# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/141 "2011-10-21T16:34:02Z")
Dumped _Labyrinth_ by Kate Mosse. The book reminded me of _The Historian_ – it was that bad. Started _Skeletons at the Feast_ by Chris Bohjalian. A Prussian family in 1945 is heading west to escape the Russian advance, accompanied by a Scottish POW. First WWII novel I’ve read from that point of view. It’s interesting, and seems realistic. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/142 "2011-10-21T18:10:35Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > \ > > About a third of the way through [**The Knife of Never Letting Go**](http://www.amazon.com/Knife-Never-Letting-Go-Walking/dp/0763645761/) (“Jeez, doesn’t this guy read anything but YA post-apocalyptic fiction?”), and after the first few chapters, where the childish misspellings got on my nerves, it’s getting a lot better. I’m reading that now, too - I’m really enjoying it. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/143 "2011-10-23T23:49:38Z")
[http://www.amazon.com/Prince-Ombra-Roderick-MacLeish/dp/0765342448/ref=sr\_1\_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319413609&sr=8-1](http://www.amazon.com/Prince-Ombra-Roderick-MacLeish/dp/0765342448/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319413609&sr=8-1) I am reading **Prince Ombra** and am not sure if it was a doper recommendation or one the If You Like This Then You May Like That from Amazon, but I am on page 67 and completely hooked. ---
**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 24, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/144 "2011-10-24T04:40:30Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > 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. Just finished this. Almost as good as I remember, although Higgins’s writing is a bit clunky in spots, and the German paratrooper commander, Steiner, is too good to be true: a great and courageous warrior, beloved of his men, with a girlfriend who’s a famous and beautiful ex-actress (whose crippled husband, it’s implied, is only too happy to let Steiner bed her). Steiner has every possible medal awarded by the Third Reich, but risks his career to save an escapee from the Warsaw Ghetto, before being chosen for a top-secret mission to England. Ah, well - still a fun read. Next I’m going to read Dave Distelhorst’s _Primitive Paradise_, about Boy Scout history in NE Ohio. ---
**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 24, 2011, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/145 "2011-10-24T12:45:31Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Next up: _God, no! signs you may already be an atheist and other magical tales_, by Penn Jillette. Finished \*God, No! \* It was mostly about Penn and what a loony guy he is, loosely strung together by some thoughts about atheism. If you are interested in Penn, go ahead; if you are moving toward atheism, you can find better books. I like Penn and Teller fine, but Penn by himself tends to be obnoxious. Today I started on [_A Monster Calls_](http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Calls-Inspired-idea-Siobhan/dp/0763655597) by Patrick Ness, inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd. It has a lot of illustrations and seems aimed at a younger crowd than the Chaos Walking series, but deals with heavy topics. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/146 "2011-10-24T13:03:43Z")
I read _[Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter](http://www.amazon.com/Crooked-Letter-Novel-P-S/dp/0060594675/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319461305&sr=8-1)_ by Tom Franklin, a mystery about two men who were childhood friend for a few months 25 years ago; one was suspected in the disappearance of a girl and the other later became the town constable. Now the first one is suspected in the disappearance of another girl and the other is investigating. The ending is a little pat, but the writing is very good. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/147 "2011-10-24T13:04:10Z")
I’m about a quarter of the way into _Anno Dracula_ and, so far, it’s a bit of a struggle. The concept is intriguing, but the I’m a bit put off by the writing style. A lot of it comes across as very fan-fictiony to me. And the author seems to be playing a game with himself regarding how many period references he can stick into the story. It gets annoying after a while. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/148 "2011-10-24T16:09:32Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I read _[Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter](http://www.amazon.com/Crooked-Letter-Novel-P-S/dp/0060594675/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319461305&sr=8-1)_ by Tom Franklin, a mystery about two men who were childhood friend for a few months 25 years ago; one was suspected in the disappearance of a girl and the other later became the town constable. Now the first one is suspected in the disappearance of another girl and the other is investigating. The ending is a little pat, but the writing is very good. I liked that one enough to buy two of Franklin’s other books, _Smonk_ and _Hell at the Breech_. Liked them a lot but they were very different from _Crooked Letter_. _Smonk_ especially – over-the-top sex and violence – I had to read it as humor to keep from throwing up. I’m reading _Bangkok 8_ by John Burdett. Main character is the son of a Thai bar girl and an as yet unidentified American (?) man. He’s a detective, and when the story starts, he and his partner are investigating the death of a Marine killed when attacked by snakes, in his car! It’s an interesting, sympathetic look at life in Bangkok, with lots of humor. I’m loving it. Also reading _The Ice Maiden_ by Edna Buchanan. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/149 "2011-10-24T16:14:31Z")
