# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/101 "2012-04-23T07:11:27Z")
I’m just getting into \*The Alienist \*by Caleb Carr. So far, so good. Set in New York City in 1896 the narrator and others, including police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt begin the investigation of a series of serial murders. ---
**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 23, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/102 "2012-04-23T14:01:39Z")
_The Night Circus_ finally defeated me. It was a sweet, cozy kind of tale full of pretty imagery, but it just seemed to go on and on without much progress in the plot until it wore me out. Last week I read Joe R. Lansdale’s _Edge of Dark Water_, about some runaways rafting down a river. Funny, sad, and gory. If it had any shred of plausibility, it would have been his best book yet. As it is, I just liked the writing and characters so much that I enjoyed the hell out of it anyway. Next I read _Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children_, by Ransom Riggs. I admit, I’ve been pushing this further down in the TBR pile because the title irritates me. It sounds like another Harry Potter/Lemony Snicket ripoff, but actually turned out to be a decent fantasy/time travel yarn. It’s illustrated with photos, which I could have done without, but the afterword makes it sound as if the photos inspired the story. There is room here for a sequel (naturally) and I’d be willing to give that a shot too. I also read _The Chickenpox Papers_, by Susan Terris, which I last read over thirty years ago, when I was the same age as the main character. An ordinary little kid’s book, but it always stuck with me somehow and it was interesting to read it over again. It seems like it was tailor-made for a ten year old me: The girl cuts all her hair off (I’ve done that) She puts on a disguise and sneaks out (I’d like to have done that) She finds a secret in a hidden compartment (ditto) She has to look after a baby, and she HATES babies (Yeah!) She’s a rude little brat (well, who wants to read a book about nice kids?) And to top it off, mention is made of the neighbor’s Pekingese, complete with illustration. At that age, I had a Pekingese that I loved above all things. So fun to go back and touch those vaguely remembered books again. Next up: _The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror (2010)_, edited by Paula Guran. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/103 "2012-04-23T14:06:54Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Last week I read Joe R. Lansdale’s _Edge of Dark Water_, about some runaways rafting down a river. Funny, sad, and gory. If it had any shred of plausibility, it would have been his best book yet. As it is, I just liked the writing and characters so much that I enjoyed the hell out of it anyway. I liked that one a lot - but I gotta admit, I kinda laughed at the fact that [spoiler]One of the villians was actually a slack-jawed yokel named “Cletus” [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgDw7\_L82kU&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgDw7_L82kU&feature=related) 😃 [/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/104 "2012-04-23T21:29:15Z")
For a long time, I had been alternating mysteries with selections from the Modern Lirbrary’s Greatest Novels of the 20th Century list. I hadn’t gotten around to a mystery in a few months, so I just started Josephine Tey’s _ **The Daughter of Time.** _ ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/105 "2012-04-23T21:57:17Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > _The Night Circus_ finally defeated me. It was a sweet, cozy kind of tale full of pretty imagery, but it just seemed to go on and on without much progress in the plot until it wore me out. I managed to finish _The Night Circus_, but yeah, this. I just read _The Virginian_, by Owen Wister, which is an early Western novel, and I’ve never seen the movies or the TV show so I went into it with absolutely no idea of what it is about. It’s about Wyoming, it turns out. I enjoyed this A LOT, obviously some aspects are very dated but it’s a great look at this American romance with The West. The whole reason I picked it up initially is because I recently read _The Art of Fielding_, in which there is one random reference to Owen Wister. It’s funny sometimes the weird ways books can lead you to other books. ---
**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 23, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/106 "2012-04-23T22:00:59Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Didja know he’s a Trekker, too?: [Abdullah bin al-Hussein | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Abdullah_bin_al-Hussein) He does mention that a couple times. If ever I wanted to be a King, I’d want to be him. Dude’s into a lot of cool stuff…motorcycling, skydiving, he’s a trained special ops soldier, travels the world, etc. ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/107 "2012-04-25T01:55:48Z")
I’ve just started _Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)_ by Jenny Lawson who also runs the [The Bloggess](http://thebloggess.com/) blog. Never heard of her before but Omnivoracious (Amazon’s blog) was promoting her book and I was looking for something funny to read so I bought it blind. And I’m glad I did. She is hilarious! I rarely if ever laughed out loud while reading but I did with this book. I’m a fan now. ---
**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 25, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/108 "2012-04-25T02:12:33Z")
I finished _A Safeway in Arizona_- while somewhat interesting regarding the history of the state, and easily readable, it didn’t connect the dots for me with regards to the shootings of Jan 8 and the politics of the state. Although, it did highlight what a narcissistic jackass Joe Arpaio is. Then in one day, I read\* Room\*- a fiction book by the author of _Slammerkin_, which I had enjoyed immensely. _Room_ was written in the voice of a 5 year-old boy that had spent his whole life trapped in an 11 x 11 locked shed with his mother, who’d been kidnapped and locked in there by a bad man. It was good. ---
