# 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:** 6
**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 23, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/101 "2012-03-23T15:58:49Z")
> [@Politzania](#): > > …Working on the Kindle version of _**[Hedy’s Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11330443-hedy-s-folly)**_ by Richard Rhodes… That’s _Hedley_. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/102 "2012-03-23T16:38:51Z")
Finally finished the marathon that was **The Berrybender Narratives**. I usually don’t mind historical novels too much, but McMurtry really took license with history in this clunker. I’m now reading [Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen](http://www.amazon.com/Walter-Benjamin-Dairy-Queen-Reflections/dp/0684870193/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332520649&sr=8-1), also by McMurtry. It’s autobiographical and well-written and a huge improvement over that other beast. ---
**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 24, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/103 "2012-03-24T03:06:16Z")
> [@Politzania](#): > > I read the first in the series - _**[Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship’s Boy](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/295649.Bloody_Jack)**_ in print format (technically e-text) and found it quite engaging - tho Jacky’s “voice” took a bit of getting used to - self-talk, etc. There’s an occasional suspension of disbelief, and the teenage romance was a bit :rolleyes: but overall think it’s worth at least a library read. > > Did your great-grandmother write any memoirs? I think a real-life experience would be \*\*fascinating! \*\* I recall reading a supposedly true story about a girl growing up on a sailing ship - her father was a widowed sea captain - as a child & would love to find & read it again. My great-grandmother died when I was about 8, and for many years my grandmother told me stories about her, including when she woke up with a pillow over her face, “white slavers” trying to kidnap her. My family wanted me to write about her life oneday, but I was too little to remember it all and bear the responsibility of holding the family memories. But the stories were important to me, growing up in the 50s and 60s, when Pippi Longstocking was the only girl who had adventures. The Liveship Traders trilogy, by Robin Hobb, has a girl who grew up working on her father’s ship as a main character. I really liked it. Thanks for the link, through which I was able to find it on Kindle. I’d tried to find the first Bloody Jack book on Kindle earlier, but a few of them seemed unavailable due to listing the author variously as L.A. Meyer and Louis A. Meyer. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/104 "2012-03-25T05:49:32Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > And how many people get bored with Stephen King in favor of Henry James? Not many, I’ll bet. 😃 > > . I was not so much bored with Stephen King as it was that _Washington Square_ got under my skin first and I had to get rid of it before I could commit to _11/22/63_. I liked it enough that I might try Henry James again although it may not be a good sign that he himself didn’t seem to care for _Washington Square_ Finished _11/22/63_ tonight, one of King’s better books in the last ten or so years with a lovely ending. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/105 "2012-03-25T16:10:59Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > That’s _Hedley_. No it isn’t, though I have difficulty not saying “Hedley” myself. I have the book on my Kindle, waiting for me to get around to it. I am currently reading [Caligula: A Biography](http://www.amazon.com/Caligula-A-Biography-Aloys-Winterling/dp/0520248953/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332691296&sr=1-1) by Aloys Winterling. I was aware that the stories of Caligula’s wacky exploits were exaggerated; this book is making a good case for him being, in fact, quite sensible. It took me a loooong time to get through the Augustus biog I started last month. Great book, highly recommended, but big. It’s worth it, but it’s a bit of a project. This Caligula book is pretty breezy by comparison. ---
**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 26, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/106 "2012-03-26T02:45:05Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > That’s _Hedley_. > [@Shakester](#): > > No it isn’t, though I have difficulty not saying “Hedley” myself. I have the book on my Kindle, waiting for me to get around to it. (Psst! He was making a _Blazing Saddles_ reference. Geez, this younger generation. No sense of high culture. ;)) ---
**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:** [March 26, 2012, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/107 "2012-03-26T05:28:23Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > (Psst! He was making a _Blazing Saddles_ reference. Geez, this younger generation. No sense of high culture. ;)) I **know** that, that’s **why** I have difficulty referring to Hedy Lamar as Hedy and not Hedley. Which I thought would have been obvious, but that’s the interwebs for ya. However, as my 47th birthday starts to loom on the horizon, thanks for assuming I’m a youngster. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/108 "2012-03-26T12:55:10Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > Now starting _Priest_ by Gerard O’Donovan, about a serial killer in Dublin. Decent characters but formulaic. Now starting _Hide Me Among the Graves_ by Tim Powers, who wrote\* On Stranger Tides\*, which was adapted into one of the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ movies, not that that’s an endorsement. Vampires among the Rosettis, including Dante Gabriel’s undead wife. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/109 "2012-03-26T14:02:57Z")
I finished [Starman](http://www.amazon.com/Starman-Truth-Behind-Legend-Gagarin/dp/0802779506/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1332770100&sr=8-6)a couple of weeks ago. Overall, very good. Gives you a really good idea of what the early Soviet cosmonauts went through with their training, and the intense pressure they were all under. However, it seems to gloss over some of the true catastrophes that happened, or omits others entirely. And while the forward talks about how incredibly difficult it is, even now, to get to information about anything that happened in Soviet Russia, there’s suprisingly little about the politics of the 60s and 70s. There is some, but I think I’d have liked to have seen more as I found that bit really interesting. But Gagarin’s a really likeable and interesting character; it’s a pity he died so young. Started and am nearly finished with [Battle Royale](http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Royale-Novel-Koushun-Takami/dp/1421527723/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332770159&sr=1-1), a Japanese version of The Hunger Games. It’s very similar in setup–a dystopian authoritarian government sacrifices 42 fifteen-year-old boys and girls in a battle to the death for their own amusement and to keep the populace down–but also very different in feel. It’s more bloody and violent, and also more overtly political in that the characters (among themselves) speak out more freely against the regime. (At least in-game; they’d watch their words much more closely outside the game.) There’s a little more active subversion of the system by the kids before the game starts, along with descriptions of what happens to similar adults when they go too far outside accepted lines. It’s good. ---
**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 26, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/110 "2012-03-26T14:49:20Z")
Finished [Pandemonium](http://www.amazon.com/Pandemonium-Delirium-Lauren-Oliver/dp/006197806X). It was just okay, but Ms. Oliver hooked me with that cliffhanger ending, dernit. I’ll read the final book when it comes out and look forward to more from this author. (Although I enjoyed her standalone book so much more. Why does all YA fiction have to be a series these days? To sell more books, duh.) I also finished my audiobook, [Bloody Jack](http://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Jack-Account-Curious-Adventures/dp/015205085X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332772251&sr=1-1). I really enjoyed this one very much. It had me running out to the car every day in great excitement to find out what was going to happen next, and it tackled a few subjects I was surprised to see addressed in a kid’s book. However, without the reader, I’m going to pass on the rest of the series. Currently, I’m reading [Ritual](http://www.amazon.com/The-Ritual-Adam-Nevill-L/dp/0230754929/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332772749&sr=1-1), by Adam Nevill. This is the rare book I picked up without recommendation, and I’ve never heard of the author. It turned out to be a real page-turner. It’s about four men who get lost in the woods during a hike, then the scary stuff starts. It’s got a Blair Witch kind of vibe (except that things actually happen). My new audiobook is [The Night Circus](http://www.amazon.com/The-Night-Circus-Erin-Morgenstern/dp/0385534639/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332773161&sr=1-1), by Erin Morgenstern, read by the incomparable Jim Dale. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/111 "2012-03-26T14:53:04Z")
Finally finished _Reamde_ – this wasn’t what I was expecting, based on the author’s other novels, I was expecting this to be more of a novel of ideas, and it was really essentially a thriller. Of course, it was more witty and clever and had more geek-appeal than other thrillers I have read, so there’s that, but still … Almost done with _The Family That Couldn’t Sleep: A Medical Mystery_ by d.T. Max (I picked it up after **Antigen** mentioned it in last month’s thread). It’s so interesting, although one small jarring part is that one of the key researchers in the field was also a convicted child molester, and I feel like the author was a bit stymied as to how to work that information in there. It’s a book about science, so it’s not like a whole THING about the child abuse, but at the same time, it would be weird _not_ to mention it, because dude, seriously. So I feel like both the author and I are sort of “wtf?” about this. ---
