# Whatcha Readin' April 2010 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 1, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519 "2010-04-01T01:39:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/1 "2010-04-01T01:39:17Z")
Wow, I almost forgot! I had a minor success at work today and it occupied my mind most of the day. I am reading _The Juggler_ a Faustian novel about a - you guessed it - juggler who sells his soul to Satan in order to be \*the \*best Juggler. It started slowly but after 100 or so pages picked up. I am not finished, but will let you know how I like it once I am. [Link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=554020)to last month’s thread. To those celebrating a holiday this weekend - have a safe and enjoyable holiday. ---
**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 1, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/2 "2010-04-01T02:22:05Z")
Just finished _Active Liberty_, by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. In a nutshell, he argues that, in interpreting the Constitution and statutes, all things being equal, courts should favor any interpretation which leads to greater citizen involvement in the democratic process. He also rebuts the Scalia/Thomas originalist interpretation pretty effectively. It makes for a persuasive argument but a pretty dry book - and reminded me all over again why I don’t enjoy reading legal theory. ---
**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 1, 2010, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/3 "2010-04-01T04:44:39Z")
I’m a little over 1/3 through Robert Harris’ _Fatherland_ and enjoying it immensely. Taking it to Vietnam with us this weekend, along with Harris’ _The Ghost_, which was just made into a film called _The Ghost Writer_ starring Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan; and _A Most Wanted Man_, by John le Carre. I may also take a local novel called _Private Dancer_, by Stephen Leather, but I don’t know how much reading I’ll actually get done and may leave that one behind. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/4 "2010-04-01T05:42:08Z")
I just finished a short by Doctorow _When Sysadmins ruled the Earth_. Pretty good read. I’m just starting _The Demon-Haunted World_, good start, no demons yet though. ---
**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 1, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/5 "2010-04-01T06:08:53Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > … no demons yet though. That’s the point. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Seamack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/46a35a/32.png) [@Seamack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seamack)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/6 "2010-04-01T08:46:04Z")
Joe Hill’s _20th Century Ghosts_. The guy has more depth to his writing than his old man. Well at least in his short stories. I’ve only read one of his novels so far _Heart Shaped Box_. I’m looking forward to reading more. Next up is John Duignan’s _The Complex_ a scientology expose. Apparently it’s publication has been blocked for the moment, so I’m lucky to have a review copy. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/7 "2010-04-01T12:35:24Z")
I finished March 246 pages deep into **Toll the Hounds** by **Steven Erikson**. It’s book 8 of **The Malazan Book of the Fallen**. Unfortunately it’s not available for the Kindle yet in the US, so I’ve been wrestling daily with the massive paperback. I finished the previous book in the series, **Reaper’s Gale** , early in the month. Looking back on last month’s thread, I read around 480 pages this past month in this series. For work, I’m reading **Concurrent Programming on Windows** by **Joe Duffy**. I just started Chapter 7, page 315. Starting to get in to more practical, higher level discussions. I read about 70 pages in this book in March. ---
**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 1, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/8 "2010-04-01T13:05:11Z")
Congratulations on your work thingy,\*\* Khadaji\*\*! I’m still working on The Best of Joe R. Lansdale, and expect to give it five stars when I’m done. I just started the audiobook version of True Grit by Charles Portis, read by Donna Tartt (an author in her own right). She sounds a bit like Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/9 "2010-04-01T18:33:43Z")
I just finished _Ruling Passion_ by Reginald Hill - the third in the Dalziel and Pascoe series. I had been warned before reading _A Clubbable Woman_ that it wasn’t up to the standard of the rest of the series, but I have a thing for reading an author’s books in order. Then _An Advancement of Learning_ was much better, but I still wasn’t blown away. Now, I get it - \*Ruling Passion \*was outstanding. I’m off to the bookstore and then lunch - I’ll see what I come up with to read next… ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/10 "2010-04-01T20:02:42Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I am reading _The Juggler_ a Faustian novel about a - you guessed it - juggler who sells his soul to Satan in order to be \*the \*best Juggler. It started slowly but after 100 or so pages picked up. I am not finished, but will let you know how I like it once I am. Is that the one by John Morressy? I read it last year and liked it a lot. A simple story but told well. **Seamack** , re Joe Hill – I’ve read both his novels and while they were just fine, the short stories are what do it for me. **Dung Beetle** , I loves me some Lansdale but I’m gonna have to find a TOC to make sure I don’t already have the stories. Are there some new ones in the Best collection? I’m still reading _A Distant Flame_ by Philip Lee Williams (Civil War novel). ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/11 "2010-04-01T20:04:05Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Is that the one by John Morressy? I read it last year and liked it a lot. A simple story but told well. > > **Seamack** , re Joe Hill – I’ve read both his novels and while they were just fine, the short stories are what do it for me. > > **Dung Beetle** , I loves me some Lansdale but I’m gonna have to find a TOC to make sure I don’t already have the stories. Are there some new ones in the Best collection? > > I’m still reading _A Distant Flame_ by Philip Lee Williams (Civil War novel). It is indeed. It may be that I am reading it based on you having mentioned it. I know that I found out about it via our threads. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/12 "2010-04-01T20:06:20Z")
