# Whatcha Readin' Feb 2010 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171 "2010-01-31T23:12:18Z")\ **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:** [January 31, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/1 "2010-01-31T23:12:18Z")
Hi all - Happy Groundhog’s day and Happy Vallentine’s day! 🙂 Finished The Golden City: A Novel (last in the Fourth Realm Trilogy). Travelers are men who can project their spirit into other realms. They are protected by Harlequins and they are in opposition to the Tabula - a secret organization that rules the world. The Tabula does this by their control of _The Vast Machine_ a name the author uses for technology that runs our society. Harlequins are warriors who devote their entire lives to protecting the Travelers. Born as Travelers, Michael and Gabriel Corrigen quickly become the center of the two sides to this coin. Gabriel is a “good traveler” and Michael the “bad” one. The series had premise and I obviously liked it well enough to finish it. For me it was marred by the fact that the author really \*believes \*in The Vast Machine and “living off the grid.” I can’t tell you why - if I had found out that Tolkien had really believed in Middle Earth, I would have been mildly amused. Had this been written 15 years ago it might have seemed prophetic and even had a lesser place next to works like 1984 (but not as well written.) However now it has the feeling of a man who believe is conspiracy theories. A subplot features the romance between Maya (a harlequin) and Gabriel. At no time did I really care about this subplot. The last book slogged along slowly and in the end seemed to end abruptly. But worst of all: He left it open ended with the spirits of the two brothers off in another realm I wanted to like this, and obviously did enough to finish the trilogy, but I think in the end I will not recommend it. [Last Month’s thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=545955) ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/2 "2010-02-01T00:21:40Z")
Just finished _Dust to Dust_ by Tami Hoag and about to start _Insatiable_ by Gael Greene. I like Tami Hoag and the fact that all her plot lines don’t have to be neatly wrapped up, so I’m thrilled to be catching up on some of her older stuff. As for Greene, I’ve come to appreciate her on Top Chef, so I’m looking forward to her insight into haute cuisine. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/3 "2010-02-01T00:29:55Z")
Lordy, the queue just gets longer and longer. i won’t even list all the stuff I have to get to on the Kindle. Currently reading: \* The Honor of Spies\* - W.E.B. Griffin _Gator a-go-go_ - Tim Dorsey _Flow: the Cultural History of Menstruation_ - Stein/Kim In the queue: _Live Free Or Die_ - John Ringo _Possum Surprise_ - Robert Tacoma _Ancestral Vices_ - Tom Sharpe _A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World_ - William Bernstein That seems to be a pattern. Two fiction and one non-fiction at any given time. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/4 "2010-02-01T00:33:53Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > …The series had premise and I obviously liked it well enough to finish it… Too bad. Sounds like it had premise and promise. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/5 "2010-02-01T14:08:46Z")
I finished December 722 pages deep into **Reaper’s Gale** by Steven Erikson on my new Amazon Kindle. It’s book 7 of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. Looking back on last month’s thread, I read around 560 pages this past month. For work, I’m reading **Concurrent Programming on Windows** by Joe Duffy. On Chapter 5, Page 196. Dry, dry reading. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/6 "2010-02-01T14:50:26Z")
I finished Joe Abercrombie’s _The First Law_ trilogy. It was really excellent Swords & Horses fantasy, light on the magic and heavy on the realism. The overall tone was pretty cynical, but I thought the writing and the characterization was exceptional. Not your usual fantasy fare at all. I’m now reading a fairly new biography of Heloise & Abelard, inspired by the recent discovery of some of their early correspondence. I don’t think the author (James Burge) has written anything else, but I’m very impressed with the book so far. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/7 "2010-02-01T15:07:49Z")
Working on _The Blue Orchard_ by Jackson Taylor, based on his grandmother’s experiences as nurse to an illegal abortionist in 1940s-'50s Pennsylvania. It begins with her being arrested, then starts at the beginning with her childhood in desperate poverty and later abuse by employers, no-account men, racial attitudes (the doctor is black), etc. Fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/8 "2010-02-01T15:43:39Z")
Happy I Love to Read Month everyone! I finished A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin last week. It was just what I needed—short and quick-paced—after finishing The Count of Monte Cristo. I’m also reading The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. I’ll admit I’m not really loving it. It’s okay in spots, particularly the old-time Joseph Smith/Brigham Young stuff, but the modern story is leaving me cold (the dog and the boyfriend annoy me). I’m hoping it improves, but so far the story hasn’t advanced much. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/9 "2010-02-01T16:18:46Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > I finished Joe Abercrombie’s _The First Law_ trilogy. It was really excellent Swords & Horses fantasy, light on the magic and heavy on the realism. The overall tone was pretty cynical, but I thought the writing and the characterization was exceptional. Not your usual fantasy fare at all. I really liked this too. There’s another one out that’s set in the same world but with different characters – _Best Served Cold_. The main character is a warrior woman and the book’s almost all fighting, but I liked it. While waiting for the next three Aubrey/Maturin novels, I’m reading _Maggie: A Girl of the Streets_ by Stephen Crane. I tried to read two by Alan leMay – _The Searchers_ and _The Unforgiven_ – but the font has put me off. It’s too large – feels like I’m reading a child’s book. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/10 "2010-02-01T16:25:22Z")
I’m just finishing up Barbara Kingsolver’s **Prodigal Summer**. Dang, I like her stuff, but she’s like the ecological Ayn Rand. I’ve only read her novels, and they’re plenty moralistic, thank you. I don’t think I could handle a book of essays where she’s explicitly moralizing. Next up - **Nine Stories** by J.D. Salinger, which became the next ‘classic’ my classic bookreading group’s going to read, on account of Salinger’s dead. ---
