# Whatcha Readin' November 2011 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 31, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422 "2011-10-31T20:11:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/81 "2011-11-18T17:27:13Z")
Finished **The Road** by Cormac McCarthy. I liked it, it was a nice easy read, but no, Cormac, you are not too good for quotation marks. I’ll probably never read him again for just that reason. ---
**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:** [November 18, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/82 "2011-11-18T17:33:39Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I am walking away from \*Reamde \*- maybe a bit over half-way. Just not holding me - it is not superficial and fast-paced enough to be a page-flipping thriller (he loves his details a bit too much) and not speculatively thought-provoking enough to challenge how I look at the world around me (which he did to great affect in Snow Crash, Diamond Age, Crypto, and others…). Sorry, Neal - just not for me this time. I’m in the foothills at the bottom of Mt. Reamde, so I’m going to plug in my earbuds and do the lalalalala thing, at least for the next 4 or 5 CDs (out of 32)! ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/83 "2011-11-18T17:54:31Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > **delphica** , I liked _River of Darkness_ too, but the second book was a disappointment. Maybe I read it too soon after reading the first one, as it felt like I was reading the same book, but without that “this is fresh” feeling. Good to know, this sounds like it would be better to let more time lapse so the similar elements of the series don’t seem too repetitive. I just finished a grueling kid lit book, _Jefferson’s Sons_, by Kimberly Bradley. It’s about Sally Hemings’s sons, who were raised on Monticello as slaves. Historical fiction. It’s a pretty good book, but wow, it was a hard read at times knowing these were real people who were enslaved by their father. The mind boggles. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/84 "2011-11-18T20:28:23Z")
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. I’m trying to learn why the world acted like Santa Claus died when Jobs passed a few weeks ago. My Kindle says I’m only 13% of the way through the book so I have a lot to learn yet, but what I’ve learned so far is that Jobs was an a-hole all the way back to his college days and the founding of Apple and that Wozniak seems to be the true genius of the company. ---
**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:** [November 18, 2011, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/85 "2011-11-18T22:33:29Z")
I just finished Steven Brust’s Firefly novel, _My Own Kind of Freedom_, which is available as a free ebook. I don’t usually read fan fiction, but I’ve read several of Brust’s other novels, and I like his writing. The book was fun, and I recommend it if you’re a Firefly fan. He knows the characters and he’s got their banter down pat. The story takes place between the last TV episode and the movie, and it felt pretty much like a Firefly episode. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/86 "2011-11-20T15:51:39Z")
Finished **Cranioklepty** : Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius (See post #56 for link). I liked it. I felt it could have covered a bit more ground, but for what it is, it’s a good book. Well worth reading if the subject matter appeals. Next up: [Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol](http://www.amazon.com/Drink-Cultural-History-Iain-Gately/dp/1592404642/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2). I’ve been looking for something on this topic for a while now, hopefully it’ll edumacate me a bit more on the history of booze. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/87 "2011-11-20T23:06:40Z")
Finished\*\*\* False Justice \*\*\*by Jim and Nancy Petro. It’s life-changing. The US Justice system needs fixing yesterday. Post-conviction exculpatory evidence is way too hard to get the state to consider. It’s also frightening what those rare cases that have been overturned show about how the justice system works, what convicted the people in the first place, and how unreliable other types of evidence (eyewitness testimony, confessions, and testimony of snitches) are. I hope the book moves mountains. Now reading _ **The Fabric of the Cosmos** _ by Brian Greene because I enjoyed _ **The Elegant Universe** _ so much. He explains quantum physics as clearly as he can, and it’s the most complicated thing I’m capable of understanding. Much better writer than Hawking, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/88 "2011-11-20T23:24:13Z")
