# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![lshaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e36b37/32.png) [@lshaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lshaw)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/141 "2009-07-17T06:38:55Z")
Finished: Janice Y K Lee’s _The Piano Teacher_ Now starting: Roddy Doyle’s _The Woman Who Walked into Doors_ ---
**Author:** ![Other\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Other\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Other_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/142 "2009-07-17T07:12:02Z")
Finished: Stephenie Meyer, New Moon Now Reading: Stephenie Meyer, Eclipse I know, I know…I am surprised to be reading her myself. Her first book should be burned, but the second and third books introduce some interesting themes(character dynamics). I read 1984 recently and really enjoyed it…_cough_ ---
**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 17, 2009, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/143 "2009-07-17T12:18:19Z")
That’s it. I’m ditching The Chocolate War. I hate you, Robert Cormier. How did you ever get to be so old without ever being a teenage boy? ---
**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 17, 2009, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/144 "2009-07-17T12:44:28Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > That’s it. I’m ditching The Chocolate War. I hate you, Robert Cormier. How did you ever get to be so old without ever being a teenage boy? What pushed you over the edge? ---
**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 17, 2009, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/145 "2009-07-17T13:02:53Z")
The Vigils’ assignment where the kids would all jump up and dance whenever the teacher said a certain word (“environment”). And if the teacher didn’t say the word, someone was supposed to try and get him to say it. And the whole purpose behind the prank was to get him to _stop_ saying it. So the teacher says the word over and over during the class, and the kids are all getting tired. One of the kids “realizes” that the leader of the Vigils must have _betrayed_ them by telling the teacher about the joke. Because the teacher would never have figured that one out on his own, no sirree. So, we’re trying to annoy the teacher because he does something that annoys us. And if he quits, we have to get him to start again. And when he figures it out, he’ll quit for good! But he figured it out right away, so someone must have told him! Now he does it a lot. How could this plan have gone so wrong?! Also, who gives a shit? :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:Ow. ---
**Author:** ![Gulo\_gulo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@Gulo\_gulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gulo_gulo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/146 "2009-07-17T13:25:59Z")
> [@PeacePlease](#): > > I’ve got the following books coming from Amazon any day now: > > [ul] > [li] **Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People** (which I believe was recommended here!)[/li][/ul] I just finished this last week. Once it reaches the events of November 18/1978 be warned that you may not be able to put the book down. The author does an excellent job sharing his terrifying experience. ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/147 "2009-07-17T13:43:10Z")
I picked up Sarah Vowell’s _Assassination Vacation_ and finished it in one long session. I really liked it, mostly because I find a lot of similarities between Vowell and myself. Mostly being excited about things that cause most polite people to back away slowly (She likes presidential assassinations, I’m more of a deadly pandemic girl myself), but I also found it wonderfully coincidental that we both grew up in Montana and now live in NYC. I love reading books and feeling like I’m having a private conversation with the author. ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/148 "2009-07-17T13:56:42Z")
> [@TheMerchandise](#): > > I picked up Sarah Vowell’s _Assassination Vacation_ and finished it in one long session. I really liked it, mostly because I find a lot of similarities between Vowell and myself. Mostly being excited about things that cause most polite people to back away slowly (She likes presidential assassinations, I’m more of a deadly pandemic girl myself), but I also found it wonderfully coincidental that we both grew up in Montana and now live in NYC. I love reading books and feeling like I’m having a private conversation with the author. I have few, if any, similarities with Vowell (I’m a guy, for instance). But I think she’s a terrific writer and recommend her other books. ---
**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 17, 2009, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/149 "2009-07-17T14:20:40Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > So, we’re trying to annoy the teacher because he does something that annoys us. And if he quits, we have to get him to start again. And when he figures it out, he’ll quit for good! But he figured it out right away, so someone must have told him! Now he does it a lot. How could this plan have gone so wrong?! Also, who gives a shit? > :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:Ow. This is why I will never understand why people bash the Twilight series so relentlessly. Sure it has plenty of flaws, but I can understand why it’s popular because it’s so damn readable. On the other hand, The Chocolate War is considered a classic of YA literature and its just completely non-sensical. