# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/61 "2012-03-13T16:54:20Z")
_The Bedlam Detective_ was really, really good. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/62 "2012-03-13T17:06:53Z")
I just read Something Fierce Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter, by Carmen Aquirre. Damn, it was good… harrowing, page turning… funny, insightful, terrifying and gripping… about the underground revolution during the time of the Military rule in Chile, the late 70’s and early 80’s… It’s basically the true story about a young girl Carmen, and her sister, Ale first having to flee Chile when she was six, Ale five, to live in Vancouver, and then when her mother in exile goes underground to fight in the resistance, she has a new man and a new address in Boliva and Argentina with her daughters in tow. One daughter turns away from the Revolution, the other daughter, Carmen joins the cause. It’s about a coming of age of the girls, particularly the writer, with all the hopes and dreams of a teenager, making friends with the enemy, necking with boys, witnessing the horrors of being poor, all the while knowing that one day some of the ‘friends’ who visit their mother’s safe house will never be seen again. I highly recommend it :). ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/63 "2012-03-13T17:48:41Z")
I just picked up A Princess of Mars. It was published in 1917, so I should know what to expect, but I still find the racism and sexism take me out of what should be a fine adventure. I’m also put off by the regular railings about the evils of communism. Sigh. I’m so bad at reading stories at anything other than face value. What am I to make of the fact that John Carter is a Confederate veteran? Edgar Rice Burroughs was apparently the son of a Confederate veteran, but he grew up in Chicago, not the south. Do John Carter’s values reflect the author’s? Or is something more complex going on there? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/64 "2012-03-13T17:50:25Z")
Just starting _Mockingjay_ (third book in The Hunger Games trilogy). ---
**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 13, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/65 "2012-03-13T23:46:39Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Well, I read about the first 70 pages of _Naked Lunch_… it was fun at first, but I think I’m about done. Clearly groundbreaking in its time, but hasn’t held up well. In 1970, when I was 15, my boyfriend urged me to read this. I was shocked, saddened, disturbed, frightened, and never finished it. This is not a good book for innocent girls. Humankind has never been the same for me since. ---
**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 14, 2012, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/66 "2012-03-14T00:29:55Z")
I’m reading Catching Fire. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/67 "2012-03-14T12:23:34Z")
Just started on the audiobook of _**[Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/295654.Curse_of_the_Blue_Tattoo)**_- I read the first L.A. Meyer novel via Kindle and am now enjoying how the narrator, Katherine Kellgren brings Jacky, the saucy sailor maiden to life. Miss Faber, former street urchin turned ship’s “boy” is now enrolled in a girls’ finishing school to become a lady. The lighthearted tone of the series continues, providing a look at 18th century Boston. Almost done with _**[Deeper: A Thriller](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/239075.Deeper)**_ by Jeff Long. A sequel to _[The Descent](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/239065.The_Descent)_, we learn that the residents of the Underworld aren’t quite as extinct as we thought. Once they take revenge by stealing away children, a band of vigilantes follows them into the depths, as do the protagonists of the first novel, Ali and Ike. Not quite as compelling as the first novel, however, I am enjoying learning more about the hadals. Also working on _**[American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8201605-american-rose)**_ by Karen Abbott. I really didn’t know much about Miss Lee (born June Hovick) beyond basic pop culture exposure; but am finding her story both compelling and depressing. The timeline jumps around a bit (tho is clearly labeled) and the story thread following the Minsky Brothers was a bit distracting at first - even tho it’s clear from the beginning how the two threads intertwine. I’ll have to see if the library has a copy of the film _Gypsy_… Lastly, I started _**[The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7141642-the-thousand-autumns-of-jacob-de-zoet)**_ - am having a hard time getting into the book, partially due to the display/functionality of the Overdrive app on my phone… ---
**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:** [March 14, 2012, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/68 "2012-03-14T12:58:04Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > I’m reading Catching Fire. I’ve got that one in my car – it’s next on my list, after the anthology I’ m reading. My daughter’s been after me to read the rest of that trilogy. In adition, for my bedside reading I’ve got an 1807 printing of **The Essays of Francis Bacon** that my wife’s family found in the garage. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/69 "2012-03-14T13:16:28Z")
I’ve been trying to read _11/22/63_ by Stephen King for about a month. I’m not a big Stephen King fan. The last book I read of his … I didn’t finish because I found it boring. Now, I’m up to like page 500 of this book and practically nothing has happened and every single main character seems like an utter twat to me. I got the feeling this wasn’t the typical King book (but maybe it is) and I wasn’t expecting wearwolves or magic cars or anything, but really … 400 pages of how neato being a teacher in the 1960’s was? Who cares? In the meantime, I picked up Brett Easton Ellis’s _American Psycho_ which I’m trying to read at the same time. I say trying on this one, not because I’m not enjoying it, but I find it difficult to read two books at once. ---
