# Whatcha Readin' February 2012 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296 "2012-01-31T11:21:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/41 "2012-02-05T19:47:00Z")
I picked up _Keeping It Real_ based on advice in last month’s thread. It didn’t catch me the first time I tried to read it (actually, yesterday) - but that never means anything. Some books I ended up loving I put down more than once, so I’ll try it again. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/42 "2012-02-05T19:58:03Z")
I just started reading _Never Let Me Go_ by Kazuo Ishiguro yesterday, and am already about halfway through. I’ve heard that some people found this book boring, but I’m pretty absorbed in it even though there’s definitely not a lot of action. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > I haven’t heard of this, but T.H. White (best known for \* The Sword in the Stones\*, _The Once and Future King_ and _The Book of Merlin_) wrote a mystery entitled _Darkness at Pemberley_. > > It was an interesting aberration, but I hated it. The characters all seemed to have the attitude that “the villain can pick us off any time he wants, so we might as well do nothing”. At which point I simply want to abandon them to that fate. > > Is it possible there’s a relatiionship, or do they simply share being mysteries and having the town of Pemberley in the title? I’ve never read _Darkness at Pemberley_, or even heard of it before, but a quick Google indicates that it has nothing to do with _Pride & Prejudice_ other than borrowing the name of Mr. Darcy’s estate (not town). I haven’t read _Death Comes to Pemberley_ yet, but the main character are the same characters from _P&P_. It doesn’t sound like there’s any connection between White’s _Darkness at Pemberley_ and James’s _Death Comes to Pemberley_. ---
**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 5, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/43 "2012-02-05T21:35:01Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I would have said stop at the first one. I loved the first one, but the rest kept getting worse and worse. That was my reaction, too. Although I may have been too young (late teens) to appreciate the later ones. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/44 "2012-02-05T21:40:59Z")
I just finished [Jo Nesbo’s Redbreast](http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=jo+nesbo+redbreast&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=6742228605&ref=pd_sl_627vpbf6bh_e), so I have to read\* The Devil’s Star \*next since there was unfinished business in Redbreast. I started reading the Nesbo books after finishing \*The Girl… \*trilogy since that got me hooked on intelligent Scandinavian thrillers. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/45 "2012-02-06T13:49:34Z")
> [@wonderlust](#): > > I’m glad to hear this. I also was very taken with this book. And in rechecking my notes, you were the one I have to thank for the **Keeping it Real** recco! :smack: Current Kindle read: **[The Mind’s Eye](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10257504-the-mind-s-eye)** by Oliver Sacks. In addition to his usual case studies of out-of-the-ordinary neurological issues; he also delves into his own story of dealing with an ocular tumor and its visual effects, both before & after treatment. Sacks writes of his patients with compassion; exploring and explaining their conditions in a compelling manner. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by him so far & have picked up some additional recommendations from his writing. Audiobook: Still working on **[The Prestige](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/239239.The_Prestige)** by Christopher Priest. Am well into Rupert Angier’s section; very interesting to read the alternate version of events already documented by Alfred Borden, his rival. Neither appears to be a completely reliable narrator, tho I think Alfred is the less reliable or the two, due to the nature of “the Pact” - which I’m still not quite sure I’ve figured out. Very, very enjoyable - Simon Vance is the narrator. Will probably check the film out once I’m done with the novel; I have a vague recollection of having watched it, but can’t recall particulars. ---
**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 6, 2012, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/46 "2012-02-06T14:25:43Z")
Finished _Jumper_ and it was decent. I wasn’t crazy about the ending but I don’t see how it could have gone much differently. I started an audiobook today: [_The Scorch Trials_](http://www.amazon.com/Scorch-Trials-Maze-Runner-Trilogy/dp/0385738757), which is second in the Maze Runner series by James Dashner. I’m also reading a sci-fi anthology, [_Lightspeed: Year One_](http://www.amazon.com/Lightspeed-Year-One-Stephen-King/dp/1607013045), edited by John Joseph Adams. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/47 "2012-02-06T18:18:42Z")
I finished **The Eyes of the Overworld** , the second in Jack Vance’s Dying Earth series. I have the final two books in the series, but I have to take a break from it. It’s just not doing it for me. It’s funny in parts, but the characters and plot are dull. I also finally had my first Heinlein experience. I breezed though **The Door Into Summer.** Loved it, but it almost seemed to be YA. It was such an easy read. Is all Heinlein like that? ---
**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:** [February 7, 2012, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/48 "2012-02-07T01:49:27Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > I also finally had my first Heinlein experience. I breezed though **The Door Into Summer.** Loved it, but it almost seemed to be YA. It was such an easy read. Is all Heinlein like that? It was YA. Heinlein wrote several books that were intended for teenage readers. But it’s also typical of Heinlein’s writing style. He aimed to be transparent rather than literary. ---
**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 7, 2012, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/49 "2012-02-07T03:38:29Z")
Just finished _New Wave Facts About Flags_, which had great graphics but several factual errors and very sloppy editing, and the _Halo Graphic Novel_, which other than a short cartoon segment by Moebius was rather disappointing. I’m a little further into _The Lost City of Z_. I can’t say it’s knocking my socks off. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/50 "2012-02-07T13:32:11Z")
