# Whatcha Readin' Jan 2013 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 31, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685 "2012-12-31T18:06:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/21 "2013-01-02T05:08:59Z")
> [@Meatros](#): > > From what (and I stress) little I know of it, it seems like it’s right up my alley. A mysterious dome appears over a town and the inhabitants try to figure out what’s up. Robert McCammon did something similar in _Stinger_. Read that one instead. ---
**Author:** ![Enterprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/76d3ee/32.png) [@Enterprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enterprise)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/22 "2013-01-02T09:11:20Z")
I spent much of December reading Mike Carey’s Felix Castor series, which I very much enjoyed. Well-rounded, and he obviously had a clear plan for it (Jim Butcher, take note!) that he followed and managed, largely, to pull of. The last kindle book concluded with the first bits of the first chapter of Kate Griffin’s Matthew Swift series, which I’ve now started. I’m so-so about it right now, but maybe it’ll grow on me. Spent yesterday finishing Shirley Jackson’s _The Haunting of Hill House_. Great story, creepy and poignant. Currently, I’ve on my kindle _The Tudors: The Story of England’s Most Notorious Dynasty_ by G. J. Meyer. It’s certainly worth the price of admission, seeking to establish that the fabled Tudors were, by and large, a thoroughly revulsive bunch. Meyer spares some positives for young Henry VIII and an occasional nod to Elizabeth when she does something individually nice, but generally were a dispicable set of self-centered tyrants. It certainly is corrective, even if I presume that not everything in the 100 years of Tudor rule was a self-serving disaster… ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/23 "2013-01-02T10:20:32Z")
Happy New Year! While upcountry for the holiday – it was pretty darned _chilly_ in the mountains, but now it’s back to 90-degree-plus temperatures in Bangkok – I finished _Chasing the Dime_, by Michael Connelly. Very good. A standalone, not part of his Harry Bosch or Lincoln Lawyer series. However, he always includes a little overlap, and a couple of characters from the Harry Bosch series made appearances. In this one, a scientist moves into a new apartment in Santa Monica and immediately starts getting telephone calls from men looking for a girl named Lilly. It seems he was assigned her number that she used to have on her Web page where she advertised her escort services. He becomes intrigued as to what happened to her, and she seems to be missing … Next up: Back to Connelly’s Harry Bosch series with _The Narrows_. It’s a sequel to _The Poet_, which featured FBI Special Agent Rachel Walling. This one has both Bosch and Walling. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2013, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/24 "2013-01-02T12:22:49Z")
In preparation of Arisia, I’ve just re-read **The Outer Limits Companion** , which gives the history of the original 1960s TV series and recounts every episode. I’m also reading **John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood** , a suprisingly in-depth (and rapidly assembled) book on the whole marketing fiasco surrounding that movie. I’m also reading **The House of Seven Gables** when out, and a book I received as a gift listing Christmas crimes. On the to-be-read shelf I’ve got a 1960 popular book on chemistry, and Ursula K. Leguin’s **Always Coming Home** (with the included set of recordings), something I’ve wanted to read for a long time. Also **Underground City** , a gift from many years ago that I never got around to. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/25 "2013-01-02T14:50:25Z")
I finished “Watership Down” last night. I definitely liked it much more than I expected. I think I’ll start Jon Krakauer’s “Under the Banner of Heaven” next. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/26 "2013-01-02T15:11:07Z")
> [@yellowval](#): > > Yes, it really is that painful. Or at least I thought it was. I couldn’t finish it, it was so bad. I agree that the idea has a lot of promise, but that’s about all it has going for it. YMMV, of course. 🙂 - > [@AuntiePam](#): > > I think it’s King’s worst book, by a mile. Interesting premise and nicely set up – King is always good at getting things moving – but the characters are poorly done stereotypes and the ending is laughable. > > Seriously, you will hate yourself for wasting your time. - > [@AuntiePam](#): > > Robert McCammon did something similar in _Stinger_. Read that one instead. Okay, so Under the Dome is scrapped. I’m going to check out Hellboy and Stinger. > [@yellowval](#): > > I finished “Watership Down” last night. I definitely liked it much more than I expected. I think I’ll start Jon Krakauer’s “Under the Banner of Heaven” next. Under the Banner of Heaven is pretty good, IMO - although, if I’m completely honest, I do think it was a bit slow at some parts. Could just be me though - the information it has in it is not to be missed though. Definitely worth a read. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/27 "2013-01-02T15:25:52Z")
