# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/121 "2009-12-21T00:54:03Z")
_The Long Loud Silence_ by Wilson Tucker. Post-apocalypse (biological warfare), published in 1952. Not sure what to make of it. I’m about halfway through, and except for the female characters (treated as troublesome sex objects), it reads like a survival manual. Stay away from big cities, stock up on canned goods and ammo, drive something sturdy and nondescript, head south where it’s warm, etc. It’s not bad, but I’m hoping Santa brings something better soon. ---
**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 21, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/122 "2009-12-21T01:03:47Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Just finished _Knights in History and Legend_, ed. by Constance Brittain Bouchard. It’s a big, richly-illustrated coffeetable-style book with anything you’d ever want to know about knighthood, chivalry, armor, weapons, heraldry, the Crusades, etc. > > The chapter on tournaments was particularly interesting. The best story was about Sir William Marshal, one of the most famous English knights, who won every tournament he ever entered in the late 1100s. At one, the king was going to award him the prize but Marshal couldn’t be found. Then someone checked with the local blacksmith; the knight was there, having his helmet removed. He’d been so bashed up that he couldn’t remove it on his own, and it had to be cut off of him! Marshal is really interesting. He’s a minor character in Sharon Kay Penman’s trilogy about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine (he helped to save Eleanor from being abducted once, was captured himself, and she personally ransomed him). I’ve recently read a couple of books specifically about him: _The Greatest Knight_, a slightly romancey historical novel by Elizabeth Chadwick, and a biography: _William Marshal, The Flower of Chivalry_, by Georges Duby. Both were pretty good, and both have some nice details about tournaments. The reason we know so much about Marshal is that his son commissioned an epic and reasonably accurate poem celebrating his life, _L’Histoire de Guillaume le Marechal_, and a mostly intact manuscript has survived. ---
**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 21, 2009, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/123 "2009-12-21T02:10:41Z")
I can tell you’ve taken a personal interest in him, Your Grace. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/124 "2009-12-21T04:14:22Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I just started **[Six Fang Marks and a Tetanus Shot](http://www.amazon.com/Six-Fang-Marks-Tetanus-Shot/dp/1770093044)** - the word on the street is it was written by someone who was or is a member here. And it was excellent. Really disturbing. Butnow I think when the author said he was a ‘lurker’ at the SDMB he was just blowing smoke. Anyway, highly recommended sorta whodunnit crashing prose quick read that makes a great journey, like this: Chaos -\> Order. Now reading _Gouverneur Morris - An Independent Life_. ---
**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 21, 2009, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/125 "2009-12-21T04:53:18Z")
You might next like: [Amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/Gentleman-Revolutionary-Gouverneur-Morris-Constitution/dp/0743256026/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261371160&sr=1-5) ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/126 "2009-12-21T05:47:30Z")
I just finished \*\*Portuguese Irregular Verbs \*\*by Alexander McCall Smith, and I am baffled. It seemed to be a light-hearted romp among the weird world of academics, and so it began, but suddenly the last chapter veered wildly into the protagonist’s concerns about deadly radioactivity in the waters of Venice, Italy. I wondered if the publisher accidentally grafted the last chapter of some other author’s book onto this one. Weird, unsettling, and a turnoff for all Smith’s other books. ---
**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 21, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/127 "2009-12-21T14:30:51Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > That was possibly me, because I have been pushing on everyone, including strangers on the street, so I will look forward to reading your reaction. Re The Knife of Never Letting Go Riveting and well-written, but! I knew right away what was probably going to happen to my favorite character, because that’s what happens to dogs in books…and it did, and I was devastated, but everything happens for a reason and it will all work out in the end right? Or maybe he’s not really dead, Ben wasn’t… Hey, where’s my happy ending? _Todd?_ Oh fuck. Painful. The next day (after a brief recovery period), I zipped through Wally Lamb’s Wishin’ and Hopin’: A Christmas Story. Sweet story of kids and Catholic school and the sixties. Forgettable. I have a feeling it’s not as funny as he meant it to be. Just begun: My Soul to Keep, by Tananarive Due. ---
**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 21, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/128 "2009-12-21T14:58:40Z")
I finished the last of my Robin Hobb trilogy, _Fool’s Fate_. I’m enjoying my foray back into traditional fantasy. I’m now reading _Three Hands in the Fountain_, another Marcus Didius Falco historical mystery. Falco is trying to track down a serial killer who’s dumping body parts into Rome’s water supply (yuck), but he’s checking out the aqueducts, which is neat. ---
