# Whatcha readin' gang? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 29, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644 "2005-04-29T00:12:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/21 "2005-04-29T12:36:20Z")
_Whispering Nickel Idols_ by Glen Cook, part of his Garret PI series. Film Noir detective in a fantasy world. [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451459741/qid=1114778400/sr=1-1/ref=sr\_1\_1/103-2328334-4375826?v=glance&s=books](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451459741/qid=1114778400/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-2328334-4375826?v=glance&s=books) ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/22 "2005-04-29T13:10:48Z")
**The Story of the House of Whitmark: From Ragtime to Swingtime** (1939), by Isidore Witmark. And next up is the 771-page **Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force Vol. I: Canadian Airmen and the First World War**. Me mudder must have dropped me on me head . . . ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/23 "2005-04-29T13:26:14Z")
I am approaching the conclusion of Stephen King’s **Song of Susannah** (book 6 of the 7 book **The Dark Tower** series), in the trade paperback edition that came out recently. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/24 "2005-04-29T13:37:43Z")
I just started **The Road to Reality** by Roger Penrose. Bought it on a whim from my book club. Remains to be seen how far I get before giving up. I also have a book on digital SLR photography that I hope will help me learn to use my new camera better. After that, I just have to decide which Jane Austen to re-read next. ---
**Author:** ![furthur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@furthur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furthur)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/25 "2005-04-29T13:43:26Z")
Just finished Titus Andronicus, and I’m part of the way through Rose Macaulay’s The Towers of Trebizond as well as the graphic novel, The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. Next up to bat: Eric Newby’s A Short Walk through the Hindu Kush and Redmond O’hanlon’s No Mercy: A Journey into the Heart of the Congo. I’m on a major travel book jag. Although I may take time out to read the new Artemis Fowl and Charlaine Harris’ latest Sookie Stackhouse book. Mrs. Furthur ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/26 "2005-04-29T14:00:15Z")
> [@Podkayne](#): > > [A Deepness In the Sky:](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0812536355/ref=pd_sim_b_1/102-7456597-3844914?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance) So, so good. If you have not read it, go out and get it _now_. Unless, of course, you haven’t read [A Fire Upon the Deep](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0812515285/qid=1114739166/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-7456597-3844914?v=glance&s=books&n=507846), which is even better; you should read that first. Emphatically seconded. Pham rocks. Currently reading the Night’s Dawn trilogy by Hamilton as per recommendations made on this very board. Epic space opera, done right. Reminds me of what George R R Martin would write if he were doing science fiction, as a matter of fact. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/27 "2005-04-29T14:16:53Z")
Just finished _History On Trial_, Deborah Lipstadt’s account of her defense when sued for libel by David Irving, the holocaust denier. Lipstadt wrote a book in which she briefly mentioned that Irving was a bad historian and a holocaust denier motivated by racism and antisemitism. He sued her and her publisher, Penguin UK. Since he sued in the British courts, the burden of proof was on her to show that what she said was true. This case made major headlines. I learned a lot about what historians do and about the British legal system. I recommend it to Dopers as it’s a true account of Fighting Ignorance on a major scale. Irving’s slipping and sliding and abuse and nonuse of the scientific/historic method reminded me of some the arguments I’ve seen here from creationists and other proponents of pseudoscience. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/28 "2005-04-29T14:33:44Z")
I’m currently in the middle of 2 books. One is **Salt: A World History** by Mark Kurlansky - an often recommended book on the SDMB. The second book is, and this is a coincidence only, **The Years of Rice and Salt** by Kim Stanley Robinson. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/29 "2005-04-29T14:38:41Z")
After reading all of \*\*[DAVID SEDARIS’](http://www.barclayagency.com/sedaris.html) \*\* books and damn near breaking my ribs laughing I am now reading QBVII by \*\*[LEON URIS](http://www.booksnbytes.com/authors/uris_leon.html) \*\* Very good book but I think I’m ready for some more laughter. ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/30 "2005-04-29T14:40:46Z")
[_Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060193638/qid=1114785218/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-3241943-4540902?v=glance&s=books) by Noah Andre Trudeau. A surprisingly good recount of the battle. Some new info for those familiar with the subject and plenty o’maps for the newbie. _With the Gatlings at Santiago_ by Lt. John Parker. Sort of a companion piece to Roosevelt’s _The Rough Riders._ _Home Guide to Cartridge Conversions_ by George Nonte. They don’t call me “Mr. Excitement” for nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/31 "2005-04-29T14:45:57Z")