**Author:** ![Future\_Londonite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Future\_Londonite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Future_Londonite)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/11 "2010-02-01T16:31:22Z")
Still making my way through **Infite Jest** …probably rinse and repeat for february ---
**Author:** ![Chum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@Chum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chum)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/12 "2010-02-01T17:05:40Z")
I just started Margaret Atwood’s _The Year of the Flood_, and it’s wonderful. I probably should have read _Oryx and Crake_ first, but oh well. I’m also making my way through the enormous first volume of the _Norton Anthology of English Literature_. I read selections from it in college (what English major didn’t?), but my current goal is to be able to remember something about every piece in the collection. I might one day apply to grad school for a Ph.D. in English, so I figure I might as well work towards the GRE’s English subject test. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/13 "2010-02-02T04:48:53Z")
I seem not to be completely gone after all, at least not yet, so I can tell you I’m about to finish, probably today, William J. Duiker’s excellent biography _Ho Chi Minh_. This is my second reading of it. I first read it when it first came out 10 years ago, and I thought it was worth going through again considering our imminent jorney through Vietnam. A very good book. How many of you knew that Ho once worked as a pastry chef in a Boston hotel? At least, he claimed he did. Shortly before World War I, in the Parker House Hotel. The present-day Omni Parker House Hotel cannot verify that in their records, but that’s hardly surprising, considering how long ago that was and his brief time there. (He spent some years at sea and had stopped off in the US for a spell. Sat WWI out in London.) Next up is _Appointment in Samarra_, by John O’Hara. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/14 "2010-02-02T05:09:23Z")
Just finished Ron Field’s _American Civil War Marines, 1861-65_, part of Osprey Publishing’s concise but excellent series on different military forces through the ages. Neither the U.S. nor the Confederate Marines did anything nearly as attention-getting during the Civil War as their descendants would do in the World Wars, but they rendered good service despite poor pay and low numbers (there were never more than 3,800 U.S. Marines on duty in the entire Civil War; there were some 485,000 during World War II). Just started _The Sagan Diary_, a novella by John Scalzi that’s part of his very good _Old Man’s War_ military sf series. Only a few pages into it as yet. Next up, Suzanne Clothier’s _Bones Would Rain From the Sky_, about appreciating and better understanding dogs. It’s my book club’s February selection. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/15 "2010-02-03T16:53:58Z")
Watched “Leave Her to Heaven” on TCM the other day and decided that although the movie (Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain) was pretty good, the book had to be better. I have a soft spot for books featuring evil/psychotic women anyway and found the 1944 Book Club edition at Amazon. The jacket is tattered but the art is great. The book tells us more about Ellen’s relationship with her father – stuff we didn’t learn until late in the movie – and Harland is shown as almost reluctant to become involved with her – almost frightened, definitely wary. In the movie, it was love at first sight and he didn’t look back until it was too late. What I’m hoping for is to learn why Harland didn’t say more during the initial investigation and instead waited until he was on the witness stand. It makes for some good Perry Mason-type drama, but it didn’t make sense. The scene in the movie with Ellen on horseback, scattering her father’s ashes is chilling. [It’s about six minutes in and it’s short, but worth seeing again](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mR1CkMPFIs&feature=related). ---
**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:** [February 4, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/16 "2010-02-04T13:28:05Z")
Finally finished The Intellectual Devotional. Urgh, what a slog! It would probably have been much more bearable if read as intended (a page a day), but straight through was…not as much fun as I thought it’d be. Also, the print was so tiny it hurt my eyes. My audiobook, The Help, is turning out so well that I’m already worrying my next audiobook will suck in comparison. The Help has been one of those rare jewels with a great story and great readers. I would recommend it to anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/17 "2010-02-04T14:02:05Z")
Started _Bleeding Heart Square_ by Andrew Taylor. Never heard of him, but he’s won an Edgar and the Diamond Dagger Award from the Crime Writers Association, which is for “sustained excellence.” It’s set in London in 1934; so far it’s about an upper-class woman whose husband just punched her out for no reason, so she’s left him and gone to her father, who’s a drunk who lives in a cheap boardinghouse. It seems that someone is watching the house _for some reason_. That’s the end of Chapter 1 and I must learn more! ---
**Author:** ![beeswax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/51bf81/32.png) [@beeswax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beeswax)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/18 "2010-02-04T14:57:54Z")
“Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Big” And I am listening to book on CD “Money and the Law of Attraction” ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/19 "2010-02-04T15:38:50Z")
2/3 way through “Her Fearful Symmetry” by Audrey Niffenegger- enjoying it immensely. After that I have her illustrated short story “The Three Incestuous Sisters”, a volume of poetry by Neruda and “The Inner Consultation” by Roger Neighbour, which is for work (it is basically communication skills for doctors). ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171/20 "2010-02-04T16:03:22Z")
The bookswap shelf in my gym has The **Memory Keeper’s Daughter**. Is it chick lit? If not, is it worth reading? I know nothing about it except that it’s a huge book I should know something about. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-feb-2010-edition/527171.md?page=2)