# Whatcha Readin' April 2012 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 31, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388 "2012-03-31T15:36:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/81 "2012-04-19T17:32:05Z")
I just finished _The Art of Fielding_ by Chad Harbach. It’s a solid 3 out of 5 stars. The story takes a while to meander through the middle parts. Most of the writing is pretty good, but the dialogue is horrible. College kids do not talk or act like Chad Harbach thinks they do. But, for a first novel, it’s pretty good. ---
**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 20, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/82 "2012-04-20T02:32:41Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > I recently finished _Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle_, by The Countess of Carnarvon… See post #548 here for a book I’ll bet you’d like: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=638331&page=11](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=638331&page=11) ---
**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 20, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/83 "2012-04-20T03:04:33Z")
I’m reading _Winter’s Bone_ which I love and _The Hunger Games_ which I kinda sorta don’t. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/84 "2012-04-20T05:35:55Z")
Finished _Helen of Troy_- such a good book. And I _totally_ knew that she wasn’t a real person before I read that- I swear! 😛 Then I read _The Book of Drugs_, a memoir by Mike Doughty, the lead singer of the band Soul Coughing. It was okay, nothing to write home about. Now starting _A Safeway in Arizona_, about the Jan 8 shootings here in Tucson and politics of this state. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/85 "2012-04-20T15:08:00Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > See post #548 here for a book I’ll bet you’d like: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=638331&page=11](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=638331&page=11) I will look out for that one, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/86 "2012-04-20T17:18:20Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > The lack of electronic editions for the Flashy series is a crime, I tell you. All the Flashman books are definitely available in Kindle format, and a quick Googling indicates they’re available in EPUB format as well. What format are you looking for? ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/87 "2012-04-20T17:35:16Z")
Not reading yet but purchased today: [Kinglake-350](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005EPJNS6/ref=docs-os-doi_0), about the (Australian) Victorian bushfires of 2009. Those bushfires were in an area I’ve been to, I’m from Melbourne; the towns most affected are not all that far away. I well remember the unbelievably oppressive heat of that day and the slowly growing horror as the extent of the disaster became clear. The book comes highly recommended. I find disasters oddly fascinating, and it’s nice to have something **Australian** to read. So even though it’s more expensive than I’d usually accept for an ebook, I think it’ll be worth it. I’ll finish what I’m currently reading, so it’ll be a little while before I report back about it. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/88 "2012-04-20T21:07:18Z")
I finished A Night to Remember. I missed seeing the movie last weekend so decided to start that instead. I really enjoyed it. I then started Night Stalks the Mansion: A True Story of One Family’s Ghostly Adventure. It was an Amazon freebie so I decided to give it a shot. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/89 "2012-04-20T21:59:12Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > All the Flashman books are definitely available in Kindle format, and a quick Googling indicates they’re available in EPUB format as well. What format are you looking for? Kindle would work. So would whatever iBooks uses, though I’ve been having trouble getting that to work. I just checked for _Flashman and the Mountain of Light_ (actually what I was looking for, but the bookstore didn’t have it) on Amazon and the only thing I’m coming up with is an Audible audiobook edition. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/90 "2012-04-21T05:02:35Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Kindle would work. So would whatever iBooks uses, though I’ve been having trouble getting that to work. I just checked for _Flashman and the Mountain of Light_ (actually what I was looking for, but the bookstore didn’t have it) on Amazon and the only thing I’m coming up with is an Audible audiobook edition. That’s odd - there **is** a Kindle edition but for some reason you can’t actually buy it at the moment from Amazon in the US. However, it does seem to be available for purchase from [Amazon UK](http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0006513042/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_g14_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0M3TBA4B5V6X6NR6AQJH&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294). I’m in Australia and I’m assuming you’re in the US, so there may or may not be a problem in buying ebooks from UK Amazon. Worth a try, anyway, the worst that can happen is that you get refused. iBooks uses EPUB format, and the Flashy books seem to be available in that format. ---
**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, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/91 "2012-04-21T16:12:08Z")
I think I’m the first Doper to give up on _Cloud Atlas_ in frustration. To be fair, I got as far as p. 150, and even liked the Luisa Rey portion, but I’m a slow enough reader and too old to invest more time in this book. The pomposity got to me. I came across a fabulous book list today, from [Wired.com](http://Wired.com)’s GeekDad department: [67 Books Every Geek Should Read to Their Kids Before Age 10](http://www.wired.com/geekdad/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/67-Books-Every-Geek-Should-Read-to-Their-Kids-Before-Age-10.pdf), which to me means “books I should read”, even though my kids are grown. Favorite books and authors from my own childhood are in there, like Edward Eager, _The Phantom Tollbooth_,\* Pippi Longstocking\*, and _Wrinkle in Time_, but also many books not generally regarded as kid lit, like _Princess Bride_, _Ender’s Game_, and J. R. R. Tolkien. Next up for me, **After Life** , by Rhian Ellis, long unread on my shelves, and recommended by Nancy Pearl’s new reprinting partnership with Amazon, [Book Lust Rediscoveries](http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000764551). ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/92 "2012-04-21T21:41:38Z")
