# Whatcha Readin' (July 09) Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467 "2009-06-30T13:36:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/121 "2009-07-16T12:39:31Z")
> [@Enterprise](#): > > Next up: James Fenimore Cooper’s _The Pilot_. Which, I’m pretty sure, doesn’t feature “you suck, fucker” in any way, shape, or form. 😉 ---
**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:** [July 16, 2009, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/122 "2009-07-16T13:16:05Z")
I’m listening to Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War. It seems overly dramatic and outdated, what with everyone shaking in their shoes about The Vigils, a boys club that doesn’t seem to do anything but prank people, and classfuls of teenage boys that tremble when the teacher gives them a dirty look. I know this is all supposed to whip up into something dark, so I’ll wait and see, but at this point my eyes ache from rolling. Also, is it too much to ask that someone actually EAT some chocolate in this book?! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/123 "2009-07-16T14:04:05Z")
During my commute I’m listening to David Sedaris read his most recent short-story collection, _When You Are Engulfed in Flames_, on eight CDs. It’s better than his 2004 book _Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim_, overall, but still pretty uneven. Hearing him read is half the fun as always, but sometimes it feels like he doesn’t have much more original, funny new stuff to share. “Town & Country” is my favorite so far, though. He sits next to an elegantly-dressed older couple on a plane and feels utterly outclassed by them until they begin to speak, swearing like longshoremen. Sedaris wrote, “It was as if the grandparents from a Ralph Lauren ad had been kidnapped and then forced to appear in a David Mamet play.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/124 "2009-07-16T14:13:43Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I’m listening to Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War. **It seems overly dramatic and outdated** , what with everyone shaking in their shoes about The Vigils, a boys club that doesn’t seem to do anything but prank people, and classfuls of teenage boys that tremble when the teacher gives them a dirty look. I know this is all supposed to whip up into something dark, so I’ll wait and see, but at this point my eyes ache from rolling. [bolding mine] Oh god! I know! I had to read it last year for a Teen Literature class I took and it was just awful. As near as I can tell, The Vigils are made up entirely of ten kids. There are more named non-Vigil students in the school than there are members of The Vigils. How a handful of kids supposedly “runs” the school was laughable. And I know it’s set in the 70s, but the way the priests keep saying “well boys will be boys” about everything The Vigils do is ridiculous. The end is the worst… After holding a boxing match at the school (complete with floodlights and a roaring crowd of hundreds of kids), The Vigils nearly beat the main character to death. The head priest’s response is more or less “At least he didn’t die. Now run along you scamps!” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/125 "2009-07-16T14:15:07Z")
> [@](#): > > I love Charles Stross for his mind-boggling ideas, but so far he’s not a great storyteller. Has he improved in Saturn’s Children yet? It’s on my shelves. I agree. I find Stross to usually be interesting but rarely entertaining. That said, I’m currently reading his Merchant Families series. Just finished the first book and started the second. Let’s see if I get through it. Also reading _Gandhi & Churchill: The Epic Rivalry That Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age_ by Arthur Herman. It’s good; Herman’s a good writer and he brings out some interesting details. But I’ve found here and in past books that he forces his overall points. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/126 "2009-07-16T14:19:35Z")
I’ll check your spoiler sometime next week, **Justin**. Another thing is that I know I’ve read this book before, but I don’t remember it, so that’s a bad sign. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/127 "2009-07-16T19:01:43Z")
Question for you: My sister in law gave me a copy of Binchy’s Scarlet Feather “because I’ve heard it was good.” I read widely but not indiscriminately, and the first page turns me off. What did you all think of it? Should I read it? Believe me, I have plenty of other books, but it was a gift and I try to give those more latitude. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/128 "2009-07-16T19:30:54Z")
I did decide to read some King and went with “Gerald’s Game,” which I’ve seen mentioned on the boards several times in various threads. Not bad. Overall one of his better-written books, I thought. Next I’m going to start “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I also need to pick out something to read during a few days at the lake. Right now I’m considering “Prodigal Summer” by Barbara Kingsolver or “The Hour I First Believed” by Wally Lamb. Any suggestions? Last year during my week at the lake I read “The Stand.” ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/129 "2009-07-16T19:43:25Z")
**susan** , I have _Scarlet Feather_ but haven’t read it yet. I’ve only read a few of hers; _Circle of Friends, Evening Class_ and _Tara Road_, I think. I liked all of them, but they are somewhat formulaic and predictable. I’d stick with it. IIRC, her books tend to start slow. **yellowval** , I’ve loved all of Barbara Kingsolver’s books, especially _Prodigal Summer_. I haven’t read the new Wally Lamb, but I loved _I Know This Much Is True_ and hated _She’s Come Undone_. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/130 "2009-07-16T19:45:30Z")
> [@yellowval](#): > > …Next I’m going to start “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez… FWIW, as I’ve written before, my book club read his _Love in the Time of Cholera_ and was baffled by it. And these are smart, experienced, widely-read people. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/131 "2009-07-16T19:55:26Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Question for you: My sister in law gave me a copy of Binchy’s Scarlet Feather “because I’ve heard it was good.” I read widely but not indiscriminately, and the first page turns me off. What did you all think of it? Should I read it? Believe me, I have plenty of other books, but it was a gift and I try to give those more latitude. Here is some completely unhelpful feedback… I remember not liking that book, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was about. Just that I had an “oh _brother_” reaction to most of the events of the story. And I do like a lot of Binchy’s other books. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/132 "2009-07-16T20:00:18Z")
