# Whatcha Readin' Dec 09 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487 "2009-11-30T17:02:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/61 "2009-12-07T03:23:19Z")
I’m on the third (and final, cuz it’s the last book he wrote) novel by Jerry Jay Carroll. _Inhuman Beings_ – it’s very much like _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_ but without the pods. I don’t know yet how the aliens take over the humans. It’s starting to look like they do it just by being in close proximity to a human (or an animal), which makes it a bit more scary. I wish this guy had kept writing. Google says he writes features for the San Francisco Chronicle. ---
**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:** [December 7, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/62 "2009-12-07T16:53:53Z")
I finished Peter and the Sword of Mercy, which was pretty interesting but I felt it left some loose ends. Also, the story comes right up to the moment when the original Peter Pan begins, but I don’t think the stories would actually fit together well. Having said that, I admit I never read the original. I’m thinking of trying it, along with the original Mary Poppins. My current book is Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book : life lessons from notable people from all walks of life, by Anita Silvey. A little awkwardly put together, it goes: excerpt from the book, paragraph about book, essay by notable person, all on a two page spread with the paragraph about the book being in very tiny font, some including typos. (Yeah, I nitpicked that ‘cause that’s how I roll). I’d also like to know something about these notable people before I read their essays. Thumbnail biographies are in the back, but I’m not going to flip back and forth. Other than that, good book, and I’m especially enjoying the excerpts. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/63 "2009-12-07T22:15:32Z")
> [@Zoinks](#): > > That’s disappointing, I was waffling on whether to get that book from the library. I’m an identical twin too and I just realized I’ve never read a book with an identical twin character, do you know any that you think did it well? I’m curious now how the whole thing appears to non-twins. What did you think of I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb? I’m not a twin, but I found the portrayal interesting. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/64 "2009-12-08T17:26:47Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > And based on **twickster’s** recommendation, I read _The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet,_ a first novel by Reif Larsen. It was so engaging and sweet – my only (very slight) issue with it is that it’s a novel that requires a lot of suspension of disbelief which for the most part the author presented very well and very convincingly, but when it _didn’t_ work, it was jarring. A boy from a Montana ranch sets off, alone, to hop a train to Washington D.C. to accept an award from the Smithsonian (they have no idea he’s 12 years old) for his scientific illustrations. The art is wonderfully included in the form of marginalia on almost every page, it’s a great looking book as well. So thanks, **twicks** , for that awesome recommendation! Glad you liked it! Yeah, the suspension of disbelief required is substantial – but I found the underlying conceit so engaging that I was willing to go along with it. It really started to fall apart in the last section, though, after he got to D.C. That the secret society really existed, and they’re all running around in secret sections of the Smithsonian? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/65 "2009-12-08T18:08:27Z")
_Good Omens_ by Pratchett and Gaiman. It’s pretty funny. My first Pratchett. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/66 "2009-12-08T19:08:22Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Yeah, the suspension of disbelief required is substantial – but I found the underlying conceit so engaging that I was willing to go along with it. It really started to fall apart in the last section, though, after he got to D.C. > > That the secret society really existed, and they’re all running around in secret sections of the Smithsonian? :dubious: Weirdly enough, that didn’t bother me so much (although I didn’t really see the point, because they didn’t _do_ anything as far as I could tell) but I had a harder time with the DC transition in the sense that TS is now interacting with a lot more people – it was much easier to get sucked into his world when he was alone on the train, but when he’s interacting with adults … I couldn’t believe that not one of them stepped up and realized something was not right about an injured kid showing up alone at the Info Desk. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/67 "2009-12-08T19:30:08Z")
Just started The End of Overeating: taking control of the insatiable American appetite, by David Kessler. So far, it’s creamy and delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Tamariti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Tamariti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamariti)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/68 "2009-12-08T19:38:48Z")
