# Whatcha Readin' May 2010 Edition
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [May 1, 2010, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958 "2010-05-01T12:00:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/21 "2010-05-03T12:53:18Z")
About 100 pages in to _Kraken_, the new h/c from **China Mieville**. Very good so far…
Failed to enjoy _Transition_ by **Iain Banks**.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2010, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/22 "2010-05-03T12:59:20Z")
Christopher Moore’s **Fluke: or I now why the winged whale sings**. I’d read his **Fool** a couple of weeks ago (and his **Bite Me** just came out), but this is one of only two of his older books I hadn’t read.
I wasn’t prepared for its full-bore weirdness. It started out as weird as any other Moore book (which is pretty damned weird), but a third of the way in it takes a left turn and drops off the continental shelf of Relatively Normal into a Marianas Trench of Deep Weird.
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### Author:  [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/23 "2010-05-03T13:47:09Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> I wasn’t prepared for its full-bore weirdness. It started out as weird as any other Moore book (which is pretty damned weird), but a third of the way in it takes a left turn and drops off the continental shelf of Relatively Normal into a Marianas Trench of Deep Weird.
I tend to enjoy the first half of a Moore book more than the second half. He starts out with the right level of whimsy and weirdness for my taste, and then goes overboard.
I read Georgette Heyer’s _An Infamous Army_, which is a strange hybrid of a Regency romance and a very detailed account of the Battle of Waterloo. I liked it, but I think many of her romance fans will be turned off by the density of the historical data she presents. It was strange to see Heyer’s aristocratic characters confronted by more serious matters than gambling debts and marriage prospects.
I gave up on Michael Flynn’s _The January Dancer_ at the halfway point. I really like Flynn’s other books, and his writing is great, but this one did nothing for me.
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### Author:  [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/24 "2010-05-03T13:52:51Z")
**The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay** by Michael Chabon.
Quite an enjoyable read - tho the font is entirely too small. This is the 3d or 4th I’ve read by him, and I look forward to reading a couple more.
Last book I finished was **The Master Butcher’s Singing Club** by Louise Erdich. I’ve read at least 50-60 books a year for the past quarter century - at least 1/2-2/3 fiction, and am pretty certain this fits onto my top 10 of all time. HIGHLY recommended.
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### Author:  [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/25 "2010-05-03T15:08:10Z")
I finished up _The World Made Straight_ by Ron Rash this weekend – decent novel about small-time drug dealers in Appalachia, excellent writing and terrific sense of place.
I just picked up _Pride and Prejudice and Zombies_, which I know everyone in the free world has already read. I wasn’t sure if it would be too gimmicky for my taste, but so far the juxtaposition is working for me.
Still working through _My Name is Red_ by Orhan Pamuk. I am liking it, but it is dense and complex, and unfortunately too large to be a good commuting book which is when I do most of my reading, so it is taking me forever. Murder and court intrigue in sixteenth-century Istanbul.
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### Author:  [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/26 "2010-05-03T15:09:25Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#):
>
> I read Georgette Heyer’s _An Infamous Army_, which is a strange hybrid of a Regency romance and a very detailed account of the Battle of Waterloo.
I have never read Heyer, and I want to … but I am completely overwhelmed by her output and don’t know where to start. Do you have any suggestions?
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### Author:  [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/27 "2010-05-03T15:26:03Z")
_The Temptation of Saint Anthony_ by Flaubert. I got it after trying to find novels that mix formats, like including poetry and play structures (_Moby-Dick_ is one, Toomer’s _Cane_ is another I liked). It doesn’t seem like this necessarily qualifies, but it seems interesting (plus I like reading books by classic authors that don’t really get too much attention nowadays).
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### Author:  [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/28 "2010-05-03T15:31:57Z")
> [@delphica](#):
>
> I have never read Heyer, and I want to … but I am completely overwhelmed by her output and don’t know where to start. Do you have any suggestions?
I’ve read a couple dozen of her romances now, and I can tell you my favorites. I started with _The Grand Sophy_, which is a good one with a young, impetuous heroine. But my favorites so far are _The Unknown Ajax_, _Frederica_, and _Venetia_, all of which feature slightly older, steadier heroines.
My least favorites have been _These Old Shades_, _Devil’s Cub_, and _The Corinthian,_ but they’re all readable.
Here’s the [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=455974)that got me started reading Heyer, where other posters list their favorites.
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### Author:  [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/30 "2010-05-03T19:46:13Z")
> [@delphica](#):
>
> I finished up _The World Made Straight_ by Ron Rash this weekend – decent novel about small-time drug dealers in Appalachia, excellent writing and terrific sense of place.
This is going on my wish list. I really liked _Serena_.
> [@](#):
>
> I tend to enjoy the first half of a Moore book more than the second half. He starts out with the right level of whimsy and weirdness for my taste, and then goes overboard.
**Eleanor of Aquitaine** , I stopped reading Moore with _Island of the Sequined Love Nun_ for that very reason. I didn’t notice it so much with _Practical Demonkeeping, Coyote Blue, Bloodsucking Fiends_, which retained some believability, but _Love Nun_ was just plain silly.
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### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/31 "2010-05-03T19:59:54Z")
Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace by David Lipsky. Knowing that Wallace would eventually commit suicide makes reading this an extremely bittersweet experience. Still, it’s fascinating to be a fly on the wall as the two discuss all manner of things during their travels. What I wouldn’t give to have a roadtrip companion like DFW.
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/32 "2010-05-04T02:46:19Z")
Just read David Macaulay’s _Mosque_, which I believe is his latest picture book. The story follows the construction of a (fictional) grand mosque in Istanbul in the late 1500s - fascinating, from-the-ground-up details and, as always, interesting and very detailed drawings by the author.