> [@wonderlust](#): > > I think I’m the first Doper to give up on _Cloud Atlas_ in frustration. To be fair, I got as far as p. 150, and even liked the Luisa Rey portion, but I’m a slow enough reader and too old to invest more time in this book. The pomposity got to me. > > [Book Lust Rediscoveries](http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000764551). I didn’t give up on it but I did not think it was my cup of tea. The only story I really liked was the story of Somni whatever number - which is a theme in science fiction I’ve always liked (the “define human” theme - makes me a sucker for the admittedly terrible flicks such as ‘The Island’ or ‘Gattaca’). I did prefer _The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet_ to _Cloud Atlas_ but neither is a book I’d wish to read again nor do I think much of them afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/93 "2012-04-21T23:05:10Z")
Finished _Blood Cross (Jane Yellowrock, Book 2)_ a serviceable second in the Skinwalker urban fantasy series. Just a tad more sex than the last, but not enough to make me drop the series yet. ---
**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 22, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/94 "2012-04-22T00:48:23Z")
Continuing my recent spate of books about Queen Elizabeth II (today’s her birthday, BTW), just finished _Her Majesty: The Court of Queen Elizabeth II_ by Robert Hardman. Pretty good, but didn’t break much new ground other than focusing a bit more on the role of Prince Philip. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/95 "2012-04-22T03:03:17Z")
I’ve just started _House of Rain_, by Craig Childs. While it reads like a mystery, it’s non-fiction, and concerns the research done on the Anasazi of the American Southwest. So far, it’s really grabbed my interest. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/96 "2012-04-22T05:20:46Z")
I’m reading 1222 by Ann Holt. It’s a Norwegian crime novel about a train crash and subsequent murders. I found it a quick, easy read and will go to the library and order any other books she has written. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/97 "2012-04-22T16:45:20Z")
I was one of those people who said I’d never use an e-reader but damn, when you’re lying in bed and the book you’re reading doesn’t grab you, it’s damn cool to just lie there and flip through a library – maybe even buy something new – without getting out of bed! I’m reading _Of Human Bondage_ by W. Somerset Maugham. I vaguely remember the movie – Leslie Howard has a club foot and falls for Bette Davis (?), who treats him badly. I’m enjoying the period detail, and feeling bad for Philip, who’s being bullied at school. ---
**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 22, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/98 "2012-04-22T19:36:08Z")
I read Mary Roach’s newest book, _Packing for Mars_, which is just as entertaining and informative as her other books. On her recommendation I just bought a copy of astronaut Mike Mullane’s memoir, _Riding Rockets_. In a [blog post](http://grrm.livejournal.com/262170.html) back in January, George R.R. Martin made some recommendations for books (besides his own) to be nominated for the 2012 Hugo Award.\* Leviathan Wakes\* turned out to be a really good read, and was in fact nominated. But I just finished _Heaven’s Shadow_, a near-future First Contact novel, and it was not good. It read like a screenplay for a bad SyFy channel movie. Right now I’m reading _Adam Bede_ on my Kindle. So far I don’t like it as well as _Middlemarch_ - all the dialect is a bit tiresome, for one thing. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/99 "2012-04-22T21:38:29Z")
Recently finished King Abdullah II of Jordan’s work _Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit Of Peace In A Time of Peril_ which I thought to be a really good read from a moderate Muslim leader from a dual POV (Western educated Middle Eastern royalty) that essentially distills the Israeli/Palestinian conflict to its essence and exposes it as the primary de-stabilizer of the region. Its a good book. I also read the last book in Guillermo Del Toro’s trilogy of vampire novels\* The Night Eternal\*. I really liked the first two books but this one goes off the deus ex machina rails in the latter half of the book. Still a worthy vampire series, recounting back in the days before sparkly romantic vampires. Now I am reading _The Hunger Games_…so shoot me. Its moderately compelling, if a little unoriginal (_Running Man, The Long Walk_). Next up is either _The Towers_ by David Poyer about a special ops soldiers POV of the aftermath of 9/11 or _Lionheart_ by Sharon Kay Penman. Haven’t decided yet. ---
**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, 2012, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/100 "2012-04-23T02:56:22Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Recently finished King Abdullah II of Jordan’s work _Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit Of Peace In A Time of Peril_ which I thought to be a really good read from a moderate Muslim leader from a dual POV (Western educated Middle Eastern royalty) that essentially distills the Israeli/Palestinian conflict to its essence and exposes it as the primary de-stabilizer of the region. Its a good book… Didja know he’s a Trekker, too?: [Abdullah bin al-Hussein | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Abdullah_bin_al-Hussein) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388.md?page=6)