# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/61 "2006-06-07T02:20:03Z")
[QUOTE=Lissla Lissar] **slortar** , why are you torturing yourself? [/QUOTE] I’ve gotten through about 7000 pages of this series so far. I refuse to be defeated. I’ve only got one book left to go. After I read that, a bunch of friends and I are going to have a Robert Jordan book-burning party. 🙂 Day 1 of my new strategy. I’m now only reading the first sentence of every page until I hit something interesting. It works surprisingly well. \>100 pages in less than 50 minutes and I don’t think I missed anything important. 😃 Next up after this: either Sagan’s Demon Haunted World, the first Masters of Rome book, or Clive Barker’s Everville. Or maybe R E Howard’s Solomon Kane collection. Decisions, decisions. My reading list is…long…and quite backed up at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![SlickRoenick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SlickRoenick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickRoenick)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/62 "2006-06-07T02:30:55Z")
The Alphabet Of Manliness [http://www.alphabetofmanliness.com/](http://www.alphabetofmanliness.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/63 "2006-06-07T04:00:10Z")
[QUOTE=cactus waltz] Sorry, I missed the specification on the list. But the point withstands. [/QUOTE] Eh, it is what it is: an easy way to find books that are likely to be good. I doubt I’d ever have heard of _Darkness at Noon_ without it, and I think that’s one of the best things I’ve ever read. I managed to get through high school without reading _Brave New World_, and I thought it was terrific, or _Slaughterhouse Five_. Cross those off. 😉 For the most part, it’s steered me right. I didn’t like _On the Road_, but I’ve liked most of the material so far. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2006, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/64 "2006-06-07T04:17:54Z")
> [@](#): > > 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. I’ve read just about all of C.S. Forester’s fiction. I love his Horatio Hornblower series, but his other stuff is at least as good. ossibly better, because his non-Hornblower stuff allows for the possibility of unhappy endings. If you like this, look up his other stuff, especially **The African Queen** and **The Captain from Connecticut** (An American Hornblower!) Did you know Forester wrote at least two mystery novels? ---
**Author:** ![Jeffr062](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f04885/32.png) [@Jeffr062](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeffr062)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/65 "2006-06-07T04:29:50Z")
Brightness Reef, by David Brin I love the Uplift books. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/66 "2006-06-07T05:30:58Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I’ve read just about all of C.S. Forester’s fiction. I love his Horatio Hornblower series, but his other stuff is at least as good. ossibly better, because his non-Hornblower stuff allows for the possibility of unhappy endings. [/QUOTE] I dunno, some of the Hornblower books had pretty sad endings, I thought, most notably “A Ship Of the Line”, and “Lord Hornblower” was bittersweet at best, given the butcher’s bill by the end of the story. > [@](#): > > If you like this, look up his other stuff, especially **The African Queen** and **The Captain from Connecticut** (An American Hornblower!) > Did you know Forester wrote at least two mystery novels? Well, yeah, wasn’t Lieutenant Hornblower one of them? 😃 One of my favorite things about the Hornblower books is the near-misses with history that he’s constantly having, such as in Hornblower and the Hotspur, where he trades salutes with the USS Constitution, Commodore Preble’s flagship, and reflects on how he doubts Preble will have any more success dealing with the Barbary Pirates than any of his predecessors did. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/67 "2006-06-07T11:14:30Z")
**Harry Potter 5** Second time for me to read this. I’m picking up so much more and enjoying it more than I thought. Also a bunch of Organic cooking and gardening books. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2006, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/68 "2006-06-07T11:53:19Z")
> [@](#): > > I dunno, some of the Hornblower books had pretty sad endings, I thought, most notably “A Ship Of the Line”, and “Lord Hornblower” was bittersweet at best, given the butcher’s bill by the end of the story. Bittersweet, but Hornblower always comes out on top and alive, which is more than you can say for a lot of his protagonists, and his crazy schemes always work, which isn’t always the case otherwise. If you want Forester at his most depressing, read **The Gun**. As for **Lieutenant Hornblower** (the only Hornblower wriiten from a different POV than the others, and for a reason), try reading C. Northcote Parkinson’s faux biography of Hornblower for an interesting interpretation. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/69 "2006-06-07T14:13:13Z")
One more recent read I’ll mention: Nothing to Wear? A Five-Step Cure for the Common Closet, by Joe Lupo and Jesse Garza. I read the whole thing, but my wardrobe remains as sick as ever. Some of the advice was a real hoot, such as the part where you actually weed the crap out of your wardrobe. They wanted me to open the windows, play soothing music, and light a scented candle first. Um, sure. Perhaps I should rub myself with glitter and _dance_ my fucking clothes to Goodwill, how’s that? Also, my quiz results proclaimed me to be a Chic-Bohemian, when anyone with eyes can see that I’m a Classic-Chic. :rolleyes: I must admit that even thinking about shopping for clothes fills me with grrrr, so maybe it wasn’t entirely the book’s fault that I found it so irritating. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/70 "2006-06-07T15:22:26Z")
_The Ancestor’s Tale_, by Richard Dawkins. I re-read _How the Mind Works_ by Steven Pinker, and I’m going to maybe re-tackle my Darwin compendium. Not that the above are at all bad, but I gotta find some more fun books. My shelves are pretty light on fiction, mostly because I hate 99% of what’s in the genres that hold my interest, and the others don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/71 "2006-06-07T16:28:51Z")
I’m reading a couple books - one is Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and the other is The Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette. Got them both from hubby - his community service (long story) is at the library, so I’ve got TONS of books to keep me busy this summer. ---
