# Whatcha Readin' March 2012 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 29, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388 "2012-02-29T20:46:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/1 "2012-02-29T20:46:56Z")
Happy Sadie Hawkins day all! I finished _The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Web Weaver_ by Sam Siciliano. If you are a stickler for canon, like me, you will not like this book. Mr Siciliano starts the book by introducing Sherlock’s cousin Dr. Henry Vernier and his wife Dr. Michelle Doudet Vernier. He immediately informs us that Watson was not truthful in his tales and indeed, he and Sherlock didn’t really get on. This gives him license to break canon in other ways - for instance, there is no Moriarty, that is just a tale told by Watson. IMO, if you don’t wish to stick to canon, why tell a Holme’s story at all? Why not simply have your own characters? I read a Sherlock book because I want the feel of Sherlock Holmes. Siciliano then tells the story in alternating voices, one chapter Henry, one Michelle. It is disconcerting at first and annoying later. I am not enough of a history buff to be able to say whether women doctors were common in the 1880s, nor if it would have been all that common for the wife to go by her maiden name coupled with her husband’s name, but it didn’t seem to ring true. But worst of all: I figured out the mystery quickly - in the first 1/3 of the book. Lastly, the ending was dissatisfying. I do not recommend the book (and won’t read the others.) Link to [February’s Thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=640397) ---
**Author:** ![Scholar\_Beardpig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Scholar\_Beardpig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scholar_Beardpig)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/2 "2012-03-01T06:23:03Z")
James Church’s _Inspector O._ They’re still awful. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/3 "2012-03-01T06:39:11Z")
The Hare with Amber Eyes, by Edmund de Waal. I’m only a few pages in so far but I think it’s going to be good. ---
**Author:** ![Future\_Londonite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Future\_Londonite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Future_Londonite)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/4 "2012-03-01T12:56:03Z")
Started reading _Kafka on the Shore_ by **Murakami** …I love his work and this one is no exception ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/5 "2012-03-01T13:44:54Z")
I just started the graphic novel [Logicomix](http://www.amazon.com/Logicomix-Search-Truth-Apostolos-Doxiadis/dp/1596914521/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330609381&sr=8-1), about Bertrand Russel and his search for The Truth. I’m no mathlete, but I’m really enjoying it so far. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/6 "2012-03-01T16:04:17Z")
_**[Beyond the Shadow of the Senators](http://beyondtheshadow.com/)**_ - a baseball book about the Homestead Grays and Negro League ball. Still early on. I like it so far. I wish there were an online app to determine one’s “negro league name” like there is for pirates. It’d probably be considered racist. Still, I’d love to be nicknamed “Boojum.” Who wouldn’t be? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/7 "2012-03-01T17:49:09Z")
On my phone: [**The Magicians**](http://www.amazon.com/Magicians-Novel-Lev-Grossman/dp/0452296293/) by Lev Grossman. Not very far into it yet, I hope something happens soon to differentiate it from the mountain of “ordinary kid realizes he belongs in a magical world” books out there. Also reading [**A Malady of Magicks**](http://www.amazon.com/Malady-Magicks-Exploits-Ebenezum-Bk/dp/0441516610/) by Craig Shaw Gardner. Fantasy-humor about Ebenezum, the world’s greatest wizard, who is hopelessly allergic to magic. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/8 "2012-03-01T19:50:33Z")
**Believing the Lie** , by Elizabeth George. I’m about 2/3 through and, though it’s miles better than the last one (This Body of Death), Sgt. Havers continues to be the strongest character and she appears too infrequently. Question for English Dopers: do toffee nose women of a certain age routinely refer to everyone as “darling”? If not, please inform Ms. George. It’s wearing on me, I tell you! ---
**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 1, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/9 "2012-03-01T22:24:23Z")
Last night I finished _The Lost City of Z_ by David Grann, which I mentioned in last month’s thread. It’s nonfiction about exploring the Amazon, and the author, in the present day, trying to track down a British explorer who famously disappeared in the Amazon in the 1920s. Meh. It just never grabbed me. A rather tedious telling of what should be a gripping story. Now I’m looking forward to getting back to George R.R. Martin’s _A Dance with Dragons_, which I’m about a third of the way through. ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/10 "2012-03-02T15:12:31Z")
Recently, I finished [**Bloody Jack**](http://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Jack-Account-Curious-Adventures/dp/015205085X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330701062&sr=8-1), by L.A. Meyer. It’s the first in the series of YA books about a street urchin girl that disguises herself as a boy to join a ship’s crew. It was really, really good and if I knew a tween girl, I would recommend it to her. I’ll definitely be checking out the rest of the series. Now I’m reading **The Silence of the Lambs** , by Thomas Harris. I’ve never read the book before, but am quite familiar with the movie. There aren’t any surprises, but I’m enjoying the read nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/11 "2012-03-02T15:57:18Z")
