# Whatcha Readin' August 2010 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 2, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894 "2010-08-02T14:59:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [August 8, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/41 "2010-08-08T02:56:38Z")
> [@Miss\_Woodhouse](#): > > **Eleanor of Aquitaine** , I just finished reading _Starfish_ today myself. I didn’t like it either. It felt like the author didn’t quite know how to end the book he started so he threw in a major curve ball at the end to wrap things up. Either book would have been ok, but two books squished together didn’t work for me. The narration was also very dispassionate and distant from the characters in a “I’m a great writer!” type of way. Didn’t do anything for me. Interesting concepts though. Sometimes I felt like he was just tossing around cool ideas, rather than writing a novel. And while he spent a lot of time with the characters, he was so distant, as you say, that you never really get to know them. I started a medieval mystery by P.C. Doherty, the first of “The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan”, which is a cool name, but I didn’t like the writing at all and abandoned it after the first chapter. It’s too bad, because he’s written a ton of historical mysteries. Today I read _My Family and Other Animals_, by Gerald Durrell, and enjoyed it very much. There’s a little too much description of scenery for my taste, but it was laugh out loud funny in several places. I recommend it for animal lovers, and for people who like _All Creatures Great and Small_ and _Cheaper By the Dozen_. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/42 "2010-08-08T16:44:03Z")
Back from vacation – the #1 reading week of the year. Here’s the list: Finished The Chronicles of Narnia (_The Voyage of the_ Dawn Treader, _The Silver Chair, The Last Battle_), as mentioned in last month’s thread. _Last Battle_ was where the Christianity got too much for me. Overall a good series – I was please how well a childhood fave held up. _The Forger’s Spell_ by Edward Dolnick. Guy during WWII who was forging Vermeers, which Goering snagged in his art looting of Europe. Looking at the pictures now, it’s utterly astonishing that people thought these ugly, ugly paintings could be Vermeers, let alone great Vermeers – the author talks about the psychology of that, in addition to forgery (and discernment thereof), the Nazis’ art grabs, etc. Good book. _Angle of Repose_ by Wallace Stegner. Never read anything by him. Female artist (illustrator) married to a mine engineer in the late 19th century West. Overall pretty good. _An American Requiem_ by James Carroll. Son of an Air Force general, becomes a priest during the '60s, ends up protesting the war and leaving the priesthood. Someone had recommended it as an all-time favorite – having grown up amongst Quakers, not Catholics, it had less resonance for me – plus a little too “written” for my taste. _The Forgery of Venus_ by Michael Gruber. Novel – unsuccessful artist with mad painting skilz is hallucinating… or something … that he’s Velasquez, ends up painting forgeries for a gangster type. Pretty entertaining. (Picked it up as a remainder while on vacation – couldn’t resist, having just read _The Forger’s Spell._) _Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand_ by Helen Simonson. Random library pick. Old British major, widower, falls for the widowed Pakistani shopkeeper in his village. Sweet, funny. And the final book, I’m about halfway through: _Over the Edge of the World_ by Lawrence Bergreen. About Magellan. Dang, what a brutal, scary voyage that was … ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/43 "2010-08-08T18:00:13Z")
I just finished _Alexander Hamilton_ by Ron Chernow and I’m about three quarters through _The Tudors: The Complete Story of England’s Most Notorious Dynasty_ by G. J. Meyer. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/44 "2010-08-08T18:04:07Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > And the final book, I’m about halfway through: _Over the Edge of the World_ by Lawrence Bergreen. About Magellan. Dang, what a brutal, scary voyage that was … You should check out _A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance_ by William Manchester. It’s a good book overall and Manchester uses Magellan as a central character in it. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/45 "2010-08-08T18:19:48Z")
I’ve just finished Gaiman’s _American Gods_ for the first time. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially Gaiman’s humor, but I don’t think it lived up to it’s hype. Last night, I read Moorcock’s first Elric book _Elric of Melnibone_. I’ll read the others in the series when I need something short and punchy. I’ve read them all before, years ago, but all I really remember is Stormbringer. I’m now re-reading _The Hunger Games_ and _Catching Fire_ by Suzanne Collins in anticipation of this month’s release of _Mockingjay_, which should conclude the story. I think that the series is a step or two above today’s typical Young Adult fare–and lightyears beyond _Twilight_, which I still haven’t been able to chew my way through–though the author is prone to some sloppiness with plot development. I am looking forward to seeing what’s in store. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/46 "2010-08-08T19:03:14Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > _Angle of Repose_ by Wallace Stegner. Never read anything by him. Female artist (illustrator) married to a mine engineer in the late 19th century West. Overall pretty good. **twickster** , can you elaborate on this one? I tried to read this a few years ago but found Stegner’s prose to be pretty dry. Is it worth making the effort? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/47 "2010-08-08T19:09:59Z")
> [@SoulFrost](#): > > I’ve just finished Gaiman’s _American Gods_ for the first time. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially Gaiman’s humor, but I don’t think it lived up to it’s hype. > > \ Yeah, I’m pretty indifferent to Gaiman. I don’t hate his work, but am not as big a fan as many. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/48 "2010-08-08T19:16:24Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > > [@twickster](#): > > > > _Angle of Repose_ by Wallace Stegner. Never read anything by him. Female artist (illustrator) married to a mine engineer in the late 19th century West. Overall pretty good. > > **twickster** , can you elaborate on this one? I tried to read this a few years ago but found Stegner’s prose to be pretty dry. Is it worth making the effort? I didn’t notice the prose one way or the other, which is how I prefer it. I mostly enjoyed it for the story, though that fell apart a little bit at the end. Liked it, didn’t love it – if you read the first 50 pages or so and couldn’t get into it, it didn’t go anywhere making it worth getting back to. ---
