# 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:** 1\ **Showing post:** 37
**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. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-jan-2013-edition/645685)._