Last month I bought a box of books at a garage sale for $1.00, score. 🙂 Among them were several recommended-for high school classics and I’ve just re-read them. _Lord of the Flies_ (amazing), \*All But my Life \*(ditto) and _The Great Gatsby_ (didn’t get the importance of this book in high school, still don’t; somebody _please_ tell me why this is regarded as an important work of fiction?) Now I’m about half-way through Stephen King’s _11/22/63_. Not quite the gripping yarn that some of his past humungous novels were, but entertaining enough. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/89 "2011-11-22T14:44:00Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Now I’m about half-way through Stephen King’s _11/22/63_. Not quite the gripping yarn that some of his past humungous novels were, but entertaining enough. I was on vacation last week, and one of the best days of the trip was the one I spent holed up in the hotel room, drilling through _11/22/63_. It was quite long, but since he’s describing a span of years, it works. And he surprised me at the end. I’d give it a solid B. Today I started _The Painted Darkness_, by Brian James Freeman. It’s…okay. The thing that struck me about it mostly is that I got nearly halfway through it in one twenty-five minute reading session. It also has some illustrations. If it’s YA, it’s not labeled as such. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/90 "2011-11-22T14:51:34Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > Finished a quick read: _River of Darkness_, by Rennie Airth. A mystery, set in that classic English mystery period between the wars, but written with more of today’s crime writing style (or at any rate, 1999’s crime writing style) - so you get more graphic violence and not everything is so cozy. I enjoyed it, and it’s the first in a trilogy. I was very impressed with _River of Darkness_. Still making my way through _The Prague Cemetery_; read _Rin Tin Tin_ by Susan Orlean on Saturday and then _Nightwoods_ by Charles Frazier. _Rin Tin Tin_ is a very quick read and made me want to see some of the early silent movies, many now lost; _Nightwoods_ atmospheric but derivative and kind of peters out at the end. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/91 "2011-11-22T15:00:37Z")
Finished \*\*The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt \*\*- turns out it just won the non-fiction National Book Award. It was fun - basically like \*\*The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester \*\*- i.e., uses a character-driven story as the central arc of a book that takes diversions to explore historical context on a macro and day-in-the-life scales, technology of the day, religions as belieft systems and powerful entities in 1400’s Europe. A great PBS show in a book… …having a quick romp through \*\*Ready Player One \*\*- so far, it reminds me somewhat of \*\*Daemon \*\*by Daniel Suares, in terms of a dead billionaire online-environment-creating genius spurring a big world-changing event… ---
**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:** [November 23, 2011, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/92 "2011-11-23T05:52:27Z")
Just finished _Little Bee_ by Chris Cleave. It’s about a Nigerian refugee girl who upends the lives of two British tourists whom she meets on a beach. It had an important message but was a bit too preachy/farfetched/contrived for my tastes. Next up: _Cat’s Cradle_ by Kurt Vonnegut - only my second Vonnegut book ever, after _Slaughterhouse-Five_. Both are book club selections. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/93 "2011-11-23T15:16:48Z")
Tore thru _Ready Player One_ fairly quickly - I hope Ernest Cline considers a sequel; as we didn’t see very much at all of the real world outside the OASIS at all, and that intrigued me as much as the game. Is it just me, or did this feel kind of like a YA book? Speaking of YA - I was disappointed with Clive Barker’s _Abarat_. I’ve heard so many good things about Clive Barker; yet am not a hardcore horror reader (at least at the moment), so thought a YA fantasy novel would be a good intro. Honestly, I’m a bit underwhelmed. The universe is charmingly quirky, and the drawings are fantastic (in multiple senses of the word); yet the plot was overly-episodic, the main character - Candy Quakenbush wasn’t much of anything, and the ending wasn’t really an ending at all. I doubt I’ll revisit this book or continue the series; tho am willing to give Barker another try. I rather enjoyed _Witches on the Road Tonight_ by Sheri Holman. I’d read her historical novel _The Dress Lodger_ a few years ago & **Sigmagirl’s** recco spurred me to check it out from the library. The shifting points of view & timeline, along with lots of characters (it helped me to jot down notes) were occasionally a challenge, but ultimately made for a richer reading experience for me. I really got into the characters -following Eddie Alley; his mother, Cora; and his daughter, Wallis through 60+ years of history and mystery was a worthwhile ride. Another recommendation - _The Dervish House_ by Ian McDonald. On a recommendation from a friend, I picked this novel up from the library; I didn’t really know what I was getting into, which I think worked to my advantage. While the economic/political elements were a bit out of my league; the near-future setting hit my SF sweet spot, and the exotic locale (Istanbul) added to the sense of other-worldliness. For me, the sign of a good novel is wanting to know more; in this case, I now want to find a good review of the last century of Turkish history/culture. Definitely worth a library read - possibly a used book purchase. I may revisit this novel someday & am interested in trying other novels by the same author ---
