# 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:** 7
**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 21, 2009, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/121 "2009-04-21T04:40:30Z")
I finished **The Shadow Year** , by Jeffrey Ford. It was a first-person semi-autobiographical, magical-realist story set in the 1960’s from the point of view of a boy in a very odd family. It had the same warmth and scariness as Bradbury’s **Dandelion Wine** or McCammon’s **Boy’s Life**. I loved it, and I’m still thinking of it, a few days later. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/122 "2009-04-21T10:16:28Z")
I finished Princess Ben. I have read books whose target audience was teens and enjoyed them. I have read books whose target was probably women and enjoyed them. This however was likely aimed at teen girls, putting me so far outside the demographic I have to wonder about the competency of the man screening my queue. Having said that, it wasn’t too bad a read, I read it on the flight home from the UK and it helped passed the day. ---
**Author:** ![PeacePlease](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/71c47a/32.png) [@PeacePlease](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeacePlease)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/123 "2009-04-22T16:58:36Z")
I picked up **The Book Thief** by Markus Zusak in the wee hours of the morn and have not been able to put it down yet. I’m sure this book has been mentioned here but this is amazing. It’s narrated by Death and takes place in Germany during WWII. I’m about halfway through and I just know that whatever happens is just going to slay me emotionally but I cannot wait! I’m enjoying it immensely and it’s so short on words but so very evocative. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/124 "2009-04-22T17:08:54Z")
I just finished _The 5th Witch_, by Graham Masterton. Good, fast, fluffy read (if the definition of “fluffy” can be extended to people puking toads and the bad guys filling a large room with chunky salsa made from the mangled bodies of a couple dozen SWAT team members). Now that I’ve finished that, I’m going to start _Arthas_, by Christie Golden (the latest, and by many accounts the best so far, among the World of Warcraft series). ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/125 "2009-04-22T17:19:56Z")
Just finished **Fahrenheit 451** , which I’d never read, and was somewhat disappointed in. Didactic sci-fi is usually heavy-handed, but _sheesh_. Plus you usually get flying cars or interplanetary travel or _something_ for your trouble. Now I’m reading **Uglies** , and enjoying it. I’ll probably read the whole trilogy, based on how much I’m liking the first one. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/126 "2009-04-22T22:15:36Z")
Thought I was going to be going to Georgia (for why not, see MPSIMS), so put down _The Ancestor’s Tale_ (big heavy trade paperback) in favor of a more manageably sized volume, George Eliot’s _Adam Bede_. I do like a nice fat 19th-century novel, and this is a good one. Will probably finish it before returning to Dawkins, despite the cancellation of my trip. ---
**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 23, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/127 "2009-04-23T01:05:18Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > I finished **Pride and Prejudice and Zombies** and can easily envision a summer romp zombie fest kinda movie. > > [spoiler] > > What happens to Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins is what should have happened. [/spoiler] > … I doubt I’ll ever read it, so tell me… Does she eat him? ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/128 "2009-04-23T01:31:31Z")
I finally finished Nick Harkaway’s The Gone-Away World. It took a while because I’ve been really busy lately, and I wished I could’ve read it faster. It’s a “wow” book, as in there were several passages throughout that, once I came up for air and stepped away from the story, made me go “wow” just because they were so well-written. It’s hard, IMO, to balance that kind of clever wordsmithing with keeping you rooted in the story, but Harkaway does it with apparent ease. If I had to compare it to something, I’d say it reminded me of Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle, but set in the future. And with ninjas. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/129 "2009-04-23T08:00:11Z")
Homebrewing For Dummies ---
**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:** [April 23, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/130 "2009-04-23T15:55:42Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I doubt I’ll ever read it, so tell me… > > Does she eat him? Funniest. Reading Thread Spoiler. Ever! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/131 "2009-04-23T16:47:36Z")
Reading an advance paperback of George Hamilton’s memoir _Don’t Mind If I Do_, which won’t be out till May 5. Only on page 5, but already hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/132 "2009-04-24T02:23:50Z")
Finished _Digital Fortress_, by Dan Brown. I enjoyed it. A fun read. Next up is _Hammerhead Ranch Motel_, by Tim Dorsey. I’ve been delaying it, because someone last month suggested I read Dorsey’s _Florida Roadkill_ first, as it introduces some of the same characters, but after searching for it and finding three other Dorsey books, I could not find that one. Ah well. ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/133 "2009-04-24T13:50:18Z")
I had to take my daughter and posse “prom shopping” so to compensate, I ducked into Waldenbooks. I picked up something I’d never heard of – E.E. Knight’s _Way of the Wolf_, the beginning of \*The Vampire Earth \*series. It’s a mix of Dies the Fire sort of civilization with alien-mutated “vampires” ruling the earth. I’m only on page 66, but already he has had several times when a great turn of phrase has stopped me cold to reread it with pleasure. Anyone know if the series is worth investing in? ---
