# Whatcha readin' March (08) edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 29, 2008, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631 "2008-02-29T12:28:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2008, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/41 "2008-03-04T22:42:46Z")
I’m about a third of the way through [I Told You I Wasn’t Perfect: The Autobiography of Denny McLain](http://www.amazon.com/I-Told-You-Wasnt-Perfect/dp/1572439572/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204670339&sr=1-1). It’s a very interesting read by baseball’s last 30 game winner and the train wreck that he made his life into. He takes no prisoners about other people either, calling specific people liars, drunks, cheats, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/42 "2008-03-04T22:47:24Z")
I’m reading **Love and Longing in Bombay** by Vikram Chandra, who wrote **Sacred Games** , one of the best (and heaviest) books I read last year. This one’s a collection of short but intertwined pieces, and have much the same emotional punch and great descriptions as **SG**. Up next is probably **The Echo Maker** by Richard Powers, and I read **High Cotton** by Joe Lansdale just before Chandra. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/43 "2008-03-05T12:02:30Z")
I have finished _Red Seas Under Red Skies_. As the first one, it is a caper fantasy - think Ocean’s Eleven set in a fantasy world. There is only a little fantasy, so if you are not a fantasy fan, you could still probably enjoy the story. Lynch is a competent writer, but I think that the idea has more potential than he pulls from it. In the end, the “sting” (in both books) leaves me dissatisfied and feeling let down. None-the-less, I will read the third when it comes out. ---
**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:** [March 5, 2008, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/44 "2008-03-05T20:30:49Z")
Well, little has changed here - I’m still mid-way through _Don Quixote_ and I’m reading _Piano_ based on **WordMan**'s recommendation from last month. (It’s brilliant, by the way - even non-musicians ought to be fascinated. I’m looking at pianos in a whole new way right now.) By the end of March and most of April, I’m hoping to have a lot more time to read, but the next 3 weeks are crazy as I get ready to go away. Daniel Pennac once said that all time spent reading is stolen time - I don’t know if I entirely agree, but it has certainly felt that way for the last 6 weeks. A side comment - is anyone else addicted to the Very Short Introduction series? I have to avoid bookstores right now, or I’m going to end up with the entire collection in the house crying out to be read… ---
**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:** [March 8, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/45 "2008-03-08T01:32:18Z")
Finished Elmore Leonard’s \*Cuba Libre \* a few days ago and started his _Pagan Babies_. Yes, I’m caching up on my Elmore Leonard. But I keep wanting to call him Leonard Cohen, especially after that thread about Cohen. I almost even keep typing Leonard Cohen. Please forgive me if I do. Old age is a terrible thing. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/46 "2008-03-08T02:14:49Z")
I’m waiting for _Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal_ by Ben MacIntyre, which has gotten some good reviews. I don’t read much nonfiction but I couldn’t resist this one. Also waiting for [Field of Blood](http://www.amazon.com/Field-Blood-Novel-Denise-Mina/dp/0316735930) by Denise Mina, after reading a good review of another of her books in the New York Times. Just finishing _The Morning River_ by W. Michael Gear, a historical/western featuring Richard Hamilton, a pampered philosophy student from Boston whose father sends him to St. Louis in 1835 to make a man of him. Richard goes “Huh?” when the people he encounters don’t fit his university-derived notions of noble savages and unspoiled humanity. It’s kinda fun. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/47 "2008-03-08T02:25:21Z")
I just finished _The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter_ today. McCullers’s style is interesting - spare but not boring. I’m starting my second Rosemary Clooney autobiography, _Girl Singer_. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/48 "2008-03-08T03:11:36Z")
[QUOTE=kelly5078] I just completed the Year of Discworld. I read all the novels, though none of the associated books like _The Science of Discworld_. Now, for a complete change of pace, I’m reading _Les Miserables_. [/QUOTE] A quick Google turns up nothing with this title. what is it you read? One of the Almanacs? Something else? ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/49 "2008-03-08T03:18:36Z")
[QUOTE=Le Ministre de l’au-delà] …I’m reading _Piano_ based on **WordMan**'s recommendation from last month… [/QUOTE] Who is this by? I’m not finding it based on my weak google-fu. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/50 "2008-03-08T04:14:34Z")
