# Whatcha Readin' Oct 09 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 30, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095 "2009-09-30T12:43:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/101 "2009-10-15T13:29:47Z")
Oh. :smack: šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/102 "2009-10-15T14:08:58Z")
I just returned from a week-long vacation and didnā€™t get much reading done. I did finish ā€œShutter Islandā€ by Dennis Lehane on the plane ride there. I have now started ā€œIt Canā€™t Happen Hereā€ by Sinclair Lewis. Itā€™s very promising so far, even though Iā€™m only about 70 pages in. I also started ā€œThe Godfatherā€ on audio book. Now that Iā€™m back I plan to continue reading ā€œA Farewell to Armsā€ as well. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/103 "2009-10-15T14:44:21Z")
Dostoyevskyā€™s _Demons_ is going back on the shelf unread. His writing is lively enough, but I canā€™t relate to the characters or their situations, and I donā€™t like or dislike any of them. Iā€™ve been wanting to re-read some old favorites, see how they hold up ā€“ maybe _The Postman_ or _Second Son_. ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/104 "2009-10-15T14:48:31Z")
In the last few weeks, Iā€™ve read: Guy Gavriel Kayā€™s Fionavar Trilogy. I thought the first and second book, _The Summer Tree_ and _The Wandering Fire_, started slow but each ended with a bang. The last, _The Darkest Road_, ended with a ā€œmehā€ for me. I was able to guess who lived and died, who failed and triumphed about a hundred pages before the action. A friend loaned me the books and I felt obligated to finish them, but I might have put the last one down otherwise. _Hocus Pocus_, Kurt Vonnegut. I discovered a Vonnegut book on my shelf that Iā€™d never read before. To me, thatā€™s like finding a delicious cake in the fridge that I didnā€™t remember buying. The main character was one of Vonnegutā€™s most lucid and sane, but also one of his least sympathetic. _The Virginā€™s Lover_, Philippa Gregory. I am always sucked in by Gregoryā€™s books, despite knowing the history is crap and knowing that sheā€™s shoving her own historical agenda down the readerā€™s throat. This one was worth the read just for the train-wrecky-ness of the storyā€¦ the characters are all despicable and the one person whoā€™s not outright horrible is pathetically stupid. Iā€™m currently reading: _The Great Influenza_, by John Barry. This book is making me terrifically paranoid, but is really good so far. _The Talisman_, by Stephen King and Peter Straub. I think I read this before as a kid, because the story and even specific moments and sentences seem really familiarā€¦ but Iā€™m not 100% certain. Itā€™s distracting, actually, and that niggling brain worm is keeping me from really getting into the story. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/105 "2009-10-15T14:57:09Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I read that entry yesterday, in fact. Thereā€™s enough prejudice on display in the stories Iā€™ve read to this point, and he canā€™t help emphasizing race when it comes up. And the entry left me thinking itā€™s worse in other stories. Yup, any time there are howling cultists worshipping things better left unnamed, they are bound to be of ā€œmongrel raceā€. Though to be fair, poor Whites were also likely to be ā€œdegenerateā€ in his stories - heā€™s omnivorous in his prejudice. šŸ˜‰ Oddly he expressed a positively physical loathing of Jews in his writings, yet married a woman of Jewish ancestry. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/106 "2009-10-15T15:07:34Z")
Just finished a book recommended by **Gulo gulo** in last monthā€™s thread: _Where the Wild Things Were_ by William Stolzenberg, on apex predators ā€“ the big carnivores at the top of the food chain. Turns out theyā€™re absolutely necessary, to keep critters from lower down in the food chain from throwing everything out of whack. Those lower critters might be herbivores, like the deer currently destroying forests all over the Eastern U.S. (and elsewhere) or smaller carnivores like fox and raccoons. Interesting stuff, though the author doesnā€™t write nearly as well as he thinks he does. (Plus the book could have taken one more copy edit ā€“ there were a slew of homonyms that slipped through, like ā€œfree reignā€ instead of ā€œfree reinā€ and ā€œflareā€ for ā€œflairā€ [or maybe that one was vice versa]. There are times when I wish I could shut off the editor part of my brain.) