# 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:** 8
**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:** [June 17, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/141 "2010-06-17T16:35:28Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > I also liked the next two trilogies by Robin Hobb, set in the same universe as the Farseer books. She’s working on a fourth set now, and I’m waiting for her to complete it before buying them. I’ve read the Liveship series and enjoyed them & fully plan on reading all her books. I already bought the first in her new series because I had the opportunity to get an autographed copy. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I highly recommend Thomas Berger’s _Arthur Rex_ for a wry but respectful recent retelling of the Arthurian legends. It seems I re-read it every decade or so and always enjoy it. Thanks! Added to my list. I’m finding the Morte D’Arthur a bit of a slog. ---
**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:** [June 17, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/142 "2010-06-17T16:43:30Z")
I’m reading **Sherlock Holmes’ War of the Worlds** (which has been republished as **Sherlock Holmes: The War of the Worlds** ) by Wade Wellman and Manly Wade Wellman, apparently part of a republication series of Holmes Pastiches that includes other I’ve read. But I missed this one and have wanted to read it for years. I wonder if Alan Moore ever read it – there are similarities between it and his second _League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_ series. I’ve also picked up Charles P. Pierce’s **Idiot America**. It’s an intriguing but massively uneven book, with some eminently quotable sections. This one made me buy the book: He’s writing about a pre-opening day party at Ken Ham’s Creation Museum: > [@](#): > > …The whole group then bustled into the lobby of the building, where they were greeted by the long neck of a huge, herbivorous dinosaur. The kids ran past it and around the corner, where stood another, smaller dinosaur. > > Which was wearing a saddle. > > It was an English saddle, hornless and battered. Apparently, this was a dinosaur that performed in dressage competitions and stakes races. Any dinosaur accustomed to the rigors of ranch work and herding other dinosaurs along the dusty trail almost certainly would have worn a sturdy western saddle. This, obviously, was very much a show dinosaur. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/143 "2010-06-18T19:02:42Z")
Finished _The Devil’s Company_. I did not enjoy it that much but I’m sure a lot of that was due to: [ul] [li]It was part of an on-going series, and I had not read the others.[/li][li]Somehow I got it into my head when I bought it that it was a caper like “The Sting” or “Ocean’s 11”. It is not. This is my fault and not a problem with the book.[/li][li]It was a period piece (late 1800s) and many of the characters are rude and condescending to the main character (and others) due to his (their) being Jewish. No doubt this is accurate for the period - but it got old for me quickly.[/li][/ul] Benjamin Weaver, an 19th-century (Amazon wrongly reports 18th century - but it was actually the 1800s) London thieftaker, is coerced into working for a mysterious man named Cobb, to do - well, it is unclear much of the time. Eventually we learn he is to help with a plot involving the British East India Company. The premise seemed flawed because Cobb seems to have so many resources at his disposal you wonder why he would bother forcing Weaver to do anything. It becomes a little clearer as the book ends, but the truth was, during most of it I just kept thinking: if his reach is that far, he would never need a man like Weaver. It was not fully clear to me what a thieftaker is. He seems to be a private detective in the way real private detective detect - mostly following people and asking questions. He is portrayed as a dangerous man as he once was a fighter - and so it often occurred to me that a man of his reputation would not be so easily coerced. It seemed a much more likely outcome that he would simply terminate Cobb and his associates on some dark night. There were several surprises I think, so if you like a period piece and a little mystery, you may enjoy this series. But try and find the first in the series, rather than jump in as I did. All in all, Weaver did not capture my imagination as a protagonist and I won’t read the rest of the series. ---
**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 18, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/144 "2010-06-18T19:13:58Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I’m now on to House, by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker. Discarded on page 221 for being a hot mess. I am kicking myself for not being a published author, because I could hardly do worse than this! I’m now reading Dirty Little Secrets, a YA novel by Cynthia Omololu, about a teenage girl whose mother is a hoarder. I think this will be the first book this week I manage to finish. ---
**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 18, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/145 "2010-06-18T20:52:39Z")
Re: House, by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker…yes, I’m still talking about it. I just went over to Goodreads and learned that it was supposed to be a Christian horror novel. If I had only known, I could have saved myself earlier! When I get home, I will (once again) hurl it with great force. The only way good can come from this horrible experience is if you heed my warnings, Dopers. If one person decides to not read this book because of me, well, it still won’t have been worth it. But hey, lucky them. ---