**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, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/109 "2012-04-25T04:06:10Z")
> [@DataZak](#): > > I’ve just started _Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)_ by Jenny Lawson who also runs the [The Bloggess](http://thebloggess.com/) blog. Never heard of her before but Omnivoracious (Amazon’s blog) was promoting her book and I was looking for something funny to read so I bought it blind. > > And I’m glad I did. She is hilarious! I rarely if ever laughed out loud while reading but I did with this book. I’m a fan now. Thanks for turning me on to these 3 links: The Bloggess, Omnivoracious, and the Kindle blog which I went to from there. Love them! ---
**Author:** ![charmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@charmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/charmstr)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/110 "2012-04-25T16:19:12Z")
> [@DataZak](#): > > I’ve just started _Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)_ by Jenny Lawson who also runs the [The Bloggess](http://thebloggess.com/) blog. I’ve been reading her blogs for years and she _is_ hilarious. The dialogs between her husband and her are priceless. I’m glad her book is finally out. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/111 "2012-04-25T19:50:09Z")
Finished [\*Rise of Empire \*](http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Riyria-Revelations-Michael-Sullivan/dp/0316187704/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b)the 3rd and 4th in the six books of the Riyria Revelations. It was very good, but unlike the first two, does not stand by itself. I am looking forward to the last two published in \*Heir of Novron, \*but I am currently reading [_Tricked (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book Four)_](http://www.amazon.com/Tricked-Iron-Druid-Chronicles-Book/dp/0345533623/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335383367&sr=8-1) which I was also looking forward to and has started out being fun. ---
**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 26, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/112 "2012-04-26T21:10:20Z")
I just started Stephen King’s short stories _Full Dark, No Stars_. So far, I’ve finished the first story- :eek: After this comes _UnGodly: The Passions, Torments, and Murder of Atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair_. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/113 "2012-04-26T21:17:30Z")
> [@movingfinger](#): > > I’m just getting into \*The Alienist \*by Caleb Carr. So far, so good. Set in New York City in 1896 the narrator and others, including police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt begin the investigation of a series of serial murders. That’s an AWESOME book. Sequel’s not worth it though IMHO. ---
**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 27, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/114 "2012-04-27T13:45:31Z")
Diving back into vintage sci-fi, I’m almost finished with _The Gods Themsevles_ by Asimov. It’s ok. The book is 3 parts and the 2nd part was quite a slog. The first part was very good and so far the 3rd part is also pretty good. ---
**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 27, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/115 "2012-04-27T14:33:38Z")
> [@movingfinger](#): > > I’m just getting into \*The Alienist \*by Caleb Carr. So far, so good. Set in New York City in 1896 the narrator and others, including police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt begin the investigation of a series of serial murders. Loved that book. And, unlike **Doctor Who** , I enjoyed the sequel, though it wasn’t quite as good. I’m about halfway through Nick Harkaway’s [Angelmaker](http://www.amazon.com/Angelmaker-Nick-Harkaway/dp/0307595951/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335537131&sr=8-1) which is fantastic so far. I wish I had more time to spend this week reading it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/116 "2012-04-27T15:17:45Z")
This week I finished reading _Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention_ by Manning Marable. This is the one that just won a Pulitzer Prize, although unfortunately the author died shortly before the book was published. Today I started reading _From a Broken Bottle Traces of Perfume Still Emanate_ by Nathaniel Mackey. It seems to be a postmodern epistolary novel about the evolution of a jazz band. This might be kind of a challenge. ---
**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 27, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/117 "2012-04-27T15:31:12Z")
I read a mystery called _Three Bags Full_, by Leonie Swann - translated from German. It’s a sheep detective story: a flock of sheep in a small Irish village try to find out who murdered their shepherd. It’s a quirky, surreal story (obviously) but it was amusing. I got the feeling that some stuff might have been funnier if I had any experience observing sheep. The human drama in the background wasn’t very interesting in and of itself. ---
**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 27, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/118 "2012-04-27T15:46:27Z")
I’m taking a break from my current book because today is a holiday (to me): Stephen King’s newest book is out! I’m just starting on _The Wind Through the Keyhole_, which is set in the Dark Tower universe (I think he said it was an episode which would fit between _Wizard and Glass_ and _Wolves of the Calla_). So far, so good. Eddie Dean hasn’t made me laugh yet, but it’s early. 🙂 ---
**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 27, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/119 "2012-04-27T18:15:38Z")
I bailed on [_Death Comes to Pemberley_](http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/249566264), which just plain sucked and I’m about to set aside [_Anathem_](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2845024-anathem), which I suspect is very good, but more effort than I’m up for right now. Instead, I’m reading _Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close_. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/120 "2012-04-27T18:20:35Z")
I’m rereading ‘Gift of Asher Lev’ by Chaim Potok. I think it’s time to reread all of my Potok in a leisurely fashion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388.md?page=7)