# Whatcha Readin' Oct 2012 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 30, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309 "2012-09-30T12:40:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/81 "2012-10-13T17:58:56Z")
Got this email this morning: \*Dear Kindle Customer, We have good news. You are entitled to a credit for some of your past e-book purchases as a result of legal settlements between several major e-book publishers and the Attorneys General of most U.S. states and territories, including yours. You do not need to do anything to receive this credit. We will contact you when the credit is applied to your [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) account if the Court approves the settlements in February 2013. \* ---
**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 13, 2012, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/82 "2012-10-13T23:07:29Z")
> [@wonderlust](#): > > Got this email this morning: > > \*Dear Kindle Customer, > We have good news. You are entitled to a credit for some of your past e-book purchases as a result of legal settlements between several major e-book publishers and the Attorneys General of most U.S. states and territories, including yours. You do not need to do anything to receive this credit. We will contact you when the credit is applied to your [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) account if the Court approves the settlements in February 2013. > \* Nice! Any idea how much? ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/83 "2012-10-14T01:59:20Z")
_“While we will not know the amount of your credit until the Court approves the settlements, the Attorneys General estimate that it will range from $0.30 to $1.32 for every eligible Kindle book that you purchased between April 2010 and May 2012. Alternatively, you may request a check in the amount of your credit”_ This would be fantastic, depending on what counts as “eligible.” ---
**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 14, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/84 "2012-10-14T02:46:16Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Continuing on with Connelly, next up is _A Darkness More Than Night_. This is another Harry Bosch story, this time uniting him with retired FBI agent Terry McCaleb from Connelly’s earlier _Blood Work_. I’ve not read _Blood Work_, but we did see the 2002 film version of it starring Clint Eastwood. Finished Michael Connelly’s _A Darkness More Than Night_. Excellent. I was going to change tack and next read a collection of HL Mencken’s writings, but then I saw that our library finally got back the anthology of Michael Connelly’s early Harry Bosch novels. So I’ve picked that up instead and have started _The Black Echo_, the first Harry Bosch story, published in 1992. ---
**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 15, 2012, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/85 "2012-10-15T01:27:06Z")
Just finished _Sydney Opera House: Idea to Icon_ by Michael Moy. Pretty interesting story - construction ran so long and went so far over-budget (due to the very innovative method of pouring concrete for the roof shells) that it became an issue in Australian local politics. The architect, fed up with bad publicity and political interference, walked off the project before it was even complete! Fortunately it all turned out for the best - still an architectural masterpiece. [![](https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/26/68/dd/sydney-opera-house.jpg) ](https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/26/68/dd/sydney-opera-house.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/86 "2012-10-15T01:34:29Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Just finished _Sydney Opera House: Idea to Icon_ by Michael Moy. Pretty int The architect, fed up with bad publicity and political interference, walked off the project before it was even complete! Fortunately it all turned out for the best - still an architectural masterpiece. > > [http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/26/68/dd/sydney-opera-house.jpg](http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/26/68/dd/sydney-opera-house.jpg) I need to put that on my to read list. I’m such an architecture geek… and it sounds like it he similar issues to Il Duomo in Florence Italy. ---
**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:** [October 15, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/87 "2012-10-15T15:32:34Z")
After seeing the trailer for **Cloud Atlas** , I said, “I’d like to read that before I see the movie.” So, my wife got it for me and I’m giving it a go now. I’ve been very busy and somewhat distracted, so it has been difficult to keep up with Mitchell’s writing. Not that it’s bad, not at all, it just requires attention. ---
