# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Enterprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/76d3ee/32.png) [@Enterprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enterprise)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/81 "2010-08-17T06:59:45Z")
Just a short note of my own. I’m half-way into Thomas Pynchon’s latest, _Inherent Vice_, which as far as Pynchon goes I quite enjoy. I’m not a huge fan of his, but this works well for me so far, and is far more reminiscent of _The Crying of Lot 49_–a bit light-hearted, a bit winking–than his big tomes. Will definitely finish this one. I’ve also got Joe Abercrombie’s _Best Served Cold_ around, which starts out as dynamic as I expected. Guess it’ll be a fun romp. As for books recently finished, I completed Hunter Thompsons’s _Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas_ and _Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 72_. I prefered the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/82 "2010-08-17T10:00:24Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > _The Windup Girl_ by Paolo Bacigalupi. It’s really good, really really good so far. (I’m 60 pages in.) It’s a mildly dystopian SF novel set in Thailand after oil runs out, costal cities are flooded, and genetically induced plagues have killed countless people and wiped out many species. Lots of characters, all well written, including the main character; an artificial human from Japan, created to labor for an aging society, now despised in her new home, considered soulless and forced to work as a dancer/prostitute. +1 this - read it last month, liked it a lot. Even though it paints a bleak picture of post-peak-resource world there’s still that feeling that life goes on. I agree that it is on the same vein as Gibson and Stephenson, but I love both of those authors too so for me that’s just a plus. I’m reading **The Saint** by Dan Abnett, which is the second Gaunt’s Ghosts omnibus. Not very good at all, much worse than his Inquisition-books, mostly because after a few books the constant warfare gets dull and monotonous. After somebody’s head is blown up by a lasgun 100 times it just isn’t interesting any more. Some of the between-combat bits are still readable, so I mostly skip past the boring war scenes and read those. Wouldn’t really recommend the book to anyone, though. After I’ll finish that, I have R Scott Bakker’s **The Judging Eye** waiting for me and then I have to go find more books, again. ---
**Author:** ![Robbin\_Hood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Robbin\_Hood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robbin_Hood)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2010, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/83 "2010-08-17T12:48:34Z")
The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/84 "2010-08-18T15:21:28Z")
I dumped _Hunted Past Reason_ – nothing wrong with it, but I should have read the blurb. It’s about two guys on a backpacking trip, and one of them ends up terrorizing the other one. Not in the mood for that. Also dumped _People of the Book_ by Geraldine Brooks. I really liked _March_ and sorta liked _Year of Wonders_, but in this one, in the first chapter, Brooks has her main character going to bed with a guy she’s just met. Seriously, the woman pondered his dinner invitation – “I just met the guy!” – but as soon as she notices his gorgeous green eyes, she’s licking grease off his fingers. Going to the library, with a long list. ---
**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 19, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/85 "2010-08-19T03:33:21Z")
I fully understand being frustrated with Martin’s _Song of Ice and Fire_ series, but I’ve enjoyed each of them in turn and am hoping against hope that he’ll finish them all. I’ll read any I can get my hands on - they’re so immersive and intricate and unpredictable and wry and bloody and clever that I love 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/86 "2010-08-19T04:43:13Z")
I finished _The Windup Girl_. I still really liked it, but a little less than upon starting. It’s a good book, but I really wished he’d explored his post-apocalyptic world beyond Thailand. Maybe he’ll write a sequel. I read _Winter’s Bone_, by Daniel Woodrell, while on vacation. It’s short, so not a lot was left out in the movie. It’s really good, the prose is excellent. Beautiful descriptions of nature contrasting with rought dialog. Like the movie, it’s really a detective story. I am currently reading _The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Klay_ By Michael Chabon. I was worried it would be unreadably dense, but it breezes right along. I wish I’d read it years ago. Everyone who likes good writing would like it, but it’s a must if you’re interested in comic books, or the 1940’s. Inshort I’ve had very good luci with three wildly different novels. I’m going to pick up more by Chabon and Woodrell, two writers who’s only common thing is talent. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/87 "2010-08-19T10:34:30Z")
Finished _Under Heaven_ by Guy Gavriel Kay. With this book Kay has regained me as a fan. I had stopped reading him after _Sailing To Sarantium_ which I found to be quite dull. I have been mostly reading mind candy in my fiction, nothing too complex and mostly predictable. I had forgotten what a pleasure it is to read a well-written complex book. I enjoyed it enough I may go back and try to read \*Sarantium \*again (which may have suffered from having been read post-operation and full of pain meds.) ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/88 "2010-08-19T13:44:44Z")
About halfway through [Master of the Delta](http://www.amazon.com/Master-Delta-Thomas-H-Cook/dp/0156033208/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282224928&sr=1-1) by Thomas Cook. A Mississippi high school teacher unravels an old mystery in 1954. I like it, but I had to get past the notion of a high school class focusing on “evil”. Next two in the pile are _Paradise Alley_ by Kevin Baker and _So Brave, Young, and Handsome_ by Leif Enger. ---
