# Whatcha Readin' June 2010 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 31, 2010, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366 "2010-05-31T09:34:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![dd0029](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@dd0029](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dd0029)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/181 "2010-06-24T20:33:05Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > I didn’t like the second Kage Baker novel, _Sky Coyote_, as well as the first, but the writing is good enough that I’m going to continue with at least one more of her books. I do like her sense of humor. I would say that was the weakest of the Company books. If I recall correctly, the third book was when she decided to make a series of the thing, instead of just an idea that made for a good foundation for writing stories. The series stayed really strong until the last book or so. I found the last book particularly meh, not as “bad” as Sky Coyote, but a serious step down from the earlier highs. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/182 "2010-06-24T20:43:08Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > HEA? I’m sorry – happily ever after. Guess I’ve been reading too many romance blogs! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/183 "2010-06-24T21:06:06Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I’m sorry – happily ever after. Guess I’ve been reading too many romance blogs! 🙂 Ah! I like to think I would have got there eventually. One of the things I like about Guy Gavriel Kay’s writing is that he doesn’t feel compelled to have everybody survive. He has a knack for killing off characters that I’ve come to love quite strongly. I haven’t read the newest one, but when I read Ysabel earlier this year, I was pleasantly surprised to see him get away from the formula he has established with Tigana, Lions of Al-Rassan, Song for Arbonne, Sailing to Sarantium/God of Emperors, etc. Not that they aren’t good, light reading with some really outstanding moments, but the pattern was getting too evident, in my opinion. Ysabel was something I’d recommend highly. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/184 "2010-06-24T21:12:32Z")
> [@dd0029](#): > > I would say that was the weakest of the Company books. If I recall correctly, the third book was when she decided to make a series of the thing, instead of just an idea that made for a good foundation for writing stories. The series stayed really strong until the last book or so. I found the last book particularly meh, not as “bad” as Sky Coyote, but a serious step down from the earlier highs. Thanks, that’s good to hear. I have _Mendoza in Hollywood_ lined up to read soon. I finished another of Barbara Hambly’s mysteries, _Sold Down the River_, set in New Orleans in the early 1800’s. Janvier goes undercover as a slave on a sugar cane plantation to try to catch a saboteur. The book was very good, once you get past the suspension of disbelief required - that he would allow himself to be put in that position for any reason. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/185 "2010-06-24T21:13:04Z")
Finished _The Killer Angels_, by Michael Shaara. Good account of the Battle of Gettysburg. Now reading a novel, _Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War_, by Karl Marlantes. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/186 "2010-06-24T21:20:33Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > One of the things I like about Guy Gavriel Kay’s writing is that he doesn’t feel compelled to have everybody survive. He has a knack for killing off characters that I’ve come to love quite strongly. He didn’t do that in _Lions_. I didn’t think any of the three main characters should have survived the situations he put them in. If I remember right, the woman didn’t end up with the guy I wanted her to end up with either. 🙂 I’ll try _Ysabel_. There should be cheap used copies around. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/187 "2010-06-24T23:08:35Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Now reading a novel, _Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War_, by Karl Marlantes. I’m about half way in and it’s so engrossing I almost have to remind myself to breath. I’ll be interested to know what you think of it, **Chefguy**. ---
**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:** [June 25, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/188 "2010-06-25T04:25:51Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Finished _The Killer Angels_, by Michael Shaara. Good account of the Battle of Gettysburg… Great, great book (Joshua Chamberlain is a hero of mine). A few years ago my Civil War roundtable had a debate as to what was the best book about the Civil War; _The Killer Angels_ won by a wide margin. The Martin Sheen/Jeff Bridges/Tom Berenger movie _Gettysburg_ is based on it, as you probably know. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/189 "2010-06-26T14:10:34Z")
Slight hijack - I thought this was a good place to link to an article in yesterday’s Toronto Star - [An Ontario story for every taste](http://www.thestar.com/living/food/drinks/article/828124--an-ontario-story-for-every-taste). The [Wines of Ontario](http://winesofontario.org/) site has paired an Ontario wine and an Ontario craft-brewed beer for each of the 17 nominations for this year’s Trillium awards. For the list, go to the Wines of Ontario link and click the link under ‘Read Local, Drink Local’ (sic) or click [this link](http://winesofontario.org/content/downloads/OMDC-TrilliumWine-BeerPairing.pdf)for the PDF. I thought this was a brilliant idea… ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/190 "2010-06-26T18:25:09Z")
13 Bankers" The story of how the large bankers corrupted the banking system and have the power to prevent it getting fixed. It was written by a couple economists, Simon Johnson and James Kwak. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/191 "2010-06-26T18:30:43Z")
