# 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:** 10\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/121 "2012-04-28T11:23:30Z")
Finished [Tricked](http://www.amazon.com/Tricked-Iron-Druid-Chronicles-Book/dp/0345533623/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1335612079&sr=8-2) the forth in the Iron Druid series (Link to XT’s [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=649908)). I enjoyed it and I will once again recommend it to fans of Jim Butcher. I’m looking forward to the next installment. (BTW, when is Butcher’s next one out?) ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2012, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/122 "2012-04-29T01:33:35Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > 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. I did like that book very much but spent a lot of the first half saying “yes, that’s probably exactly what sheep are thinking about.” The philosophical discussions about grazing, the winter lambs (lambs bond almost as much with their own little lamb gangs as they do their own mothers, so an off-season lamb never quite fits), etc.. had me laughing out loud several times. The end was a bit :dubious: but if you got that far, you might as well go with it :). Yes, I spend a lot of time watching my sheep :). ---
**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 29, 2012, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/123 "2012-04-29T23:25:23Z")
> [@LVBoPeep](#): > > I did like that book very much but spent a lot of the first half saying “yes, that’s probably exactly what sheep are thinking about.” The philosophical discussions about grazing, the winter lambs (lambs bond almost as much with their own little lamb gangs as they do their own mothers, so an off-season lamb never quite fits), etc.. had me laughing out loud several times. The end was a bit :dubious: but if you got that far, you might as well go with it :). > > Yes, I spend a lot of time watching my sheep :). Everything I know about sheep I learned from James Herriot. And now this book. 🙂 ---
**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 30, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/124 "2012-04-30T03:27:20Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I just started Stephen King’s short stories _Full Dark, No Stars_. So far, I’ve finished the first story- :eek: … I just finished the whole book. The last story, as it happens, is my favorite. But they each have their pluses and minuses. ---
**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 30, 2012, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/125 "2012-04-30T12:26:17Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Got the itch for some more Flashy after finishing _Gray Lensman_, so I went to the store and picked up _Flashman and the Angel of the Lord_. The lack of electronic editions for the Flashy series is a crime, I tell you. I’m just barely started in; it’s a bit slow moving so far. The American Flashman adventures are not my favorites, generally speaking–I’m looking for the mad colonial British adventures from Flashy, but we’ll see. > > Once this is done, I think I may re-read\* Watership Down\*, in honor of what will by then most likely be my new tattoo. > [@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? > [@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. One of the joys of the Flashman books was reading the end notes as I went along. That sounds troublesome for e-reader or audiobook versions. ---
**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 30, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/126 "2012-04-30T13:45:27Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > One of the joys of the Flashman books was reading the end notes as I went along. That sounds troublesome for e-reader or audiobook versions. It should be fine on an e-reader: there would be a link embedded in the text that would take you to the end note, and then the “back” button would return you to the narrative. I don’t know how it would be handled in an audiobook. ---
**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 30, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/127 "2012-04-30T14:00:20Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > One of the joys of the Flashman books was reading the end notes as I went along. That sounds troublesome for e-reader or audiobook versions. It’s about as troublesome as hitting a [hyperlink](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlink) in a web page. That’s because ebooks are made of HTML, just like webpages. EPUB and MOBI and so on are just containers for HTML pages. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/128 "2012-04-30T18:43:00Z")
> [@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. I just read this too - borrowed from a friend while visiting & will prob buy my own copy. Now I need to become a regular reader of Jenny’s blog - her sense of humor SO fits my own & I can empathize with the screwy childhood (tho my dad was not a taxidermist…) Also borrowed & read _**[The Last Stand of the DNA Cowboys](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/552203.Last_Stand_of_the_DNA_Cowboys)**_ by Mick Farren - which unfortunately didn’t live up to the awesome potential of the title. It felt very 70’s SF New Wave - not so much in the structure, but the themes & concepts. I feel a bit guilty that I didn’t like it as well as the person who recommended it to me. Some semi-sexy bits, but mostly male bonding & fight scenes. Apparently it’s the third in a series, but my friend said it was the best of the 3 - maybe it would have sat better with me if I’d read the other 2 first, but I don’t care to track them down. A couple of choice quotes I pulled out: Vlad Baptiste - “The limits on his viciousness were strictly a matter of available technology.” Jet Ace “I have this lizard brain implant and I sometimes become a little confused regarding my ultimate goals” The disruptor “What could be closer to the human spirit than an entity that ate reality and shit hallucinations?” ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/129 "2012-04-30T20:45:20Z")
The first kids’ book I’ve read this year that I think will be a serious Newbery consideration – _Wonder,_ by R.J. Palacio. It’s a middle reader, about a boy starting at a new school in the 5th grade, and in addition to the general anxiety about going to a new school, this kid has a very visible birth defect. Plot-wise, it’s what you think it is – about overcoming challenges, blah blah blah, but it’s very well-written and engaging. It’s a _pleasant_ read, you know? Now about halfway through _The Lies of Locke Lamora_. I just accidentally read a spoiler online, too. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388/130 "2012-04-30T21:10:05Z")
[Link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15018954#post15018954)to the May thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-april-2012-edition/617388.md?page=6)