# Whatcha Readin' (May 09) Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2009, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077 "2009-05-02T10:59:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/41 "2009-05-05T15:41:14Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > I recently read **American Wife** by Curtis Sittenfeld. I loved it,… I read that recently and also liked it. (Did I comment in last month’s thread? I don’t recall.) I thought it was way more nuanced and less of a hatchet-job than I’d kind of expected. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2009, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/42 "2009-05-06T12:33:18Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I started a new audiobook today, Thunderland by Brandon Massey. Something to do with a teenage boy’s bad dreams and encounters with the supernatural. I’ll give it a fair shake, but the reader is already getting on my nerves. He’s performing scenes about stuff like domestic violence and divorce with this perky, children’s librarian at storytime voice. It may be a little hard to take this one seriously! Ditched. New car audiobook: Fragile Things, a short story collection by Neil Gaiman. Far better already, and I see this collection has The Problem of Susan, which I’ll be interested to hear (although I don’t agree there _was_ a problem). 🙂 ---
**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:** [May 6, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/43 "2009-05-06T13:24:11Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > I have been on a Pride and Prejudice kick since Easter and am working on the delightful \*\*Mr. Darcy [takes a wife](http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Darcy-Takes-Wife-Prejudice/dp/1402202733/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241262779&sr=8-1). > > Which should be followed by **Days and Nights at Pemberly** , if I can before it is due back at the library. I gave up on this series because of too many SAT words. I started reading \*\*The Night The Bear ATe Goombaw" \*\*by Pat McGinnis. The first chapter is AWESOME sequences and I couldn’t put the book down. I’ve never heard of McGinnis and now in total booklust for his work. Someone tell me this is either the BEST of his works or it only GETS better. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/44 "2009-05-06T14:32:56Z")
I’ve been slacking on reading anything lately. I started \*Dune \*(already read that one twice though) and never finished it. I started one of Bukowski’s anthologies and read 5 or ten pages at a time when I’m taking a dump … I mean my evening constitutional. Recently, however, I picked up _World War Z_. I’m really not much of a sci-fi fan and while I do enjoy an occasional _Shaun of the Dead_ or _Night of the Living Dead_ type movie, I’m really not much of a zombie guy. But I’m really enjoying this book so far. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/45 "2009-05-06T14:43:50Z")
There are a lot of _World War Z_ fans here on the Dope. One of these days I’m gonna read it, too. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/46 "2009-05-06T14:48:21Z")
The Siege of Mecca. Remarkable, the whole Kingdom darn near went down the tubes because of a bunch of random events. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/47 "2009-05-06T16:15:25Z")
I just finished “The Given Day” by Dennis Lehane. I thought it was fantastic. It (mostly) takes place in Boston during and just after WW1, against the backdrop of the May Day riots. It’s an engrossing story with deeply drawn characters, and involves many social issues (racism; anti-capitalism; labor.) Lehane includes many historical figures (and uses Babe Ruth as a sort of touchstone for the era.) I don’t know much of the history of the May Day riots but I’m interested in reading up on it now. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/48 "2009-05-06T17:28:34Z")
I’m about halfway through _The Comedy Writer_ by Peter Farrelly (recommended by a Doper). It’s not my usual kind of book but I’m really enjoying it. It’s about a guy in his 30’s who moves from Boston to LA to become a screenwriter. He meets some weird people and gets involved with a suicide. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/49 "2009-05-06T19:38:39Z")
I just finished _The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay_ by Michael Chabon, and adored it. I wanted it never to end. I’m very hopeful of _The Yiddish Policemen’s Union_, which I want to read before seeing the movie. Moving on, I seem to be stuck in the New York of the past, and am now reading Edith Wharton’s _The Age of Innocence_. I saw the movie when it came out, so I have some vague memories of the storyline, but I’m really enjoying all the lovely, clearly written subterfuge, misdirection and manipulation. People are such rats. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/50 "2009-05-06T21:34:04Z")
Not counting anything I’m re-reading or have been distracted from for some time, I’m currently flipping among: [ul] [li]_The Adventures of Sally_, P.G. Wodehouse[/li][li]_Neuromancer_, William Gibson[/li][li]_The Yiddish Policemen’s Union_, Michael Chabon[/li][/ul] > [@Albrecht\_Durer](#): > > **The Plot Against America** by Phillip Roth. The story is interesting and terrifying and I’m enjoying that, but I feel sort of let down by Phillip Roth. I’d always heard he was one of America’s literary treasures and, well, no, not really. Try _The Human Stain_. \*The Plot Against America \*was okay, but I liked \*Stain \*much better. Or you could go for the one he actually, y’know, won a Pulitzer for (_American Pastoral_). 😛 ---
