# 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:** 13\ **Page:** 7
**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 28, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/122 "2012-03-28T18:23:04Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > 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) Ka-ching. Ka-ching. Ka-ching. Thanks! ---
**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 29, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/123 "2012-03-29T02:45:14Z")
Just finished reading Isaac Asimov’s _I, Robot_ with my teenage son. Despite its datedness (everyone smoking, casual male chauvinism, outdated technology), it’s still pretty good. Next up for us: Heinlein’s _Podkayne of Mars_. > [@AuntiePam](#): > > Cold Harbor or Cold Mountain? I’ve seen Cold Mountain and you’re right, it’s quite gritty. Yes, good movie. The opening of _Cold Mountain_ depicts the Battle of the Crater, during the siege of Petersburg: [Battle of the Crater - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_crater) _Glory_ is, IMHO, the best-ever Civil War movie, and is pretty gritty and realistic, as well. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/124 "2012-03-29T03:26:35Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Cold Harbor or Cold Mountain? I’ve seen Cold Mountain and you’re right, it’s quite gritty. :smack: I had just finished reading about the Battle of Cold Harbor, and I always get those confused in my head. But yeah, Cold Mountain. Thanks to the above for correcting me and adding additional information. eta: [Youtube link to the scene](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72vRMJUEfbE) ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/125 "2012-03-29T12:33:03Z")
\*\*Dung Beetle \*\* - I think you’d like the next Bloody Jack just as much, even without Kellgren. However, check & see if your library is part of a larger consortium for audiobooks/ebooks? For example, [Indiana Digital Media](http://idm.lib.overdrive.com/267790FE-D809-4C1A-B0A6-98AAAB083C69/10/373/en/default.htm) has all the Bloody Jack books in audiobook format. What do you think of _The Night Circus_? I also listened to Jim Dale’s reading & enjoyed it, tho found the time shifts a bit confusing at times. It was a good co-read/listen with Priest’s _The Prestige_ (which I think I liked better). Still working on Hedley’s… I mean _ **Hedy’s Folly** _ - tho am not sure I’ll finish it before the Kindle library loan expires. It’s competing with _**[A Monster Calls](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8621462-a-monster-calls)**_ by Patrick Ness - a spooky, heartbreaking novel about a boy dealing with his mother’s illness and visitations by The Green Man. It’s based on an idea from Siobhan Dowd, who I’m not familiar with, but may have to investigate. My audiobook is _**[Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7108001-abraham-lincoln)**_ - it started a bit slow, with a frame story, but once we get into Abe’s life and his first encounters with vampires, it picks up nicely. I’m not a Lincoln scholar, but Grahame-Smith seems to have blended historical fact with his supernatural fiction quite well; to the point where (for example) I’m not sure if Lincoln actually went to New Orleans when he was 21 or not… tho I’m reasonably sure he didn’t meet Edgar Allen Poe. ---
**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 29, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/126 "2012-03-29T12:40:03Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > 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). I finished The Ritual in record time. Every time someone took their eyes off me, I’d grab the book and dive back in, dying to know what happened next. The first half of the book was terrific. The second half was very different, and though I was still compelled, I was disappointed with it overall. The characters were interesting, the situation was great, but the supernatural stuff didn’t work out for me. I think I would like to read more from this author, and hope he can do better next time. Next up, something dependable: [Flashman and the Mountain of Light](http://www.amazon.com/Flashman-Mountain-Light-Papers-Book/dp/0452267854/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333024690&sr=1-1). ---
**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 29, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/127 "2012-03-29T12:53:45Z")
> [@Politzania](#): > > \*\*Dung Beetle \*\* - I think you’d like the next Bloody Jack just as much, even without Kellgren. However, check & see if your library is part of a larger consortium for audiobooks/ebooks? For example, [Indiana Digital Media](http://idm.lib.overdrive.com/267790FE-D809-4C1A-B0A6-98AAAB083C69/10/373/en/default.htm) has all the Bloody Jack books in audiobook format. What do you think of _The Night Circus_? I also listened to Jim Dale’s reading & enjoyed it, tho found the time shifts a bit confusing at times. It was a good co-read/listen with Priest’s _The Prestige_ (which I think I liked better). Thanks, **Politzania** , I will check into that! _The Night Circus_ is just okay so far, but I’m getting a bang out of Jim Dale. I only know him from Pushing Daisies, but I had heard he did a smashing job on the Potter books. He read some sentence like, “He hung his hat on the hat-stand”, and I was completely distracted for a few moments, trying to understand how he took such utilitarian words and made them seem somehow interesting and important… ---
**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 29, 2012, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/128 "2012-03-29T13:08:06Z")
^The Jim Dale audiobooks are my preferred method of reading the Harry Potter novels. He’s really great. ---
**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 29, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/129 "2012-03-29T14:23:45Z")
An article on the filming of _Cold Mountain_ that may be of interest: [http://clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com/articles/comment/blue\_gray\_silver\_screen.htm](http://clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com/articles/comment/blue_gray_silver_screen.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/130 "2012-03-29T20:19:42Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > ^The Jim Dale audiobooks are my preferred method of reading the Harry Potter novels. He’s really great. Those audiobooks should be available starting today for downloads from your local library. 🙂 ---
**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 30, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/131 "2012-03-30T18:02:56Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > 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. Finished that, it’s good but not outstandingly good. Now about 20% through [Provenance](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143117408/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=1278548962&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1594202206&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0WCG9BSKWB028Z4EP0G7): How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art. I’m loving it so far. Well written, fascinating (to me) topic. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/132 "2012-03-30T18:15:42Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > 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! Sorry to say I gave up on _Hide Me Among the Graves_. Hope you like it better than I did. Started _The Gods of Gotham_ by Lyndsay Faye, about a bartender recruited for the new NYPD in 1845. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/133 "2012-03-31T15:37:35Z")
[Link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14921702#post14921702)to April’s thread. ---
**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 31, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388/134 "2012-03-31T15:45:49Z")
_Leviathan_ by Scott Westerfeld. It’s a terrific YA steampunk novel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-march-2012-edition/614388.md?page=6)