# Whatcha Readin' (Apr 09) Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 31, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443 "2009-03-31T15:30:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/21 "2009-04-01T15:34:17Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Aha! Another opportunity for me to plug Bookmarks Magazine. It’s published bi-monthly and there’s good stuff at the website too – [bookmarksmagazine.com](http://bookmarksmagazine.com). They compile reviews from lots of sources. Very few ads, and they do at least 50 books in each issue. Fiction – literary, crime, and SF, and nonfiction – general, biography, history, and science. Good articles too. > > Another resource is the NY Times. I signed up for an e-mail that comes in every Friday with several book reviews. > > I agree. Amazon’s no help. Bookmarks! I keep forgetting about them. I just signed up for a subscription today. yay, Auntie Pam! ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/22 "2009-04-01T16:09:45Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I’m also reading _The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier_ by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill. It’s not as good as the first volume of the series, but it has its moments. It’s fun to spot the literary allusions sprinkled throughout; more sex than the previous two books, too. The first part of [Volume 3](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_League_of_Extraordinary_Gentlemen,_Volume_III) has just been/is about to be released. I finished _Sandworms_ yesterday. I liked it. I especially liked how it tied everything together, especially why Duncan Idaho kept being reincarnated. That always bothered me in the original series. However, I did find the bits with Murbella kind of boring. If Frank Herbert had written the last book, I’m sure he would have had lots to do with her and the New Sisterhood, but since his son isn’t as much into Lofty Social Commentary she just kind of hung around and got duped by everyone in the Old Empire. ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/23 "2009-04-01T16:38:12Z")
I just finished Vol. 1 of ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’, and really enjoyed it, except for two things: I needed subtitles for the panels and panels of Chinese/Arabic scripts, and I kept expecting Mina to bite someone, especially when she was in dire danger. I was surprised at how much it was unlike the movie, which I loved. I’m trying to track down the second volume at a reasonable price. ---
**Author:** ![Nom\_de\_Plume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85f322/32.png) [@Nom\_de\_Plume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nom_de_Plume)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/24 "2009-04-01T17:42:32Z")
I have been reading Charlaine Harris’ _Lily Bard Mysteries_. I think Harris is such a good writer that I keep reading the series, despite the fact that they are so depressing compared to her Sookie Stackhouse novels. I have the third book in the series, but needed a break before I began it, so I read the following: _Dog on it_ by Spencer Quinn - an interesting mystery told through the eyes of a PI’s dog \*Glass Books of the Dream Eaters - Volume One \*by Gordon Dahlquist – Actually just started this one. It turns out to be pretty different than I expected. I expected more Sci-fi, but it seems to be romance as well. I’ll probably give it time since it’s already piqued my interest. Anyone who’s read it: Is it worth continuing? Of course, I’m anxiously awaiting the new Harry Dresden and Sookie Stackhouse books due out this month and next month respectively. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/25 "2009-04-01T18:04:55Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > Bookmarks! I keep forgetting about them. I just signed up for a subscription today. > > yay, Auntie Pam! Cool! I’ve bought several books based on their reviews – books I hadn’t heard about anywhere else. Each issue has a Year in Books page looking back at award winners, best sellers, and notable books from that year. A good reminder about older books that I missed out on. NY Times bestsellers from 1965: The Source, Up the Down Staircase, The Green Berets, Hotel, The Looking Glass War. 1965 Notables: Tarzan and the Castaways (!), In Cold Blood, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, The Millstone, The Man With the Golden Gun, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, The Painted Bird, Ariel, God Bless You Mr. Rosewater. 1965 Award Winners: Nobel – Mikhail Sholokhov, Pulitzer – The Keepers of the House, Pulitzer NF - O Strange New World, NBA - Herzog, Edgar - The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, Hugo - The Wanderer, Nebula - Dune, Newbery - Shadow of a Bull, Caldecott - May I Bring A Friend? Who doesn’t like wandering around in the past? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/26 "2009-04-01T19:30:55Z")
> [@schnuckiputzi](#): > > I just finished Vol. 1 of ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’, and really enjoyed it, except for two things: I needed subtitles for the panels and panels of Chinese/Arabic scripts, and I kept expecting Mina to bite someone, especially when she was in dire danger. I was surprised at how much it was unlike the movie, which I loved. I’m trying to track down the second volume at a reasonable price. You need [Notes on the League](http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/7160/league1.html). Heck, **I** need Notes on the League. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/27 "2009-04-01T20:06:29Z")
