# 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:** 4
**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 10, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/61 "2011-08-10T15:10:20Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > …Her books are incredibly electic. Would that be “eclectic” or “electric”? Both are good! ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/62 "2011-08-10T16:51:12Z")
Eclectic. One on a 15th-century pilgrimage, one on a Victorian prostitute, one on a 20th-century mother of eleptuplets, now one on Appalachian witchcraft! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/63 "2011-08-10T16:59:07Z")
I’ve read a couple of Nero Wolfe novels (_Too Many Cooks_ and _A Right to Die_) and am now plowing through **A Game of Thrones** , a gift from my wife and daughter. In the evenings, I’ve been going through thelast two volumes of Larry Gonick’s _Cartoon History of the Modern World_. ---
**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:** [August 10, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/64 "2011-08-10T17:49:27Z")
Finished [Thirteen](http://www.amazon.com/Thirteen-Richard-K-Morgan/dp/0345480899/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312998342&sr=8-1) by Richard Morgan. It was okay, but he really needed an editor. Just got [Machine Man](http://www.amazon.com/Machine-Man-Vintage-Contemporaries-Original/dp/0307476898/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312998444&sr=1-1) by Max Berry, the guy who wrote [Jennifer Government](http://www.amazon.com/Jennifer-Government-Max-Barry/dp/1400030927/ref=pd_sim_b_7). I’m really looking forward to this, with [Reamde](http://www.amazon.com/Reamde-Novel-Neal-Stephenson/dp/0061977969/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312998548&sr=1-1)by Stephenson up afterward. ---
**Author:** ![PhiloVance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/65 "2011-08-13T00:35:55Z")
I recently finished _The Brass Verdict_ by Michael Connelly and _A Stolen Life_ by Jaycee Dugard. I am currently reading _My Grandfather’s Son_ by Clarence Thomas, _State of Fear_ by Michael Crichton and _P is for Peril_ by Sue Grafton. Not too long ago I tried reading _Get Shorty_ by Elmore Leonard but couldn’t get past the 4th chapter. Just got boring, and i usually like Elmore Leonard’s books. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2011, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/66 "2011-08-13T06:03:36Z")
I just finished [The Magician King](http://www.amazon.com/Magician-King-Novel-Lev-Grossman/dp/0670022314/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313215277&sr=8-1), the sequel to “The Magicians.” I enjoyed it, finished it in two days, glad I read it, but it wasn’t as good as the first one. I’ll probably start a thread about it in a few days. Now I’m going to finish up [The World in 2050](http://www.amazon.com/World-2050-Shaping-Civilizations-Northern/dp/0525951814). ---
**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 13, 2011, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/67 "2011-08-13T06:18:47Z")
Read _The American Way of War: Guided Missiles, Misguided Men, and a Republic in Peril_ by Eugene Jarecki and _Hitler Slept Late and Other Blunders That Cost Him the War_ by James P. Duffy. Wasn’t too impressed by either; Jarecki had a political ax to grind and Duffy’s history was very superficial. Reread _The Uplift War_ by David Brin and _Against the Tide of Years_ by S. M. Stirling. Both obviously enjoyable enough for me to reread. Continuing my recent SF streak, I’ve been reading a bunch of old short story collections I picked out of a dollar bin (Star, Galaxy, that sort of thing). And I’ve started Stephen Baxter’s _Time’s Tapestry_ series. ---
**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 14, 2011, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/68 "2011-08-14T04:04:31Z")
Just read Mark Millar’s and Dave Johnson’s 2004 graphic novel _Superman: Red Son_, set in a what-if alternate universe in which the young refugee from Krypton’s starship crashes in the Ukraine and not Kansas in the 1930s; in time Superman thus becomes a Soviet superhero. Pretty clever, and beautifully drawn. There’s also a nifty twist at the end that made me grin. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/69 "2011-08-14T05:46:05Z")
I just finished rereading the first and reading for the first time the second two books in _The Parasol Protectorate_ series by Gail Carriger. _Soulless, Changeless_, and _Blameless_; I have a library hold for the fourth in the series, _Heartless_. It’s set in a steampunk alternate Victorian age, with werewolves and vampires thrown into the mix. While called “supernatural”, the werewolves and vampires are considered to have a scientific explanation however, not to be “magic”. Interesting and amusing. The kind of series where the heroine is attacked by a vampire and responds by rapping him on the head with her (weighted) parasol and a reproach of “Manners!” ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/70 "2011-08-14T16:59:40Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I just finished rereading the first and reading for the first time the second two books in _The Parasol Protectorate_ series by Gail Carriger. _Soulless, Changeless_, and _Blameless_; I have a library hold for the fourth in the series, _Heartless_. It’s set in a steampunk alternate Victorian age, with werewolves and vampires thrown into the mix. While called “supernatural”, the werewolves and vampires are considered to have a scientific explanation however, not to be “magic”. Interesting and amusing. The kind of series where the heroine is attacked by a vampire and responds by rapping him on the head with her (weighted) parasol and a reproach of “Manners!” I read the first and thought it was funny and fun though not really to my taste. I’m glad the series holds up. ---