**Author:** ![hildea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ebca7d/32.png) [@hildea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hildea)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/88 "2012-10-15T18:14:44Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’m waiting for her next book, _Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance_, which is being released on November 6. Me too. I’ve read the [sample chapters](http://www.baenebooks.com/chapters/A9781451638455/A9781451638455.htm?blurb) three or four times. I just finished Holly Black’s [Curse Workers series](http://www.thecurseworkers.com). Magic works, and in the US it’s illegal. That worked about as well as the Prohibition… So, what to read next? My list of stuff-to-read on Goodreads just keeps growing. I’ve added “Code name Verity” to it after reading this thread, but now I’m in mood for more fantasy, I think. That’s what I like best about my e-reader: That I can decide I want a book, buy it from home, and start to read it immediately. Luxury 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/89 "2012-10-15T18:20:46Z")
Finished the audiobook of Terry Pratchett’s _**[Dodger](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13516846-dodger)**_ up over the weekend - IMHO - Pterry’s still got it. He calls this novel a “historical fantasy” - where a young street lad nicknamed Dodger, saves a mysterious young woman from a difficult situation. This leads Dodger, along with Charles Dickens, Henry Mayhew and even Benjamin Disraeli through adventures & intrigue with some thrilling moments, touches of high hilarity and a lot of insight into early Victorian London. It’s not Discworld - but Sir Samuel Vimes would have felt quite at home. (And Angela Burdett-Coutts seems very much like Lady Sybil, in retrospect!) Stephen Briggs was the excellent narrator of the audiobook and I’m sure I’ll be picking up a copy of this novel for myself shortly. Continuing the “historical London” theme - I also finished Connie Willis’s _**[All Clear](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7519231-all-clear)**_. The historians continue to be trapped in London during the Blitz - trying to survive as best they can while not giving up hope of returning home. Willis tied all the story threads together nicely, even if it wasn’t a completely happy ending. Between this and _Code Name Verity_, I definitely want to learn more about the roles of young women in WWII Britain! (Any recommendations?) I really enjoyed both volumes and can see returning to this story again. A question for those who have read the books: So - was Sir Geoffrey really Colin or not? That would explain his affection for Polly nearly from the beginning of her appearance in the St. George shelter. And at the very end, Polly says something about looking at Colin and seeing in the angles of his face something familiar, but Willis doesn’t come out & say what. I think it is Colin - that he went back to the Blitz as an older man to save and watch over Polly. 🙂 Tho that doesn’t explain how he was able to be in the theater as Geoffrey _and_ as the younger Colin… ah well - time travel makes my head hurt! ---
**Author:** ![hildea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ebca7d/32.png) [@hildea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hildea)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/90 "2012-10-15T18:30:06Z")
Not exactly what you asked for, but I recommend [Flygirl](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4419501-flygirl), about young women in USA during WWII. ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/91 "2012-10-15T18:41:46Z")
> [@Politzania](#): > > Continuing the “historical London” theme - I also finished Connie Willis’s _**[All Clear](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7519231-all-clear)**_. The historians continue to be trapped in London during the Blitz - trying to survive as best they can while not giving up hope of returning home. Willis tied all the story threads together nicely, even if it wasn’t a completely happy ending. Between this and _Code Name Verity_, I definitely want to learn more about the roles of young women in WWII Britain! (Any recommendations?) I really enjoyed both volumes and can see returning to this story again. Ordinarily WWII is outside of my interest zone but those do sound intriguing. I started **The Alehouse Murders** Saturday. I was early to our NaNoWriMo function so I stopped at the local Deseret Industries for a book.. at $.50 even garbage can be worthwhile! Not that I’m calling this book garbage, but the writer’s narration is oddly stilted… ---
**Author:** ![RunSilent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@RunSilent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RunSilent)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/92 "2012-10-15T18:44:46Z")
I am finally reading Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Sometimes hard to follow, but beginning to be intriguing. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/93 "2012-10-15T18:45:45Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Ordinarily WWII is outside of my intrest zone but those do sound intriguing. > > I started **The Alehouse Murders** Saturday. I was early to our NaNo WriMo function so I stopped at the Local Deseret Industries for a book.. at $.50 even garbage can be worthwhile! Not that I’m calling this book garbage, but the writer’s narration is oddly stilted… I read that one. Ended up giving it three stars on Goodreads, saying it “never grabbed me.” I really don’t remember anything about it! ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/94 "2012-10-15T18:48:08Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I read that one. Ended up giving it three stars on Goodreads, saying it “never grabbed me.” I really don’t remember anything about it! At page 25 and three POVs, I am wondering if that will be my conclusion to..Amazon needs to send me my Matthew Bartholew books dammit!😃 ---
