# Whatcha Readin' June 2012 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 31, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701 "2012-05-31T20:48:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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 21, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/61 "2012-06-21T17:27:57Z")
I started today on [Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection](http://www.amazon.com/Drop-Dead-Healthy-Perfection-Nonfiction/dp/1410447464) by A.J. Jacobs. He’s an author who comes up with interesting projects (in this case, to investigate various plans to achieve good health). I can see already this is going to be annoyingly “lite”, but I still want to hear about the health stuff, and it will make a nice change of pace before I plunge back into horror anthologies. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/62 "2012-06-21T17:48:04Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > I’ve been reading _Moby-Dick_ for the past week. I’ve never read it before, or even seen any of the movies, so I have only the most general idea of the plot. The book is very good sometimes, and can be quite funny, but the author seems to have been determined to write about everything except the quest to find Moby Dick. Some of his didactic digressions I’m enjoying, but some I’m finding tedious. My impression of Moby-Dick is that the true object of the novel is to write about obsession … in a way that demonstrated the very obsession that he was writing about. ---
**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:** [June 21, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/63 "2012-06-21T18:35:51Z")
_Slaughterhouse Five_ was much better at 33 than 19. Now I’m starting _Packing For Mars_. I’ve tried Mary Roach before, but _Stiff_ made me queasy. I’m having no such problems with _Packing For Mars_. ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/64 "2012-06-21T21:03:27Z")
Just got one of the original Erle Stanley Gardner Perry Mason novels: _The Case of the Negligent Nymph_ (one outing of the series was based on that) ---
**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:** [June 22, 2012, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/65 "2012-06-22T04:12:55Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Next up: _The Reversal_, by Michael Connelly, the latest in his Lincoln Lawyer series featuring LA attorney Mickey Haller. Not that it matters, but I now see that _The Reversal_, written in 2010, is not his latest. The previous one I read, _The Fifth Witness_, was written last year. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/66 "2012-06-22T05:03:05Z")
Borrowed John Scalzi’s new novel _Redshirts_ from the library yesterday afternoon and finished it today. An entertaining story although obviously not a deep one. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/67 "2012-06-22T13:17:36Z")
I read _[Fallen Angels](http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Angels-Five-Mystery-Series/dp/1594149593/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1340370338&sr=8-2&keywords=alice+duncan+fallen+angels)_, sequel to Angel’s Flight, which I mentioned in Post #35, and now I think I am done with this author. The style is annoying (Gosh! Gee whiz!) and, much as I wanted to read about Hollywood in the '20s, she doesn’t have any insights that half an hour of research could have given me. Then I read another book called _[Fallen Angels](http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Angels-Connie-Dial/dp/1579622747/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340370431&sr=1-12&keywords=fallen+angels)_, this one a crime novel by Connie Dial. Total coincidence that they had the same title; I keep a list of books I’ve read good reviews of, and it just so happened these two had the same name. This one was a good police procedural but I wasn’t on the edge of my seat to find out who the killer was. She’s written two other books and I would read them if I happened to see them but I won’t seek them out. Then read [_The Death Instinct_](http://www.amazon.com/The-Death-Instinct-Jed-Rubenfeld/dp/B007K4G6QG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340370665&sr=1-1&keywords=rubenfeld) by Jeb Rubenfeld; historical fiction about the 1920 Wall Street bombing. I had stayed away from his previous _[The Interpretation of Murder](http://www.amazon.com/The-Interpretation-Murder-A-Novel/dp/0312427050/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340370665&sr=1-2&keywords=rubenfeld)_ because it was too much Freud and Jung, but I might get to it someday. I don’t mind historical characters in side roles but I’d rather they stay there in fiction. Now reading _[Butterfly in the Typewriter: The Tragic Life of John Kennedy Toole and the Remarkable Story of A Confederacy of Dunces](http://www.amazon.com/Butterfly-Typewriter-Kennedy-Remarkable-Confederacy/dp/0306820404/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340370921&sr=1-1&keywords=butterfly+in+the+typewriter)_ by Cory MacLauchlin. Had to get it on interlibrary loan and I’m only on Page 9. I’ve been waiting for this since I heard it was coming out. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/68 "2012-06-22T16:26:48Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the d’Urbervilles, by Kim Newman. Great stuff. I love this line: “To Professor Moriarty, Irene Adler will always be _that bitch_.” Oh, I did not know there was a new Kim Newman out, awesome. I just finished \The Wilder Life: Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie\ by Wendy McClure, which I enjoyed a lot. It’s a very light and engaging memoir in which the author tells about rediscovering her childhood love of the \Little House\ books, and embarking upon a pilgrimage of sorts to the various historical sites associated with Laura Ingalls. I would say this is especially fun for anyone (I’m assuming mostly women, but hey, whatever) who grew up reading the \Little House\ books obsessively. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/69 "2012-06-22T17:02:16Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > I just finished \The Wilder Life: Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie\ by Wendy McClure, which I enjoyed a lot. It’s a very light and engaging memoir in which the author tells about rediscovering her childhood love of the \Little House\ books, and embarking upon a pilgrimage of sorts to the various historical sites associated with Laura Ingalls. I would say this is especially fun for anyone (I’m assuming mostly women, but hey, whatever) who grew up reading the \Little House\ books obsessively. Oh, I have that on my Nook and can’t wait to read it! I was all of one day into “Gone With the Wind” when I decided to read “Twisted Tree” by Kent Meyers because the author gave a presentation here last night and I planned to go (but ended up not being able to go because my husband had to go buy a stupid car and I had no one to watch my daughter). Anyway, I liked it. It was in a similar vein to “Olive Kitteridge” and “Winesburg, Ohio.” Now back to GWTW if I can keep myself from reading “The Wilder Life” first. **delphica** , it’s been a long time since I’ve read the LHOP books. Would you recommend reading them again before reading “The Wilder Life?” ---
