# Whatcha Readin' July 2011 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426 "2011-06-30T20:31:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/61 "2011-07-13T02:22:37Z")
Apparently, I am a literary sheep. I am now a few chapters into _The Dispossessed_ (fascinating so far) and I just picked up _Pale Fire_ to send to my father for his birthday. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/62 "2011-07-13T04:24:34Z")
Finished \*\*\*All the King’s Men _ **yesterday, and am now reading Willa Cather’s** _ Sapphira and the Slave Girl, \*\*\*which is better than its title. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/63 "2011-07-13T14:42:21Z")
_Low Town_ by Daniel Polansky. Fantasy noir. It’s a bit of a slog. My problem with noir (with this title anyway) is the cynicism. It’s hard to care when the main character doesn’t care. I wouldn’t bother to finish it but it’s an Amazon Vine book, and I have to review it to stay eligible for the next offering. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/64 "2011-07-13T20:22:24Z")
Finished _Tangled Threads_ the forth in the Elemental Assassin series.I’m still liking the series, despite a few sex scenes and the author’s annoying habit of using “po-po” for police - slang that I find rather juvenile. I’ll read the next when it comes out. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/65 "2011-07-14T03:56:20Z")
Finished the Stratford book, and have moved on to the _Essays_ of Francis Bacon, in a loverly Folio edition. ---
**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 14, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/66 "2011-07-14T03:59:16Z")
Tonight I finished Jeff Greenfield’s _Then Everything Changed_, which **Little Nemo** had suggested (thanks, man!), an intriguing collection of three what-if scenarios from 1960-80 American political history: JFK dies in a 1960 car bombing (almost happened IRL), RFK survives the Sirhan Sirhan assassination attempt in 1968, and Ford recovers from his “no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe” gaffe in the 1976 debate with Carter. Very interesting. Just started Jon Krakauer’s _Where Men Win Glory_, about the friendly-fire death of Pat Tillman and subsequent coverup, and have stopped for the moment in my reading of Kathryn Stockett’s _The Help_. Also, Amazon just sent me George R.R. Martin’s latest, _A Dance with Dragons_, which is already calling to me… ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/67 "2011-07-14T04:10:45Z")
My book club met tonight to discuss the first six chapters of [Reinventing the Sacred: A New View of Science, Reason and Religion](http://www.amazon.com/Reinventing-Sacred-Science-Reason-Religion/dp/0465003001) by Stuart Kauffman. I’d be interested to see if any of you have read it and what you thought of it. We’ll be reading [Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism](http://www.amazon.com/Freethinkers-American-Secularism-Susan-Jacoby/dp/0805077766/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310616289&sr=1-1) next. Meanwhile, I just finished [Tigerlily’s Orchids](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004G8QS9E/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title) by Ruth Rendell. Pretty good. Very Rear Window-ish, but got a little slow at the end. Now I can’t decide whether to go for another mindless murder mystery, or to start [In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HFRJM6/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title). Or maybe _True Grit_. ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/68 "2011-07-14T04:14:22Z")
Just finished my first read-through of **A Dance With Dragons** , now on my way to read Jim Hines’ last Princess book, **The Snow Queen’s Shadow.** ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/69 "2011-07-14T06:50:24Z")
I finished **The Poisoner’s Handbook** last night, and I recommend it. Then I started reading [Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants](http://www.amazon.com/Rats-Observations-History-Unwanted-Inhabitants/dp/1582344779/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1) by Robert Sullivan. So far it’s good, and I like Robert Sullivan’s chatty writing style. The book is specifically about the rats of New York City, but it digresses into the histories of both rats in general and NYC. Both of which are interesting topics. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/70 "2011-07-14T20:25:10Z")
Finished _Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy_ a collection of short stories. It was very mediocre. Most of the stories felt incomplete - like they were snapshots of a larger story. Jim Butcher’s was fun, but few of the others were memorable. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/71 "2011-07-15T13:15:35Z")
Finished _More than Human_ by Theodore Sturgeon. It’s pretty awesome. It’s a sci-fi must read, but I’d recommend it to anyone. I’m not even 100 pages into _A Dance with Dragons_. I’m taking my time with it, so I’ll be staying out of that thread for a while. ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/72 "2011-07-15T13:29:45Z")
I finished _Skippy Dies_ on audiobook and completely understand how it made so many Top Ten lists in 2010. I also finished _The Wise Man’s Fear_, by Patrick Rothfuss. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/73 "2011-07-15T15:29:45Z")
_**[Sunnyside](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4745776-sunnyside)**_, by the guy who wrote _ **Carter Beats the Devil** _. I liked that book, and I love Charlie Chaplin (who figures prominently in _ **Sunnyside** _), so even though it got only so-so reviews, I’m trying this book. Also I watched the Chaplin movie \*Sunnyside \*last night. ---
**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 15, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/74 "2011-07-15T15:42:22Z")
About to start Michael Koryta’s newest, [The Ridge](http://www.michaelkoryta.com/ridge.php). ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/75 "2011-07-15T17:29:32Z")
I finally finished _Feed_ by Mira Grant and I’m not going to bother to pick up the sequel. That book was so repetitive that it made me irritable when the author decided to remind the reader of the facts again. And again. And again. Charlie Huston’s _The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death_ was a quick and enjoyable read for the first half. Then it went a bit off rails and the ending was a bit too…Well just a bit too long. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/76 "2011-07-15T17:39:07Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I am halfway through [Lorrie Moore’s A Gate at the Stairs](http://www.amazon.com/Gate-at-Stairs-Lorrie-Moore/dp/0375409289)(amazon link). Her writing is so, so readable. And her technique and word choice so thoughtful, and her basic sense of humanity so decent that she reminds me of Anne Tyler or an Anne Patchett who expresses her own point of view in her writing a bit more. > > Not exactly sure where this plot is headed - a college kid from the midwest nannies the adopted kid of a high-strung restaurant owner and her somewhat-older, not-sure-what-his-deal-is husband - but reading her writing is a real pleasure. Finished this book - still well written, but I certainly found out where the plot was headed in the second half of the book ;). A bit too many plot twists for my taste but overall worth reading. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/77 "2011-07-15T17:55:40Z")
I just got my copy of my neighbor’s first novel, [The Devil All The Time](http://www.amazon.com/Devil-All-Time-Donald-Pollock/dp/038553504X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310752321&sr=1-1). His name is Donald Ray Pollock. His first book was a collection of short stories called Knockemstiff. Now I’m trying to resist the temptation to read it when I am supposed to be working. ---
**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 15, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/78 "2011-07-15T18:56:04Z")
That’s on my library hold list, **Crotalus**. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/79 "2011-07-15T19:10:23Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I just got my copy of my neighbor’s first novel, [The Devil All The Time](http://www.amazon.com/Devil-All-Time-Donald-Pollock/dp/038553504X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310752321&sr=1-1). His name is Donald Ray Pollock. His first book was a collection of short stories called Knockemstiff. Now I’m trying to resist the temptation to read it when I am supposed to be working. Hopefully, he isn’t describing your neighbourhood in his works. 😃 I liked his first book very much, and will order his second … thanks for bringing it to attention! ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426/80 "2011-07-15T20:39:29Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Hopefully, he isn’t describing your neighbourhood in his works. 😃 > > I liked his first book very much, and will order his second … thanks for bringing it to attention! I live about 12 miles from Knockemstiff. My extended neighbors are interesting. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2011-edition/587426.md?page=5)