**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 21, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/129 "2009-12-21T14:58:59Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > …The next day (after a brief recovery period), I zipped through Wally Lamb’s Wishin’ and Hopin’: A Christmas Story. Sweet story of kids and Catholic school and the sixties. Forgettable. I have a feeling it’s not as funny as he meant it to be… Then may I recommend Pat Conroy’s _The Great Santini_, which has some great scenes “of kids and Catholic school and the Sixties.” ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/130 "2009-12-21T15:41:25Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > You might next like: [Amazon.com: Gentleman Revolutionary: Gouverneur Morris, the Rake Who Wrote the Constitution: 9780743256025: Brookhiser, Richard: Books](http://www.amazon.com/Gentleman-Revolutionary-Gouverneur-Morris-Constitution/dp/0743256026/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261371160&sr=1-5) Thanks for the recommendation - I’ve actually already read that one! ---
**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 21, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/131 "2009-12-21T15:54:25Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Then may I recommend Pat Conroy’s _The Great Santini_, which has some great scenes “of kids and Catholic school and the Sixties.” I’ve read that, and it _was_ good. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/132 "2009-12-21T17:33:57Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Re The Knife of Never Letting Go > > Riveting and well-written, but! Oh my god. See, I remembered from other threads that we have the same issue about animal death scenes in books, but all of a sudden you were already reading it, and while I tried to be (I think) pretty upfront in my original mention that it was a little emotional, I kept wondering if I should PM you and warn you about that particular thing, but then I wasn’t sure if it would be spoiling the plot for you. There isn’t anything like that in book 2, btw. ---
**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 21, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/133 "2009-12-21T18:15:53Z")
It’s okay, **delphica**. Like I said, I had a feeling it would come, but it still packed quite a punch! I wouldn’t have wanted you to spoil it. _approaches book 2 warily_ ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/134 "2009-12-22T19:54:41Z")
Finished: _Rogues’ Gallery: The Secret History of the Mogul and the Money that Made the Metropolitan Museum_ by Michael Gross. Eh, this was a dud. I hated how the author was constantly breathless with excitement at the shocking news that rich people can behave badly. _The Book of William: How Shakespeare’s First Folio Conquered the World_ by Paul Collins. Fun, quick, smart read. _The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance_ by Elna Baker. I thought it was engaging and funny. It’s a memoir of Baker’s dating experiences in New York City, a topic which has been done eleventy million times, but the hook here is that the author is a practicing Mormon. It’s light reading, but also very well-written. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/135 "2009-12-22T20:40:05Z")
Still working from the impulse-buy closet: _Pretty Boy Floyd_ by Larry McMurtry and [somebody] Ossana (?). The novel is fleshed out from a screenplay they wrote several years ago. It’s a fun read, plenty of flavor, but if Santa brings something better, I probably won’t finish it. ---
**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 22, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/136 "2009-12-22T21:27:00Z")
Floyd was killed not far from the small Ohio town where I grew up, and his body was brought to a funeral home there. I’ve always had a soft spot for ol’ Pretty Boy. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/137 "2009-12-22T21:47:45Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Floyd was killed not far from the small Ohio town where I grew up, and his body was brought to a funeral home there. I’ve always had a soft spot for ol’ Pretty Boy. SPOILER! 😉 😛 I’m kinda liking him too. Maybe he’s been romanticized, but he doesn’t seem particularly venal. But dumb! If the book is correct, his first major crime was robbing the armored car that picked up the cash at the place where he worked (a bakery), after which he quit the job and bought a new car. ---
**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 26, 2009, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/138 "2009-12-26T05:27:33Z")
Just finished Wayne Barlowe’s _God’s Demon_, about a rebellion in Hell led by a demon lord who wants to win God’s forgiveness and return to Heaven. Barlowe’s still a better artist than a writer, but it wasn’t bad. He heavily relies upon Dante’s _Inferno_ for background but adds quite a bit of interesting stuff himself. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/139 "2009-12-26T22:35:59Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Just finished Wayne Barlowe’s _God’s Demon_, about a rebellion in Hell led by a demon lord who wants to win God’s forgiveness and return to Heaven. Barlowe’s still a better artist than a writer, but it wasn’t bad. He heavily relies upon Dante’s _Inferno_ for background but adds quite a bit of interesting stuff himself. I started it and put it down. I may pick it back up, but it wasn’t grabbing me. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487/140 "2009-12-26T22:42:35Z")
Finished ‘Under the Dome’ early in the week and moved on to Scott Sigler’s ‘Contagious’, which I finished Christmas Eve. Undecided what to read next. Possibly Crichton’s ‘Pirate Latitudes’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-09-edition/519487.md?page=8)