I’m reading **The Double Bind** which weaves in fictional characters from The Great Gatsby. It seems like a violation but then I remember that The Double Bind is also fiction. :smack: Reminds me of Atonement when I felt betrayed that the whole book turned out to be “fiction”, when the whole book is already fiction. Layers of fiction bug me. Or like when they reveal in the last page that the whole story you invested time and thought on was an alternate reality and the person died back on page one…how can I really be betrayed when none of it was really True? But I am… ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/28 "2009-04-01T20:55:50Z")
I just finished Le Guin’s sixth Earthsea book _The Other Wind_. It had the problems you’d expect from a sequel to an author’s popular work written after decades have passed. On the other hand it didn’t have the hateful “All men hate and fear women and are trying to keep them down” overt message that _Tehanu_ did so it’s offensive like the last Earthsea book I read. The next year there was a tie for the World Fantasy Award so I’ve got a choice between two books: _The Facts of Life_ by Graham Joyce and _Ombria in Shadows_ by Patricia McKillip and they sound about as different as two fantasy novels can be. I’m open to suggestions on which one I should go for next. ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/29 "2009-04-03T04:34:00Z")
I finally ditched the second Company novel by Kage Baker, _Sky Coyote_. As much as I enjoyed _In the Garden of Iden_, I just couldn’t get interested in this one. I think there was maybe too much cuteness. I’ve just started _The Shadow Year_, by Jeffrey Ford. I like the feeling of it so far. ---
**Author:** ![Future\_Londonite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Future\_Londonite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Future_Londonite)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/30 "2009-04-03T08:15:43Z")
Well I’m a one book at a time guy… Just finished **Adventure on the High Teas: in search of middle England** by Stuart Maconie and have now started **The Accord** by Keith Brooke (not quite sure what to expect, picked it up mainly because of the cover - dunno why) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/31 "2009-04-03T10:57:18Z")
Right now I’m reading _Getting What You Came For: The Smart Students’ Guide to Earning a Masters or Ph.D_. It’s a very practical and informative book that takes the mystery out of the whole process. I’m also reading Oliver Sacks’ _The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat_, which is a case-history based neuropsych book about disorders of the right hemisphere (to oversimplify, the ‘‘integration’’ hemisphere.) He basically outlines the most bizarre cases he’s seen through a series of anecdotes. The book is very literary and humorous, not at all the style you’d expect from a neuroscientist. So far I’ve only read the first chapter but already I would recommend it. My favorite bit so far, about a man who can see only in the abstract: > [@](#): > > I had stopped at a florist on my way to his apartment and bought myself an extravagant red rose for my buttonhole. Now I removed this and handed it to him. He took it like a botanist or morphologist given a specimen, not like a person given a flower. > > ‘‘About six inches in length,’’ he commented. ‘‘A convoluted red form with a linear green attachment.’’ > > ‘‘Yes,’’ I said encouragingly, ‘and what do you think it is, Dr. P?’’ > > ‘‘Not easy to say.’’ He seemed perplexed. ‘‘It lacks the simple symmetry of the Platonic solids, although it may have a higher symmetry of its own… I think this could be an inflorescence or flower.’’ > > ‘‘Could be?’’ I queried. > > ‘‘Could be,’’ he confirmed. Only when he smells the flower does he realize what it is and react accordingly. How neat is that? ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/32 "2009-04-03T13:31:20Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I’m also reading Oliver Sacks’ _The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat_… I read this last year and liked it quite a bit. Right now, I’m reading _The Suicide Collectors_ by David Oppegaard. In the future, the world is stricken by a disease called The Despair, which causes people to commit suicide. About 90% of the population is affected, leaving the remaining 10% to try to survive while fighting off The Collectors. The Collectors swoop in and take the bodies of recent suicides… for what purpose, no one knows. It’s good, although certain passages are quite disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/33 "2009-04-03T13:41:58Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > Just started _The Crimson Petal and the White_. I can only read over my lunch hour, so I should be done within the next decade or so. Yay! I love this one. You should post a discussion thread when you’re done. I did a few years ago and not many people had read it. I’ve put Drood aside too. It’s not pulling me in like The Terror did. I don’t think anything can live up to that one though. I’m currently reading Lost City of Z and it’s an incredible book–reads like an adventure novel except that it’s all true. I just finished The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It’s the best book I’ve read yet this year, by far. It’s a favorite of Stephen King’s and no wonder because it’s basically Stephen King lite. Post-apocalyptic and reminds me of The Long Walk and The Most Dangerous Game. It’s a YA novel but don’t let that stop you from reading it. [Amazon.com: The Hunger Games (Hunger Games, Book One) (1): 9780439023481: Collins, Suzanne: Books](http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Games-Suzanne-Collins/dp/0439023483/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238765919&sr=8-1) Has anyone read One Second After by William Forstchen? I’ve managed to track down a used copy on amazon but it seems to be backordered everywhere else. I read a couple of reviews and couldn’t resist since it’s another post-apocalyptic novel I haven’t read yet. I can’t seem to restrain myself from those. ---