**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 19, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/89 "2010-08-19T14:37:51Z")
On the drive home after a week on the beach, I finished _Knight: The Medieval Warrior’s (Unofficial) Manual_ by Michael Prestwich, a wry, interesting how-to book about becoming a knight and succeeding as one in medieval Europe, with advice on winning a lady, a joust, a siege, a title or a fortune. Now I’m reading Robert T. Littell’s _The Men We Became_, about his 20-year friendship (starting when they were roommates at Brown Univ.) with John F. Kennedy Jr. Littell is a little defensive in tone at times, not wanting to be seen as cashing in on his dead friend’s memories, but tells some good stories. Things I hadn’t known before: JFK Jr. dropped a few hints about intending to run for office someday himself; he got occasional meanspirited prank phone calls that this or that member of his family had been shot; he admired Ronald Reagan; he was an expert skiier but a klutz in many other ways; and he had a single passionate night in a Chicago hotel room with none other than Madonna. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/90 "2010-08-19T16:01:24Z")
**Auntie Pam** , I’m sorry you didn’t like _People of the Book_. I thought it was fascinating. Been a couple years since I’ve read it, so I don’t remember that particular scene, but I did really like it. I was very disappointed in _The Whisperers_; it seems Connolly has decided to push his agenda of veterans’ rights. Nothing to deny here; I certainly agree that soldiers are inadequately supplied and, when they return, don’t receive enough medical and psychological care and support, particularly for PTSD. But when I read a Charlie Parker book, I want Charlie Parker to be in it, and not some VA types hectoring me in Charlie’s place. And I want lots of Angel and Louis and I got practically none. Plus the ending was muddled. Now reading _The Winter of Her Discontent_ by Kathryn Miller Haines, second in a cute WWII-set mystery series about a Broadway actress solving murders. Just something till I decide what to read next. I met the author last summer and she was nice. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/91 "2010-08-19T17:19:30Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I’m now starting on Joe R. Lansdale’s Savage Season, the first of his Hap and Leonard books. This is one of those things I always meant to read…someday. Liking it so far. Lansdale really hits his stride in the next one, Mucho Mojo. Great stuff. ---
**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 19, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/92 "2010-08-19T17:25:31Z")
I just put a hold on that one today, **Malthus**. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/93 "2010-08-19T19:41:31Z")
Finished _The Lady in the Tower_ by Allison Weir, about Anne Boleyn’s last three months. Really good; I recommend it if you’re into the Tudors (which I seem to be right about now). Finished _The Sparrow_ by Maria Doria Russell, a sci-fi about our first contact with sentient beings on another planet. I liked it. I liked that we arguably were the ones with the higher technology, as we went to their planet instead of vice versa. I liked the depiction of simple, well meaning thoughts and ideas being exchanged that had far wider ramifications than anyone could’ve expected. A lot of the characters were too perfect - as in, they were all brilliant, some in several fields, many were beautiful or handsome, that sort of thing - but were engaging enough. I might check out the sequel. Skimmed _World Without End_ by Ken Follett. Meh. Very much like _Pillars of the Earth_; it’s almost the exact same story. I didn’t read the whole thing - I had to return it to the library a couple of days after I started it - but I got enough of the whole story. Just OK. ---
**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 19, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/94 "2010-08-19T23:03:38Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > Skimmed _World Without End_ by Ken Follett. Meh. Very much like _Pillars of the Earth_; it’s almost the exact same story. I didn’t read the whole thing - I had to return it to the library a couple of days after I started it - but I got enough of the whole story. Just OK. I enjoyed _Pillars of the Earth_ - enough so that I’ve read it three times. But I’ve attempted _World Without End_ twice and I can’t force myself to finish it. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/95 "2010-08-20T14:03:10Z")
Finished \*Dead Witch Walking, \*a light fluffy urban fantasy set in a world where bio medicine has killed most of the human population and allowed the “Inderlanders” (witches, vamps and other magical creatures) to “out” themselves. I nearly put it down, it took a long time for the story to grab me. It is not great, even for urban fantasy, but in the end, I liked it well enough that I will probably continue to read the series. Also, I like the Clint-Eastwood-themed names. I had originally had a copy of _For a Few Demons More_ which I had picked up in a bargain bin. I decided I needed the whole back story in order to appreciate it and so I waited until I read the first. IMO, Rachel Morgan, the protagonist, is a Mary Sue (only an observation and not positive or negative commentary.) I suspect that this will be one of the series I hold in reserve when I don’t have a good book, or I just don’t want to think too hard. Finished _The Magician_ the second in the _Immortal Nicholas Flamel_ series. This YA series really captured me in the first book, but for some reason I had set this one down and just now picked it back up. I still enjoyed it and will read the rest. I am no longer on Jury Duty, so I will not have as much time to read, having to try and catch up from a week “off.” ☹ But it was good to spend a week where I didn’t feel guilty enjoying myself reading a book. Am reading two from my journey into Neuroscience, _Buddha’s Brain_ and _Mind Chi: Re-wire Your Brain in 8 Minutes a Day_. I will report when I have finished, but I will say that I become more convinced than ever that the brain can be rewired and for the better. ---
