# Whatcha Readin' July 2010 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121 "2010-06-30T21:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/1 "2010-06-30T21:57:03Z")
Am reading _Heal Your Mind, Rewire Your Brain_ because the book on neuroplasticity (mentioned in last month’s thread) got me excited and because I have been so saddened at the decline of my memory and other issues with my brain… Am reading _Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels, Book 4) Ilona Andrews_. I enjoyed the other 3 books and this one is working too. I had insomnia last night at 1:00 so I read it until nearly 4. To those celebrating a holiday this weekend: Have a safe and happy one! [Last Month’s thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=565205) ---
**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 1, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/2 "2010-07-01T01:56:52Z")
Just finished Asimov’s short story collection, _The Rest of the Robots_. My favorites: “Victory Unintentional,” about three superpowerful robots who serve as inadvertently effective ambassadors to a race of xenophobic aliens, and “Galley Slave,” about a lawsuit which follows the assignment of the first robot to a university. Good stuff. ---
**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 1, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/3 "2010-07-01T03:13:06Z")
Already July over here, and I am closing in on the end of _The Big Money_, the final installment of John Dos Passos’ USA trilogy. Then at the end of the volume, there are some biographical essays and such I’ll read through. But I have embarked upon some new projects that promise to cut down my reading time even more. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/4 "2010-07-01T11:18:55Z")
Finished \*Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels, Book 4). \*As I often say, candy for the mind, but I enjoyed it. Kate Daniels is a strong heroine and her shape-shift boyfriend is a strong male. I do get a little tired of the _will they/won’t they_ aspect of their relationship, but this book shows signs that it will soon move on. ---
**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 1, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/5 "2010-07-01T13:39:30Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Just finished Asimov’s short story collection, _The Rest of the Robots_. My favorites: “Victory Unintentional,” about three superpowerful robots who serve as inadvertently effective ambassadors to a race of xenophobic aliens, and “Galley Slave,” about a lawsuit which follows the assignment of the first robot to a university. Good stuff. My son is reading the robot books now - he’s up to _Robots of Dawn_. I hate to admit it, but that awful _I, Robot_ movie got him interested in them. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/6 "2010-07-01T14:19:01Z")
Just started The God Engines by John Scalzi. We have a week in the Adirondacks coming up, and I’ve loaded the kindle with Kraken by China Meiville, Use of Weapons by Iain Banks, The Fuller Memorandum by Charlie Stross and the Passage by Justin Cronin for Mrs. Lebeef. Going to be a good month! ---
**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:** [July 1, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/7 "2010-07-01T14:36:13Z")
I re-read David J. Skal’s **The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror** (excellent book), and am reading Marion Meade’s **Madame Blavatsky: The Woman Behind the Myth**. I’m astonished how closely Blavatsky’s life resembles that of L. Ron Hubbard (as recounted in Russell Miller’s **The Bare-Faced Messiah** ). Both lived interesting lives, travelling widely and interacting with a lot of people, yet both heavily embellished their lives, making grandiose claims about where they’d been and what they’d done. Both made up imagined trips to visit the mystics of Tibet which were later touted as the source of their “hidden wisdom”. They were charismatic chqarlatans who were exposed multiple times, but continued to charm the rubes, and founded mystically-based quasi-religious movements that were decried by the debunkers of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/8 "2010-07-01T14:55:00Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I re-read David J. Skal’s **The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror** (excellent book) Word. I loved that book. I just finished reading “the Mist”, a novella by Stephen King. It’s a fun story, and a quick read. I started reading it last night, finished it this morning. Anyway, I’m back to reading “What the Dog Saw”, a book of essays by Malcolm Gladwell. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/9 "2010-07-01T15:19:16Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Am reading _Heal Your Mind, Rewire Your Brain_ because the book on neuroplasticity (mentioned in last month’s thread) got me excited and because I have been so saddened at the decline of my memory and other issues with my brain… > > [Last Month’s thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=565205) I haven’t read it yet, but I recently saw _The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind_ by Barbara Strauch reviewed favorably, and I put it on my list. (Ha, the sad thing is that I was going to say **where** I saw it reviewed, but then I couldn’t remember!) ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/10 "2010-07-01T15:51:34Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > I haven’t read it yet, but I recently saw _The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind_ by Barbara Strauch reviewed favorably, and I put it on my list. (Ha, the sad thing is that I was going to say **where** I saw it reviewed, but then I couldn’t remember!) Please let me know what you think of it. I usually go hog-wild with stuff like this and buy a bunch of books, then realize that one or two would have been enough. ---
