# Whatcha readin' (March 09) Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2009, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783 "2009-02-28T12:36:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/101 "2009-03-17T14:36:54Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I’m beginning to read The Séance by John Harwood. … It’s about a girl in Victorian England who is learning to become a medium (or at least how to fake it). The gloomy old mansion and the mysterious diaries come later. _rubs hands together with glee_ That sounds good – I put a hold on it at the library. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/102 "2009-03-17T14:40:27Z")
I finished “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” over the weekend and am now reading the new issue of Skeptic, before diving into Stuart Dybek’s “Coast of Chicago.” ---
**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:** [March 17, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/103 "2009-03-17T14:40:34Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I just finished listening to The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. It was pretty decent. Not a great book, and I did have some complaints, but overall, it really made my drives to and from work much happier for the last few weeks… Gaiman was on _The Colbert Report_ last night and more than held his own in the one-on-one with the host. Funny guy. He also credited Tolkien with being his biggest early influence. ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/104 "2009-03-17T15:06:37Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > It’s about a girl in Victorian England who is learning to become a medium (or at least how to fake it). The gloomy old mansion and the mysterious diaries come later. _rubs hands together with glee_ Have you read _Affinity_, by Sarah Waters? Victorian seances, imprisoned women, much mood and mystery…yum! ---
**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 17, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/105 "2009-03-17T15:29:15Z")
> [@wonderlust](#): > > Have you read _Affinity_, by Sarah Waters? Victorian seances, imprisoned women, much mood and mystery…yum! No, but I’m going to. Thanks! ---
**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:** [March 17, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/106 "2009-03-17T15:50:41Z")
I’ll confess to a guilty pleasure. I’m reading through the Saint-Germain chronicles now, one right after another. They are historical fiction/melodrama about a lonely, 4000-yr-old do-gooder vampire. The author has placed her immortal hero in various interesting places in history: Nero’s Rome; 13th century China under threat from the Mongol horde; the 1917 Russian revolution. The books are not fine literature but I am enjoying the hell out of them. The historical detail is interesting, the supernatural element is low-key, and while the sex scenes are unsatisfying (lots of phrases like “wakening her inmost harmony”) the romances are not bad, mostly because Saint-Germain chooses strong, intelligent women. The author has one device that gets on my nerves: she begins each chapter with the text of a letter, written by the characters or about them. It’s meant as a quick way to fill you in on off-stage events, or to show the passage of time, but the letters are often dull and I skim through most of them. But for the most part I’m enjoying the (admittedly florid) writing. And there two dozen books, plus some spin-offs! ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/107 "2009-03-17T17:41:02Z")
I finished _The Satanic Verses_ last night. I can see why Salman Rushdie found himself on the receiving end of a fatwa after that. I probably would have understood exactly why if I knew more about Islam. Still, a good read with a typical Rushdie “all hell breaks loose” ending. ---
**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:** [March 17, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/108 "2009-03-17T18:05:27Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > I finished _The Satanic Verses_ last night. I can see why Salman Rushdie found himself on the receiving end of a fatwa after that. I probably would have understood exactly why if I knew more about Islam. Still, a good read with a typical Rushdie “all hell breaks loose” ending. I read this at the time it came out, to smite the Ayatollah for his _fatwa_. I thought the book was OK, but confess I have read no other Rushdie books since. ---
**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 18, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/109 "2009-03-18T04:56:17Z")
> [@photopat](#): > > I finished “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” over the weekend and am now reading the new issue of Skeptic, before diving into Stuart Dybek’s “Coast of Chicago.” _A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man_ is good to read before _Ulysses_, which was his next book, as a few of the same characters make an appearance. > [@SpazCat](#): > > I finished _The Satanic Verses_ last night. I can see why Salman Rushdie found himself on the receiving end of a fatwa after that. I probably would have understood exactly why if I knew more about Islam. Still, a good read with a typical Rushdie “all hell breaks loose” ending. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I read this at the time it came out, to smite the Ayatollah for his _fatwa_. I thought the book was OK, but confess I have read no other Rushdie books since. That was banned in Thailand at the time it came out in 1988. I had a copy specially mailed to me here by my father, who was still alive then, so I could have the pleasure of reading a banned book in a country it was banned in. Myself, I think the fatwa was much ado about nothing. Another good Rushdie is _Midnight’s Children_, which I probably enjoyed more than _The Satanic Verses_. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2009, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/110 "2009-03-18T13:15:12Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > …Myself, I think the fatwa was much ado about nothing… You really think so? From this article: [This is London Magazine](http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-23521821-details/Rushdie+was+tight-fisted+and+arrogant,+with+a+handshake+like+a+wet+fish,+says+Special+Branch+officer+who+knew+him+as+Scruffy/article.do) “…the book’s Japanese translator was murdered, the Norwegian publisher narrowly survived an assassination attempt and an Italian translator was wounded…” ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/111 "2009-03-18T16:41:04Z")
[The Norse Myths.](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Norse-Myths/Kevin-Crossley-Holland/e/9780394748467/?itm=1) Or, atleast, I will start reading it once it gets shipped over. ---
**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 19, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/112 "2009-03-19T01:53:27Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > You really think so? From this article: [This is London Magazine](http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-23521821-details/Rushdie+was+tight-fisted+and+arrogant,+with+a+handshake+like+a+wet+fish,+says+Special+Branch+officer+who+knew+him+as+Scruffy/article.do) > > “…the book’s Japanese translator was murdered, the Norwegian publisher narrowly survived an assassination attempt and an Italian translator was wounded…” Sorry, I worded that poorly. I didn’t mean to downplay all the trouble that resulted, which I know was substantial; I meant I thought the people issuing the fatwa were getting all worked up over nothing. Going overboard, making a mountain out of a molehill. The entire problem surrounded a dream had by a fictional character; I saw no need for such rabble-rousing. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/113 "2009-03-19T03:51:50Z")
Religious zealots stuck in the 13th century are not noted for their good judgment or forgiving attitude. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/114 "2009-03-19T13:21:58Z")
I’m about halfway through English Passengers by Matthew Kneale, which I picked up due to recommendations here on the Dope. It’s fantastic. Next up - The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway, also chosen due to recommendations here on the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/115 "2009-03-20T13:34:24Z")
I’m three-quarters of the way through _Hannah’s Dream_, by Diane Hammond and I am loving it so far. The story is about an aging elephant in a third-tier zoo and her elderly caretaker. The keeper will not retire until he finds someone as devoted to his elephant as he is. On the surface, it seems like a “cute” book, but the characters are all well-developed and I desperately want them all to end up happy at the end, even the “villainous” zoo director. ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/116 "2009-03-20T14:01:45Z")
Got ‘Watchmen’ Tuesday and just finished it. It was entirely not what I was expecting, and I must admit, it took me lots longer than I thought. Rorschach’s stunted sentences threw me, as well as figuring out how the word ‘bubbles’ should be read (in what order, sometimes). Obviously, I’m not a comic fan. As someone who lived through the '70s and the Cold War, it resonated with me much more than I think it would someone who was younger. I was fascinated with the interplay of the pirate story and the real world and how the conversations would apply to both. The ending of the book reminded me both of the movie “Wag the Dog” and the Harry Turtledove alternative history series about World War II being interrupted by an alien invasion force. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/117 "2009-03-20T15:02:25Z")
I received \*Brisingr \*for Christmas and realized that the first two didn’t make enough of an impression on me to remember them well, so I have reread Eragon and am part way through Eldest. Someone I know said that there will be a forth, is this so? I’ll be a little annoyed - it isn’t good enough for them to make it an on-going series. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/118 "2009-03-20T16:17:39Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > _A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man_ is good to read before _Ulysses_, which was his next book, as a few of the same characters make an appearance. I’ll probably attempt Ulysses later on, after reading a couple of other books. ---
**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:** [March 20, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/119 "2009-03-20T16:28:26Z")
> [@schnuckiputzi](#): > > Got ‘Watchmen’ Tuesday and just finished it… Are you more or less likely to see the movie now, if you haven’t already? I’m a _Watchmen_ fan from 'way back and, although the movie isn’t perfect by any means, I’d recommend it for any fan of the graphic novel. ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783/120 "2009-03-20T16:50:54Z")
After finishing the really good _Carpet Makers_, I decided next to read the second book in Kage Baker’s Company series, _Sky Coyote_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-09-edition/487783.md?page=7)