# Whatcha readin' May (08) edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2008, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452 "2008-04-30T11:50:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Atrael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Atrael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atrael)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/41 "2008-05-05T16:46:18Z")
[QUOTE=Glory] I just finished [Soon I Will Be Invincible](http://www.amazon.com/Soon-I-Will-Invincible-Vintage/dp/0307279863/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209794154&sr=8-1) (based on an SMDB recommendation from the “recommend a book with someone with powers” thread) - loved it!! Why aren’t there more superhero books?? [/QUOTE] Wasn’t that an interesting book? I picked it up on a whim and really liked the point of view of the story. Good book, glad someone else has read it. I finished up _Wrath of a Mad God_ the latest (and last I think) book by Feist in this particular universe. I liked it better than some of his last offerings, but I’m not sure how I feel about the end. There has been repeated critisism that Feist has kept well loved characters around too long through “magic” or other means. But the way he killed off some of the characters was just…wastefull. More like he was killing them just to kill them if that makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/42 "2008-05-05T19:10:50Z")
I finished grad school last week and can finally read for pleasure again! Yay! I might even be able to be active in the SDMB Goodreads group! What a concept! 😉 I’m currently in the middle of _[The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary](http://www.amazon.com/Professor-Madman-Insanity-English-Dictionary/dp/0060839783/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210013685&sr=1-2)_. So far so good, but I was expecting more of a fictionalized style. Still quite interesting, though. On my to-read list I have:[ul][li]Books 4-7 of Stephen King’s _Dark Tower_ series[/li][li]_Kafka on the Shore_ by Haruki Murakami[/li][li]_The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations: The Complete Opinionated Guide for the Careful Speaker_ by Charles Harrington Elster [/li][li]_The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements_ by Eric Hoffer[/li][li]_The Art of War_ by Sun Tzu[/li][li]_Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means_ by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi[/li][li]_The Good Guy_ by Dean Koontz[/li][li]_Lucky Man: A Memoir_ by Michael J. Fox[/li][li]_I Am Charlotte Simmons_ by Tom Wolfe[/ul]I have had most of these books since September, and am looking forward to finally getting to them![/li] On my Amazon wish list I have:[ul][li]_Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die_ by Chip Heath[/li][li]_The Tipping Point_ by Malcolm Gladwell[/li][li]_Can’t Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain, and America_ by Jonathan Gould[/li][li]2 Dean Koontz books that aren’t released yet[/ul]A note on Dean Koontz: He was my favorite author for many years, but lately I’ve been somewhat disappointed with his stuff (though I wish he’d hurry up and finish _Frankenstein_!). Still, for some reason I’m still compelled to read him, and I usually have something new of his on my wish list. I can’t get away from this guy. ;)[/li] [QUOTE=Voyager] Just finished **The World Without Us** thanks to several BART trips to SF. Very depressing - you wind up thinking that humanity disappearing would be a good thing. [/QUOTE] That’s also on my list of books to read; I’ll keep in mind that it won’t be light entertainment. 😉 [QUOTE=Sigmagirl] I’m reading The Code: Baseball’s Unwritten Rules and Its Ignore-at-Your-Own-Risk Code of Conduct by Ross Bernstein. [/QUOTE] That sounds very interesting! I think I’m about to add it to my wish list. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/43 "2008-05-05T19:16:39Z")
It really is! I’m on the part where, while spiking the second baseman is “considered dirty and disrespectful,” spiking the first baseman is totally egregious. I’m learning a lot and I think I will be a much more informed spectator from this book. I thought _The Professor and the Madman_ was far too long and should have been written as a journal article for something like _Smithsonian_. I’ll be interested in your opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/44 "2008-05-05T19:32:19Z")
Just finished [I Capture The Castle](http://www.amazon.com/I-Capture-Castle-Dodie-Smith/dp/B000GQLCVY/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210015234&sr=1-1) by Dodie Smith. I really enjoyed it. It was first published in 1948 but still reads very well. I had never heard of it before I ran across it in Barnes & Noble. Now I’m reading [Truth and Beauty](http://www.amazon.com/Truth-Beauty-Friendship-Ann-Patchett/dp/0060572159/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210015806&sr=1-1) by Ann Patchett. It’s pretty good so far. Next up is [Mayflower](http://www.amazon.com/Mayflower-Story-Courage-Community-War/dp/0143111973/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210015849&sr=1-1) by Nathaniel Philbrick. He also wrote _In the Heart of the Sea_, which I very much enjoyed. I’m finding I’m reading more and more creative non-fiction these days (though not many memoirs). I like the genre a lot. ---