_Tess of the D’urbervilles_. ---
**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 1, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/13 "2010-04-01T20:13:35Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > **Dung Beetle** , I loves me some Lansdale but I’m gonna have to find a TOC to make sure I don’t already have the stories. Are there some new ones in the Best collection? Well, they’re new to me…I like him but I haven’t read much of his stuff. This book has: Godzilla’s twelve-step program – Bubba Ho-Tep – Mad dog summer – Fire dot – Big show – Duck hunt – Incident on and off a mountain road – Events concerning a nude fold-out found in a Harlequin romance – White mule, spotted pig – On the far side of the Cadillac Desert with dead folks – Not from Detroit – Cowboy – Steppin’ out, summer '68 – Fish night – Hell through a windshield – Night they missed the horror show. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/14 "2010-04-01T20:27:29Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > That’s the point. 😃 :smack: Now you tell me. _Twilight_ and _Left Behind_ were _ **right there** _ but I had to go for the demons. Never trust a title. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![iftheresaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecae2f/32.png) [@iftheresaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iftheresaway)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/15 "2010-04-01T21:49:30Z")
I’ve just got a couple of pages left on _When Science Goes Wrong: Twelve Tales from the Dark Side of Discovery_, and I’ve really enjoyed it. Simon LeVay is a very engaging writer, and has done an excellent job of laying out the problems of methodology, assumptions, pure bad luck, etc., for twelve cases in different fields, and looking at various opinions about the cases and how they could perhaps have been handled differently. It seems very well-researched and unbiased to me, and is a nice look at the human side of science. On my nook, I’ve got a collection of Japanese stories, including a selection from Genji, that I’ve just barely started. I’m trying to hold back a couple of good things since I’m on vacation next weekend and will be driving (or at least in a car) for about 30 hours round trip - lots of good uninterrupted reading time! ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/16 "2010-04-01T23:01:22Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Well, they’re new to me…I like him but I haven’t read much of his stuff. > > This book has: Godzilla’s twelve-step program – Bubba Ho-Tep – Mad dog summer – Fire dot – Big show – Duck hunt – Incident on and off a mountain road – Events concerning a nude fold-out found in a Harlequin romance – White mule, spotted pig – On the far side of the Cadillac Desert with dead folks – Not from Detroit – Cowboy – Steppin’ out, summer '68 – Fish night – Hell through a windshield – Night they missed the horror show. Thanks for the list! Some of these are definitely new. Cool! Have you tried his Hap and Leonard novels? They’re pretty violent, but they’re quite funny. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/17 "2010-04-01T23:18:17Z")
Just finished[_The Angel’s Game_](http://www.amazon.com/Angels-Game-Carlos-Ruiz-Zaf%C3%B3n/dp/0385528701) by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and immediately picked up and finished \*[The Nature of Monsters\*](http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Monsters-Clare-Clark/dp/B0031MA8G0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270163811&sr=1-1) by Clare Clark. Both are the kind of book that stays with you for while after you finish them. Now I’m reading _[The Book of Fires](http://www.amazon.com/Book-Fires-Novel-Jane-Borodale/dp/0670021067/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270163969&sr=1-1)_ by Jane Borodal. It’s good, too, although it starts out with a pig being killed, which is one thing that really bothers me. (See also the movie _[The Girl from Paris.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240149/)_) ---
**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 2, 2010, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/18 "2010-04-02T12:09:47Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Have you tried his Hap and Leonard novels? They’re pretty violent, but they’re quite funny. No, those are one of the things I always think I’ll read _someday_. Maybe soon… ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/19 "2010-04-02T12:30:19Z")
Just finished _The Maltese Falcon_ and loved it. I’m about halfway through Peter F. Hamilton’s _The Dreaming Void_ and I’m loving it, too. It’s been several years since I read the Night’s Dawn trilogy and I’d forgotten how I enjoy his style. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519/20 "2010-04-02T12:54:14Z")
I hope you will not think less of me. I just finished _Abe Lincoln; Vampire Hunter,_ further I recommend it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2010-edition/534519.md?page=2)