# Whatcha Readin' October 2011 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 30, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194 "2011-09-30T20:10:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/121 "2011-10-15T14:41:24Z")
Finished _The Last Good Day_ by Peter Blauner. Decent book for a plane trip or the beach. The plot hinges on an otherwise intelligent woman behaving like a 12-year-old when she runs into an old boyfriend. There’s lots wrong with the book but it was a compulsive read. Started _The Things They Carried_ by Tim O’Brien. Amazing. ---
**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:** [October 15, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/122 "2011-10-15T22:45:21Z")
Cracking open \*Fingersmith \*by Sara Waters tonight. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/123 "2011-10-16T17:02:05Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > Cracking open \*Fingersmith \*by Sara Waters tonight. Love that book. Finished _The Things They Carried_. Started _Turning Angel_ by Greg Iles – from the library book sale. I’d read one of his and couldn’t remember if I liked him or not, but for a quarter, what the hell. Got about three pages in and remembered that I **didn’t** like him and why. The man can’t write dialogue. His characters talk like they’re on L&O or CSI – info dumps and exposition. When you’ve got 300 pages to tell the story, you’ve got time to build characters. Started _Labyrinth_ by Kate Mosse. Liking it 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:** [October 16, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/124 "2011-10-16T21:23:00Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > …Started _The Things They Carried_ by Tim O’Brien. Amazing. I agree. Read his Vietnam-influenced mystery/drama _In the Lake of the Woods_ if you want to keep going with him. Spooky and very, very interesting. Just finished this book, about the 1942 naval Battle of Midway and the 1998 Dr. Robert Ballard-led search for the sunken aircraft carrier USS _Yorktown_. Good text and even better pictures: [Return to Midway: Ballard, Robert D., Archbold, Rick, Marschall, Ken: 9780792275008: Amazon.com: Books](http://www.amazon.com/Return-Midway-Robert-D-Ballard/dp/0792275004/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318799841&sr=1-1) I’m now about 150 pages into Martin’s _A Dance with Dragons_, and I’m diggin’ it. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/125 "2011-10-17T14:49:31Z")
Reading _The Sisters Brothers_ by Patrick DeWitt. Liking it so far, only on the first chapter though. Anyone else read it? ---
**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 17, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/126 "2011-10-17T15:17:51Z")
Not me, sorry. Picked Jack Higgins’s kidnap-Churchill WW2 yarn _The Eagle Has Landed_ off the shelf last night and am enjoying it all over again. Farfetched but fun. Hadn’t read it in years. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/127 "2011-10-17T15:36:51Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Reading _The Sisters Brothers_ by Patrick DeWitt. Liking it so far, only on the first chapter though. Anyone else read it? I read it over the summer, and really liked it. Picked it up on a whim, and read the whole thing in a weekend. Really good read. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/128 "2011-10-17T19:50:01Z")
Finished _Spider’s Revenge (Elemental Assassin)_ the latest in the Elemental Assassin series. It was typical stuff, but I was a \*little \*surprised at the end. Not a \*great \*series, but an easy read and I like it enough to keep reading. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2011, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/129 "2011-10-18T11:04:10Z")
[Moby-Duck](http://www.amazon.com/Moby-Duck-Beachcombers-Oceanographers-Environmentalists-Including/dp/0670022195/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1318935165&sr=1-1-catcorr): The true story of 28,800 bath toys lost at sea and of the beachcombers, oceanographers, environmentalists, and fools, including the author, who went in search of them. I’m about halfway through. There’s a bit of a disconnect between the quest for plastic bath toys and the fact that pollution and environmental damage are just not funny subjects. ---
**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 18, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/130 "2011-10-18T13:04:50Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > [Moby-Duck](http://www.amazon.com/Moby-Duck-Beachcombers-Oceanographers-Environmentalists-Including/dp/0670022195/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1318935165&sr=1-1-catcorr): The true story of 28,800 bath toys lost at sea and of the beachcombers, oceanographers, environmentalists, and fools, including the author, who went in search of them… Wouldn’t ya know it, there’s a Wiki page!: [Friendly Floatees spill - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendly_Floatees) ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/131 "2011-10-18T13:10:44Z")
Now I am reading _Sorry_, a thriller by Croatian-born Zoran Drvenkar, who uses the second-person POV in a very strange and effective way: “You” are a character in the book, a murderer. Most of the book is third person, and “you” come in once in a while. The reader learns about you and your motivation. You are really sorry, and really terrible things have happened to you. The person you killed probably deserved it, but you feel really bad. You are sorry. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/132 "2011-10-18T16:20:23Z")