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/107 "2009-10-15T15:31:03Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > There are times when I wish I could shut off the editor part of my brain. In one of the Lovecraft stories, ā€œdownā€ was swapped out for ā€œclown.ā€ It was very distracting. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/108 "2009-10-15T15:39:29Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Oddly he expressed a positively physical loathing of Jews in his writings, yet married a woman of Jewish ancestry. Perhaps more oddly, \*she \*married _him_. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/109 "2009-10-15T17:11:10Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Perhaps more oddly, \*she \*married _him_. I assume he didnā€™t mention this loathing to her while a-courting. šŸ˜‰ "My dear, Iā€™m afraid I find you and your mongrel degenerate blood positively abhorrent. It is mixed-race types like you whose threat to our sane White Protestant values is so aptly symbolized in my lifeā€™s work, where the debased hordes threaten to wreak unearthly insanity on a sleeping civilization by unleasing unnamable creatures from foul non-Euclidian dimensions to revel in abomination. Letā€™s get married!" "Oooh Philip, you have such a way with words ā€¦ " ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/110 "2009-10-15T22:13:48Z")
BTW Iā€™m reading _Johannes Cabal the Necromancer_ which was recommended by someone here, and Iā€™m enjoying it very much. A real rip-roaring page-turner with a nasty sense of humour. In short, a good read. > **[Johannes Cabal the Necromancer: Howard, Jonathan L.: 9780385528085: Amazon.com:...](https://www.amazon.com/Johannes-Cabal-Necromancer-Jonathan-Howard/dp/0385528086)** > > Johannes Cabal the Necromancer \[Howard, Jonathan L.\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Johannes Cabal the Necromancer ---
**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:** [October 19, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/111 "2009-10-19T13:31:24Z")
Last week I read The Travelling Vampire Show/Dreadful Tales, by Richard Laymon. The Travelling Vampire Show had a decent plot which dragged me onward, but I didnā€™t much care for the ending. The Dreadful Talesā€¦well, they actually were dreadful. At a conservative estimate, I would say these books were about 40% descriptions of breasts, so if you like boobies, these may be the books for you. Next I picked up a recommendation from **Elendilā€™s Heir** : Tuf Voyaging by George R.R. Martin. I read a few pages, then put it aside, not really intending to read any further. I just donā€™t dig science fiction. However, I was on a trip far from home, and hadnā€™t brought much reading material, so I soon picked it up again and was glad I did! Tuf is an unemotional, unprepossessing kind of character at first, but I was loving him by the end of the book. The plot (ecological engineering in space) was fascinating. I only wished it had been longer! Now reading Columbine, by Dave Cullen. Every bit as engrossing as I knew it would be. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/112 "2009-10-19T13:56:59Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Just started **Unseen Academicals** yesterday and already enjoying it immensely. Ditto ---
**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:** [October 19, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/113 "2009-10-19T14:19:42Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > ā€¦Next I picked up a recommendation from **Elendilā€™s Heir** : Tuf Voyaging by George R.R. Martinā€¦ I only wished it had been longer! Iā€™m very glad you persisted! Without exception, all sf readers to whom Iā€™ve recommended that book have loved it. I corresponded briefly with Martin a few years ago, and he told me that after he finishes his mammoth _A Song of Ice and Fire_ series, heā€™d like to return to that lovable, bald, phlegmatic, sarcastic antihero, Haviland Tuf. The sooner, the better, says I! ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/114 "2009-10-19T18:18:58Z")
Finished my Halloween book, _ **The Haunting of Hill House** _, based on **Dung Beetle** ā€™s recommendation, and I thought it was pretty great. I might read it again soon, since it was short and I think I missed lots of foreshadowing, but my MIL is borrowing it now. Iā€™m reading \*\*\*The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao \*\*\*now. The cover says it won a _Pulitzer_ and was a \*NY Times \*bestseller, so once again Iā€™m on the trailing edge of coolā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/115 "2009-10-19T19:18:27Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Iā€™m reading \*\*\*The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao \*\*\*now. The cover says it won a _Pulitzer_ and was a \*NY Times \*bestseller, so once again Iā€™m on the trailing edge of coolā€¦ I listened to this as an audiobook last month. As a non-Spanish speakers, I was glad I went that routeā€¦ Thereā€™s quite a few Spanish words and phrases and the narrator conveyed the meaning even though I couldnā€™t understand the actual words. When youā€™re through, Iā€™d be interested to hear what you thought of the ending. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/116 "2009-10-19T19:32:50Z")