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### Author:  [@Danika\_07](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danika_07)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/33 "2010-05-05T02:01:36Z")
😃
Glad you’ve discovered The Deportation Officer Handbook, my pick for best and funniest New Orleans book of the modern era! Unlike Ida, I have gotten to the part about the villain Volik Darza getting something – and all I’ll say is I couldn’t possibly spoil it.😉
Rayford Purvis is my favorite New Orleans character since Ignatius J Reilly.
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### Author:  [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/34 "2010-05-05T02:41:44Z")
_Hitler’s War,_ by Harry Turtledove. Harry has a couple of daughters in college and is pricking up the pace to pay the bills. It shows.
Every pilot who lands hears his teeth click together on landing. Every dive bomber pilot sees red as he pulls out of a dive. Every officer ‘stops’ a round in his chest.
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### Author:  [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/35 "2010-05-05T02:51:26Z")
I’ve just finished Hella Nation: Looking for Happy Meals in Kandahar, Rocking the Side Pipe, Wingnut’s War against The Gap and Other Adventures with the Totally Lost Tribes of America by Evan Wright.
Don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
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### Author:  [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/36 "2010-05-05T10:12:00Z")
I just started [Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes](http://www.amazon.com/Matterhorn-Novel-Vietnam-Karl-Marlantes/dp/080211928X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273051458&sr=1-1). I can’t remember the last time I read reviews as glowing, and unanimously so, as it’s garnered. More than once it’s been called a _great_ novel (and I’m not talking about the usual Amazon reviewer superlatives, though that’s also the case). Typical was the [New York Times’ panegyric](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/books/review/Junger-t.html), “one of the most profound and devastating novels ever to come out of Vietnam — or any war . . . a raw, brilliant account of war that may well serve as a final exorcism for one of the most painful passages in American history”. In fact, it was because of such high praise that I went out of character and picked it up - I mean I’m one of those people who _never_ reads fiction. And I mean that almost literally; it is truly rare for me to do so.
To this point (page 125), I am impressed. By definition, I’m no fiction maven, but this is good stuff. Here’s a guy that in a (short) paragraph can make you feel like you’ve known a character all your life. And, wow, what characters! So, money well spent.
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### Author:  [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2010, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/37 "2010-05-05T10:18:07Z")
[Party Animals: A Hollywood Tale of Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll Starring the Fabulous Allan Carr](http://www.amazon.com/Party-Animals-Hollywood-Starring-Fabulous/dp/0306816555/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273054508&sr=1-1). And, yes, it is pretty fabulous.
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### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/38 "2010-05-07T13:49:48Z")
I just finished my audiobook, Duel by Richard Matheson and Throttle by Stephen King and Joe Hill. Duel was shorter than I expected, but okay. I was surprised that in the story, the truck driver’s face is seen and he is referred to by a name. IMO, the movie was much better.
Throttle was pretty good.
My library finally got the new Jim Butcher book in for me, so I picked up something light to pass the time until I can get there: Little Billy’s Letters: an incorrigible inner child’s correspondence with the famous, infamous, and just plain bewildered, by Bill Geerhart. This thirty-something year old guy posing as a third grader wrote letters asking questions like “should I drop out of school” or “what religion should I choose” and sent them to a bunch of politicians, serial killers, etc. Father Guido Sarducci did a couple of similar books, but this is somewhat less silly and more interesting. Did you know that for a mere hundred dollars, you can get an embossed card identifying you as a member of the church of Satan? I imagine Satanists crack up every time someone sends them a check for that. I also caught myself feeling a little sorry for Susan Atkins, (Manson family member), because she fell for the Little Billy story hook line and sinker. She sent him two letters which she had obviously put a lot of thought into.
Anyway, fun.
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### Author:  [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/39 "2010-05-07T13:54:58Z")
> [@Danika\_07](#):
>
> 😃
> Glad you’ve discovered The Deportation Officer Handbook, my pick for best and funniest New Orleans book of the modern era! Unlike Ida, I have gotten to the part about the villain Volik Darza getting something – and all I’ll say is I couldn’t possibly spoil it.😉
> Rayford Purvis is my favorite New Orleans character since Ignatius J Reilly.
Just put this on my to-read list. Anything compared favorably to I.J. Reilly, I’ve got to read.
I have _On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery_ by Robert M. Poole. My husband read it first and said the most interesting part is the Civil War stuff in the beginning. I’m past that, but I’m still interested, so I’m still reading.
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/40 "2010-05-07T15:49:43Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#):
>
> _Hitler’s War,_ by Harry Turtledove. Harry has a couple of daughters in college and is pricking up the pace to pay the bills. It shows.
>
> Every pilot who lands hears his teeth click together on landing. Every dive bomber pilot sees red as he pulls out of a dive. Every officer ‘stops’ a round in his chest.
He’s got macros for that, you know.
**Sigmagirl** , I read that Arlington book a year or so ago. It was pretty good (gorgeous illustrations!) but I noticed several errors; wrote a letter to the author and never heard back.
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### Author:  [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-may-2010-edition/537958/41 "2010-05-07T15:59:51Z")
Funny. It says he’s a contributing editor at _Smithsonian_; you’d think he’d want to know. What, specifically? I wish there were more illustrations. He talks about all these elaborate memorials, but then you can’t look at them. I went to the Arlington web site yesterday and was irritated that you had to look at each picture individually; there is no “next” function. So you’d look at one picture, then return to the list, then go to the next picture, then return to the list. What a waste of time.
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