_We Have Always Lived in the Castle_ rocked. Now I’m reading _Carrie_. My audiobook of the moment is _American Indian Folk Tales_. All I know is that the stories come from the Great Lakes tribes. I know nothing about Indian folk tales. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/150 "2011-10-24T16:49:59Z")
Just finished reading _The Woman in Black_ by Susan Hill. Nice and short; sufficiently creepy (especially when read late at night, under the covers, with the book light as the only illumination). If anyone has a suggestion for a similar ghost story to read during the lead up to Halloween, I’d appreciate it. My book club is discussing the second half of _The Believing Brain_, by Michael Shermer, next week. I think I mentioned this upthread - I’m really not enjoying this book, even though I thought I would and I was excited to read it. My other book club, which reads stuff pertaining to theology (all sorts) is reading _Jesus Interrupted_, by Bart Ehrman. I’m really enjoying this - well-written, interesting. I was not looking forward to this because I’m not Christian and not that interested in the Bible, but I’ve found this to be a more interesting topic than I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/151 "2011-10-24T19:01:16Z")
Starting _Your Friendly Neighborhood Criminal_ by the late Manitoba author Michael Van Rooy, who died suddenly in January at 42. Last ☹ in a series about a Canadian ex-con who’s gone straight and started a day-care (!) business when he’s recruited to smuggle illegal aliens into the U.S. by an immigrants-rights activist. His web site apparently hasn’t been touched and still has his appearances and contact information listed. I never heard of the guy and picked up the book at the library because it looked interesting. Learned about his death about five minutes ago. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/152 "2011-10-24T19:21:29Z")
Born On The Fourth of July, by Ron Kovic. Pretty moving stuff. Never read it before, have not seen the movie. If Tom Cruise fucked up being a vampire so badly, I cannot even imagine what he did to this real-life story… ---
**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 24, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/153 "2011-10-24T19:25:08Z")
> [@C3](#): > > Just finished reading _The Woman in Black_ by Susan Hill. Nice and short; sufficiently creepy (especially when read late at night, under the covers, with the book light as the only illumination). If anyone has a suggestion for a similar ghost story to read during the lead up to Halloween, I’d appreciate it… You can’t go wrong with Ray Bradbury’s unsettling seasonal short-story collection, _The October Country_. The best in it, IMHO: “The Small Assassin” and “The Scythe.” ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/154 "2011-10-24T21:15:22Z")
I am ~10% into **Neal Stephenson’s Reamde** , according to my Kindle. So far it is all set up - interesting Stephenson geekery… BUT I just found out that \*\*Haruki Murakami’s \*\*book is coming out, called **1Q84** - he was featured on the cover of the NYTimes Sunday Magazine. He is apparently getting a bunch of buzz - some where hoping he’d get the Nobel this year - so this book is getting a bit of notice. I love much of his work - many of his short stories and his trilogy of works including A Wild Sheep Chase, Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and Kafka on the Shore (not literally a trilogy and written years apart, but they have a similar Kafka-esque/thriller feel and touch on similar topics.) I have it on my list!! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/155 "2011-10-24T21:39:25Z")
Finished _Dead Eye: The Skinwalker Conspiracies_ the second in the Dead Eye series. Mike Ross is a ferryman - someone who helps ghosts cross over - sometimes whether they want to or not. He has gone west to battle a skinwalker who has taken over his father’s body. The author plays with historical figures who show up as ghosts, some good, some bad and in general I enjoy his work. I am also in the middle of another of his works: \*Confessions of a D-list Supervillain. \* ---
**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:** [October 24, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/156 "2011-10-24T21:54:17Z")
Finished “Full Dark, No Stars.” Three of the four stories were excellent. I didn’t care for the one about the guy who made a deal with the devil. Classic King. Now I’m starting “Life Before Man” by Margaret Atwood. I’ve always wanted to read her and that’s the title they had at my local library. ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/5daacb/32.png) [@Old\_Goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Goat)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/157 "2011-10-24T21:56:53Z")
Finished \*Special Topics in Calamity Physics \* by Marisa Pessl. Took a while to get into it, but by the end Plessl created an Lisbeth Salander type protagonist whom one can forsee as conducting a whole series of investigations and adventures. Well worth the 500+ page slog ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/158 "2011-10-24T21:59:48Z")
Earlier this month I made a topic when I finally finished Ender’s Game. Now I’m reading through another classic, Dracula. Should be done with it in a week or so, been too busy to read this past week. ---
**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 25, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/159 "2011-10-25T13:24:45Z")
I just finished _The Fall of Hyperion_ by Dan Simmons. It was Ok. > [@YogSosoth](#): > > … Now I’m reading through another classic, Dracula. … Dracula is next for me, too. Must be that time of year. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194/160 "2011-10-25T13:44:59Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > You can’t go wrong with Ray Bradbury’s unsettling seasonal short-story collection, _The October Country_. The best in it, IMHO: “The Small Assassin” and “The Scythe.” Thanks! It’s not on kindle, but my library has a copy that’s checked in! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-october-2011-edition/598194.md?page=9)