# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/101 "2012-02-22T17:51:18Z")
Just started **Crazy Enough** , Storm Large’s autobiography. The woman [del]was[/del] _is_ truly a wild child. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/102 "2012-02-22T20:45:41Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I’m still listening to an audio book of James Dashner’s _The Scorch Trials_ (second in the YA Maze Runner series). Although it isn’t particularly well-written, and there are things that actively annoy me about it, it’s got its hooks in me. I tell myself I just want to see how the author gets out of this hole he’s written himself into. I’m feeling the same way about this series - read the first 2 courtesy of the local library and they were interesting while I was reading them, but didn’t stay with me like the Hunger Games or Chaos Walking series have. I just added [The Death Cure](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7864437-the-death-cure) to my wish list on the library website, but am not in any hurry. Another book that was great while I was in the middle of it, and \*\*is \*\*kind of sticking was **[The Descent](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/239065.The_Descent)** by Jeff Long. Humankind discovers that the planet’s crust is populated by another race of beings … who have preyed on man for centuries with a select few surviving to tell the story. The military is rallied to fight the foe, and an entrepreneur attempts to take advantage of the new frontier. I’m not quite sure how to classify it: part horror and part thriller comes closest, I guess. There’s several elements that I wish Long had followed up on, but leaving them a mystery adds to the atmosphere of the story, I suppose. The first third of the book sets up a couple of threads/characters that eventually overlap - which was a bit confusing at first, but worthwhile, eventually. The vignettes sprinkled thru provided an alternate look at the action, which I also enjoyed. Also, in preparation for seeing the film **John Carter** , I snagged the Kindle freebie version of **[A Princess of Mars](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40395.A_Princess_of_Mars)** by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Not sure how I’ve overlooked this for so long - it’s a fun, quick read that definitely helped set the stage for both the fantasy and sci-fi genres. There’s plenty of manly adventure, and the occasional bit of dry humour. True, the character development is as scanty as Dejah Thoris’ wardrobe, and the stereotyping is borderline painful at times, but the descriptions of the scenery and the races of Barsoom are stirring. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/103 "2012-02-23T04:05:01Z")
Finally finished the huge history of the Papacy I started back in January. Lots of Popes, good ones and bad. Fascinating, but 2000 years is a looooooooong time. Now reading: [Satan is Real](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/books/review/satan-is-real-the-story-of-the-louvin-brothers.html) - [the Story of the Louvin Brothers](http://www.avclub.com/articles/charlie-louvin-and-benjamin-whitmer-satan-is-real,67779/) by Charlie Louvin. I love music biogs, I’m fascinated by the 1930s and the Great Depression, and I’m a big fan of the Louvin Brothers. So, for me, amazing stuff. Brilliant. ---
**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 23, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/104 "2012-02-23T14:34:59Z")
I started out to read [There is No Dog](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399257640/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1/183-6614766-0028102?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_r=1E5PT0RSG32PJRPZM34R&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_i=B004J4WMEK), by Meg Rosoff (What if God were a teenage boy?). I got through a few chapters, but wasn’t feeling the quirky humor. Then there was the suffering of a fictional animal. Yeah, I’m done here. Next up, [Hunger](http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Riders-Apocalypse-Jackie-Kessler/dp/0547341245/ref=tmm_pap_title_0), by Jackie Morse Kessler. An anorexic girl becomes Famine. This book is first in a series called Riders of the Apocalypse. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/105 "2012-02-23T21:07:28Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I started out to read [There is No Dog](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399257640/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1/183-6614766-0028102?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_r=1E5PT0RSG32PJRPZM34R&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_i=B004J4WMEK), by Meg Rosoff (What if God were a teenage boy?). I got through a few chapters, but wasn’t feeling the quirky humor. Then there was the suffering of a fictional animal. Yeah, I’m done here. > > Next up, [Hunger](http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Riders-Apocalypse-Jackie-Kessler/dp/0547341245/ref=tmm_pap_title_0), by Jackie Morse Kessler. An anorexic girl becomes Famine. This book is first in a series called Riders of the Apocalypse. Hunger looks interesting. Let us know what you think. ---
**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 24, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/106 "2012-02-24T05:47:33Z")
Still reading _The Lost City of Z_ by David Grann, which is… OK. It’s nonfiction about exploring the Amazon in the 1920s. Could be a lot better. Gave up on _The God of Small Things_ by Arundhati Roy after my standard old-college-try 50 pages. A novel about twins in India. Overwritten and directionless. ---