**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 15, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/95 "2012-10-15T19:19:51Z")
> [@Politzania](#): > > …I definitely want to learn more about the roles of young women in WWII Britain! (Any recommendations?)… My MIL really liked _The Land Girls_ by Angela Huth, about young women sent out to work on British farms to cover for the men who’d gone into the military; there was later a film of the same name. The movie _Hope and Glory_ is a comedy-drama that has a young British woman as a main character; she finds the Blitz curiously liberating. The very good Ken Follett WWII spy thriller _Eye of the Needle_ also has a prominent female character. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/96 "2012-10-15T19:34:38Z")
> [@hildea](#): > > Me too. I’ve read the [sample chapters](http://www.baenebooks.com/chapters/A9781451638455/A9781451638455.htm?blurb) three or four times. > I just finished Holly Black’s [Curse Workers series](http://www.thecurseworkers.com). Magic works, and in the US it’s illegal. That worked about as well as the Prohibition… > \ I’ve added the first to my queue. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/97 "2012-10-15T19:53:11Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > At page 25 and three POVs, I am wondering if that will be my conclusion to..Amazon needs to send me my Matthew Bartholew books dammit!😃 Huh. I just looked and I did go on to read the second book, which I also gave three stars but said “Dull. I’m stopping here in the series.” ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/98 "2012-10-15T20:22:11Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Huh. I just looked and I did go on to read the second book, which I also gave three stars but said “Dull. I’m stopping here in the series.” Mmmm, yes she doesn’t seem to have much of a hook here. Characters are 2 dimensional and vaguely stereotypical, plot is dry, language is dry and full of “posh” words… I meant to say that I wanted Amazon to send me the Matthew Bartholomew books by Susanna Gregory, I ordered during the summer.. I really don’t want to wait til next May when the pre-order in that order is released. _whine, rant, whine_ ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/99 "2012-10-15T20:42:27Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Mmmm, yes she doesn’t seem to have much of a hook here. Characters are 2 dimensional and vaguely stereotypical, plot is dry, language is dry and full of “posh” words… > > I meant to say that I wanted Amazon to send me the Matthew Bartholomew books by Susanna Gregory, I ordered during the summer.. I really don’t want to wait til next May when the pre-order in that order is released. _whine, rant, whine_ That sucks. In the meantime, my god but there are a lot of medieval mysteries out there! Sharan Newman and Margaret Frazer appeal to me. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309/100 "2012-10-15T20:43:02Z")
I am woefully behind on posting in this thread. The last time I was browsing here, I realized that I remember none of what happened in the last 1/3 of _Blackout_, possibly because I read it at the hospital in the early stages of labor. I would like to read _All Clear_, but I think I need a refresher on _Blackout_ first. Recently, I’ve read: _Kraken_, by China Mieville. I had very low expectations because every review I’ve ever read of any of his books made them seem unbearable. But, this ended up being excellence. Urban fantasy/adventure, involving the supernatural and giant squid. _Arcadia_, by Lauren Groff. I adored her first novel, this one was okay. Follows the life of a man born and raised on a hippie commune in central New York. In kid lit/YA: _The Mighty Miss Malone_ by Christopher Paul Curtis. An African-American family during the Great Depression, it was very good. Weirdly, on it’s own I would say it’s excellent, but in the category of Christopher Paul Curtis books, I would say it’s mid-range for him. _There Is No Dog_ by Meg Rosoff. Eh, I was cool on this, it’s a very droll novel about the possibility that God is really an apathetic, annoying teenage boy. It had some funny moments, but overall, the comedy felt too forced to me. _The Humming Room_, by Ellen Potter. A modern retelling of The Secret Garden. I think it’s challenging to make this modern, so I’m not sure if my overall impression was being excited by the aspects that worked, or annoyed by the parts that didn’t. _Summer of the Gypsy Moths_, by Sara Pennypacker. I thought this was endearing, two girls pull off living on Cape Cod for a summer without adult supervision. It was a good blend, I thought, between the serious reasons why two kids wouldn’t be missed by any adults, and the lighter moments of the girls trying to figure out how to keep the household going. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-oct-2012-edition/636309.md?page=6)