**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 14, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/70 "2012-03-14T13:33:21Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > I just picked up A Princess of Mars. It was published in 1917, so I should know what to expect… This might interest you: [9 Pulp Adventures To Take Instead Of "John Carter" | HuffPost Entertainment](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-ambler/pulp-fiction-reading-john-carter-movie_b_1343358.html?ref=topbar) ---
**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 14, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/71 "2012-03-14T13:33:34Z")
Finished **Kafka on the shore** and absolutely loved it…started **Rubicon** about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire but decided to switch over to **Player One Ready** by _Ernest Cline_ ---
**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 15, 2012, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/72 "2012-03-15T17:11:52Z")
Been spending much of my spare time doing trip research for next month. Back to reading now. Tomorrow I’ll start _The Fifth Witness_, by Michael Connelly, the sequel to _The Lincoln Lawyer_. ---
**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 15, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/73 "2012-03-15T17:31:00Z")
I’m just about finished reading\*\* Ship of Destiny\*\*, the third book in the _Liveship Traders Trilogy_ by Robin Hobb. It’s taken me a couple of months to get through. While I enjoy these books, I never really feel any urgency to read them, so they take me forever to read. I still plan to finish the series of trilogies eventually, now that I’ve got two of them completed. Looking through my shelves, I just see apocalypse after distopia after post-apocalypse. I’m ready for something light, joyful, life-affirming. Any suggestions? I’m thinking maybe Swamplandia. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/74 "2012-03-15T19:31:26Z")
I just finished **The Family Fang**. It got very good reviews, and I’m not sure why. I thought it was pretty boring. It’s been a while now since I’ve found a book I really got into, and I don’t know if I’ve been picking boring books or if I just read too much and have gotten burned out. ---
**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, 2012, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/75 "2012-03-17T05:16:15Z")
To answer my own request, I’m giving\*\* A Confederacy of Dunces\*\* a go, with a small helping of **Callahan’s Chronicles** in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/76 "2012-03-18T15:21:22Z")
Finished _Under Suspicion_ the second in the Underworld Detection Agency series. It was dull and uninspired, the protagonist whined too much and there was too much Harlequin Romance aspect to it. If my poor memory does better next time I will not continue the series. (I suspect I gave up on the series the after the first book, but when I saw this one I only remembered that I had read the first, not that I didn’t like it.) Finished [_The Rook_](http://www.amazon.com/The-Rook-Novel-Daniel-OMalley/dp/0316098795/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332083286&sr=8-1). A well-written, fast-paced, original and fun read. Myfanwy Thomas awakens with no memories, surrounded by dead bodies. She (and the reader) is informed by letters to herself from her past self, who had warnings that she would lose her memories and had prepared for it. Myfanwy is a member of the Chequy – a secret organization populated by “powered” individuals (think X-Files mixed with X-Men) that protects London from paranormal activity. (I keep thinking that there is a subtle joke in the name Chequy that I’m not getting, because otherwise I don’t see the reason for the name) The Chequy organization is structured like chess pieces and I encourage a new reader to pay attention to the character’s names and titles when they are explained - it will help you better follow along. (I sometimes got lost between who was who, when the author referred to a Bishop, etc.) It kind of made me think of what Simon Green’s _The Darkside_ series \*could \*be if Simon Green were a skilled writer. I enjoyed it and will read more books by the author if he writes any. ---
**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 19, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/77 "2012-03-19T12:53:41Z")
I finished _The Book of Cthulu_, which was okay. There weren’t any stories in it that really blew me away, and I burned out on tentacles about halfway through. Next up is _Pandemonium_, by Lauren Oliver, a sequel to _Delirium_. Teen romance in a dystopian society…I almost didn’t bother picking this one up, but I liked Oliver’s _Before I Fall_ quite a bit, so I guess I will follow this series a little further although romance novels aren’t my cup of tea. ---
**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 19, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/78 "2012-03-19T13:19:07Z")
Finished [Half Way Home](http://www.amazon.com/Half-Way-Home-ebook/dp/B003QCIPGK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1332162996&sr=1-1) by Hugh Howey on the strength of his Wool series. It was good, but not as unputdownable as Wool. Just passing time until [Angelmaker](http://www.amazon.com/Angelmaker-ebook/dp/B005IQZ7IG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1332163084&sr=1-1) drops tonight on the kindle. ---
**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, 2012, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/79 "2012-03-19T13:27:34Z")
Just finished _The Real Elizabeth_ by Andrew Marr, a pretty good bio of the Queen, over the weekend, and have been skimming Dick Cheney’s bio, _In My Time_. He has a surprisingly wry sense of humor but is also unapologetically conservative. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/80 "2012-03-19T14:49:07Z")
Just finished \*\*This Immortal \*\*by Roger Zelazny. It’s pretty good, I enjoyed it. Is it as good as **Dune**? Not nearly, but that is the book it shared a Hugo with back in 1966. I’m finally getting around to reading \*\*Replay \*\*by Ken Grimwood. Just started it last night, so I’m only a few chapters in. So far so good. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388.md?page=5)