# Whatcha Readin' July 2012 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856 "2012-06-30T22:40:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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 16, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/81 "2012-07-16T16:10:34Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > _Crime and Punishment_ by Doysteovsky, Penguin Classics edition Excellent, if somewhat depressing, book. I’m almost 200 pages into _The Hero of Ages_, the 3rd in the Mistborn trilogy. So far so good. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/82 "2012-07-16T16:38:18Z")
I read Kindle samples of five or six books last night and nothing grabbed me until _Tell the Wolves I’m Home_ by Carol Rifka Brunt. It’s a year in the life of teenager June Erbus and tells of her relationship with her uncle Finn. When the book begins, Uncle Finn is painting a portrait of June and her older sister Greta. It’s 1986 and Finn is dying of AIDS. The sample gave me four chapters and I ended up buying it. It’s only the second e-book I’ve paid money for – it’s that good. Generally, teenagers and what they have to say don’t interest me. June is introspective and insightful, not whiny or self-involved. Her feelings are honest, not contrived. She’s interesting on her own and her relationship with her uncle and her sister makes her even more interesting. If I had read this book as a teen, I would want to be like June. Or I’d want June to be my friend. ---
**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, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/83 "2012-07-16T20:06:19Z")
In addition to _A Dance with Dragons_, I’ve been leafing through _Frustrate Their Knavish Tricks_ (the title is from the second verse of “God Save the Queen”) by Ben Pimlott. It’s a pretty interesting collection of essays on British politics and literature, much of it from the Eighties. Pimlott was very clearly no fan of Margaret Thatcher, and to some extent he anticipated the kind of Labour Party reforms that Tony Blair had to make in order to win, win and win again. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2012, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/84 "2012-07-18T12:00:59Z")
Just finished _**[Me the People: One Man’s Selfless Quest to Rewrite the Constitution of the United States of America](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13147828-me-the-people)**_ by Kevin Bleyer. I heard about this book on the Diane Rehm Show last month; the concept intrigued me, and the author (a writer on the Daily Show) came across well enough on the radio. Bleyer is a bit more smug in print; trying too hard at times to be clever in the process of both recounting the Founding Fathers’ struggle to write the Constitution as well as his own travails in re-writing it. I have a feeling the modern-day elements/humour are not going to age well at all; but I did appreciate Bleyer’s research and in-depth descriptions of the Constitutional Convention. Bleyer put some decent effort into putting this book together and I think I’ve come away with a little better understanding of & appreciation for this document. I probably won’t revisit _Me, The People_, but would more-or-less recommend it to history geeks who have already read thru all of Sarah Vowell’s books and enjoyed the Daily Show publications. * * * I also recently read _**[License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11065176-license-to-pawn)**_ by Rick Harrison “with Tim Keown”. I’ll admit to watching _Pawn Stars_, _American Pickers_ and even the occasional episode of _Storage Wars_ - so when I found out about this book, I thought I’d check it out from the library. I was a little surprised at how non-fluffy this memoir was; not only does Rick talk about his early life and how his family got into the pawn business, he also shares the spotlight with Cory, Chumlee and The Old Man - they each get a chapter or two to tell their stories and are willing to talk about the bad times as well as the good. They’ve faced some hard times, both financially and personally; Cory got addicted to meth and hit bottom pretty badly before turning things around, with the help of Chumlee, of all people. Rick also discusses the ins and outs of the business, getting almost philosophic at times. He comes across in print pretty much as he does on the show - a bit of a smart-ass, but he backs that up with actual knowledge. Yeah, you know that you’re not seeing the whole story; but that’s OK. Keown may have done the heavy lifting in putting the book together, but Rick’s “voice” seems pretty authentic and provides some interesting insights into Las Vegas and the pawn business. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/85 "2012-07-19T06:49:21Z")
I finished Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of poppies. Up to his usual excellent standard, although this time he’s writing a trilogy, and this was just the first, so we’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![Future\_Londonite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Future\_Londonite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Future_Londonite)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/86 "2012-07-19T13:06:54Z")
Finished a **Dance of Dragons** and am now caught up on **Song of Fire and Ice**. Have now started _**[The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared](http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1843913720)**_ by Jonas Jonasson – so far I’m quite enjoying it. ---
