# Whatcha Readin' August 2011 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 31, 2011, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916 "2011-07-31T11:32:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/1 "2011-07-31T11:32:01Z")
Well the dog days of summer are here. I hate to wish my life away, but I’m ready for both cooler weather and NFL! I am in the middle of [Snow Angels](http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Angels-James-Thompson/dp/B003F76C8O/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1312111682&sr=1-2) a mystery set in Finland. I will reserve comments for when I complete it. I am in the middle of \*Bewitched & Betrayed (Raine Benares, Book 4) \*and again I’ll reserve comments. [Last Month’s Thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=614562) ---
**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:** [July 31, 2011, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/2 "2011-07-31T12:06:33Z")
I’ve been burning through A Song of Ice and Fire. Started A Game of Thrones at the end of June and have now worked my way through to A Dance With Dragons, which I started reading yesterday. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must have been for fans to wait five years between those last two books. Ugh. Overall, I have enjoyed the series (obviously), but it may not have been the best thing to read all of the books straight through. Some of the writing has started to grate on me a bit (I now hate the word “jape”), but the plotting is keeping me hooked. ---
**Author:** ![charmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@charmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/charmstr)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/3 "2011-07-31T14:04:14Z")
I’m currently reading _Theodore Rex_ by Edmund Morris. This is the second volume of Morris’ biography of Theodore Roosevelt. This volume covers the presidential years and I find it a bit less engaging than _The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt_ since it deals more with policy and politics than with the man himself. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/4 "2011-07-31T16:10:21Z")
I rarely read fiction these days, but I decided to dig out an old classic that I read many years ago: [Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Men_in_a_Boat) It’s just as funny as I remembered it being, a true classic of timeless humour. And it’s way out of copyright and [available in all formats for free at Project Gutenberg](http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/308). I recommend getting one with the illustrations, they add another level of late-Victorian charm to the story. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/5 "2011-07-31T16:52:19Z")
Reading Richard Morgan’s Thirteen, but I’m really just biding my time until Murakami’s 19Q4 comes out this fall. ---
**Author:** ![charmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@charmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/charmstr)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/6 "2011-07-31T17:06:44Z")
I have Dances With Dragons, but it may be quite a while before I get around to it. There was what, at the time, seemed like a huge delay between volumes 3 and 4 and I ended up re-reading the first three books. Now that Martin has shown us what a _ **real** _ delay looks like, I don’t know when I’ll get the time or energy to refresh my memory of the first four books and read the fifth. Oh, and as for… > [@Shakester](#): > > I decided to dig out an old classic that I read many years ago: [Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Men_in_a_Boat) Thanks for reminding me of this! I’ve had it sitting on my Kindle for months now. I should definitely move it to the head of the queue. ---
**Author:** ![PeacePlease](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/71c47a/32.png) [@PeacePlease](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeacePlease)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/7 "2011-07-31T20:30:36Z")
Doncha just hate when people prematurely start threads??? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/8 "2011-07-31T20:47:07Z")
> [@PeacePlease](#): > > Doncha just hate when people prematurely start threads??? You’re just \*now \*noticing? Almost every _Whatcha Reading_ thread since I started starting them has begun on the day before the first of the month. Exceptions were when I was in the hospital three years ago and at least twice when senility kicked in and I forgot for a few days. (I now have it in Outlook to remind me.) Oh … and at least once I was flying to the UK and started it like 3 days early. ---
**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 1, 2011, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/9 "2011-08-01T12:28:01Z")
Finished _The Devil All The Time_ this morning…what to say about this one? Well, it’s not for everyone. Harsh, gritty, just about too dark to bear. However, I think I liked it more than the short story collection. Next up will be the new Dresden Files book. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/10 "2011-08-01T12:41:43Z")
I finished Tina Fey’s _Bossypants_ and really enjoyed that her humor came through in written form. It reminded me of _Are You There Vodka, It’s Me Chelsea_ but with an editor reeling in the outlandish parts to keep the comedy more earthlike. In the middle of \*What Do You Do With a Chocolate Jesus?: An Irreverent History of Christianity \* which is enjoyable and a pretty quick read so far. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/11 "2011-08-01T12:53:50Z")