John Steinbeck’s **Sweet Thursday** (1954). Later this month I am seeing the Broadway revival of _Pipe Dreams_, the musical based on it, so I wanted to read the book. It \*is \*enjoyable, though when Steinbeck gets “funny” he goes a bit too Damon Runyon. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/12 "2012-03-02T16:16:15Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > On my phone: [**The Magicians**](http://www.amazon.com/Magicians-Novel-Lev-Grossman/dp/0452296293/) by Lev Grossman. Not very far into it yet, I hope something happens soon to differentiate it from the mountain of “ordinary kid realizes he belongs in a magical world” books out there. I’d stick with it, as it is one of my favorite books. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/13 "2012-03-02T17:01:29Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Last night I finished _The Lost City of Z_ by David Grann, which I mentioned in last month’s thread. It’s nonfiction about exploring the Amazon, and the author, in the present day, trying to track down a British explorer who famously disappeared in the Amazon in the 1920s. Meh. It just never grabbed me. A rather tedious telling of what should be a gripping story. Couldn’t agree more, **Elendil’s Heir**. I’m usually a sucker for perilous true adventures in places I’ve never been, but I thought this one was a poorly written yawner. I’m surprised it gets so much praise. ---
**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 2, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/14 "2012-03-02T19:42:33Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Couldn’t agree more, **Elendil’s Heir**. I’m usually a sucker for perilous true adventures in places I’ve never been, but I thought this one was a poorly written yawner. I’m surprised it gets so much praise. I had a similar reaction, I’m sorry to say, to Stephen Ambrose’s _Undaunted Courage_, about Lewis and Clark’s explorations. Should’ve been fascinating and compelling, but alas was neither. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/15 "2012-03-03T13:48:41Z")
Finished _Glimmer Glass_ by Jenna Black. I am not sure why I picked this up, whether it was recommended here or whether Amazon recommended it, but I am definitely not the target demographic for this one. It is common for me to read books for which I am not the target demographic - but I am so far out of the target that it just wasn’t for me; it seems clearly written for teen girls. Having said that; it wasn’t badly written and for those who \*are \*in that target demographic you may like it. I won’t pick up any more from the series. ---
**Author:** ![Kasper1014](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c89c15/32.png) [@Kasper1014](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kasper1014)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/16 "2012-03-03T14:04:33Z")
I’m finally starting the first book in Game of Thrones. I love the series and so far the book is even better. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/17 "2012-03-03T14:42:52Z")
_Holidays in Heck_, by P.J. O’Rourke ---
**Author:** ![Parenchyma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Parenchyma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parenchyma)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/18 "2012-03-04T00:38:25Z")
> [@TheMerchandise](#): > > Recently, I finished [**Bloody Jack**](http://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Jack-Account-Curious-Adventures/dp/015205085X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330701062&sr=8-1), by L.A. Meyer. It’s the first in the series of YA books about a street urchin girl that disguises herself as a boy to join a ship’s crew. It was really, really good and if I knew a tween girl, I would recommend it to her. I’ll definitely be checking out the rest of the series. I am a bit ashamed to say I have listened to some 7 or so of that series. The reader is pretty good, very enthusiastic. But, in not necessarily a bad way, they are all the same (only different). You’ll need to space them out to keep enjoying them, kinda like the Aubrey/Maturin books. Which are also a seafaring series I like. Simon Vance is my preferred reader. Other audiobooks: **The Book Thief** had an excellent reader, Allen Corduner. I sometimes have trouble with WWII stories because of family history, but this is so well written and read. This also led me to Gleick’s biography of Newton, which was okay, but mainly about hearing Corduner’s voice again. Tina Fey reads **Bossypants** well. Finally got **The Night Circus** after a long wait. Well done. Have tried \*\*The Knife of Letting Go \*\*a couple of times, can’t get into it, might do better with the written book. And I am about 3/4 through Jeffrey Eugenides’ **Middlesex** , which I was not in the mood for at all at first, but as I listened the reader’s enthusiasm and humor has really won me over. ---
**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 4, 2012, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/19 "2012-03-04T05:29:18Z")
> [@Parenchyma](#): > > …And I am about 3/4 through Jeffrey Eugenides’ **Middlesex** , which I was not in the mood for at all at first, but as I listened the reader’s enthusiasm and humor has really won me over. My book club read that a few years ago. It grew on me. ---
**Author:** ![Dano83860](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a4c791/32.png) [@Dano83860](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dano83860)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/20 "2012-03-04T05:52:01Z")
Week before last The Girl with The Dragon Tatoo. Last week Edge by Jeffery Deaver. Not one of his best but good. Currently working on the Devil Colony by James Rollins. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388.md?page=2)