I actually really liked “Love in the Time of Cholera,” and the description of “One Hundred Years of Solitude” on Goodreads intrigues me. I’ll give it a try. I’m sure I’ll end up reading both the Kingsolver and Lamb eventually, it’s just tough to choose which book should be my special read-by-the-lake book—or if it should be something else entirely. We’re talking life and death here, folks. 😉 I loved both of Lamb’s other books, even “She’s Come Undone,” which many people seem to dislike. I’ll admit that I’m a bit concerned about “Prodigal Summer.” I hated “The Poisonwood Bible” (which most people seem to love). I only bought it because it was at a garage sale and I couldn’t resist. Maybe I should bring both along just in case. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/133 "2009-07-16T20:10:19Z")
> [@yellowval](#): > > Maybe I should bring both along just in case. It’s the only sensible solution. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/134 "2009-07-16T20:15:07Z")
> [@yellowval](#): > > I loved both of Lamb’s other books, even “She’s Come Undone,” which many people seem to dislike. I’ll admit that I’m a bit concerned about “Prodigal Summer.” I hated “The Poisonwood Bible” (which most people seem to love). I only bought it because it was at a garage sale and I couldn’t resist. Maybe I should bring both along just in case. I absolutely loved _The Poisonwood Bible_. I thought it was incredible. ‘Hate’ may be too strong a word for _She’s Come Undone_; I just felt no sympathy for the main character. I didn’t like her at all. I really liked the other one - _I Know This Much Is True_. It’s one of my favorite books. What is _The Hour I First Believed_ about? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/135 "2009-07-16T20:20:14Z")
_The Hour I First Believed_ is about Columbine and every other fucking thing that’s gone wrong in the last 10 years. I didn’t care for it, though I did finish it. (See my comments in last month’s thread, or maybe it was May’s.) **Yellowval** – if you want a big, fat, lovely vacation book, I’ll suggest _The Crimson Petal and the White_ – set in Victorian times, it’s the story of two women from different social classes. It pops up in these threads regularly, always with praise and pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/136 "2009-07-16T20:28:16Z")
Thanks, **twickster**. I also have\* The Crimson Petal and the White \* in my to-be-read pile, and I think I started it a while back, but didn’t get very far before I was distracted by some other book. You’d think since I have no job and no life, I’d get more reading done… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/137 "2009-07-16T20:48:10Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > _The Hour I First Believed_ is about Columbine and every other fucking thing that’s gone wrong in the last 10 years. I didn’t care for it, though I did finish it. (See my comments in last month’s thread, or maybe it was May’s.) > > **Yellowval** – if you want a big, fat, lovely vacation book, I’ll suggest _The Crimson Petal and the White_ – set in Victorian times, it’s the story of two women from different social classes. It pops up in these threads regularly, always with praise and pleasure. Thanks for the recommendation! I will see if I can get it in time. I’ll have to order it from another library within the system since my library doesn’t have it. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/138 "2009-07-16T20:52:52Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > _The Hour I First Believed_ is about Columbine and every other fucking thing that’s gone wrong in the last 10 years. I didn’t care for it, though I did finish it. (See my comments in last month’s thread, or maybe it was May’s.) Dumb book has been driving me crazy. I’ve been listening to the audiobook in sad little bite sized portions, on and off for weeks. For some reason I thought it was important to to finish it before my copy of [Columbine](http://www.amazon.com/Columbine-Dave-Cullen/dp/0446546933) comes in for me at the library. Now, every time I crank it up now [I see this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11229027&postcount=65) and start giggling. I think I should probably bag it. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/139 "2009-07-17T03:20:31Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > But anyway, I’m about 3/5 through _An American Tragedy_, by Theodore Dreiser. It is LONG, but I am enjoying it immensely. Published in 1925, it’s fiction but based on a real-life 1906 murder in upstate New York. If I did not know beforehand this was a murder story, it would have come as a complete surprise, as there’s no inkling at all that there might even be a murder until after page 500. That is not a criticism. Dreiser goes into detailed background of the circumstances that eventually make a pleasant, mild-mannered youth from humble origins resort to murder. In real life, the perp was caught and then executed in 1908. Dunno how this ends yet, but it’s not looking too good for the protagonist right now, and the word “tragedy” is in the title, so I think I can guess. > > This is a very well-crafted story. Finished Theodore Dreiser’s _An American Tragedy_. Enjoyed it very much. It gives the perp’s background so you can see the events leading up to the murder, then an extended trial sequence and its aftermath. Hope to read his _Sister Carrie_ in the near future. But next up for now: _The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter_, by Carson McCullers. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/140 "2009-07-17T03:38:52Z")
> [@yellowval](#): > > I actually really liked “Love in the Time of Cholera,” and the description of “One Hundred Years of Solitude” on Goodreads intrigues me. I’ll give it a try. I would recommend reading a little about the background of the book. When I read it, it was part of a course taught by a Colombia expert, and he was able to point out all of the little cultural ins that Colombians readily understood, plus all of the autobiographical data hidden in it. Even most of the characters names have a special meaning. One funny incident I recall involves a bit toward the end where some writers visit a brothel, and one of them loses the manuscript of a book he had been working on. The writers were all real people, friends of Garcia-Marquez, and to his dying day, the one portrayed as losing the manuscript had to keep defending himself in public that such an occurrence never happened. Garcia-Marquez had put that in as a joke. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467.md?page=8)