**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:** [November 23, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/94 "2011-11-23T16:10:27Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Today I started _The Painted Darkness_, by Brian James Freeman. It’s…okay. The thing that struck me about it mostly is that I got nearly halfway through it in one twenty-five minute reading session. It also has some illustrations. If it’s YA, it’s not labeled as such. Done. It probably took about 45 minutes, all told. Apparently this is a book written by an adult, for adults, but I think it would be more properly shelved in a middle school library. The author is a Goodreads friend…I think I won’t review this over there. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/95 "2011-11-24T03:45:17Z")
Gave up on _Cat’s Cradle_ by Kurt Vonnegut after 50 pages. Very, very short chapters, oddball characters, repeated references to Hiroshima - meh. Did nothing for me. Finished _I Am A Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President_ by Josh Lieb. A few laughs but overall kinda disappointing. Could’ve been much better. Just started _The Imperfectionists_ by Tom Rachman, a novel about the staff of a struggling English-language newspaper in Rome. Just a chapter in, but I like it. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/96 "2011-11-24T04:31:20Z")
“In the Land of Invisible Women” by Quanta Ahmed, about being a western-raised, female doctor in Saudi Arabia. I just found out that Maureen McHugh is publishing again so I am re-reading “Half the Day is Night” while I wait for delivery of her “After the Apocalypse”. It should be here Friday. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/97 "2011-11-24T04:58:31Z")
Just finished “The Lathe of Heaven” by Ursula K. LeGuin. I loved it. Great story, and I liked recognizing all the Portland area geography. I’m going to start “Super Sad True Love Story” by Gary Shteyngart next. I’ve also checked out “The City and the City” by China Mieville and “Coyote Blue” by Christopher Moore. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/98 "2011-11-24T06:59:36Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > I’m also reading _ **The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist** _. It’s a dystopian novel where older, childless people are housed/locked in “The Unit”, which is actually a nice place with lots to do, and used for medical experimentation and organ donation. I read this about a year ago. The plot didn’t go the way I was expecting and I liked that. I’d call it understated and powerful. > [@Invisible\_Chimp](#): > > I’m going to start “Super Sad True Love Story” by Gary Shteyngart next. I’ve also checked out “The City and the City” by China Mieville and “Coyote Blue” by Christopher Moore. I really liked _The City and the City_. I liked it so much that I went back and read four other books by Mieville. So far, none has been up to the same level, though _Perdido Street Station_ is very impressive. I just finished _[Caribou Island](http://www.amazon.com/Caribou-Island-Novel-David-Vann/dp/0061875724)_ by David Vann. I really liked it, though there was some thematic overlap with his previous book _[Legend of a Suicide](http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Suicide-Stories-David-Vann/dp/0061875848)_. Maybe we’re from the same generation or something but reading his prose feels effortless. I’m currently trying to read [How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive](http://www.amazon.com/How-Keep-Your-Volkswagen-Alive/dp/1935554638) by Christopher Boucher, but so far I hate it. It’s all about a man who has a VW Beetle for a son and is filled with things like violent anthropomorphic trees and farms that drive around and park different places at night. It tries way too hard to be quirky/crazy and ends up annoying/tedious. I’ll give it another 20 pages, but after that it’s back the library. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/99 "2011-11-24T15:24:37Z")
Finished and highly enjoyed [The Pilgrim](http://www.amazon.com/Pilgrim-Hugh-Nissenson/dp/140220924X) by Hugh Nissensen, after hearing Maureen Corrigan rave about it on NPR. Read about 50 pages and dumped _Evensong_ by Gail Godwin. I’ve heard about Godwin for years but haven’t tried anything of hers. As I’m reading along, I start to wonder why I’d heard of her, or if I had her mixed up with another Gail or another Godwin, and I was also wondering if she writes Christian fiction, because that’s what this was and it’s not a genre I’m interested in. At least not the way she writes it. I like the Mitford books and I’ve read a lot of A.J. Cronin and Andrew Greeley. But this was boring as hell, with a couple of long paragraphs that made no sense at all. After 50 pages, there should be an inkling of a plot, but I didn’t see one coming. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422/100 "2011-11-24T20:54:13Z")
Anne McCaffrey has died, I’m sorry to report: [Anne McCaffrey - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_mccaffrey) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-november-2011-edition/601422.md?page=6)