I have finished **Echo in the Bone**. I will need to get to the library to find some Lord John books. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/117 "2009-10-19T20:09:18Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Finished my Halloween book, _ **The Haunting of Hill House** _, based on **Dung Beetle** ā€™s recommendation, and I thought it was pretty great. I might read it again soon, since it was short and I think I missed lots of foreshadowing, but my MIL is borrowing it now. I liked that one a lot. The opening would make an awesome real estate ad. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**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:** [October 19, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/118 "2009-10-19T22:18:08Z")
My Halloween book this year is **Tex and Molly in the Afterlife** , by Richard Grant. Two old New England hippie cartoons get stoned, fall into a well and come back to haunt their town at the behest of a couple of cosmic woo-woo entities (Raven and Bear). Sounds dreadful, doesnā€™t it? Actually itā€™s pretty amusing so far, but then Iā€™m only about 75 pages in. Too early to tell, but I have a feeling Iā€™m going to wish these two groovy, laid back ghosts had the decency to shut up and decompose like everybody else. Weā€™ll see. ---
**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:** [October 20, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/119 "2009-10-20T13:33:07Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Iā€™m very glad you persisted! Without exception, all sf readers to whom Iā€™ve recommended that book have loved it. I corresponded briefly with Martin a few years ago, and he told me that after he finishes his mammoth _A Song of Ice and Fire_ series, heā€™d like to return to that lovable, bald, phlegmatic, sarcastic antihero, Haviland Tuf. The sooner, the better, says I! Thatā€™s great! I could definitely read many more chapters on Tufā€™s adventures. Should never have doubted youā€¦ > [@bup](#): > > Finished my Halloween book, The Haunting of Hill House, based on Dung Beetleā€™s recommendation, and I thought it was pretty great. My life, it was not lived in vain. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095/120 "2009-10-22T00:26:49Z")
Finished reading through the new _Lonely Planet Vietnam_ guide and have our trip pretty much mapped out, flying into Hanoi and back from Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon. However, I think weā€™ll have to pass on eating at Cepage in HCMC, described as ā€œa trendy wine bar with a lounge downstairs and a serious foodie place upstairs.ā€ Or at least, weā€™ll pass on their ā€œblack box,ā€ described as ā€œa mystery three-course set lunch for 130,000 dong.ā€ (130,000 dong = US$7.30) Donā€™t like no mystery meals anywhere let alone Vietnam. But the tourism situation in Vietnam has vastly improved in recent years. I distinctly recall about 20 years ago, a Lonely Planet writer was in Vietnam doing research for a new edition when he was summarily yanked off the train mid-country by the authorities and kicked straight out of the country, because they werenā€™t at all sure about what he was up to. IIRC, he was even transported to the airport in a cage and not let out until they put him on the plane! Enough travel guides now. My next read shall be _Flashman and the Dragon_, by George MacDonald Fraser, one of the last two in the Flashman series that Iā€™ve not yet read. We have a holiday weekend coming up ā€“ Friday is Chulalongkorn Day, which commemorates the reign of King Chulalongkorn, or Rama V, the little boy in _The King and I_ and who died in 1910 ā€“ and weā€™ll be up in [Khao Yai National Park](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khao_Yai_National_Park). Iā€™ll start the book on the way up on the bus. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-09-edition/512095.md?page=7)