**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 1, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/11 "2010-07-01T18:12:24Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Am reading _Heal Your Mind, Rewire Your Brain_ because the book on neuroplasticity (mentioned in last month’s thread) got me excited and because I have been so saddened at the decline of my memory and other issues with my brain… **Khadaji** , I’m also a sucker for a decent brain book. I put this one on my hold list, but can you tell if if it has anything in it that would be of interest to people with brain injuries/stroke survivors? Or is it more of a how to change behavior, improve memory kind of deal? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/12 "2010-07-01T19:20:53Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > **Khadaji** , I’m also a sucker for a decent brain book. I put this one on my hold list, but can you tell if if it has anything in it that would be of interest to people with brain injuries/stroke survivors? Or is it more of a how to change behavior, improve memory kind of deal? Not yet… but I promise to come back and give more detail once I’ve read it! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/13 "2010-07-02T21:15:23Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > **Khadaji** , I’m also a sucker for a decent brain book. I put this one on my hold list, but can you tell if if it has anything in it that would be of interest to people with brain injuries/stroke survivors? Or is it more of a how to change behavior, improve memory kind of deal? I did not read the title closely enough. The sub title of this book is: \* Applying the Exciting New Science of Brain Synchrony for Creativity, Peace and Presence\* I usually only buy books that I can search inside, so I can read the table of contents, but I was too excited about the subject… I think I will enjoy the book, but seems to be mostly about meditating, and finding better ways to relax. I will likely be reading others in the genre though, and I will try to report specifically on ones that include information about brain injuries/strokes. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/14 "2010-07-02T21:21:54Z")
I love Russian 19th century authors, but never read _Anna Karenina_, mainly because every edition I’ve got the opportunity to buy, have been too thick. Might seem silly to some of you, but too thick a book is quite uncomfortably to read to me, whether it’s on a train (or, in a bag carrying to the train) or in the bed. However, on the Swedish equivalent to eBay, I bought a mint condition three volume version of it for three dollars, and I’m reading it now. If anyone is wondering, it is a good 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 2, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/15 "2010-07-02T23:47:29Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > My son is reading the robot books now - he’s up to _Robots of Dawn_. I hate to admit it, but that awful _I, Robot_ movie got him interested in them. I actually thought the movie, although it had very little in common with the Asimov books, was a fun sf adventure. But the book is definitely worth reading. Your son may also enjoy Harlan Ellison’s unproduced but published screenplay for _I Robot_, which is far truer to the book and would’ve made a helluva movie. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/16 "2010-07-03T00:03:51Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > My son is reading the robot books now - he’s up to _Robots of Dawn_. I hate to admit it, but that awful _I, Robot_ movie got him interested in them. You should get him Ellison’s script for an unmade movie that is actually based on the stories. It is out in paperback. Having finished the Commissario Brunetti book “Uniform Justice” I’m back working on **The Chantry Guild** the final Dorsai book. Then I’m going to get to Freakonomics 2 (or whatever it is actually called) since it would be useful to have finished before my daughter and I do our next behavioral economics tutorial. ---
**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 3, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/17 "2010-07-03T02:11:40Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I did not read the title closely enough. The sub title of this book is: \* Applying the Exciting New Science of Brain Synchrony for Creativity, Peace and Presence\* > > I usually only buy books that I can search inside, so I can read the table of contents, but I was too excited about the subject… > I think I will enjoy the book, but seems to be mostly about meditating, and finding better ways to relax. > > I will likely be reading others in the genre though, and I will try to report specifically on ones that include information about brain injuries/strokes. Thanks so much, **Khadaji**! 🙂 I just finished [Matterhorn](http://www.amazon.com/Matterhorn-Novel-Vietnam-Karl-Marlantes/dp/080211928X), by Karl Marlantes and I thought it was magnificent. It wasn’t stunningly poetic like _The Things They Carried_ or hallucinatory like _Dispatches_. Marlantes tells his story in straightforward narrative that dumps you into the bush with Bravo Company and doesn’t let up until you share their sense of futility and exhaustion, hear the explosions and feel the mud against your skin. I’m going to remember this one (and the damn leech) for a long time. Best book so far this year. Next up is [Annie’s Ghosts : A Journey into a Family Secret, by Steve Luxenberg.](http://www.amazon.com/Annies-Ghosts-Journey-Family-Secret/dp/1401310192/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278122015&sr=1-1) ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/18 "2010-07-03T02:26:27Z")
I am smack in the middle of _World Without End_, which is, of course, the sequel to _Pillars of The Earth_ by Ken Follett. I am enjoying it. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/19 "2010-07-03T02:32:09Z")
[The Forsaken: An American Tragedy in Stalin’s Russia](http://www.amazon.com/Forsaken-American-Tragedy-Stalins-Russia/dp/0143115421/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278123956&sr=1-1) about thousands of Americans, hit by the Depression, who emigrated to the USSR hoping for Socialism or simply jobs; built cars & tractors, formed baseball teams, and were soon all shot or sent to labor camps. ---
**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 3, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121/20 "2010-07-03T02:32:23Z")
> [@Wakinyan](#): > > I love Russian 19th century authors, but never read _Anna Karenina_, mainly because every edition I’ve got the opportunity to buy, have been too thick. Might seem silly to some of you, but too thick a book is quite uncomfortably to read to me, whether it’s on a train (or, in a bag carrying to the train) or in the bed. > > However, on the Swedish equivalent to eBay, I bought a mint condition three volume version of it for three dollars, and I’m reading it now. If anyone is wondering, it is a good book. That’s an excellent book, and I hope you’ll move on to _War and Peace_ afterward, a book whose story many people are surprised to find is a so readable. Perhaps you should get yourself one of those newfangled electronic reading devices. During our recent trip through Vietnam, we saw several Westerners reading them while travelling. Very flat. One lady told us she loved hers after being initially skeptical of it and said it had a capacity of 20,000 books. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2010-edition/545121.md?page=2)