**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 19, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/87 "2012-07-19T14:55:24Z")
I’ve just read _The Windup Girl_, by Paolo Bacigalupi, which won the 2009 Nebula Award and the 2010 Hugo award. It’s a post-apocalyptic novel set in Bangkok, and the titular windup girl is only one of the protagonists: she’s a discarded Japanese sexbot trying to survive in a very hostile environment. The book has a fascinating setting and the writing is quite good, but I found the characterizations a little unsatisfying. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/88 "2012-07-19T15:49:04Z")
I’m still working on _1Q84_, which has been really good so far. I’m adding _Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress–and a Plan to Stop It_ by Lawrence Lessig and _The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined_ by Steven Pinker to my slate. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/89 "2012-07-19T18:16:16Z")
Re-read Stephen King’s _**[The Dead Zone](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2535441.The_Dead_Zone)**_ - it had been many, many moons since I’d read it or seen the movie (still haven’t seen the TV version) and I’d forgotten all but the bare bones. It was interesting to see basically the same question posed in _ **11/22/63** _ posed here - the difference being that Jake Epping knows what Oswald will do, while Johnny Smith isn’t quite so sure. I really enjoyed revisiting this novel & would recommend it to those who aren’t into King’s horror works, but are still looking for a compelling story with believable characters. I’ve also started the audiobook of King’s latest _**[The Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12341557-the-wind-through-the-keyhole)**_ - I’m still not completely sold on King’s reading (his voice grates a bit for me) but the story itself (both the frame story and the flashback story) has pulled me right in. I’m probably only about 15% in, but am quite enjoying it so far, tho am wondering if I should have read Dark Tower 1-4 again, first. Regardless, it’s nice to visit with Roland and his ka-tet again… ---
**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 22, 2012, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/90 "2012-07-22T09:08:09Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > For my next reading, I’ve checked out a trilogy of Theodore Dreiser novels in a single volume from the library. First up is _Sister Carrie_. Finished _Sister Carrie_, by Theodore Dreiser. Very good but not quite up there with his _An American Tragedy_. Still a worthwhile read. Moving on now to his _Jennie Gerhardt_. ---
**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 22, 2012, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/91 "2012-07-22T10:39:20Z")
[Mrs Robinson’s Disgrace](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mrs-Robinsons-Disgrace-Private-Victorian/dp/140881241X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1): _The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady_ by **Kate Summerscale**. I read her previous book, [The Suspicions of Mr Whicher](http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Suspicions-Mr-Whicher-Murder/dp/0747596484/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2), and loved it. This one is just as good, though fairly different. Ms Summerscale is rapidly becoming one of my favourite **non-fiction** writers. True crime, legal drama, women’s rights in Victorian England… with disgressions into all sorts of interesting areas, such as the quackery that passed for medicine at the time. Fascinating stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2012, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/92 "2012-07-22T11:17:56Z")
Finished \*The Hawk Eternal \*the second book of the Hawk Queen Novels and one of Gemmells lesser novels. As I mentioned up thread I really like David Gemmell, but he is overly fond of the time-travel plot device and it made this novel a complex mess. Started the _The Clockwork Vampire Chronicles_ which I would have totally skipped over if a friend hadn’t recommended it to me. The title just sounds cheesy. But I am enjoying it so far and in some ways it reminds me of Gemmell’s Legend. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/93 "2012-07-22T14:34:19Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > [Mrs Robinson’s Disgrace](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mrs-Robinsons-Disgrace-Private-Victorian/dp/140881241X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1): _The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady_ by **Kate Summerscale**. > > I read her previous book, [The Suspicions of Mr Whicher](http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Suspicions-Mr-Whicher-Murder/dp/0747596484/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2), and loved it. This one is just as good, though fairly different. Ms Summerscale is rapidly becoming one of my favourite **non-fiction** writers. > > True crime, legal drama, women’s rights in Victorian England… with disgressions into all sorts of interesting areas, such as the quackery that passed for medicine at the time. Fascinating stuff. I really liked _The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher_. Thanks for posting because that does look interesting and my VAL (VERY AWESOME LIBRARY) has it in e-book format. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/94 "2012-07-22T16:34:12Z")
