexuality, hygene, and morals. I’m liking it a lot, but I loved the **Hornblower** books. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Den\_Mum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@Den\_Mum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Den_Mum)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/52 "2004-04-04T20:34:08Z")
Dammit! Did it again! That post was from **Bumbazine** not **Den Mum**! Note to self: check to see who is signed on before posting. ---
**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:** [April 4, 2004, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/53 "2004-04-04T21:40:44Z")
Up until last Wednesday, I was reading Ralph Ellison’s **Invisible Man**. Very good book, though most of my English class hated simply because it’s 600 pages long. Which is ironic because the other book I’m reading just for the hell of it instead of school is Stephen King’s **The Stand** , which is twice as long as **Invisible Man** I wonder how my English class would react about being made to read a book over 1000 pages long. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/54 "2004-04-04T21:47:06Z")
Recently a friend who collects pulp paperbacks loaned my one of Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu novels. (I believe it is _The Mask of Fu Manchu_.) Am about 1/4 through it and I may throw in the towel; it’s basically a third-rate Conan Doyle ripoff, with “chapters” that are often little more than a couple of pages long. The only pleasure to be drawn from it is to savor how bad it is, and that pleasure doesn’t go very far. I’m thinking of dropping it and skipping ahead to the next item in my reading queue, _House of Mirth_. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/55 "2004-04-05T05:02:46Z")
Currently reading Umberto Eco’s _Baudolino_, the far-fetched autobiography of a peasant adopted by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarrosa, circa 1200AD, narrated to a Byzantine historian during the Fourth Crusade’s sack of Constantinople. Excellent story-telling and full of the kind of historical detail that drives others bonkers, but which I eat like candy. Also reading Terry Pratchett’s _The Fifth Elephant_. Good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/56 "2004-04-05T08:14:59Z")
Hey, I almost picked up Baudolino, but instead opted for _The Oath_ by Frank Peretti. I’m a little disappointed, the story is pretty good, but the guy is a mediocre writer and there are some glaring inconsistencies. Plus, I figured out it’s a “Christian” Novel but written to the mainstream (the lack of swearwords and a few contextually mild and innapropriate “darns” clued me in, Not to Mention it’s published by _Word_ Publishing. In addition, the crazy religous antihero is the hero!). That turned me off, but it’s compelling enough for me to finish. It’s basically about a dragon that eats sinners in a modern backwoods mining town. Sins of the fathers and what not. Salem’s Lot ala St. George. ---
**Author:** ![Journeyman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/779978/32.png) [@Journeyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Journeyman)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/57 "2004-04-05T09:51:26Z")
I just finished George R. R. Martin’s _A Storm of Swords_ and I want more, dammit! But since I have to wait for the next installment, I’m winding my way through David Brin’s Uplift series. Just started on _Sundiver_. It’s good stuff, I love the world he’s created. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2004, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/58 "2004-04-05T11:55:03Z")
Just finished Daniel Handler’s _The Basic Eight_, about a group of high school kids involved with a murder. I really enjoy his writing style, and there was a twist in the story which makes me want to go back and read it all over again. In the car, I’m listening to _She’s Come Undone_ by Wally Lamb. I just started yesterday, but so far so good. ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/59 "2004-04-05T15:05:53Z")
_An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943_ by Rick Atkinson. Only about 80 pages in, but interesting so far. ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943/60 "2004-04-05T15:35:16Z")
> [@Jack Batty](#): > > I’m just about to finish _Survivor_ by Chuck Palahniuk. > > The book I read before that was _Choke_ by Chuck Palahniuk. > > Mr. Palahniuk is the author of _Fight Club_. Both the above books are very … Palahniukian. It would be very difficult to fully explain them. They are chock full of satire and cynicism and odd, self-destructive characters and plots. > > _Choke_ features a sexaholic who pays for his insane mother’s care by pretending to choke in upscale restaurants and allowing himself to be saved by patrons who then send him money because they feel sorry for him. His day-job is as a blacksmith in a Colonial Village type place. His best friend collects rocks to keep himself from obsessive masturbation. > > _Survivor_ features the last known survivor of an Amish like religious sect who all killed themselves, who starts off as a house cleaner and allows himself to be guided by unscrupulous advisors to become a buffed, steroid ridden, religious media whore. The whole book is presented as dictation into the black box of a jumbo jet, which the protagonist has hi-jacked and is in the process of flying into the ground. > > I highly recommend everything written by Chuck Palahniuk. I would just like to second this recommendation for Chuck. I own everything he’s ever written, had most of it signed a few years back when Mr. Bunny and I were lucky to meet him, and not only is he a fantastic writer, he’s a very friendly and likeable person. His most recent novel, _Diary_, is one of the best things he’s written in years. I’m currently reading _Villa Incognito_ by Tom Robbins, and it’s very good so far, if a little lurid. Then, that’s Robbins for you. I wouldn’t have him any other way. Those not into his style of writing and his typical subject matter might not dig it, though (within the first couple of pages, a mystical badger parachutes to Earth using his own scrotum). Before that, I read _Disco Bloodbath_ by James St. James, the book that the recent movie _Party Monster_ was based on. Quite entertaining. James St. James writes like he’s speaking directly to you, quite similar actually to the style of Chuck Palahnuik, and he’s frickin’ hilarious. The story is intriguing as well, about a grusome murder back in the New York “club kid” days of the 80’s and 90’s. Check it out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading/237943.md?page=4)