A few days ago I read Arthur Koestler’s _Darkness at Noon_, which I loved. In the last few days I finished _Sons and Lovers_ by D.H. Lawrence and _No Saints, No Saviors_, a recounting of life on the road with the Allman Brothers Band by a former road manager. The first two are part of my quest to read my way through Modern Library’s Top 100 List (lately I’m reading two or three novels a week). So next are _Under the Volcano_ and _The Way of All Flesh_. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/32 "2005-04-29T14:52:56Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > _Whispering Nickel Idols_ by Glen Cook, part of his Garret PI series. > > Film Noir detective in a fantasy world. > > [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451459741/qid=1114778400/sr=1-1/ref=sr\_1\_1/103-2328334-4375826?v=glance&s=books](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451459741/qid=1114778400/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-2328334-4375826?v=glance&s=books) It is in my queue. I’ve been disappointed with the last few, or at least the one where he introduced aliens. I do enjoy the Garret books though. Have you tried Jim Butcher’s Dresden files yet? Not quite the same, but still enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/33 "2005-04-29T16:35:14Z")
[hijack] > [@manx](#): > > I’ve discovered _razbliuto_, a Russian word that describes the ‘feeling a person has for someone they once loved but no longer feel the same about’. Much as I love that word – I remember discovering it in (I think) the same book back in the late '80s – it turns out that [there’s no such word in Russian](http://www.languagehat.com/archives/001850.php). Though I’m somewhat consoled at the thought that it was accidentally invented on an episode of _The Man from U.N.C.L.E._. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/34 "2005-04-29T16:39:46Z")
I’ve got two on the go. Because of where I am (there are no bookstores here) they are my last two. I’ve already made a $100 Amazon order from some of the suggestions in this thread. So, I’m reading “Jailbird” by Kurt Vonnegut and “Choke” by Chuck Palaniuk. While both are ok, they are not as good as some of their other stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/35 "2005-04-29T17:00:31Z")
> [@Interrobang!?](#): > > [hijack] > Much as I love that word – I remember discovering it in (I think) the same book back in the late '80s – it turns out that [there’s no such word in Russian](http://www.languagehat.com/archives/001850.php). Though I’m somewhat consoled at the thought that it was accidentally invented on an episode of _The Man from U.N.C.L.E._. > > [/hijack] Wow, not to continue to highjack my own thread, but that is great story. I will now try to work \*razbliuto \*into my vocabulary. ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/36 "2005-04-29T17:05:24Z")
_King Lear_, edited by Harold Bloom, which contains critical analyses of Shakespeare’s play from a variety of writers. _Witches Abroad_ by Terry Pratchett. _Shadow & Claw: The First Half of the Book of the New Sun_ by Gene Wolfe. _The Bible_, authorized King James version, with apocrypha. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/37 "2005-04-29T17:13:06Z")
**[Two in the Far North](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/088240489X/qid=1114795009/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-3415787-1482214?v=glance&s=books)**, by Margaret Murie. It’s been a real joy to read so far, and I’m about 2/3 through. ---
**Author:** ![YellowTail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5ac83/32.png) [@YellowTail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YellowTail)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/38 "2005-04-29T22:45:09Z")
_Sword of Shannara_ (or, as I call it, _Sword of Shinola_) by Terry Brooks. Fantasy in the Lord of the Rings mode. I like his writing; it’s descriptive without being obtrusive, getting in the way of the story. And _Journal_ by John Woolman, an Amish abolitionist in mid- to late-18th century America. Not a very good read but it’s fascinating to see what this country was really like in its infancy. And the utter brutality and disgracefulness of slavery is shocking. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/39 "2005-04-30T00:55:55Z")
I just finished: Fat girl : A True Story by Judith Moore Down and Dirty Pictures : Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film by Peter Biskind These are up next: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke The Ha-Ha : a novel by Dave King New Mercies by Sandra Dallas The Children’s Blizzard by David Laskin. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644/40 "2005-04-30T02:11:35Z")
Currently: **Gods and Generals** by Jeff Shaara **A Pirate Looks at Fifty** by Jimmy Buffett **The Happy Islands of Oceania** by Paul Theroux **Blue Latitudes** by Tony Horwitz (Oddly enough, I am at Tahiti in both these books) **Houseboat on the Styx** by John K. Bangs Recent worth mentioning: **Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom** by Cory Doctorow **Quicksilver** by Neal Stephensen **Undaunted Courage** by Stephen Ambrose Recent aquisitions (top of the to-be-read pile): Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Churchill’s six-volume history of WWII [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/301644.md?page=3)