**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 26, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/112 "2012-03-26T15:36:03Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > I **know** that, that’s **why** I have difficulty referring to Hedy Lamar as Hedy and not Hedley. Which I thought would have been obvious, but that’s the interwebs for ya. > > However, as my 47th birthday starts to loom on the horizon, thanks for assuming I’m a youngster. 😃 Only 47. Pffft. Young punk. Finished _The Fifth Witness_, Michael Connelly’s sequel to _The Lincoln Lawyer_. Very good. I think someone in here earlier described it as “boring,” but I found it very interesting. Possibly the lack of shootouts and such and the details of court procedure make it seem less than exciting to some, dunno. But I recommend it. An anti-foreclosure activist in danger of having her own home taken away may or may not have killed one of the executives at the bank that is attempting to foreclose on her. Next up: _The Cider House Rules_, by John Irving. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/113 "2012-03-26T15:40:56Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > Decent characters but formulaic. Now starting _Hide Me Among the Graves_ by Tim Powers, who wrote\* On Stranger Tides\*, which was adapted into one of the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ movies, not that that’s an endorsement. Vampires among the Rosettis, including Dante Gabriel’s undead wife. Thanks! I’ve loved Tim Powers for a long time. Lately, he’s been writing “modern” fantasies, but I may prefer the stuff set in earlier times. Especially with a literary bent! Just started _Company of the Dead_ by David Kowalski. What if a time traveler tried to save the Titanic? How would history be changed? It’s a big honking book… ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/114 "2012-03-26T20:39:29Z")
Finished _Raven Calls (Luna Books) by C.E. Murphy_ the latest in her Urban Shaman series. This one takes place in Ireland and Joanne Walker meets Celtic mythology. If you’re reading the series, this is a good addition to it. If you haven’t read the others, you really need to before trying it. ---
**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 27, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/115 "2012-03-27T13:56:56Z")
Still working on [**The Magicians**](http://www.amazon.com/The-Magicians-Novel-Lev-Grossman/dp/0452296293/), which has gotten better. I’m only about halfway through, since I can only read it in small snatches at a time on my phone. On my Kindle, I’m working on [**Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter**](http://www.amazon.com/Abraham-Lincoln-Vampire-Seth-Grahame-Smith/dp/0446563080/) and so far enjoying it quite a bit. ---
**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 27, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/116 "2012-03-27T15:55:36Z")
I’m three quarters through [The Night Circus](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9361589-the-night-circus), by Erin Morgenstern, and I fear I’m not as transported by all the magical, whimsical, atmospheric doings as I should be. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/117 "2012-03-27T16:13:01Z")
_Prisoners of Twilight_ by Don Robertson. Robertson has written several Civil War novels. They’re all from the POV of common soldiers, not generals or politicians. The novels are very dark and gritty and they feel realistic, and make me wonder why Civil War movies have generally been “clean”, almost romanticized. We’ve seen the dark side of WWII and later wars, but I don’t think anyone’s made a realistic Civil War movie. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/119 "2012-03-27T20:03:15Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > _Prisoners of Twilight_ by Don Robertson. Robertson has written several Civil War novels. They’re all from the POV of common soldiers, not generals or politicians. The novels are very dark and gritty and they feel realistic, and make me wonder why Civil War movies have generally been “clean”, almost romanticized. We’ve seen the dark side of WWII and later wars, but I don’t think anyone’s made a realistic Civil War movie. The opening battle in “Cold Harbor” is very gritty because it was filmed by a foreign director. But you’re right, Americans view the Civil War as very romantic. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/120 "2012-03-27T20:25:01Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > The opening battle in “Cold Harbor” is very gritty because it was filmed by a foreign director. But you’re right, Americans view the Civil War as very romantic. Cold Harbor or Cold Mountain? I’ve seen Cold Mountain and you’re right, it’s quite gritty. ---
**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 28, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/121 "2012-03-28T13:37:32Z")
Big news! For anyone who hasn’t read them yet, Patrick Ness’s “Chaos Walking” trilogy is on sale right now as the Kindle Daily Deal. You can get all three books ( **The Knife of Never Letting Go** , **The Ask and the Answer** , and **Monsters of Men** ) for 99 cents each! [Linky link link!](http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000677541) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388.md?page=7)