**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 25, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/107 "2012-02-25T04:28:18Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Gave up on _The God of Small Things_ by Arundhati Roy after my standard old-college-try 50 pages. A novel about twins in India. Overwritten and directionless. Good decision. I went through the whole thing. The end was obvious, and when it arrived, I thought it was a waste. It’s a lesser version of One Hundred Years of Solitude by G. Garcia Marquez. ---
**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 25, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/108 "2012-02-25T18:56:20Z")
Thanks. I always appreciate having my “I’m going to stop reading this rubbish now” decisions validated. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/109 "2012-02-26T05:08:24Z")
I finished the book about Henry VIII’s six wives. Now I’m curious to read individual bios about many of the characters, especially Anne Boleyn. Next up is _Gödel, Escher, Bach_. I’ve wanted to read it for a long time. I didn’t realize it’s almost as old as I am. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/110 "2012-02-26T17:25:20Z")
I just started reading [Mercury Falls](http://www.amazon.com/Mercury-Falls-Robert-Kroese/dp/1935597159/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330276930&sr=8-1) last night. I’m liking it so far. I don’t have much time for reading books I want to read (I’m in college and that sucks up all my fun reading time) but I’m making time for this one. It’s fun, silly, and irrelevant. Just what I was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/111 "2012-02-26T19:43:10Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Next up, [Hunger](http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Riders-Apocalypse-Jackie-Kessler/dp/0547341245/ref=tmm_pap_title_0), by Jackie Morse Kessler. An anorexic girl becomes Famine. This book is first in a series called Riders of the Apocalypse. I’d like to see what you think of _ **Hunger** _; I read it back in March 2011 and wrote the following as my (belated) Goodreads review: Intriguing premise that was well-carried out - an anorexic girl is tapped to become the incarnation of Famine… she learns from the experience and turns her life around. Not nearly as Afternoon Special Episode as it sounds from the description - the situation is covered with both empathy and realism - in the afterword, the author explains her connection to the topic. Thanks for the reminder - am adding the next in the series _[Rage](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7670661-rage)_ to my To Read list. =================== Staying with the YA genre, I just finished **[Legend](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9275658-legend)** by Marie Lu. While it’s definitely playing on the popularity of The Hunger Games (check the cover design), it’s still got some intriguing story ideas that kept the plot moving nicely. The story is told from the viewpoints of the 2 main characters in alternating chapters. We meet June, a teenage girl whose mental and physical prowess have her being groomed for military success in the Republic and Day, a 15 yr old fugitive from the wrong side of the tracks whose exploits show his rebellion against the Republic. Their stories intertwine as they start to discover the secrets the Republic keeps from its people. The romance is a bit :rolleyes: for my tastes, but I’m sure it hits just the right tone for the intended reader. The novel wraps up relatively neatly; but with plenty of possibility for a sequel (_Patriot_, already scheduled for release in 2012). ---
**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:** [February 26, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/112 "2012-02-26T20:41:30Z")
**Elendil’s Heir, Carnut** - Tastes differ, and that’s a good thing. If everyone had the same tastes, they’d all be after my wife. I loved ‘The God of Small Things’ when I read it ten or so years ago. I still haven’t read ‘A Hundred Years of Solitude’, so I can’t compare them. I don’t intend to criticize your tastes, only to warn you that our recommendations are unlikely to mesh. 🙂 That being said, if a book hasn’t engaged you by fifty pages, absolutely you should drop it and move on. ---
**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:** [February 26, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/113 "2012-02-26T20:45:21Z")
Reading **Somewhere a Voice** , a collection of short SF stories by the too-overlooked writer Eric Frank Russell. I’ve read most if not all of these stories before, but I found the book in an old “to be read” stack. I’ve also picked up John Grant’s **Denying Science** and started reading it. It’s the fourth in a series, the previous ones being **Bogus Science, Discarded Science** and **Corrupted Science** , al of which I’ve read. This one has been published by a different publisher than the others. ---
