# Whatcha readin' gang? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 12, 2004, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130 "2004-09-12T13:13:44Z")\ **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:** [September 12, 2004, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/1 "2004-09-12T13:13:44Z")
Every once in a while someone asks this and I get some good book ideas. It has been a while, so I’m gonna ask: Whatcha readin? Currently I’m reading a Dean Koontz novel “The Face.” Koontz in generally an easy read for me and usually finish him in a day or two, but this one didn’t catch me. In the queue I have Hawke by Ted Bell, which has the potential to be a fun James Bond-type action book. Then there’s The Word, which pre-dates the Da Vinci Code as a “thriller with an Acient Manuscript, a secret society…” etc. Alos there is Horoics for Beginners by John Moore which is a spoof on the Fantasy genre. Often these spoofs have potential but peter out for me, but I’ll try this one anyway. Sundays are my “deep” reading day. This only means that it usually non-fiction and may be about something I have a passing interest, but wouldn’t normally sit and spend a lot of time reading about. It is often religion related (but need not be), and could come from any of the world’s religions. It often takes me months to finish these books, because, as I said, it is only a passing interest. A few months back I finished a book on Buddhaism and I just finished a book on “How to Think Like Leonard Da Vinci”. (It was mediocre. a facintating history of Leonardo, but the “how-to” part left me luke-warm) This morning I started “The Purpose Filled Life” which was a gift. It didn’t speak to me and I will not be finishing it. In the queue is a book called “The Science Of the Mind” which is not, probably, what you would think it is. It is a different way of looking at religion or perhaps a religious movement of its own. So tell me, Whatcha Readin? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/2 "2004-09-12T13:22:22Z")
**Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs** by Chuck Klosterman, the author of Fargo Rock City. Subtitled “A Low Culture Manifesto” he plumbs the depths of Saved by the Bell, Sugar-Coated Kiddie Cereals, the Lakers-Celtics rivalry of the '80’s, Billy Joel’s music and other landmarks (notice I don’t say high points) of the past 25 - 30 years and draws very funny connections and insights from them… **Fire from Heaven** by Mary Renault - an historical novel, the first in a series about Alexander the Great. I just finished the **Masters of Rome** series by Colleen McCullough (starts with The First Man in Rome - it is big, and getting comfortable with the Roman characters’ names is tough at first, but historical fiction just doesn’t get any better). Anyway, I loved that and so thought I’d give this a try since it is also very highly regarded. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/3 "2004-09-12T13:29:04Z")
I’m rereading _Gone With the Wind_ and next up (if I can find my copy) is _The Thorn Birds_. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/4 "2004-09-12T13:45:45Z")
I’m about halfway through _Up Country_ by Nelson DeMille, and just started _Dogs of Babel_ by Carolyn Parkhurst. I hit the sale rack at the library yesterday. I got _Bleachers_ by John Grisham for a quarter. I also got _The Crimson Petal and The White_ by Michel Faber and _Cloudsplitter_ by Russell Banks for a buck each. The last two are donated copies (no library stickers), and are in great shape. Quite a bargain! ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/5 "2004-09-12T13:48:36Z")
Damn, I always hit ‘submit’ too soon. So, we’re a gang now? The “Watcha’ Readin’ Gang”? Cool! 🆒 I always wanted to be in a gang! Do we get leather jackets with catchy nicknames on the back? Can we go out and start rumbles with non-readers? ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/6 "2004-09-12T13:53:49Z")
I’m re-reading the Diary of Anne Frank. Being the book junkie that I am, I have a large stack ready to be read but I haven’t had time to read much this summer. ---
**Author:** ![Carcosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@Carcosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carcosa)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/7 "2004-09-12T13:54:37Z")
The Confusion Neal Stephenson A Son of Thunder: Patrick Henry and the American Revolution Henry Mayer ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/8 "2004-09-12T13:58:33Z")
Lately I’ve been on a binge of reading Philip K. Dick. Within the last couple of weeks, I’ve read **Martian Time-Slip** , **The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch** , **Time Out of Joint** , **Ubik** , and **Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said**. Currently, I’m reading **The Man in the High Castle**. After I finish that, I’ve got a few books on the “waiting to be read” pile, and I plan to start with “The Fortress of Solitude” by Jonathan Lethem, which recently came out in paperback. When I finish that, I’ll probably go for another Philip K. Dick book, but I haven’t decided which one to check out next. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/9 "2004-09-12T14:07:33Z")