And for the trifecta: I’m still finishing my Discworld collection. I’ve completed the Death arc, and am picking up where I broke off with Rincewind (Interesting Times). My fav so far is Soul Music–not because I was a professional musician for 10 years, I’m sure. 🙂 Pratchett’s occasional comments on the true nature of humanity are even more important to me than the humor, which is top-notch. ---
**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:** [March 8, 2008, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/51 "2008-03-08T04:23:10Z")
I just finished _Gaming the Vote_ by William Poundstone and _Monkeyluv_ by Robert Sapolsky; both were interesting. I’m now rereading the first two volumes of Lois McMaster Bujold’s _Sharing Knife_ series, in anticipation of the publication of the third book next month. ---
**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:** [March 8, 2008, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/52 "2008-03-08T12:57:43Z")
[QUOTE=NoCoolUserName] Who is this by? I’m not finding it based on my weak google-fu. [/QUOTE] The full title is - Piano : the making of a Steinway concert grand, and the author is James Barron. It’s recent enough that it ought to still be in print. I’m enjoying the heck out of it, and I owe WordMan some pie for mentioning it. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/53 "2008-03-10T11:10:48Z")
Just finished [Heart Of Stone](http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Stone-Negotiator-Trilogy-Book/dp/0373802927/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205146913&sr=1-1) by C. E. Murphy. Ms. Murphy’s target audience is probably not middle-aged men. The book walks the line of the fantasy/romance genre almost stepping into it. But it is a light read and the action is OK. I have enjoyed her other works more, I think, but for what I wanted it fit the bill. (As mentioned - up thread maybe or in last month’s thread - work is crazy and I’m learning new technology and so I am looking for reads that aren’t too challenging.) She did hint at a possible - maybe even likely - romantic relationship between the two main characters, a young black woman and a gargoyle. I have fears of this becoming an Anita Blake-like series, and if it does I will drop it. I am about two chapters into Black Magic Woman. It is too early to tell, but I suspect it will also fit the bill of a quick and easy read and diversion from the other stress in my life. We will see. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2008, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/54 "2008-03-10T11:59:39Z")
Just finished The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson. I’m not feeling well enough to write a review, but that’s okay because you’ve all read it already. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/55 "2008-03-10T12:50:28Z")
I’m continuing on my **Flashman** theme and finished **Flashman at the Charge** and just started reading **Flashman to Freedom** or something I have to say I am thoroughly enjoying this series and have managed to somehow squeeze a bit of proletyzing about " YOU should read THIS book!!!111" into any conversation I can. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/56 "2008-03-10T16:07:57Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] I’m continuing on my **Flashman** theme and finished **Flashman at the Charge** and just started reading **Flashman to Freedom** or something [/QUOTE] That’s _Flash for Freedom!_😃 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/57 "2008-03-10T16:11:13Z")
Finished _Girl Singer_ this morning. I’m at work for the day with only the Forgotten Realms sourcebook from 3rd edition to keep me company. I have a Carson McCullers biography and a book of her short stories waiting for me at home, so I’m probably starting one of those tonight. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/58 "2008-03-10T16:13:49Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] Finished _Girl Singer_ this morning. [/QUOTE] I think you should track down a Vera-Ellen bio and get the straight dope on the neck thing. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/59 "2008-03-10T16:21:25Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] I think you should track down a Vera-Ellen bio and get the straight dope on the neck thing. 😃 [/QUOTE] That was such a weird little piece of coincidence, that I’d be right in the middle of the Clooney bio when the Vera-Ellen thread came up this weekend! Although a Vera-Ellen bio is a good idea…unfortunately, after searching on the Lancaster library system’s website, all they have is a couple of her movies (_Happy-Go-Lovely_, and of course _White Christmas_). ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631/60 "2008-03-10T16:35:37Z")
Just checked half dot com – the cheapest copy of her bio is over $80, which is about $79 more than I am curious. (Hey – you guys busy Saturday the 22nd? We’re doing a Philly Doper Dinner.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-08-edition/439631.md?page=4)