I just finished Thornton Wilder’s _ **The Bridge of San Luis Rey** _, and just started _ **The Hollow Man** _ by John Dickson Carr. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/28 "2013-01-02T16:01:12Z")
Got\* Hydrogen Sonata\* by Banks and _Dodger_ by Pratchett for Christmas. Devoured the former - it was great. Slower going through through the latter, it’s not really grabbing me, but not completely putting me off either. Am also re-reading Boyett’s _The Gnole_, which is as lovely a mix of whimsy and dark fantasy as one could wish for. ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/29 "2013-01-02T18:06:27Z")
> [@yellowval](#): > > I finished “Watership Down” last night. I definitely liked it much more than I expected. I’m glad to hear that! I finally remembered to catch up with this thread! 😛 So to ring in the new year I am reading **“Guns, Germs and Steel”** by Jared Diamond. It was reccommended to me on Straight Dope AGES ago and I’ve benn ummm distracted by shiny mysteries with endless sequels. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/30 "2013-01-02T18:11:58Z")
I’m currently reading **The Moonstone** by Wilkie Collins. Because it has clearly inspired dozens of mystery novels since it was first published, it really has a timeless feel to it, like it could have been written 40 years ago instead of 140 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/31 "2013-01-02T18:16:08Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I’m currently reading **The Moonstone** by Wilkie Collins. Because it has clearly inspired dozens of mystery novels since it was first published, it really has a timeless feel to it, like it could have been written 40 years ago instead of 140 years ago. Looks interesting. I’ve put it in my queue. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/32 "2013-01-02T18:33:59Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Yesterday I finished _Stolen Lives_ by Malika Oufkir, a memoir about an elite Moroccan family imprisoned for almost 20 years after their father is implicated in a coup attempt against King Hassan II. It’s just so-so. It was a book club pick and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Really? I read it a few years ago, and I wouldn’t say it’s a spectacular book, but I’d recommend it to anyone who finds the topic interesting. A decent, if not great, book. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/33 "2013-01-02T18:57:11Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I’m currently reading **The Moonstone** by Wilkie Collins. Because it has clearly inspired dozens of mystery novels since it was first published, it really has a timeless feel to it, like it could have been written 40 years ago instead of 140 years ago. I just read this a couple of months ago. It is good, but I think it’s overlong, and I was disappointed with the solution after the magnificent buildup. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/34 "2013-01-02T19:05:41Z")
> [@yellowval](#): > > I finished “Watership Down” last night. I definitely liked it much more than I expected. I think I’ll start Jon Krakauer’s “Under the Banner of Heaven” next. That and his Into Thin Air make for very compelling non-fiction. I am reading \*Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor \*by Anne Edwards. Amusing mental junk food I picked up for a quarter at the local library. I just finished \*Shadow of the Titanic: The Extrodinary Stories of Those Who Survived \*by Andrew Wilson. Very sad material. So many of those who survived lived in penury afterwards or haunted by imagery of the deaths of close relatives and friends they had witnessed. My only complaint is that he’s far too easy on J. Bruce Ismay, who was a White Star Line owner, designer of the ship, passenger on the liner and a man who vetoed the use of more lifeboats. Ismay deserved every single allegation against him. He lived a life of enormous wealth afterwards when he should have been forced to beg in the streets for his cowardice and incompetence. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/35 "2013-01-02T19:33:46Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > That and his Into Thin Air make for very compelling non-fiction. I read Into Thin Air last year and loved it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. ---