**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 18, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/146 "2010-06-18T21:36:49Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Re: House, by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker…yes, I’m still talking about it. I just went over to Goodreads and learned that it was supposed to be a Christian horror novel. If I had only known, I could have saved myself earlier! When I get home, I will (once again) hurl it with great force. > > The only way good can come from this horrible experience is if you heed my warnings, Dopers. If one person decides to not read this book because of me, well, it still won’t have been worth it. But hey, lucky them. Sometimes I find Goodreads too positive. I want a “hated it” rating beneath the mild-mannered one-star “didn’t like it”. I want to be able to vote down books in the Listopia lists. Hey, right now on Goodreads, \*House \*is on 666 people’s to-read shelf. 🙂 ---
**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 18, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/147 "2010-06-18T22:49:48Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > Sometimes I find Goodreads too positive. I want a “hated it” rating beneath the mild-mannered one-star “didn’t like it”. I want to be able to vote down books in the Listopia lists. Goodreads would only be improved by adding [this](http://www.psdgraphics.com/file/black-bomb-icon.jpg) to its four star rating system. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/148 "2010-06-19T07:00:45Z")
I’m about two thirds through _Big Red_, or eighty-six days in the Atlantic aboard a Trident missile sub. Fascinating and at times, downright scary. ---
**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 19, 2010, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/149 "2010-06-19T13:08:22Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > Hey, right now on Goodreads, \*House \*is on 666 people’s to-read shelf. 🙂 Truly, they are the damned. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/150 "2010-06-19T17:52:08Z")
I’m planning on running a **Mages of the Caribbean** roleplaying game set in the 1670s, so a lot of my reading this month is connected to that. Just finished a gaming sourcebook, am reading a great book about pirates (Pirates: Predators of the Sea, or something), and am devouring the Captain Alatriste books. I’m reading King’s Gold right now–good stuff! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/151 "2010-06-20T01:22:34Z")
Spent the afternoon reading in the yard, and finished _The Help_, based on several recommendations in these threads. I was pretty “meh” about it – it was not bad, and kept me going through all 400+ pages, but all of the characters seemed pretty two-dimensional for me, and the resolution of the various plotlines pretty pat. Disappointing, as much-hyped books can be sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/152 "2010-06-20T21:41:12Z")
Put down _The Children Of Hurin_. At page 202 I realized I didn’t care about any of the characters, nor the what might happen in the plot. I see I got it off the bargin bin, so I guess I didn’t waste too much… ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/153 "2010-06-21T13:49:01Z")
Recently, I finished: _The Girl Who Played With Fire_, Steig Larsson. I go back and forth which I liked more – this book or _The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo_. The mystery in this book is focused directly on Lisbeth Salander, a wonderful character and one I was happy to explore in depth, but the mystery in the first is a better mystery. _The Dead Zone_, Stephen King. I’m reading a lot of early Stephen King lately. This book struck me as well done, but incredibly sad. _The Forest of Hands and Teeth_, Carrie Ryan. A YA post-apocalyptic zombie novel where action and awesome zombie fights take backseat to endless descriptions of teenage angst. I was hoping for main-character-Mary to be summarily decapitated about 50 pages in. I stuck with it though and then felt silly that I bothered. _City of Dreams_, Beverly Swerling. This book takes readers through 130 years of the early history of New York City, following a few specific families through their generations as they fight, marry, grow apart and grow together. Edward Rutherford Readers will recognize this format. Unlike Rutherford, Swerling focuses less on historical detail and more on the soap opera elements of her characters. Still, a compelling read. _Mort_, Terry Pratchett. So far, my favorite Discworld novel. I love Death as a character. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/154 "2010-06-21T15:11:11Z")
Finally reading _The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks_. On Page 81. This is really fascinating. **Twickster** : I listened to _The Help_ as an audiobook. I think that was a great improvement. ---