**Author:** ![mwbrooks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mwbrooks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mwbrooks)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/45 "2008-05-05T19:36:40Z")
[QUOTE=JohnT] I recall reading somewhere that _The Hobbit_ was written as juvenalia, whereas the trilogy had a far more adult style… which I hope to God is true, otherwise I might not make it too far. [/QUOTE] I recall the Hobbit was easy going the first time, but I stopped partway through Fellowship because it got too scary for my taste. I was in third grade then. I chickened out halfway through Beowulf then for about the same reason. I didn’t want to see the hero die. (Not saying he does, if you haven’t read it, just that I thought he would.) You can guess I was an early Heinlein fan in those days. More recently I get uncomfortable when I think the protagonist is being incredibly dense, so I quit before the comeuppance. _Emma_ comes to mind. And I still don’t know what happens in part II of _Great Expectations_. No, don’t tell me. ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/46 "2008-05-05T19:50:13Z")
Started [The Last Witchfinder](http://www.amazon.com/Last-Witchfinder-Novel-P-S/dp/0060821809/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210016802&sr=8-1) today on the train. I got it for Christmas, so I’ve been long overdue to start it. I’m also reading [The Great Mortality](http://www.amazon.com/Great-Mortality-Intimate-History-Devastating/dp/0060006935/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210016861&sr=1-1) about the Black Death. Lately, I’ve been trying to read more non-fiction and this seemed morbidly interesting. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/47 "2008-05-05T20:27:54Z")
**TheMerchandise** , I enjoyed both of those books. _Witchfinder_ started me on a James Morrow kick, and I’ve liked all of his stuff, so far. If more nonfiction books were like _Mortality_, I’d read more nonfiction. Just enough of the author’s personal opinions to add flavor. I dumped _Twilight_ after about 100 pages. It’s kinda sad that this series has such a rabid teen girl following. Why can’t they get excited about the good stuff? Maybe it’s a puberty thing. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/48 "2008-05-05T21:05:53Z")
I recently finished re-reading Gaiman’s _Anansi Boys_. I had read it when it first came out, and enjoyed it much more this time, since I read it a bit more slowly. I have a bad habit of barreling through books that interest me, and forgetting what they are about only a few weeks later! I’ve just started Guy Gavriel Kay’s _The Last Light of the Sun_. I have no idea why I had this on my bookcase, as I don’t remember ever buying it, but a few months back my brother insisted that I read _The Lions of Al-Rassan_ and I enjoyed it, so I figured I might as well give this a shot. I’m not far enough into it to have an opinion of it, yet. This is, I think, the last book in the house that I haven’t read at least once, so I’m either going to have to raid my brother’s bookcase again (my usual method of acquiring reading material) or go to a book store. I never know what to buy when I’m there! ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/49 "2008-05-05T21:27:30Z")
Finally sitting down to read the Repairman Jack novels i’ve let slide for almost a year: Infernal, Harbingers and Bloodlines. since i only have Bloodlines for a two-week library check-out, and i have the two books to read \*before \* i get to that one, my nose is gonna be in a book pretty much around the clock. 😛 ---
**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:** [May 7, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/50 "2008-05-07T14:43:00Z")
I’ve started _Cryptonomicon_, so you won’t be hearing from me for a while. I’m 100 pages in, and so far I really like it. I just finished David Weber’s _Honor Among Enemies_. I’m enjoying this series. It’s a bit formulaic, but I get this little thrill at the end of each book when everyone gets pretty much what they deserve. If they survive, that is. The series has an extraordinary body count. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/51 "2008-05-07T20:09:16Z")
I’m almost finished with Quicksilver and will go on to the other two books, but I really, really want a non-fiction book that Maureen Corrigan raved about on Fresh Air today. The title is \*The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective \* by Kate Summerscale. It’s about the murder of a three-year-old in Victorian England and how the investigation nearly destroyed one of Scotland Yard’s best detectives. Has anyone read it? ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/52 "2008-05-07T23:31:59Z")