Tis the season for me to read depressing novels - I suppose it keeps everything in perspective with the credit cards reaching max out points & screaming children at the mall - I do like sugar cookies and candy canes so the season has some high points too 🙂 I just consumed two novels - both worth reading and I highly recommend - Wally Lamb’s “The Hour I First Believed” (read I Know This Much Is True First case same characters make an appearance) and Ann Marie MacDonald’s “Fall On Your Knees”… ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/69 "2009-12-09T02:55:37Z")
I had to wait in line for two hours this morning to sign the kids up for swimming lessons, and so, I finished ‘ **Fishing with my Old Guy** ’. I don’t think it’s Quarrington’s best work - my personal favourite is ‘ **Whale Music** ’, though I’ve liked everything of his. (Read **Whale Music** , I recommend it highly! If you have to see the film, read the book first. Maury Chaikin is absolutely perfect as Desmond Howl, but Cindy Preston as Claire is somewhere left of nowhere. One of the books strongest features is the narrative voice, and it is sadly lost in the film.) I may re-read my way through all of his books in the next couple of months. I just started ‘ **Still** ’ by bp nichol - it was the winner of the 5th annual 3-day novel contest. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/70 "2009-12-09T11:52:44Z")
Finished _How Dogs Think_ by Dr. Stanley Coren, a noted psychologist. I found it interesting and learned some things that I did not know. For instance, dogs do not see the color orange well and for them it will blend in easily with the color of grass. This explained a curiosity for me - my new dog easily finds a yellow tennis ball, but has trouble with the new mostly-orange Chuckit ball that I got her. If she doesn’t see where it lands, she has trouble spotting it. (I thought she was getting lazy and just pretending to not find the ball.) I did enjoy it, but will caution that in many places it is a slow read. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/71 "2009-12-09T12:57:20Z")
I just finished _ **Exit Music** _, the probably-final book in Ian Rankin’s excellent John Rebus series. It was pretty good as wrap-ups go, and the whole series held its head above water longer than most mystery series do. Next I’m on to Daniel Defoe’s _ **A Journal of the Plague Year** _, and also apparently _ **Catch-22** _. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/72 "2009-12-09T19:13:32Z")
“Apparently”? Is someone holding a gun to your head? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/73 "2009-12-09T19:16:50Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > “Apparently”? Is someone holding a gun to your head? I think there is a SDMB bookclub and they have chosen that as their first read. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/74 "2009-12-09T23:57:43Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > “Apparently”? Is someone holding a gun to your head? Ha, this cracked me up. Sometimes being in a book club _does_ feel like a gun to the head. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/75 "2009-12-10T00:31:34Z")
I just finished re-reading _The Diamond Age_. I had an ambition to read or re-read every Neal Stephenson novel from _The Big U_ through _Anathem_, but I think I’m Nealed out. He’s a brilliant funny writer, but he tends to let his plots get away from him. I’m now reading _Armor_ by John Steakley, which is pretty bad, but I find it hilarious if you imagine it being read by Brock Samson, with the female voices done by Molotov Cocktease. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/76 "2009-12-10T00:54:15Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > “Apparently”? Is someone holding a gun to your head? I dunno, is someone? \ No, “apparently” not. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/77 "2009-12-10T01:09:43Z")
I read the first of Robin Hobb’s Tawny Man trilogy and liked it very much; I’ll probably read the next two books shortly. I like finding all of these completed trilogies. I’ll be sad when I finally catch up to her and have to wait on new books. I’m about to start on David Sedaris’s _Holidays on Ice_, which I’ve been saving for Christmas. Even though I think I’ve read at least one of the pieces in it already. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/78 "2009-12-10T01:12:09Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > _Good Omens_ by Pratchett and Gaiman. It’s pretty funny. My first Pratchett. I just read that, and also found it pretty funny. The fact that his name popped up 3 or 4 times in the “future classics” thread makes me wonder what the next one to read should be. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/79 "2009-12-10T04:06:00Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I dunno, is someone? \ > > No, “apparently” not. Has anyone won the thread yet? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/80 "2009-12-10T16:59:48Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Has anyone won the thread yet? Not a chance. At SDMB the thread wins you! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487.md?page=5)