**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:** [August 9, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/49 "2010-08-09T02:26:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I just finished _Alexander Hamilton_ by Ron Chernow… A great, great book. I learned a lot and really enjoyed it. Now I’ve heard that Chernow is working on a bio of George Washington - can’t wait! ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/50 "2010-08-09T02:29:03Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Wow, I’ve really slipped! I’m late, I’m late, to quote a certain rabbit. [tangent] Saw a license plate: IML8 IML8. It was on a white VW Rabbit. [/tangent] ---
**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:** [August 9, 2010, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/51 "2010-08-09T12:38:02Z")
Finished I Am Not a Serial Killer, by Dan Wells. It stands alone, but I was glad to see it’s the first of a trilogy because I really enjoyed it. It has the feel of a YA novel (the protagonist is fifteen), but I don’t think it’s being marketed as such. Currently reading The End of The World: stories of the Apocalypse, an anthology edited by Martin H. Greenberg. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/52 "2010-08-09T13:29:55Z")
just finished “my stroke of insight”. fantastic and fasinating that everyone should read. brain scientist has a very, very, bad bleedout in the left hemisphere of her brain. she details what happened the morning of the stroke and her recovery after. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/53 "2010-08-09T15:17:11Z")
Sorry for the continued hijack, but… > [@digs](#): > > [tangent] > Saw a license plate: > IML8 IML8. > It was on a white VW Rabbit. > [/tangent] I drove a white VW Rabbit in college, and my mom always wanted me to get tags that said HARVEY. 🙂 ---
**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:** [August 9, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/54 "2010-08-09T16:19:18Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > just finished “my stroke of insight”. fantastic and fasinating that everyone should read. > > brain scientist has a very, very, bad bleedout in the left hemisphere of her brain. she details what happened the morning of the stroke and her recovery after. Having a neurobiologist document her own stroke was truly fascinating. I’m really glad I read this book and happy that she recovered and found meaning in what must have been a terrifying experience. I think her list of [Forty Things I Need Most](http://www.oprah.com/oprahradio/Recommendations-for-Recovery-Forty-Things-I-Need-Most) should be nailed above the bed of every stroke survivor. But I was frustrated by the rosy conclusions she drew for all survivors from her experience. The stroke was clearly transcendent for her, but sadly, it ain’t necessarily so for others. I really like [this disclaimer](http://www.enlightenedhorsemanship.net/2009/02/my-stroke-of-insight-by-jill-bolte-taylor-the-missing-disclaimer/) someone who had the same problem I did with this book wrote on her behalf. /hijack ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/55 "2010-08-09T16:37:05Z")
very true, there are factors in her recovery that aren’t there for other stroke or brain injured folks. she wa in good physical shape going into it, in her mid thirties not 50s or 60 +, and she could understand the damage her brain sustained much better than most. i see the main thing in her book is how to treat someone with a brain injury, go slow, concentrate on what is possible, be patient getting there, celebrate the little steps, let go of the person you knew and to embrace the person that is now. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/56 "2010-08-10T12:02:08Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > > I just finished _Alexander Hamilton_ by Ron Chernow… > > A great, great book. I learned a lot and really enjoyed it. Now I’ve heard that Chernow is working on a bio of George Washington - can’t wait! The weird thing is I read _A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America’s First Presidential Campaign_ by Edward J. Larson earlier in the year. Hamilton was obviously a major figure in that book as well. And it’s amazing how different a view of Hamilton you get from the two books. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/57 "2010-08-10T16:53:44Z")
[Bloodroot](http://www.amazon.com/Bloodroot-Bill-Loehfelm/dp/B003156BPY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1281459053&sr=8-2) by Bill Loehfelm. Former junkie comes back into the life of history teacher brother, gets him involved in nefarious doings. ---
**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:** [August 10, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/58 "2010-08-10T18:09:19Z")
Started audiobook of The Haunting of Hill House. It’s one of my top three favorite books ever, and my Goodreads Stephen King fan group is going to read it, so it seemed like a good time to revisit. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/59 "2010-08-11T15:07:43Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > [Bloodroot](http://www.amazon.com/Bloodroot-Bill-Loehfelm/dp/B003156BPY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1281459053&sr=8-2) by Bill Loehfelm. Former junkie comes back into the life of history teacher brother, gets him involved in nefarious doings. Well, there was some intense and nasty stuff in there, but it was terrific. Not for the faint of heart. I’m going to look for his first book, _Fresh Kills_. ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/60 "2010-08-11T18:14:06Z")
Over the last few weeks, I finished: _The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York_, by Deborah Blum. The title explains the basic premise of the book, which is non-fiction but reads with the suspense of a detective novel. It focuses on chief-medical examiner Charles Norris and his years-long labor to make toxicology and forensic medicine into a respectable, accepted science. One important thing I took from the book: It was no good being a stray dog or cat at the turn of the 20th Century. _The Blade Itself_, by Joe Abercrombie. The first in the First Law Trilogy. I heard a bunch of complaints/warnings that the first book was all character development. Yes, but what of it? They were great characters and I can’t wait to continue with this fantasy epic. _A Madness of Angels_, by Kate Griffin. An urban fantasy novel that tries a lot of new things, both with the narrative style and by turning some of established tenets of the genre on its ear. But I’m still not sure if I liked-liked to book or just found it interesting. Next, I think I’m going to start _Johannes Cabal the Detective_, the sequel to last year’s fabulous _Johannes Cabal the Necromancer_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894.md?page=4)