_ **We Have Always Lived In the Castle** _ by Shirley Jackson. Probably y’all have already read it, but in case not, it’s quick reading, and creepy and funny. ---
**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 18, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/133 "2011-10-18T17:18:26Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > …The person you killed probably deserved it, but you feel really bad. You are sorry. Harrumph. Speak for yourself! ---
**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 19, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/134 "2011-10-19T03:00:20Z")
Finished _Woody Allen: A Biography_, by Eric Lax. A worthwhile read for me since I’m such a big fan. I found the first part of the book more interesting, detailing Woody’s childhood and early career as a joke writer and stand-up comic. The latter part got a little too bogged down in the technical details of how Woody makes his movies. The technology probably isn’t even used anymore. Ironic how he and Mia Farrow are portrayed as the perfect couple and the book was published shortly before their explosice break-up. Felt like trying another John Grisham, but our library is a little light on him. Grabbed at random his _The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town_. Turns out this is non-fiction. Did not know that, and I suspect the library doesn’t either since it was just lumped in with all of his fiction. Sounds interesting though, and I’ll start that today. The true case of an innocent man wrongfully convicted of a 1982 murder in Oklahoma and sent to death row. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/135 "2011-10-19T18:17:46Z")
_Sorry_ is one twisted book. Unusually depraved. Not to say that can’t be a good thing, but it really is kind of sick. Now starting _In Search of the Rose Notes_ by Emily Arsenault. ---
**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, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/136 "2011-10-19T20:49:04Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > …Felt like trying another John Grisham, but our library is a little light on him… I really liked _The Runaway Jury_ and _The Firm_. His recent short story collection _Ford County_ is uneven, but there’s some good stuff in it. ---
**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, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/137 "2011-10-19T22:09:05Z")
Just finished the YA graphic (art?) novel, [Wonderstruck](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10128428-wonderstruck), by Brian Selznick. The text narrative is about a newly deaf boy trying to find his father after losing his mother. The book also has a pictorial counter-narrative that goes in a different direction, but eventually converges with the boy’s story. 640 pages, but you can easily read it in a few hours. It’s really a love letter to museums and to New York City and it’s simply gorgeous. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/138 "2011-10-20T18:38:03Z")
> [@wonderlust](#): > > Forgive the double-post. I meant to add that I’m reading _Sleepless_, by Charlie Huston and am really enjoying it. I was surprised to find a very tender love story at its heart. Oooh - I just read _Sleepless_ as well & really enjoyed it. IMHO, there’s a Bladerunner/William Gibson/Cory Doctorow vibe to the story - which is not a bad thing. Although Huston brings his own sense of style to the table, and I think I may be reading more of his work. I got thrown a bit by the third person vs 1st person modes at first, but it came together a bit more clearly as I continued the story. The idea behind the Sleepless is damn creepy - both the biological origin and the societal effects. Huston definitely did his research for this story, but it felt very organic and intrinsic to the story flow & not a “look at all the cool stuff I found out!”. The characters are solid - I really felt like was getting to know Park, as well as the unnamed narrator & couldn’t wait to see how their stories intersected. A few quotes I jotted down: _“It wasn’t that human nature was base, obscene and brutal, it was only fear, and confusion and despair that made them look and act that way.”_ \*“He liked the idea of a world where mental acuity and the ability to play well with others were valued more highly than blood-lust or greed.” \* ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/139 "2011-10-21T13:23:50Z")
My new audiobook is _The Night Circus_ by Erin Morgenstern. I’m just over an hour in and I’m really liking it. I did a Halloween-inspired reread of Stephen King’s _It_ last weekend. I hadn’t read it since my teens, but it still holds the power to creep me the hell out. ---
**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 21, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/140 "2011-10-21T13:55:55Z")
This morning I finished _The Bridge to Never Land_, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Meh. Even when I was a kid I’d have rolled my eyes at all the lucky coincidences in this story. I just wanted to complete the Starcatchers series. Of course, at the end they left it all set up to go further. Next up: _God, no! signs you may already be an atheist and other magical tales_, by Penn Jillette. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194.md?page=8)