**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 14, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/71 "2011-08-14T18:49:35Z")
Just finished _What Ifs? of American History_, ed. by Robert Cowley, which was so-so. The best essay, by far, was by Robert L. O’Connell, about the Cuban Missile Crisis spinning out of control and a two-day nuclear war between the US and the USSR in Oct. 1962. Well-written, chilling and plausible. I’m now starting Steven Pressfield’s _The Afghan Campaign_, a novel written as if told by a young Macedonian soldier in Alexander’s army in the 330s BC. Not bad, but not blowing me away, either. ---
**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 14, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/72 "2011-08-14T19:17:43Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Just finished _What Ifs? of American History_, ed. by Robert Cowley, which was so-so. The best essay, by far, was by Robert L. O’Connell, about the Cuban Missile Crisis spinning out of control and a two-day nuclear war between the US and the USSR in Oct. 1962. Well-written, chilling and plausible. Have you ever read any of Greenhill’s alternate history series? They’re a series of “non-fiction” alternate history collections, edited mostly by Peter Tsouras. Or if you’re looking for something more political than military, Duncan Brack’s _Prime Minister Portillo… and other things that never happened: A Collection of Political Counterfactuals_ and _President Gore… and other things that never happened: A Second Collection of Political Counterfactuals_. ---
**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 15, 2011, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/73 "2011-08-15T04:21:13Z")
I’ve read Greenhill’s American Civil War, Nazi Germany and Cold War alt-hist books, but not the ones you mentioned. I’m a sucker for alt-hist when it’s well written (which it far too often isn’t). ---
**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 15, 2011, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/74 "2011-08-15T12:29:18Z")
Finished _Ghost Story_, by Jim Butcher. It was good, but it also seemed like it was too long. A weird complaint to have about a book I just claimed to enjoy, but there it is. I guess I’m just interested in the characters and I want to know what happens to them, but first I have to slog through endless descriptions of battles and explanations of how the magic works. Now on to _Johannes Cabal the Detective_. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2011, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/75 "2011-08-15T12:57:34Z")
Finally finished _A Dance with Dragons_. I liked it, but I can see how those who actually waited 5 years between books could be put off. I also started \*The High Crusade \*by Poul Anderson over the weekend. I’ve never read Anderson before. This is a sci-fi/fantasy story where knights of medieval England are invaded by aliens. I only got about 30 pages in, but it’s interesting. ---
**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 15, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/76 "2011-08-15T14:00:17Z")
Finished **Muder of the Century** , and started on **The Poisoner’s Handbook** , which was recommended by others earlier. It’s kinda strange reading them back to back; the first book deals with an 1897 New York murder case, and the second with poisons in early 20th century New York, so there’s a bit of cross-over. One person, a chemist named Witthaus, appears in both books, and the same case is even mentioned in both (a physician killed his wife with morphine and used belladonna eyedrops to keep her pupils from contracting, a telltale sign of morphine poisoning. Witthaus demonstrated the technique to a jury by killing a cat). ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/77 "2011-08-15T14:40:59Z")
Read Holman’s _Witches on the Road Tonight_ yesterday, and just finished Chelsea Cain’s _The Night Season_, about a serial killer in Portland, which is flooding. My first book of hers. I liked the characters and a truly bizarre method of murder. A popcorn 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:** [August 15, 2011, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/78 "2011-08-15T15:11:17Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > …I also started \*The High Crusade \*by Poul Anderson over the weekend. I’ve never read Anderson before. This is a sci-fi/fantasy story where knights of medieval England are invaded by aliens. I only got about 30 pages in, but it’s interesting. I guess _Cowboys & Aliens_ is now considered a flop, so don’t hold your breath for _Knights & Aliens_. ---
**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 15, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/79 "2011-08-15T15:22:07Z")
I just finished _The Steel Remains_, by Richard K. Morgan (who is most popular for his sci-fi trilogy that begins with _Altered Carbon_). Morgan has apparently decided to try his hand at sword & sorcery. This is beginning of another gritty, dark fantasy series, with plenty of bloody action. One twist: the main protagonist is a gay warrior, and the story is set in a world that persecutes (as in executes with spikes) gay men. Morgan’s a good writer and I liked the book well enough, although not as much as I liked his science fiction. Now I’m reading a biography, _Beau Brummell: The Ultimate Man of Style_, by Ian Kelly. Brummell will be familiar to fans of Regency fiction: he was the fashion icon of Regency England, the man who’s responsible for the modern men’s suit. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916/80 "2011-08-15T15:24:15Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > Read Holman’s _Witches on the Road Tonight_ yesterday I rather liked that one. Lots of \*Frankenstein \*metaphors wrapped together. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-august-2011-edition/590916.md?page=5)