**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 24, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/134 "2009-04-24T14:48:25Z")
My current reading pile: [Gods and Myths of Northern Europe](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/864330.Gods_and_Myths_of_Northern_Europe) by H.R. Ellis Davidson–I read this for a Northern European Mythology class years ago, sold the book back at the end of the semester and have regretted it ever since. A friend of mine gave me his extra copy. 🙂 [Captain Blood](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/158446.Captain_Blood) by Rafael Sabatini–I ran across this in the [Unshelved Book Club](http://www.unshelved.com/archive.aspx?strip=20051113) and it looked interesting. So far it is. Blood is still a slave but he’s about to escape so the cool pirate stuff is imminent. [Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32511.Will_in_the_World_How_Shakespeare_Became_Shakespeare) by Stephen Greenblatt–He looks at Shakespeare’s plays and what little information we have about his life to try to piece together a reasonable biography. It’s really good. My favorite part so far is when Greenblatt uses the plays to show that Shakespeare did not like his marriage at all. [Shalimar the Clown](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4830.Shalimar_the_Clown_A_Novel) by Salman Rushdie–Rushdie is my current “read everything he’s written” author. I’ve loved everything I’ve read so far (except _The Satanic Verses_ and _Haroun and the Sea of Stories_). This is one of those “murder told from every perspective” stories. So far all I can say is the daughter is a twit. [World War Z](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8908.World_War_Z_An_Oral_History_of_the_Zombie_War) by Max Brooks–I checked this out yesterday and read a little bit of it before work. I like it. ---
**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 25, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/135 "2009-04-25T01:25:06Z")
> [@schnuckiputzi](#): > > I had to take my daughter and posse “prom shopping” so to compensate, I ducked into Waldenbooks. I picked up something I’d never heard of – E.E. Knight’s _Way of the Wolf_, the beginning of \*The Vampire Earth \*series. > It’s a mix of Dies the Fire sort of civilization with alien-mutated “vampires” ruling the earth. I’m only on page 66, but already he has had several times when a great turn of phrase has stopped me cold to reread it with pleasure. Anyone know if the series is worth investing in? I’ve heard good things about it. I read and enjoyed the first one, as you are doing. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/136 "2009-04-25T05:16:21Z")
A lot of what I’ve read this month has been/is research for a children’s story I’m working on: _The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures_ by John & Caitlin Matthews; _The Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels, and Other Subversive Spirits_ by Carol Mack; a history of the town I live in because my fictional town is geographically near here; and some kids’ books to fine-turn my narrator’s voice and vocabulary - _The Mighty_ by Rodman Philbrick, _In The Winter Room_ by Gary Paulsen, and at the moment _The Headless Cupid_ by Zilpha Keatley Snyder and _The Named_ by Marianne Curley. Other than that, when I have time I’m working my way through Christopher Golden’s _The Lost Ones_ (the final, and by far the slowest novel in the Veil trilogy) and Kelley Armstrong’s second Women of Otherworld book, _Stolen_. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/137 "2009-04-25T16:31:22Z")
Finished _Drood_ by Dan Simmons (loved it). Started _The Warded Man_ by Peter Brett. So far, it seems to be the standard fantasy farm boy saves the world story. Fantasy readers are comparing it to Jordan’s Wheel of Time (which I haven’t read). I might just dump it for now and start _The Comedy Writer_ by somebody Farrelly, recommended by a Doper. ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/138 "2009-04-26T19:24:48Z")
Finished The Way of the Wolf, and am going to get the rest – a really good book, IMO. Since then, I caved and bought _The Dark Tower I (Gunslinger_)…and having finished it, um…huh? I’m assuming questions are answered in ensuing books. Also picked up John Nevitt’s _New Tricks_, his second in his wizard series. It’s basically Harry Dresden with a day (night?) job as a jazz guitarist. Nice quick read, although I picked out the bad guy half way through and was just waiting for him to clue in. Next up, Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy. ---
**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 27, 2009, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/139 "2009-04-27T13:49:21Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I doubt I’ll ever read it, so tell me… > > Does she eat him? Check pm ---
**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 27, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443/140 "2009-04-27T15:52:45Z")
Done, and already responded. Thanks. I just finished John Scalzi’s _The Last Colony_, and really enjoyed it. It’s the third in his trilogy of military sf that includes _Old Man’s War_ and _The Ghost Brigades_, and I highly recommend it. Scalzi obviously owes a big debt to Heinlein’s _Starship Troopers_ and Haldeman’s _The Forever War_, but has a lot of great ideas of his own and a smartass style with dialogue that makes for many laughs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-apr-09-edition/491443.md?page=8)