**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 20, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/96 "2010-08-20T14:27:15Z")
I finished another of Barbara Hambly’s Benjamin January books, _Die Upon a Kiss_. I’m enjoying those very much - historical mysteries set in 1830’s New Orleans. I ran across several of Hambly’s older books at the used bookstore the other day, so I’m reading her \*Dragonsbane \*now. It’s fun old-school fantasy. I read the fifth of Kage Baker’s Company books, _The Life of the World to Come_, and I’m a little disappointed in the way the series has headed. I enjoyed reading about her immortal operatives living in the past with knowledge of the future, but this book was set in our future and I didn’t like it nearly so much. I’m reading Antonia Fraser’s _Charles II and the Restoration_. I just finished the part where Charles escapes from England after Worcester - hiding in the oak tree, disguising himself as a servant, etc. I abandoned Fraser’s book on Cromwell, which was surprisingly dull. I may come back to it one day. ---
**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 21, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/97 "2010-08-21T17:06:25Z")
Just in the past few days: David McCullough’s _The Course of Human Events_, an audiobook (actually a speech he first gave in 2003, so it’s only about 40 minutes long) read by the author. Love his voice! He talks about his love of history, what history still has to teach us, and the humanity and sacrifices of the Framers, especially John Adams. _Temptress_ by Jane Billinghurst, a once-over-lightly feminist exploration of the _femme fatale_ in Western culture, from Lilith to Cleopatra to Mae West to Madonna. Pretentious and a bit silly, I thought; nice pictures, though. _The Downing Street Years_ by Margaret Thatcher, her autobiographical account of her time as Prime Minister. Skimmed it, didn’t read it all; for some reason the chapter on the Falklands War was curiously flat. Her narrative voice is quite distinctive, though. ---
**Author:** ![Enterprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/76d3ee/32.png) [@Enterprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enterprise)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/98 "2010-08-22T16:43:15Z")
I’m through with Thomas Pynchon’s latest, _Inherent Vice_. Overall, I’m quite happy I picked it up, and enjoyed the read. It’s probably the most accessible Pynchon since _The Crying of Lot 49_, which I suppose isn’t saying a lot; but unlike a slog like _Mason & Dixon_, I didn’t realize I was missing anything, so it may just turn out I wasn’t missing anything. If that’s the case, it was a rather clever play on old noir-style hard-boiled detective fiction with a touch of sentimentalism for a by-gone age. By all means a book worth reading. And as far as reading is concerned, I was distracted off my chosen path by _A Storm from the Shadows_, David Weber’s most recent Honorverse volume. I’m glad he has given more Honor stories a pass for now, but this one isn’t too great yet, about half-way in. Like the last Honor books, it has a bit too much convoluted politics for too little space opera for my taste (the most exciting battle in the book happens off-screen, so to speak!). I’ll keep at it, though. Otherwise, I have Austin Grossman’s _Soon I will be Invincible_ to replace the Pynchon, and the stuff I mentioned earlier is also in need of being read… ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/99 "2010-08-22T21:02:03Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Finished \*Dead Witch Walking, \*a light fluffy urban fantasy set in a world where bio medicine has killed most of the human population and allowed the “Inderlanders” (witches, vamps and other magical creatures) to “out” themselves. > > I nearly put it down, it took a long time for the story to grab me. It is not great, even for urban fantasy, but in the end, I liked it well enough that I will probably continue to read the series. Also, I like the Clint-Eastwood-themed names. I had originally had a copy of _For a Few Demons More_ which I had picked up in a bargain bin. I decided I needed the whole back story in order to appreciate it and so I waited until I read the first. IMO, Rachel Morgan, the protagonist, is a Mary Sue (only an observation and not positive or negative commentary.) I suspect that this will be one of the series I hold in reserve when I don’t have a good book, or I just don’t want to think too hard. I really like this series, but I’ve only “read” the audiobooks, so maybe that makes a difference in how slow it feels? > [@Snickers](#): > > Finished _The Sparrow_ by Maria Doria Russell, a sci-fi about our first contact with sentient beings on another planet. I liked it. I liked that we arguably were the ones with the higher technology, as we went to their planet instead of vice versa. I liked the depiction of simple, well meaning thoughts and ideas being exchanged that had far wider ramifications than anyone could’ve expected. A lot of the characters were too perfect - as in, they were all brilliant, some in several fields, many were beautiful or handsome, that sort of thing - but were engaging enough. I might check out the sequel. Does it get more interesting? I bought it maybe four years ago and was never able to get past the first 30 pages. ---
**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 23, 2010, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894/100 "2010-08-23T04:56:33Z")
After what seemed like months, I _finally_ finished _Drood_. Parts of it, heck, great hulking gruntloads of it were freakin’ brilliant, but \*\*Khadaji \*\*, if it makes you feel better, I also think it needed an editor. A ruthless, heartless, barracuda of an editor! Just started _Let the Great World Spin_, by Colum McCann. So far, it’s excellent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2010-edition/548894.md?page=6)