I didn’t like _Mr. Whicher_. I thought it was a bit too dry, maybe because Summerscale stuck to the facts. I wanted some speculation, some of her thoughts. The case was interesting though, and maybe I’ll try this one. I’m reading [The Last Policeman](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0076Q1GW2) by Ben H. Winters. It’s pre-apocalyptic. When the story starts, it’s been about a year since a new comet was discovered, and about six months since it was learned that the comet will hit Earth. The story is set in New Hampshire, and the main character is Henry, a young cop recently promoted to detective. He’s investigating what looks to be a suicide (there’ve been lots of those) but he suspects it was murder. The author is gradually revealing what’s been happening around the world since discovery of the comet. That, and Henry’s engaging personality, makes the story really interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/95 "2012-07-22T19:29:57Z")
Finally finished _House of Rain_: good book, but a bit of a slog. I’ve started _Blood and Thunder_, by Hampton Sides: a bio of Kit Carson and the conquest of the West. Very well written history of not only Carson, but the events taking place during his lifetime, such as the war against the Navajo Nation and Mexico, and the aggressive pursuit of Manifest Destiny. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/96 "2012-07-22T19:32:28Z")
I recently finished _Gone Girl_. I really liked it and now I want to read Gillian Flynn’s other two books, but I’m on the waiting list for both and there’s a ways to go. Now I’m just over halfway through _The Age of Miracles_. The earth keeps spinning slower and slower and no one knows why, but it messes with gravity and the length of days and other stuff. It’s from the point of view of a girl who’s 11 or 12, but I don’t think it’s supposed to be a young adult book. It keeps me wanting to know how it will end up, but the story itself is decent but not great. It’s a short and easy read though. I heard it compared to _The Lovely Bones_, and the style is similar. ---
**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 23, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/97 "2012-07-23T02:21:16Z")
Finished _a Dance with Dragons_. I’m now reading _Imagining Mars_ by Robert Crossley. I’ve wanted to read a book like this for a long time, about our developing imagined imagery of Mars. I also breezed through a reprint of Rbert Baden-powell’s _Scouting for Boys_, the _original_ 1908 Boy Scout Manual, predating my first edition of the American Boy Scoyt Manual by two years. Fascinating stuff, illustrated with examples of Scouting and Scout-like activities from the colonial areas of India and South Africa. I’m ginishing up my audiobook version of Robert Fagles’ translation of _The Aeneid_, too. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/98 "2012-07-23T12:45:05Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Finished _Sister Carrie_, by Theodore Dreiser. Very good but not quite up there with his _An American Tragedy_. Still a worthwhile read. > > Moving on now to his _Jennie Gerhardt_. I remember that in Hildegarde Dolson’s comic memoir _We Shook the Family Tree_, the young Dolson moves to New York in 1929 and one day sees someone walking a dog she later learns belongs to Theodore Dreiser. She remarks on how sad and unhappy the dog looks. She’s told, “You should see Dreiser.” That’s paraphrased; I don’t know where the book is right now. I’m reading _[The Fifth Servant](http://www.amazon.com/The-Fifth-Servant-A-Novel/dp/B0044KN0IG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343047226&sr=8-1&keywords=the+fifth+servant)_ by Kenneth Wishnia, a murder mystery set in the Jewish ghetto of 16th-century Prague. I now want to go back and read the author’s other books, set in modern-day New York. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/99 "2012-07-23T14:59:56Z")
On my son’s recommendation, I read _Middlesex_, by Jeffrey Eugenides. I had read, and enjoyed, _The Marriage Plot_ beforehand. I thought _Middlesex_ was really excellent: an interesting story, well-drawn characters, funny when appropriate, an excellent sense of place (well, places I suppose). Definitely worth reading. ---
**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 23, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856/100 "2012-07-23T19:44:59Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > In addition to _A Dance with Dragons_, I’ve been leafing through _Frustrate Their Knavish Tricks_ (the title is from the second verse of “God Save the Queen”) by Ben Pimlott. It’s a pretty interesting collection of essays on British politics and literature, much of it from the Eighties. Pimlott was very clearly no fan of Margaret Thatcher, and to some extent he anticipated the kind of Labour Party reforms that Tony Blair had to make in order to win, win and win again. Just finished this. Favorite anecdote: One Labour parliamentarian, asked to choose between the hard-drinking George Brown and the ultraliberal Harold Wilson to lead the party, said, “George drunk is better than Harold sober.” Pimlott also wrote, “It is a distressing fact about political decisions that there are people who make them. Distressing, that is, to the considerable number of other people who would like to, but don’t.” Back to _A Dance with Dragons_ now, and also reading some of Stephen King’s short story collection _Nightmares & Dreamscapes_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-july-2012-edition/626856.md?page=6)