**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 26, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/114 "2012-02-26T21:52:37Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > I just started reading [Mercury Falls](http://www.amazon.com/Mercury-Falls-Robert-Kroese/dp/1935597159/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330276930&sr=8-1) last night. I’m liking it so far. I don’t have much time for reading books I want to read (I’m in college and that sucks up all my fun reading time) but I’m making time for this one. It’s fun, silly, and irrelevant. > > Just what I was looking for. Ooh, that looks good. It’s on my wish list now. Thanks! ---
**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 26, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/115 "2012-02-26T21:56:17Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > **Elendil’s Heir, Carnut** - Tastes differ, and that’s a good thing. If everyone had the same tastes, they’d all be after my wife. I am relieved. Because I am certain that I wouldn’t be after your wife. 😃 I am well aware that tastes differ, which is why I look for other reviews to back up someone’s opinion of a book here. ---
**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 27, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/116 "2012-02-27T13:29:27Z")
> [@Politzania](#): > > I’d like to see what you think of _ **Hunger** _; I read it back in March 2011 and wrote the following as my (belated) Goodreads review: > > Intriguing premise that was well-carried out - an anorexic girl is tapped to become the incarnation of Famine… she learns from the experience and turns her life around. > Not nearly as Afternoon Special Episode as it sounds from the description - the situation is covered with both empathy and realism - in the afterword, the author explains her connection to the topic. > > Thanks for the reminder - am adding the next in the series _[Rage](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7670661-rage)_ to my To Read list. I plan to continue the series as well. _Hunger_ was very short, it probably took me less than two hours to read, and it was decent… **Politzania** covered it well. There was one scene which really took the glamour out of bulimia, should anyone find that necessary. 🙂 Next up: \* The Book of Cthulhu: tales inspired by H. P. Lovecraft\*, edited by Ross Lockhart. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/117 "2012-02-27T14:06:34Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Now reading: [Satan is Real](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/books/review/satan-is-real-the-story-of-the-louvin-brothers.html) - [the Story of the Louvin Brothers](http://www.avclub.com/articles/charlie-louvin-and-benjamin-whitmer-satan-is-real,67779/) by Charlie Louvin. > > I love music biogs, I’m fascinated by the 1930s and the Great Depression, and I’m a big fan of the Louvin Brothers. So, for me, amazing stuff. Brilliant. Eager for your verdict on this. I read _Shanghai Moon_, a mystery by S.J. Rozan. Part of a series about a pair of PIs in New York; this is the first one I’ve read that’s in the female partner’s voice. There are 11 in the series and I’ve now read the three my library has. But I have four other library cards. 🙂 Now reading _The Red Room_ by Nicci French, about an English psychiatrist who was attacked by a man she was evaluating, and months later she learns he is a suspect in a murder. He may or may not have done it. It’s pretty creepy. ---
**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 27, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/118 "2012-02-27T15:30:38Z")
I’ve just started _The Knife Man: Blood, Body Snatching, and the Birth of Modern Surgery_, by Wendy Moore. It’s about John Hunter, a pioneering 18th-century surgeon. Hunter begins his career by procuring bodies for his brother’s anatomy school in London. This is before the Burke & Hare scandal, and there was no legal way to obtain cadavers. Gangs of professional grave robbers stalked the London burial grounds and “could unearth a body from a shallow grave in 15 minutes flat”. Rich people protected their dead in locked vaults or lead coffins. I’m still reading through Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series. I just finished #9, _Issola_, and while this particular book isn’t one of my favorites, overall I’m enjoying the series. I’m also still reading Barbara Hambly’s Benjamin January series, which are historical mysteries set in the 1830’s. She apparently found another publisher and has started writing them again. In _The Shirt On His Back_, January leaves New Orleans and heads out west to a “Rocky Mountain Rendezvous” of fur trappers and traders. ---
**Author:** ![Stauderhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stauderhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stauderhorse)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/119 "2012-02-27T20:16:25Z")
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins. It’s kind of dry, and he goes off on long tangents that are a bit unnecessary, but mostly it’s good. House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. Fifty pages in and I haven’t the slightest what’s going on, nor am I particularly invested. It’s gotten great reviews and all, but I’m not sure I want to slog through another 500 pages. ---
**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 27, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296/120 "2012-02-27T21:31:25Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > …That being said, if a book hasn’t engaged you by fifty pages, absolutely you should drop it and move on. That’s been my rule for years. Life’s too short to read a non-mandatory book you hate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-february-2012-edition/611296.md?page=7)