**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, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/70 "2012-06-22T18:53:16Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > Oh, I did not know there was a new Kim Newman out, awesome. > > I just finished \The Wilder Life: Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie\ by Wendy McClure, **delphica** , you’ll want to use brackets and not \<\> to italicize words. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/71 "2012-06-22T18:59:36Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > **delphica** , you’ll want to use brackets and not \<\> to italicize words. Man, I always do that, comes of flipping back and forth during the day between sites that use other formats. Grrr! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/72 "2012-06-22T20:23:36Z")
Finished _Keeping It Real_ based on a recommendation here. Either the person was having me on, didn’t understand some of my earlier comments or I didn’t catch what was being said - but it didn’t float my boat. ---
**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:** [June 23, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/73 "2012-06-23T16:22:16Z")
The Long Earth. I’m about 1/3 of the way through, and I’m liking it a lot. I rarely read fiction any more, and Pratchett is the only fiction writer I’ll always read. The Long Earth is reminding me of what I liked about SF when I used to read it; an interesting and imaginative premise, with enough realism to allow a suspension of disbelief about the wacky stuff. While it’s more “serious” than the Discworld books it still has plenty of the gentle humour and charm that makes Pratchett such an enjoyable writer. The characters are interesting and likeable, the premise is cool, and I’d recommend it. Of course, it could still go awry, but thus far it’s very enjoyable. ---
**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 23, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/74 "2012-06-23T18:07:56Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > My impression of Moby-Dick is that the true object of the novel is to write about obsession … in a way that demonstrated the very obsession that he was writing about. I guess I can see that. I finally finished it - Moby Dick shows up for the last three chapters. I enjoyed most of the book, especially since the Aubrey-Maturin series has left me disposed to like a nautical setting. I’m about halfway through _Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America_, by Robert Charles Wilson. It has a post-apoctalyptic/dystopian setting, but it’s largely a cheerful story, so far. I’m enjoying it very much - I don’t know why I haven’t read more from Wilson, after I enjoyed his novel \*Spin \*. ---
**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 23, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/75 "2012-06-23T20:54:02Z")
I have just started James Reston’s [Defenders of the Faith: Charles V, Suleyman the Magnificent, and the Battle for Europe, 1520-1536](http://www.amazon.com/Defenders-Faith-Suleyman-Magnificent-1520-1536/dp/B002XULWNO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340484559&sr=1-1&keywords=defenders+of+the+faith). I’ve enjoyed Reston’s other books, including _Warriors of God_, about the Third Crusade, and _The Last Apocalypse_, about the rise of Christianity in Europe around 1,000 A.D., so I’m optimistic about this one. ---
**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 24, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/76 "2012-06-24T04:01:19Z")
I’m reading Stephen King’s 1982 short story collection _Different Seasons_. I’d just recently seen (after years and years of being told I really ought to see it) _The Shawshank Redemption_, which I enjoyed, and wanted to read the story which inspired it. Now I’m reading the other stories, and am currently most of the way through “Apt Pupil,” which was also made into a movie. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/77 "2012-06-24T04:09:01Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I’m reading Stephen King’s 1982 short story collection _Different Seasons_. I’d just recently seen (after years and years of being told I really ought to see it) _The Shawshank Redemption_, which I enjoyed, and wanted to read the story which inspired it. Now I’m reading the other stories, and am currently most of the way through “Apt Pupil,” which was also made into a movie. Having watched _The Shawshank Redemption_ brought home a particularly funny sight gag in the recent _Moonrise Kingdom_. Regarding how the boy exits his tent early on. 😃 ---
**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 24, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/78 "2012-06-24T04:15:29Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Having watched _The Shawshank Redemption_ brought home a particularly funny sight gag in the recent _Moonrise Kingdom_. Regarding how the boy exits his tent early on. 😃 With a rock hammer? ---
**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:** [June 24, 2012, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/79 "2012-06-24T07:52:16Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > With a rock hammer? Watch the movie. It’s excellent, and you’ll see. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701/80 "2012-06-24T15:07:40Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Finished _Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter_, by Seth Grahame-Smith. Very good. I hope the film version is good too. I just finished this one myself. Now we only have one more family member who has to read it before we go see the movie. I was very impressed with how the author handled the vampires in this book. I’ve also just finished _Delivering Happiness_ by Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos. Next up is _Good to Great_ by Jim Collins. Looks like another round of business books. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-june-2012-edition/623701.md?page=5)