**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 6, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/51 "2009-05-06T21:38:36Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Recently, however, I picked up _World War Z_. I’m really not much of a sci-fi fan and while I do enjoy an occasional _Shaun of the Dead_ or _Night of the Living Dead_ type movie, I’m really not much of a zombie guy. But I’m really enjoying this book so far. I’m in the middle of that right now. I’m having a lot of fun watching the OMGWE’REALLGONNADIEFLU news and then reading a few pages. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/52 "2009-05-06T21:49:26Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > I read that recently and also liked it. (Did I comment in last month’s thread? I don’t recall.) I thought it was way more nuanced and less of a hatchet-job than I’d kind of expected. I don’t know if I saw last month’s thread or not, now that I’m trying to remember! I read an interview with Sittenfeld that was very interesting. Apparently, she’s a great admirer of Laura Bush, while at the same time a despiser of George Bush. The novel was basically an attempt to reconcile these two feelings…and explain how Laura can stand being married to George! I thought she actually pulled that off rather admirably. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/53 "2009-05-07T00:09:47Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Moving on, I seem to be stuck in the New York of the past, and am now reading Edith Wharton’s _The Age of Innocence_. I saw the movie when it came out, so I have some vague memories of the storyline, but I’m really enjoying all the lovely, clearly written subterfuge, misdirection and manipulation. People are such rats. 😛 I adore Edith Wharton. If you want to read another of her novels, look for _The Custom of the Country_, which is my fave of hers. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/54 "2009-05-07T01:25:37Z")
> [@schnuckiputzi](#): > > Twickster, I sort of took your advice–I just skimmed through the last 200 pages or so, hoping to run across a good section. I guess if you were taking comparative religions, this would be a good book for assigned reading, with a six-page paper to follow. Most of the book is comparing Islam and Hinduism/Buddhism, and how the two religions correlate in their beliefs. One section is just focused on trying to compare righteousness in Islam with charity in Buddhism. This is not a novel. This was a thesis. Heh. Actually, now that you mention it – my academic background is in religion (comparative religion, sociology of religion), so that may have had just a teeny bit to do with my enjoyment of it. Oops. OTOH – I gave my copy to a former underling who had zero background/interest in religion, and he really dug it too – go figure. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/55 "2009-05-07T02:32:49Z")
Now I’ve moved on to _ **Mudville** _. For those keeping score. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/56 "2009-05-07T14:27:00Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > **Shirley Ujest** , I should have heeded sooner your raving about the Lindsey Davis series. I really enjoyed _Silver Pigs_, and am about to start the next one. Schweet! Another doper turned me onto the series, so I am passing on the goodness. ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/57 "2009-05-07T14:30:15Z")
Am re-reading my Sookie Stackhouse books to be all up-to-date to read the ninth one that I got in the mail yesterday. Wonderful fluffy stuff, those books are. Just the thing to relax with after trying to herd teenagers who are antsy for school to be out. ---
**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, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/58 "2009-05-07T15:46:47Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I just finished _The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay_ by Michael Chabon, and adored it. I wanted it never to end. I’m very hopeful of _The Yiddish Policemen’s Union_, which I want to read before seeing the movie. I thought _The Yiddish Policemen’s Union_ wasn’t quite as good as _Kavalier & Clay_, which I also adored, but it was still very good. I’m looking forward to the movie. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/59 "2009-05-07T17:35:33Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Schweet! > > Another doper turned me onto the series, so I am passing on the goodness. My copy of _Silver Pigs_ arrived yesterday, so here’s another turned on to Falco Doper. I’m a bit discouraged by negative comments in the other thread but that’s usually the case with series books – the early ones are often the best. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077/60 "2009-05-07T18:45:00Z")
Recent reads: _Ghost Radio_ – horror/supernatural novel about a radio host of a late night call-in talk show, guests call in with stories of the supernatural … and then the host himself starts having creepy experiences. I found out later that the author (Leopoldo Gout) is a graphic novelist, and I think this book would have made more sense in graphic form. I was kind of meh on it overall. _The Forest of Hands and Teeth_ – by Carrie Ryan. YA novel about a teenage girl living in a small village in world beset by zombies. In between zombie attacks, she has a very dramatic time dealing with two teenage boys who are in luuuurve with her. If you’re a fan of YA horror/romance fiction, this was quite satisfying. I’m now reading Daniel Pinkwater’s _Neddiad_– I’ve only just started it, but so far it is about a kid in 1950s Hollywood trying to save the world. I agree that for Roth, either _The Human Stain_ or _American Pastoral_ would better display his awesomeness. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-09-edition/495077.md?page=4)