I abandoned Ian Rankin’s _Resurrection Men_ and started R.J. Ellory’s _A Simple Act of Violence_. His _A Quiet Belief in Angels_ knocked me on my ass, so I have high hopes for this one. His books are almost unobtainable in the U.S., so I was surprised to see this one at my library. ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/12 "2011-08-01T13:59:19Z")
I read Markus Zusak’s _I am the Messenger_, not expecting it to be half as good as his _The Book Thief_. I was happily surprised to find that while it wasn’t as epic as _The Book Thief_, the writing, humor and characters were just as good. I also spent an afternoon reading _We Have Always Lived in the Castle_, which struck me as a dark, inverted retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Now I’m on to _Catch Me If You Can_, for a bit of light-hearted nonfiction. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/13 "2011-08-01T14:50:52Z")
A fourth of the way through Thomas Hardy’s final novel, _Jude the Obscure_. Very good so far. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/14 "2011-08-01T15:30:06Z")
Finally finished “The Count of Monte Cristo.” It took me a few months to finish that behemoth, but it was so worth it. A new favorite of all time. Started “Soon I Will Be Invincible” by Austin Grossman and “The Evolution of Useful Things” by Henry Petroski. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/15 "2011-08-01T15:40:53Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I abandoned Ian Rankin’s _Resurrection Men_ and started R.J. Ellory’s _A Simple Act of Violence_. His _A Quiet Belief in Angels_ knocked me on my ass, so I have high hopes for this one. His books are almost unobtainable in the U.S., so I was surprised to see this one at my library. I have been on the waitlist at my library for _A Quiet Belief in Angels_ for over a year. Gah! Just finished _Countdown,_ a children’s novel from last year, taking place during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The book is an interesting look at how a kid would experience life in the early 60s, and the format itself is neat, with photo collages of 60s news footage, song lyrics, pop culture images, and government propaganda. Just started _Among Others_, a YA fantasy/fairy-type novel, we’ll see how this goes. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/16 "2011-08-01T16:46:22Z")
Currently reading [**Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers**](http://www.amazon.com/Stiff-Curious-Lives-Human-Cadavers/dp/0393324826/) by Mary Roach. Entertaining and educational. Pretty funny in parts, too, but never disrespectful of the dead. Just finished a few post-apocalyptic books aimed at teens: [**The Maze Runner**](http://www.amazon.com/Maze-Runner-Trilogy-Book/dp/0385737955/) and [**The Scorch Trials**](http://www.amazon.com/Scorch-Trials-Maze-Runner-Trilogy/dp/0385738757/), both by James Dashner. Fast and light reads, can’t complain I suppose. The third book is due out in October; hope the final payoff is worth it. ---
**Author:** ![JFfordeFan23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@JFfordeFan23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JFfordeFan23)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/17 "2011-08-01T17:52:20Z")
Too obviously re-reading “One of our Thursdays is Missing”, which is the sixth book in the Thursday Next series by Fforde. This is a bit of a change-up in terms of perspective, and also content really, when compared to the previous five books in the series. I need a kindle or a fresh library card to discover more great authors! 🙂 ---
**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 1, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/18 "2011-08-01T18:03:27Z")
> [@JFfordeFan23](#): > > I need a kindle or a fresh library card to discover more great authors! 🙂 Welcome, **JFfordeFan23**! This thread is a great place to find suggestions. Also check out the “sticky” thread in this forum: the [SDMB Book Recommendation Thread Compendium](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=599130). It has links to lots of book discussions. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/19 "2011-08-01T19:38:55Z")
Finally finished _Snow Angels_ a bleak and depressing crime drama set in the dark of Finland’s winter. The best I can say about it is that I’m glad I’m done with it. I won’t be reading any more from this author. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/20 "2011-08-04T00:14:06Z")
Finished the Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. I had never read it and it is a classic. I would have liked it more if I had read it when I was the age of the target audience. Finished the forth in Raine Benares series. It has become rather redundant. The author relies heavily on certain plot devices, like, if a character is told to go somewhere and stay put for their own good, you can count on that character somehow giving the guards the slip and going out and getting caught by the bad guys, causing Raine to have to somehow save the day. There is also a whole lot of someone telling her that she must go into hiding for her own good and a whole big discussion on how she won’t do that. It is getting rather tiresome. But I own the 5th in the series, so I’ll finish what I have. I may not continue to buy them though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916.md?page=2)