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/150 "2009-07-17T14:39:36Z")
I’m nearing the end of **Let the Right One In** by John Ajvide Lindqvist – yep, it’s the book on which the movie was based. (I haven’t seen the movie yet. We Netflix’d it a while ago and it got sidelined by _Battlestar Galactica_.) It’s kind of a creepfest, but in a good shivery way. I love it and it’s probably going to go down as one of my favorite books of the year. I’m still finishing Michael Pollan’s **In Defense of Food** , and have a George Pelecanos book on deck. I’ve never read him before, but as an avid fan of _The Wire_ I’m looking forward to it. After reading this thread I also now have a load of books I need to purchase and/or add to my Amazon list. Especially Rapture Ready! and Raven – which could be nice back to back, maybe? Oh! I also recently finished **Angelica** by Arthur Phillips. This is the first of his books I’ve read, and I think I’d like to pick up another. Angelica was creepy and complex and I really liked the structure of the book, but it certainly wasn’t “up.” Thoughts on his other books? ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/151 "2009-07-17T14:58:47Z")
> [@Gulo\_gulo](#): > > I just finished this last week. Once it reaches the events of November 18/1978 be warned that you may not be able to put the book down. The author does an excellent job sharing his terrifying experience. I was recently fascinated by this [news article](http://www.laweekly.com/2008-10-23/news/from-silver-lake-to-suicide/all), about a man who discovered a briefcase of old letters in his basement. The previous owners of the house had been the elderly parents of one of the victims of Jonestown. Sad, sad story. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/152 "2009-07-17T15:38:45Z")
> [@lshaw](#): > > Roddy Doyle’s _The Woman Who Walked into Doors_ Ow. Sounds like me. ---
**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 17, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/153 "2009-07-17T17:44:24Z")
> [@Landshark](#): > > I have few, if any, similarities with Vowell (I’m a guy, for instance). But I think she’s a terrific writer and recommend her other books. I now have _Assassination Vacation_ on order as a book-on-CD from my library. The blurb shows an impressive array of voice talent on it: Brad Bird, Eric Bogosian, Dave Eggers, Greg Giraldo, Daniel Handler, Catherine Keener, Stephen King, Tony Kushner, Conan O’Brien, David Rakoff, and Jon Stewart! I really liked Vowell as the voice of Violet, the insecure daughter in _The Incredibles_. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/154 "2009-07-20T03:21:50Z")
Finished **Power and the Darkness: Josh Gibson’s Life in the Shadows of the Game** , about the best negro-league hitter, and maybe the greatest hitter of all time. It’s the only bio of him, apparently, so I’m glad to report it’s good. Now I’m reading **Pride and Prejudice and Zombies** - about 50 pages in, and already I really really want to hear this is going to be a movie. ---
**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 20, 2009, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/155 "2009-07-20T13:32:33Z")
I read about half of Dirt: the quirks, habits, and passions of keeping house, edited by Mindy Lewis. It’s short essays on housekeeping by various authors. Actual housekeeping is more fun. I got a good start on The Hustler, by Walter Tevis, recommended by **WordMan**. I’m liking it so far. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/156 "2009-07-20T14:28:34Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Now I’m reading **Pride and Prejudice and Zombies** - about 50 pages in, and already I really really want to hear this is going to be a movie. Is that actually any fun to read? I saw it on the shelf, and I sorta thought it might be one of those books where the _concept_ was the best part. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/157 "2009-07-20T14:51:54Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Is that actually any fun to read? I saw it on the shelf, and I sorta thought it might be one of those books where the _concept_ was the best part. I have a copy, but I haven’t read it yet. The illustrations are amusing. It looks like Elizabeth kicks Darcy’s ass in response to his first bungled proposal. ---
**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 20, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/158 "2009-07-20T14:52:26Z")
I’ve started the fifth collection of the Darwin Arwards, **The Darwin Awards: Next Evolution**. After five collections, the Darwin people definitely seem to be running out of the zany deaths that made the first books so interesting. I can read stories about guys getting drunk and driving off the road in the newspaper. I’m also reading Dr. Denis Leary’s **Why We Suck**. I love Leary, and the book is funny, but it’s hard to read more than a few pages at a time because he’s so Denis Leary all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Dob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Dob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dob)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/159 "2009-07-20T15:12:46Z")
Reading Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews. A nice “ubran fantasy” type book and has all the hooks… magic, vampires, .lycans, chicks with swords… all the good stuff. this is the second in the series and if you liked the Mercy Thompson books, you will love these too. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467/160 "2009-07-20T15:37:12Z")
> [@Dob](#): > > Reading Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews. A nice “ubran fantasy” type book and has all the hooks.. magic, vampires, .lycans, chicks with swords… all the good stuff. > > this is the second in the series and if you liked the Mercy Thompson books, you will love these too. I’ve enjoyed the series. I finished book three in April. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-09-edition/501467.md?page=9)