**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 3, 2009, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/34 "2009-04-03T14:14:11Z")
> [@Greywolf73](#): > > I just finished The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It’s the best book I’ve read yet this year, by far. It’s a favorite of Stephen King’s and no wonder because it’s basically Stephen King lite. Post-apocalyptic and reminds me of The Long Walk and The Most Dangerous Game. It’s a YA novel but don’t let that stop you from reading it. [Amazon.com: The Hunger Games (Hunger Games, Book One) (1): 9780439023481: Collins, Suzanne: Books](http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Games-Suzanne-Collins/dp/0439023483/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238765919&sr=8-1) Sounds intriguing. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/35 "2009-04-03T14:34:56Z")
> [@Greywolf73](#): > > …Has anyone read One Second After by William Forstchen? I’ve managed to track down a used copy on amazon but it seems to be backordered everywhere else. I read a couple of reviews and couldn’t resist since it’s another post-apocalyptic novel I haven’t read yet. I can’t seem to restrain myself from those. I hadn’t heard of it before, but it sounds good. Forstchen wrote several _Lost Regiment_ sf books about a Civil War infantry regiment whisked away by a spatial anomaly to a barbaric alien world, and they’re pretty good. He also cowrote several alt-hist Civil War and WW2 books with Newt Gingrich that I haven’t read, but some of my buddies like them. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/36 "2009-04-03T15:45:06Z")
> [@Nom\_de\_Plume](#): > > I have been reading Charlaine Harris’ _Lily Bard Mysteries_. I think Harris is such a good writer that I keep reading the series, despite the fact that they are so depressing compared to her Sookie Stackhouse novels. I have the third book in the series, but needed a break before I began it… Is the protagonist a woman who had a terrible childhood, or a past history of abuse? That seems to be a theme in her work. I like the Sookie books pretty well, but everything else I’ve read by Harris has been positively grim. > [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I’m also reading Oliver Sacks’ _The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat_, which is a case-history based neuropsych book about disorders of the right hemisphere (to oversimplify, the ‘‘integration’’ hemisphere.) He basically outlines the most bizarre cases he’s seen through a series of anecdotes. The book is very literary and humorous, not at all the style you’d expect from a neuroscientist. So far I’ve only read the first chapter but already I would recommend it. That sounds interesting, it’s going on my wish list. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/37 "2009-04-03T16:31:11Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > Just started _The Crimson Petal and the White_. I can only read over my lunch hour, so I should be done within the next decade or so. That’s one of my favorites! Last month, I listened to the audiobook while at work – it’s 42 hours long, but the narrator reads pretty slowly, so it should take you much less time to sight-read your way through it. 🙂 And actually, I just finished reading _The Apple_, which is Faber’s companion piece to _The Crimson Petal_, comprised of short stories focusing on a different character from the novel. The last story in particular clears up some of the questions regarding the novel’s ending. (On preview: I’d be totally up for a discussion thread on _The Crimson Petal_. I have some questions about Henry I want to ask…) Continuing the Michel Faber theme, I’m reading his latest book, _The Fire Gospel_, and I have to say, I’m disappointed. I’m about 20 pages from the end (I only read it on my lunch break, otherwise I’d get through it in an afternoon), and at this point I feel like Faber’s rubbing his hands in glee and whispering, “Ever get the feeling you’ve been had?” in my ear. ---
**Author:** ![Nom\_de\_Plume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85f322/32.png) [@Nom\_de\_Plume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nom_de_Plume)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/38 "2009-04-03T16:35:14Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > Is the protagonist a woman who had a terrible childhood, or a past history of abuse? That seems to be a theme in her work. I like the Sookie books pretty well, but everything else I’ve read by Harris has been positively grim. Good call, Eleanor. She is victim of a violent rape Not sure if it really has to be spoilered. It’s not revealed early in the very beginning, but not at the very end. Better to play it safe though; if Ms Harris browses the boards I wouldn’t want to piss her off. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/39 "2009-04-03T16:36:18Z")
[Pride and Prejudice and Zombies](http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Zombies-Classic-Ultraviolent/dp/1594743347/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238776471&sr=8-1) is now MINE! I rarely buy books, but I couldn’t pass this one up at all. Elizabeth Bennett and Zombies! Who could ask for anything more? ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/40 "2009-04-03T16:49:48Z")
I got _Diary of a Young Girl_ from the library yesterday. I remember reading passages from it and watching the movie back in middle school, but I’ve never read the actual book. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443.md?page=3)