# Whatcha readin' gang? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 6, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554 "2006-06-06T00:16:26Z")\ **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:** [June 6, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/41 "2006-06-06T16:26:01Z")
[QUOTE=Dung Beetle] Aw shucks! That was me. Sorry it didn’t work out for you, **Khadaji**.\ [/QUOTE] No apologies needed! 🙂 I’m always glad for a recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/42 "2006-06-06T16:27:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I just started Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Scion last night Damn you! I have to wait at least a month before I get it from the library. I read the first one several months ago, not expecting much, and it turned out to be much better alterna-history that I thought it would. **slortar** , why are you torturing yourself? Just finished _Not Buying It_, by someone or other, about a year spent without buying anything but the necessities. Interesting but not amazing. I liked _Better Off_, by Eric Brende, a lot better. His book is about whether a wholehearted embracing of technology really makes for happiness. I’m also reading a one volume three novel Miss Read book, which is nice and gentle, and nothing happens, and rereading _A Breath of Snow and Ashes_, the lastest Diana Gabaldon. I maintain that too many bad things happen in this book. I’ve also recently read _The Nasty Bits_, by Anthony Bourdain. It was okay. Next I’ll probably re-skim through _The Rattle Bag_, a collection of poetry edited by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes, maybe reread _The Abolition of Man_, and finally get to _Three Day Road_ and _The Kite Runner_. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/43 "2006-06-06T16:27:14Z")
[QUOTE=Podkayne] \ On deck: **This Immortal** by Roger Zelazny, the next Hugo-winning novel on the list. Looking forward to lots of cigarette-smoking. [/QUOTE] I quite enjoyed this one. I still believe that Lord of Light is his best, but this was a fun book. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/44 "2006-06-06T16:35:26Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] I’m working my way through Patrick O’Brian’s [Aubrey-Maturin Series](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey%E2%80%93Maturin_series). I’m on _The Surgeon’s Mate_ today. [/QUOTE] That series rocks! I’ve been through it twice and liked it even better the second time. Kind of pricey, tho. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/45 "2006-06-06T17:28:53Z")
[QUOTE=cactus waltz] Soon starting on “Three men in a boat” by Jerome K Jerome. [/QUOTE] I do envy you reading _Three Men In A Boat_ for the first time, **cactus waltz**. It remains one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. “_I like work. It fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours_.” ---
**Author:** ![BlackHeart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c77e96/32.png) [@BlackHeart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackHeart)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/46 "2006-06-06T17:56:01Z")
Right now I’m halfway through Chuck Palahniuk’s _Haunted_. I read his _Fight Club_before, so he’s still keeping me interested. Worth a good look, it’s funny, gory, yucky, creepy and very smart. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/47 "2006-06-06T18:09:50Z")
[QUOTE=Bobotheoptimist] That series rocks! I’ve been through it twice and liked it even better the second time. Kind of pricey, tho. [/QUOTE] Let’s see, 21 novels times $13.95 a pop comes out to almost $300.00. Oh well, at least the second reading will be free! ---
**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:** [June 6, 2006, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/48 "2006-06-06T18:30:58Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] Let’s see, 21 novels times $13.95 a pop comes out to almost $300.00. Oh well, at least the second reading will be free! [/QUOTE] After the third book, when it became clear I was going to read all of them, I bought the box set from Amazon. It’s a pretty set and it takes up less shelf space than 21 individual books, leaving more room for the supplemental books like _Sea of Words_ and _Harbors and High Seas_. I’ve just finished the first three of Tanya Huff’s Blood series, and I’m in the middle of Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden books. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/49 "2006-06-06T18:54:32Z")
Just finished _Settling Accounts: Push to the East,_ by Harry Turtledove (alternate-history SF). In the middle of _1634: The Ram Rebellion,_ by Eric Flint (ditto). I’m also reading _Crimes of Passion,_ an anthology of sex-themed horror stories – part of the “Hot Blood” series. ---
**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:** [June 6, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/50 "2006-06-06T21:53:09Z")
I started reading ‘Zauberberg’ in German but have to admit that had to give up 100 pages into the first volume (which sucks cause I read it before in high school, and I love reading German, and German 2nd hand books are hard to find (at least here in DC)). Then I went on and read “Oh the glory of it” by Sean Wilsey - can not recommend it enough. And currently I’m reading “Neither here nor there” by Bill Bryson ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/51 "2006-06-06T22:18:37Z")
Just finished Flight of the Intruder, by Stephen Coonts, an EXCELLENT novel about a frustrated Navy bomber pilot and his bombadier during the closing years of the Vietnam War, written by a decorated former Navy Intruder pilot. I am currently reading Rifleman Dodd, by C.S. Forester, a book about a British soldier trapped behind enemy lines in Portugal during the Napoleanic Wars. ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/52 "2006-06-06T22:26:28Z")