**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:** [January 2, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/36 "2013-01-02T20:10:01Z")
Finished the Lincoln book, finally. As it turns out, nearly the entire second half of the book consists of cites and attributions, so it’s not nearly as exhausting a read as I had feared. I’m now reading _The Happiness Trap_, by Russ Harris, a book about the self-treatment of depression through Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, since my son suffers from it. I can see that the ideas have merit, but the author’s incessant use of quotation marks makes me crazy. Can you “see” what I mean? ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/37 "2013-01-02T20:12:47Z")
> [@Whatcha Readin' Dec 2012 Edition](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-dec-2012-edition/642625/148): > > _**[The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33458.The_Lust_Lizard_of_Melancholy_Cove)**_ - early Christopher Moore - it’s a fun story, with quirky characters and weird occurrences, but I like his later works, when he puts some satirical meat on the bones of his stories. > > _**[The Wreck of the River of Stars](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1701775.The_Wreck_of_The_River_of_Stars)**_ by Michael Flynn. A recco from **Eleanor of Aquataine** and I’d read & really enjoyed another work of his - _Eifelheim_. This novel wasn’t quite as high-rated, IMHO, but has some really good character development and, despite the apparent spoiler of a title, a compelling story. I put it on my “sf-tech” shelf on Goodreads, as technology plays an important role in the story. The setting ends up being as much a character as the actual ones - in that respect (and the “sf-tech” element), it reminds me of Larry Niven’s \*Ringworld \*or John Varley’s \*Titan \*series. **Politzania** , were you aware that in Wreck, Flynn intentionally created one character for each of the 16 Myers-Briggs personality types, and chose to immediately kill off the character most suited to bringing together the motley crew? I see this book as a masterful psychological study, in the way he moved between the various points of view and interpretations of events, staying true to, while fleshing out, each of their types. Forgive me for repeating this, as I’ve mentioned this before here, but I asked Flynn which Myers-Briggs type he was, to be so gifted at perceiving and representing the nature of each type. He answered that he gets different results whenever he takes the test, and so imagines a cube with 16 points, in which he inhabits the point in the center of the cube. Also the town in Lust Lizard is supposed to be Moore’s take on Cambria, California, a small, artsy tourist town near Hearst Castle. This book was my introduction to Moore, and I adored it. I’m currently reading Hounded, the first in the Iron Druid Chronicles, by Kevin Hearne. Lots of Celtic history and mythology, and a fun, breezy read. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/38 "2013-01-02T20:21:52Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I just read this a couple of months ago. It is good, but I think it’s overlong, and I was disappointed with the solution after the magnificent buildup. Aw man…! What a bummer. Hopefully I’ll still enjoy it. I don’t mind (over)long books; I have an hour on the subway in the morning and an hour in the evening I need to kill, so I have plenty of time to read. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/39 "2013-01-02T20:53:00Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Finally finished: [Into the Silence](http://www.amazon.com/Into-Silence-Mallory-Conquest-Everest/dp/0375708154/): The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest. > > Great book. Huge, though. I’m fascinated by the subject matter; for someone only mildly interested, it’s probably too much information. This is on my shelf, waiting for me to finish my current book. I’m really looking forward to it. ---
**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:** [January 3, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685/40 "2013-01-03T02:58:47Z")
> [@yellowval](#): > > I finished “Watership Down” last night. I definitely liked it much more than I expected. I just finished _Watership Down_, too. It took a good 150 pages before I was really into it - it was a bit hard to identify with rabbits, at first - but it turned out to be really good. I’m going to try to get my son to read it. I read _Silas Marner_, which I liked pretty well. It was an unexpectedly short, pleasant read. I was familiar with the basic plot because I like the 1994 Steve Martin movie, _A Simple Twist of Fate_, which is a modern adaptation of the novel. It’s about bitterly disappointed man who becomes a lonely miser, but then he’s drawn out of his miserable life by caring for an orphaned little girl. I tried the first book in another mystery series set in Roman Britain: _The Germanicus Mosaic_, by Rosemary Rowe. It wasn’t bad, but it was not as good as other similar historical mysteries by Lindsey Davis, Ruth Downie or Steven Saylor. The author seemed less interested in telling a story than with giving the reader lessons on ancient Roman mores. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685.md?page=3)