_A Brief History of the Paradox_ by Roy Sorensen and _Skipping Towards Gomorrah_ by Dan Savage. Both are very interesting, if in different ways. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/10 "2004-09-12T14:15:36Z")
**BiblioCat** – hope you love _The Crimson Petal and the White_ as much as I did. Do a search when you’re done – we had a thread on it about a year ago that I thought was pretty interesting. Two books ago was \*\*[Bush’s Brain\*\*](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0471423270/qid=1094998144/sr=8-2/ref=pd_cps_2/103-5407198-8850240?v=glance&s=books&n=507846). Horrifying. One book ago was \*\*[Inamorata\*\*](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0670032794/qid=1094998223/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/103-5407198-8850240), a novel about a member of the _Scientific American_ team investigating psychics in the '20s. Well written, interesting, really enjoyed it. (Plus it was set in Philly, which is always fun for me.) Currently reading the new Carol O’Connell, \*\*[Dead Famous\*\*](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0399150846/qid=1094998336/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-5407198-8850240?v=glance&s=books), which ain’t grabbing me yet, but I’ve been so fried recently I can’t deal with anything too demanding right now. ---
**Author:** ![Burrido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Burrido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burrido)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/11 "2004-09-12T15:18:01Z")
Just starting **Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers.** ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/12 "2004-09-12T15:25:15Z")
Just finished Pamela Dean’s _The Secret Country_, Sue Henry’s _The Serpent’s Trail_, and Carolyn Haines’s _Splintered Bones_. Currently reading Chaz Brenchley’s _Hand of the King’s Evil_, Janet Evanovich’s _To the Nines_, and Dan Brown’s _The DaVinci Code_ (which my husband really enjoyed. Go figure). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/13 "2004-09-12T15:28:00Z")
I’m working on **Wizard and Glass** fourth in Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. I also have a book called “Ring of Fire,” a collection of short stories set in the **1632** universe. Well, that plus all my textbooks. But those don’t count. ---
**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:** [September 12, 2004, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/14 "2004-09-12T15:33:20Z")
_Dies the Fire_ by S.M. Stirling ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/15 "2004-09-12T15:34:42Z")
_Master of the Senate_, the third volume of Robert Caro’s biography of Lyndon Johnson. Fully deserving of the superlatives it has won, I’d argue. ---
**Author:** ![Another\_Primate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Another\_Primate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Another_Primate)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/16 "2004-09-12T15:38:52Z")
_The Neandertal Enigma_ , by (James?) Shreeve. Only about a fifth of the way into it. Mitochondrial DNA, extinction of Neandertals, stuff like that. Man, this guy is a great writer! ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/17 "2004-09-12T15:52:51Z")
_A Canticle for Leibowitz_, which is quite compelling, along with Homer’s _Iliad_ for school. I recently finished Joseph Heller’s _Something Happened_. Stay away - it’s depressing and not funny. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/18 "2004-09-12T17:21:09Z")
Just finished **The Stone Angel** by Margaret Laurence (loved it) and am about 100 pages into **Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell** by Susanna Clarke. I’m liking it – it’s kinda slow-moving but there’s lots of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/19 "2004-09-12T17:47:29Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Just finished **The Stone Angel** by Margaret Laurence (loved it) and am about 100 pages into **Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell** by Susanna Clarke. I’m liking it – it’s kinda slow-moving but there’s lots of humor. I’ve been looking at it, but haven’t made my mind up to buy it. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130/20 "2004-09-12T17:51:05Z")
I’m reading **Colors Insulting to Nature** by Cintra Wilson. I’ve been really slow about it because I’m not sure if I’m going to love it or hate it. I love Cintra so so there’s a lot at stake! I am also in the middle of **Masters of Atlantis** by Charles Portis. I’m also reading **Chasing Vermeer** which I only bought because I was seduced by the Brett Helquist illustrations. I’m saving the second half for some perfectly cozy evening. I’m really looking forward to the new Lemony Snicket in a few weeks. I just finished **Deep Water** by Patricia Highsmith. I loved it. Before that I read John Hersey’s **Algiers Motel Incident** which I found pretty compelling. I recently started **A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali** by Guy Courtemanche and **A Personal Matter** by Kenzaburo Oe but I didn’t finish either one. I feel guilty about it but maybe some other day. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/264130.md?page=2)