[QUOTE=BlackKnight] That sounds really neat. [/QUOTE] _Under the Black Flag_ is a good book, I’m a little more than halfway now. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in the historical realities of pirating. If there’s one thing I would criticize the book about is that it doesn’t tell the whole story of specific individual pirates very often, but rather talks in generalities. I’ve already read a number of books referenced as source material for this one (_Howard Pyle’s Book of Pirates_, _The Pirates Own Book_, et al.) so I’m already familiar with most of the notorious pirates, but if I hadn’t I’d probably be left wanting more. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/53 "2006-06-06T22:41:14Z")
I’m about halfway through [Down the Great Unknown](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&isbn=0060955864&itm=1), which recounts John Wesley Powell’s trip down the mighty Colorado and through the Grand Canyon. Before that, I heartily enjoyed [The Devil in the White City](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&isbn=0609608444&itm=1), which many on this board have read. I’ll probably try to schedule [Isaac’s Storm](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&isbn=0375708278&itm=3), by the same author, sometime this year. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/54 "2006-06-06T22:49:27Z")
[QUOTE=BlackHeart] Right now I’m halfway through Chuck Palahniuk’s _Haunted_. I read his _Fight Club_before, so he’s still keeping me interested. Worth a good look, it’s funny, gory, yucky, creepy and very smart. [/QUOTE] Heh, I read Fight Club, and I gotta say, for the most part, I wasn’t overly impressed. Still, I could easily see how it became such a freaking awesome movie, and a couple lines from the book are near and dear to that part of my heart that loves good lines in books, such as the final line about using parafin. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/55 "2006-06-06T23:51:07Z")
I’ve finished all of the Preston/Child series of books about Aloysius Pendergast and company (save two which are on reserve at the library). I loved them all. Can anyone recommend some similar books by another author? I’m out of things to read right now. It would _really_ be appreciated. (sorry for the minor hijack) ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/56 "2006-06-07T00:59:28Z")
**pullin** , I think David Morrell and Nelson deMille might be close to what Preston & Child are doing. You’ve read Thomas Harris? Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs? Also John Connelly and Michael Connolly. (I might have spelled their last names wrong – they confuse me.) ---
**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:** [June 7, 2006, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/57 "2006-06-07T01:23:08Z")
[QUOTE=Gordon Urquhart] I’m about halfway through [Down the Great Unknown](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&isbn=0060955864&itm=1), which recounts John Wesley Powell’s trip down the mighty Colorado and through the Grand Canyon. Before that, I heartily enjoyed [The Devil in the White City](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&isbn=0609608444&itm=1), which many on this board have read. I’ll probably try to schedule [Isaac’s Storm](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&isbn=0375708278&itm=3), by the same author, sometime this year. [/QUOTE] isaac’s storm is very good. i had to go to visit galveston island after reading it. of course i went before hurricane season, in 2000. it was interesting seeing the places i read about. isaac is on the hurricane list this year (as it was in 2000 the centenial of isaac’s storm). ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/58 "2006-06-07T01:25:05Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] **pullin** , I think David Morrell and Nelson deMille might be close to what Preston & Child are doing. You’ve read Thomas Harris? Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs? Also John Connelly and Michael Connolly. (I might have spelled their last names wrong – they confuse me.) [/QUOTE] I’ve read a lot of Michael Connely’s (sp?) books, but I’ll try Harris, Morrell, and deMille. Thanks for the advice (heading to the library tomorrow). ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/59 "2006-06-07T02:03:40Z")
Currently re-reading _Chasm City_, by Alastair Reynolds. This is one of a series of novels (and a collection of two novellas) set in the same science fiction universe. Reynolds creates a strong gothic feel in his writing that I have found to be unique in my own reading of science fiction. A common element in this universe that is a big factor in creating this feel is the “Melding Plague”, which radically transforms people _and_ the things they use. The descriptions Reynolds writes of the results of the Plague can be spooky. Beyond the gothic feel, Reynolds provides lots of [space opera](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_opera) elements that are just plain fun. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/60 "2006-06-07T02:16:51Z")
[QUOTE=Tamryne] I just started Jacqueline Carey’s **Kushiel’s Scion** last night, although with my work schedule I only made it through the first chapter. It looks good, and I think I’l have a few sleepless nights in the upcoming week until I finish it. Besides that, I have had Margaret Atwood’s **Oryx and Crake** staring at me from my bedside table for the past two weeks, along with a list of books I intend to read over the summer! [/QUOTE] I expect to have that tomorrow or Thursday. So far the mail has been quite kind in quickly getting my books to me. [QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I’m also reading _Crimes of Passion,_ an anthology of sex-themed horror stories – part of the “Hot Blood” series. [/QUOTE] I need to dig out these again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554.md?page=4)