**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 21, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/155 "2010-06-21T15:31:27Z")
> [@movingfinger](#): > > I’m about two thirds through _Big Red_, or eighty-six days in the Atlantic aboard a Trident missile sub. Fascinating and at times, downright scary. I read that a few years ago, and liked it, although it was a bit superficial, I thought. My favorite detail: captains of Trident subs can now ask the Pentagon by radio, “Are you sure?” if they get a nuclear-missile launch order that hasn’t been preceded by a rise in world tensions or any particular crisis. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, if they got a launch order, they _had_ to follow it without further contact with Washington once it had been properly authenticated. **TheMerchandise** , I think _The Dead Zone_ is one of King’s best books. There’s a wistful air of regret, lost opportunities and pathos that gives it a real emotional punch. You really see how Smith suffers for his “gift.” ---
**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 22, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/156 "2010-06-22T03:39:58Z")
Had some time to myself tonight and finished both Dan Chaon’s _Await Your Reply_, a quiet, intriguing novel about identity theft and everyone’s yearning for familial love, and Robert Lacey’s _Monarch_, a somewhat dry but still interesting bio of Queen Elizabeth II, and how the House of Windsor has kept itself relevant (or not) and beloved (or not) for the past hundred-some years. I’d recommend both books. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/157 "2010-06-22T12:49:52Z")
My wife and kids gave me a copy of Christopher Moore’s _Bite Me_ for Father’s Day and I started it last night. I’ve previously read _Lamb_, which I liked a lot, and _Fluke_, which I thought was good, but not great, but I had a very, very difficult time getting through the first chapter of _Bite Me_. It’s written in the first-person voice of “goth-girl Abby Normal” and she is, frankly, annoying as hell. I suppose I just don’t buy Moore-as-teenage-girl, but the bits where he/she explains how you should actually pronounce the words when she types “WTF” or “OMFG,” or how every other paragraph starts with “'Kayso” (a contraction of “Okay, so”) just left me cold. I made it to the beginning of the third chapter, though, which is written in the third person, so maybe it’ll get better. I like Moore enough to give him an honest shot here, but I’m surprised by how little I like the book so far. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/158 "2010-06-22T12:59:09Z")
> [@I'm Not Dennis Bergkamp](#): > > My wife and kids gave me a copy of Christopher Moore’s _Bite Me_ for Father’s Day and I started it last night. I’ve previously read _Lamb_, which I liked a lot, and _Fluke_, which I thought was good, but not great, but I had a very, very difficult time getting through the first chapter of _Bite Me_. > > It’s written in the first-person voice of “goth-girl Abby Normal” and she is, frankly, annoying as hell. I suppose I just don’t buy Moore-as-teenage-girl, but the bits where he/she explains how you should actually pronounce the words when she types “WTF” or “OMFG,” or how every other paragraph starts with “'Kayso” (a contraction of “Okay, so”) just left me cold. > > I made it to the beginning of the third chapter, though, which is written in the third person, so maybe it’ll get better. I like Moore enough to give him an honest shot here, but I’m surprised by how little I like the book so far. I’ve known a few goth girls through my granddaughters, and your description here sounds pretty accurate. If that’s any comfort. ---
**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 22, 2010, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/159 "2010-06-22T13:10:17Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > **Twickster** : I listened to _The Help_ as an audiobook. I think that was a great improvement. Agree. It was the performance of the readers that really made it good. I finished Dirty Little Secrets and although I enjoyed it and thought it was well written, I felt some doubt about the ending. I also kept wondering the whole time how I’d feel about it if I were actually the child of a hoarder. I then read Good Book : the bizarre, hilarious, disturbing, marvelous, and inspiring things I learned when I read every single word of the Bible, by David Plotz. It was decent. If you plan to read it, you may want to have a Bible handy so you can look some stuff up for yourself. ---
**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 22, 2010, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366/160 "2010-06-22T13:18:11Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > …I then read Good Book : the bizarre, hilarious, disturbing, marvelous, and inspiring things I learned when I read every single word of the Bible, by David Plotz. It was decent. If you plan to read it, you may want to have a Bible handy so you can look some stuff up for yourself. This might also interest you; I haven’t read it myself, but have heard good things about it: [http://www.amazon.com/Year-Living-Biblically-Literally-Possible/dp/0743291484/ref=sr\_1\_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277212563&sr=1-1](http://www.amazon.com/Year-Living-Biblically-Literally-Possible/dp/0743291484/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277212563&sr=1-1) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2010-edition/541366.md?page=9)