Starting _The Tenderness of Wolves_, the Costa- (formerly Whitbread) Award-winning debut novel of Scottish writer Stef Penney. It’s set in Canada in 1867. ISTR reading that she never went to Canada to research it because of her agoraphobia. I might be thinking of somebody else. ---
**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 7, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/51 "2012-02-07T15:25:43Z")
I’m reading _The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time_, by Jeff Deck. Two guys are driving around the United States correcting spelling and punctuation errors on signs. I adore the concept, and there’s some good stuff in the book, but it’s not written very well. The author has a florid prose style - partly to be funny, I’m sure, but I’m finding it annoying. He writes stuff like: “I discussed my cross-country typo-hunting notion with barely anyone, cradling it close and secret lest the scrutiny of others burn mortal wounds into its gossamer body.” A little of that goes a long way. I just started reading _Death Comes to Pemberly_. I was encouraged to find the prologue so entertaining: it’s a recap of the P&P plot from the point of view of Meryton society gossips, who think Elizabeth was maneuvering to catch Mr. Darcy the whole time. But I’m less impressed with the rest of the book, so far. ---
**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 7, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/52 "2012-02-07T16:13:56Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > A little over a third of the way through _The Confession_, by John Grisham. An innocent man is days away from being executed for a kidnap/rape/murder in Texas for which the body was never found. Up in Kansas, the real murderer is dying of a brain tumor and wants to come clean. But how do you stop a Texas execution? Very good so far. Finished it. Very good. Now back to trip research. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/53 "2012-02-07T21:30:29Z")
Finished The Grimrose Path (Trickster, Book 2) the second in Rob Thurman’s Trickster series. I mostly liked it, but the author’s too fond of the unreliable narrator trick - I guess that is her way of having the trickster trick us - but I find it annoying. Having said that, for the most part it is easy to read and fast-paced enough and I will probably read the next. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/54 "2012-02-07T23:25:10Z")
> [@Alpine](#): > > Finished **Spook** and **Bonk** by Mary Roach. I really like her writing style, curiosity and sense of humor. I will look forward to more. I just finished reading **Stiff** , by the same author, and I loved it. I’m currently on **The Family That Couldn’t Sleep** , by D.T. Max. It’s about prion diseases, and it’s _fascinating_. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/55 "2012-02-07T23:51:31Z")
> **[Theories of International Politics and Zombies: Drezner, Daniel W.:...](https://www.amazon.com/Theories-International-Politics-Zombies-Drezner/dp/0691147833)** > > Theories of International Politics and Zombies \[Drezner, Daniel W.\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Theories of International Politics and Zombies this is what i am reading now. it is amazing, funny, and very, very, cool. sometimes i just stare at a sentence and think " i never thought i’d see that in print", or even just thought of. amazing book. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/56 "2012-02-08T01:17:16Z")
Just got _The Fourth Wall_, a Dagmar Shaw thriller from WJ Williams. There went my other plans for the evening. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/57 "2012-02-08T17:53:41Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > I’m currently on **The Family That Couldn’t Sleep** , by D.T. Max. It’s about prion diseases, and it’s _fascinating_. I really liked this book too - I don’t remember exactly how came across it, but was inspired to get it from the library after reading Charlie Huston’s **[Sleepless](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6504894-sleepless)**, which \*\*Eleanor of Aquitaine \*\* recommended. Revisiting **[Winter’s Tale](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/386298.Winter_s_Tale)** by Mark Helprin, who writes of a fantastical New York City that never was; spanning the turn of the twentieth century through the turn of the twenty-first, with touches of magical realism and steampunk scattered throughout. Absolutely gorgeous writing - lots of dog-earing and underlining in my copy. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/58 "2012-02-09T19:37:02Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > Starting _The Tenderness of Wolves_, the Costa- (formerly Whitbread) Award-winning debut novel of Scottish writer Stef Penney. It’s set in Canada in 1867. ISTR reading that she never went to Canada to research it because of her agoraphobia. I might be thinking of somebody else. This was stunningly good. It’s a mystery, an adventure, a bit of romance – basically a western. The plot was marginally on the lines of _True Grit_: Trapper for the Hudson Bay Company is discovered murdered in his cabin, several suspects disappear, several parties go out in search of the suspects, all in a brutal Canadian winter. I’m greatly oversimplifying. It was absolutely riveting. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/59 "2012-02-09T19:43:00Z")
I recently finished Ford Madox Ford’s _ **The Good Soldier** _, and am about 220 pages into Dickens’ _ **Little Dorrit.** _ ---
**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 11, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/60 "2012-02-11T19:41:36Z")
Just finished _The Best of the Rejection Collection_, edited by Matt Diffee, a collection of cartoons rejected by _The New Yorker_ for being “too dumb, too dark or too naughty.” Some very funny stuff in there - I’m going to copy about a dozen of 'em. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296.md?page=4)