**Author:** ![M.Meursault](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@M.Meursault](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/M.Meursault)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/72 "2006-06-07T16:38:22Z")
It’s summer and I finally have time to read, so a week or so ago I scoured previous “whatcha readin’?” threads for ideas. I now have a ten-book long list of things to get from the library once I’m done with my current batch of books. Presently, I’m reading a four-book set of the Aubrey-Maturin books: I finished **The Thirteen-Gun Salute** and am almost done with **The Nutmeg of Consolation**. Once I finish the next two in this set, I intend to check out Mary Roach’s **Spooked** (I loved **Stiff** ). ---
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/73 "2006-06-07T17:00:37Z")
I just finished **How To Be Idle** by Tom Hodgkinson, and I loved it so much that I immediately went to Amazon to get a few copies for friends. It was inspiring. And thanks, everyone. I love these threads. My library reserve queue has grown exponentially. ZJ ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_of_the_Lake)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/74 "2006-06-07T17:22:27Z")
I’m reading ‘The Rising’ by Briane Keene, but not sure about it yet. I like zombies AND end of the world/people pulling together against a greater threat types of stories, but I’m finding myself completely turned off by a) the stupid gore and b) the inkling that he might not like women. So far the only women have been 1. A crack whore (literally) 2. His mean exwife who divorced her husband and took all his money with the help of her evil lawyers and took his son far, far away 3. the ‘virgin/angel/mother’ figure in the form of his zombified current wife - he kills both her and the baby though so she’s not really a main character. And even though she’s the only ‘nice’ woman in the book - again, he made her into an evil, demon possessed zombie… But, I’m only a quarter of the way through so maybe the characters get more interesting. I do plan on finishing because I hope he saves his son, but I’m pretty sure his evil exwife will get all zombified and eat the boy…because that’s how women are, right? 😉 This is the first zombie book that I’ve ever read - so maybe I’m expecting too much here. 🙂 Oh, and manga, I’m reading lots and lots of manga. 🙂 ---
**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, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/75 "2006-06-07T22:03:09Z")
[QUOTE=Lady of the Lake] I’m reading ‘The Rising’ by Briane Keene, but not sure about it yet. [/QUOTE] I managed a couple of chapters. I had a hard time suspending disbelief, especially when the fish broke out of its tank and started to talk. :dubious: But a lot of people on the horror boards profess to love the book. You might not like to hear this, but there’s a sequel. A sequel which was necessary because The Rising left some threads hanging. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/76 "2006-06-08T00:45:20Z")
[QUOTE=pullin] 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) [/QUOTE] **pullin** , try John Case for a fairly well written thriller. _The Genesis Code_ and _The First Horseman_ were both fun. And if John Case doesn’t do it for you, there’s a brand new Preston/Child Pendergast book that just came out last week called _Book of the Dead_. Haven’t started it yet. It’s next up. Right now I’m reading and absolutely riveted by _The Last Witchfinder_ by John Morrow – a fabulous philosophical-historical-slyly-comic-picaresque treasure, mentioned upthread. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/77 "2006-06-08T01:42:07Z")
I just finished an interesting [book](http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0887621309/edmontonpubli-20/701-9058302-5162702?%5Fencoding=UTF8&camp=15121&link%5Fcode=xm2) on the research and discovery process involved in curing scurvy, I’m currently on learn-C#.NET-in-24hrs (or something like it), and like **Lady of the Lake** , lots of manga. 😃 Mostly Rumiko Takahashi’s _Inuyasha_, 'cause who can get enough? Next up is [**Howl’s Moving Castle**](http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/006441034X/qid=1149730591/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_3_1/701-9058302-5162702), since I finally reached the top of the list at the library. That one I had to get, since the movie was _so_ great and I want to see how an unknown book released in 1986 in England made it’s way to Hayao Miyazaki to become a Studio Ghibli / Disney picture. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/78 "2006-06-08T06:18:44Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Bittersweet, but Hornblower always comes out on top and alive, which is more than you can say for a lot of his protagonists, and his crazy schemes always work, which isn’t always the case otherwise. If you want Forester at his most depressing, read **The Gun**. As for **Lieutenant Hornblower** (the only Hornblower wriiten from a different POV than the others, and for a reason), try reading C. Northcote Parkinson’s faux biography of Hornblower for an interesting interpretation. [/QUOTE] Heh, I actually have The Gun and the Hornblower biography sitting on my book shelf waiting to be read. I’m about 70% of the way through Rifleman Dodd right now, and that book’s already had it’s share of sad moments, both from the POV of the French as well as from Dodd and his Portuguese allies. ---
**Author:** ![luvtinayothers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@luvtinayothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luvtinayothers)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/79 "2006-06-08T08:48:25Z")
[QUOTE=slortar] Next up after this:… Sagan’s Demon Haunted World… [/QUOTE] Quite possible the greatest book ever written. Highly recommended. ---
**Author:** ![ambushed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@ambushed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ambushed)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554/80 "2006-06-08T09:26:44Z")
[QUOTE=Loopydude] _The Ancestor’s Tale_, by Richard Dawkins. I re-read _How the Mind Works_ by Steven Pinker, and I’m going to maybe re-tackle my Darwin compendium. [/QUOTE] In my opinion, anyone who has read books like Pinker’s _How the Mind Works_ (a fine and very valuable book) also needs to read Jerry Fodor’s remarkably incisive review of Pinker’s (and others, such as Tooby and Cosmides) logic in [The Mind Doesn’t Work That Way](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262561468). It is a brilliantly logical analysis from _ **inside** _ the very same community as Pinker, et al. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-gang/359554.md?page=5)