I also have a bird identification book. i started feeding and giving water to the birds around my yard and some came that I did not recognize. They were not in the book though. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/192 "2010-06-27T14:37:57Z")
Just finished _The Name Of This Book Is Secret_. I don’t care for books where the author breaks the fourth wall all the time. Also, it was dull. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/193 "2010-06-27T21:17:53Z")
Just finished A.E. Haswell Miller’s _Vanished Armies_, ed. by John Mollo. Miller was fascinated by military uniforms and wandered through Europe in the decade before World War I, sketching and painting all those he saw, before all of the colorful and varied uniforms of Great Britain, France, Germany, etc. were lost in the drab battlefield dress of the trenches. The book is a collection of his extraordinarily detailed artwork, impressive in its own right, but also for the calamity it foreshadowed. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/194 "2010-06-27T22:46:09Z")
I’m still on _So Cold the River_ by Michael Koryta. It’s too early to recommend it, but one thing I **really** like is that when someone experiences something supernatural, they talk about it. They tell people! They tell people who might have some insight! They don’t keep it to themselves, worrying about whether someone will think they’re crazy. This is unusual behavior for a horror novel, and it’s something a real person would do. At least I would. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/195 "2010-06-28T01:19:25Z")
Just finished \*The Brain That Changes Itself \*- a wonderful fascinating collections of stories about the plasticity of the brain. It is an easy read (heck, 1/4 of it are appendices) and the stories were quite inspiring to me. I confess I was a little disturbed over some of the descriptions of the experiments on animals (which were not really too graphic, I just sometimes am bothered by such things.) If you have any interest at all in the field of neuroplasticity, give this one a read. I devoured it in a day (but skipped the chapter on sex and attraction and the appendices.) ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/196 "2010-06-28T01:49:02Z")
I just started _I Am Not A Serial Killer_ today, and I’m up to chapter six. I’m loving it so far. It’s been a long time since I’ve opened a book and been afraid I’m going to gobble it up way too soon. Like resisting the urge to bite into a piece of really good chocolate. 😛 This is good story telling. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2010, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/197 "2010-06-28T12:29:34Z")
Currently enjoying Retromancer, by Robert Rankin. My husband asked me what it was about the other day, and I made such a mess of trying to explain it that I’ll just give y’all the Publishers Weekly review: > [@](#): > > Mr. Hugo Rune, Rankin’s rambunctious occult adventurer, and his fervent acolyte, Rizla, return for another fear-lessly far-fetched escapade (after 2008’s Necrophenia). One morning, they awaken to a 1967 that’s harrowingly differ-ent. Nazis rule the U.K., the U.S. was nuked during WWII, and Rizla can’t find a satisfying full English breakfast. Rune pulls Rizla back to 1944, where they must suss out the Twelve Cosmic Conundra “in order to defeat the Nazi peril, save America, save Mankind, [and] secure a future for England that is free and liberated.” A dozen Tarot cards lead them into the madcap “weirdery” that Rankin excels at, though his extremely British jokes (such as Alan Tur-ing’s pet robot going haywire and deciding he’s King Arthur) may baffle American audiences. Rune’s explosive and satisfying smackdown with his eternally evil nemesis, Count Otto Black, will please his longtime fans. I always find Rankin’s stuff fun and forgettable. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/198 "2010-06-28T13:39:20Z")
Just started _[The Bohemian Girl](http://www.amazon.com/Bohemian-Girl-Kenneth-Cameron/dp/0312538979)_ by Kenneth Cameron. Apparently second in a series about a Civil War-veteran novelist living in London, who solves mysteries. Only on Page 45 but I really like it so far. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/199 "2010-06-28T15:31:49Z")
I just finished the second Christopher Brookmyre book, _Country of the Blind_. This genre is apparently called “tartan noir”, which amuses me. I’m not a big fan of crime novels, but add some humor and some Scottish dialect and I’m there. This one is about evil politicians and their incompetent henchmen who ultimately get trounced by the people they’re trying to victimize. It’s a bit dated, with a lot of references to British politics in the 90’s. **AuntiePam** , I think this book was better than the first one. No gore or bodily waste, for one thing. Except I think you’re not a fan of happy endings, and like the first book, the ending of this one was practically triumphant. I’m slogging my way through Antonia Fraser’s book about Oliver Cromwell. I wanted something on the English civil war, and I happened to have this book in the house. It’s a pretty dry read so far. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/200 "2010-06-28T15:52:50Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > **AuntiePam** , I think this book was better than the first one. No gore or bodily waste, for one thing. Except I think you’re not a fan of happy endings, and like the first book, the ending of this one was practically triumphant. I’m okay with happy endings if they make sense – if they’re not contrived just to make the reader feel good. I liked the main character in the first book, and I liked Sarah (? the murdered man’s ex) too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366.md?page=11)