Let’s see: Finished _Thunderer_ by Felix Gilman at the end of last month; it was okay, but a little slow at times with the conflict not hitting a very high peak, thus leaving “not much” for a denouement. Right now, I’m reading: _My Mistress’ Sparrow is Dead_, edited by Jeffrey Eugenides. Compilation of love stories “from Chekov to Munro.” So far, I really like the first one the best. _The Dark Knight Returns_ (Batman comic) by Frank Miller. I’m reading it as a preview of what I might see in the new movie by the same name. _A Great and Terrible Beauty_ by Libba Bray. This one’s a Victorian era fantasy-romance historical novel aimed at teens. English 16 year old girl lives in India; her mom dies, and she’s sent off to London to attend finishing school. Weird stuff happens. The cover looked neat when I saw the #3 book in this series, so I decided to try it. [sub]For those who are interested, here’s [my aNobii page](http://www.anobii.com/anobi/person_main.php?pid=12&lid=).[/sub] Edit: I also read 2/3 of _Censoring Science_ by Mark Bowen, but discovered after getting most of the way through that I needed some lighter summer reading. I might return to it eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2008, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/53 "2008-05-08T04:55:47Z")
Just read Little Brother by Cory Doctorow when I was supposed to be cleaning and packing my room. It was amazing. You can read it for free on your computer, which is how I got to read it. ---
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2008, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/54 "2008-05-08T05:25:37Z")
**Khadaji** I saw _Magic Bites_ in a display and picked it up to read at the store. I got so hooked I also got _Magic Burns_ the next in the series. Kate is allowed to make mistakes. I also liked how magic and tech ‘work’ together in the same world. Enjoyed both very much. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2008, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/55 "2008-05-08T10:56:28Z")
[QUOTE=Reepicheep] **Khadaji** I saw _Magic Bites_ in a display and picked it up to read at the store. I got so hooked I also got _Magic Burns_ the next in the series. Kate is allowed to make mistakes. I also liked how magic and tech ‘work’ together in the same world. Enjoyed both very much. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did. [/QUOTE] We’ll see. It is next in the queue after Mr. Twilight (which I am enjoying.) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2008, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/56 "2008-05-08T12:45:04Z")
Just finished the best book I’ve read in quite a while, **The Ghost Map** by Steven Johnson. The book is about a cholera outbreak in 1850s London. A physician made a very famous map listing the deaths by address, showing they were clustered around one public water pump. Fascinating discussion of Londin and urbanization at the time, the development of public efforts to address the needs of the poor, the development of germ theory, and much more. I STRONGLY recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Gulo\_gulo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@Gulo\_gulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gulo_gulo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/57 "2008-05-08T16:38:36Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] I STRONGLY recommend it. [/QUOTE] Well I can’t resist. Ordered! I may be repeating myself but I’ve recently finished: [Blood, Sweat, and Tea: Real-Life Adventures in an Inner-City Ambulance by Tom Reynolds](http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Sweat-Tea-Adventures-Inner-City/dp/0740771191) ~ awesome [The Ambler Warning by Robert Ludlum](http://www.amazon.com/Ambler-Warning-Robert-Ludlum/dp/0312990693) ~ Great concept but not that good a read. [The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney](http://www.amazon.com/Tenderness-Wolves-Novel-Stef-Penney/dp/1416571302) ~ wonderful wonderful book. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2008, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/58 "2008-05-08T17:01:15Z")
I picked up _Anansi Boys_ from the library today. If it rubs me the same way as _American Gods_ I am hereafter swearing off Neil Gaiman and going back to Charles de Lint. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/59 "2008-05-08T17:02:07Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] Just finished the best book I’ve read in quite a while, **The Ghost Map** by Steven Johnson. The book is about a cholera outbreak in 1850s London. A physician made a very famous map listing the deaths by address, showing they were clustered around one public water pump. Fascinating discussion of Londin and urbanization at the time, the development of public efforts to address the needs of the poor, the development of germ theory, and much more. I STRONGLY recommend it. [/QUOTE] That does sound good, I like books about the history of medical discoveries. It reminds me of another book I liked - _The Doctors’ Plague: Germs, Childbed Fever, and the Strange Story of Ignac Semmelweis_. It’s about the doctor in Vienna in the 1840’s who first figured out that childbed fever could be prevented if the medical staff disinfected their hands before delivering babies. (Docs were sometimes going straight from the autopsy room to the delivery room without so much as a rinse-off in between.) ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452/60 "2008-05-08T17:31:52Z")
Interesting: That’s the plot of The Bone Garden, a novel by Tess Gerritsen: [http://www.tessgerritsen.com/bone\_garden/behind\_the\_book.html](http://www.tessgerritsen.com/bone_garden/behind_the_book.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-08-edition/447452.md?page=4)