# Whatcha Readin' Sept 09 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154 "2009-08-29T14:42:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/81 "2009-09-17T13:22:40Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Now reading _The Sun Also Rises_ - the best Hemingway I’ve never read. Awesome book. Definitely my favorite Hemingway. **AuntiePam** , what’s the name of the Hinckley book? Sounds like something I’ll have to add to my list. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/82 "2009-09-17T14:21:36Z")
**yellowval** , [Under A Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 by Daniel James Brown](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592288634/ref=ox_ya_oh_product). I’m almost finished with it. I’ve learned more about dying by fire than I ever wanted to know. Time to change the batteries in the smoke alarm. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/83 "2009-09-17T14:33:34Z")
I just finished reading “[Two Hundred Men, One Woman](http://www.anobii.com/books/TWO_HUNDRED_MEN,_ONE_WOMAN/9780974481814/0146a61c99067fd87c/)” by Nancy Price; it has to be one of the worst books I’ve ever read, but somehow I kept reading it, hoping that there’d be some sort of on-ship gang bang going on. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I have a feeling this hope was fueled by the Bronchitis and Hydrocodone Cough Syrup vacation I had last week-- at least the book was free. Currently in the middle of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”, which is good, but I’m still on an extended break from it-- I need more easy reading, as I’m just not in the mood to read super dense stuff outside of nonfiction. Might pick up a silly novel next. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/84 "2009-09-17T14:35:12Z")
> [@yellowval](#): > > > [@bup](#): > > > > Now reading The Sun Also Rises - the best Hemingway I’ve never read. > > Awesome book. Definitely my favorite Hemingway. I concur-- I’ve always loved _The Sun Also Rises_. I may give that a re-read. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/85 "2009-09-17T21:14:07Z")
> [@yellowval](#): > > Awesome book. Definitely my favorite Hemingway. > > **AuntiePam** , what’s the name of the Hinckley book? Sounds like something I’ll have to add to my list. I was in a Hemingway sort of mood a few months ago. I reread Old Man and the Sea, then read For Whom The Bell Tolls (around the time of the So Cal Dopefest) and then went on to read The Garden of Eden and decided it has been too long since I’ve read The Sun Also Rises. I just couldn’t get passed the 60 page mark though. I guess I was Hemingwayed out because I remember loving that book in high school. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/86 "2009-09-17T21:33:38Z")
The Proud Highway, by Hunter S. Thompson The Tao of Photography The Fountainhead (I lost a bet…I have to) ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/87 "2009-09-18T00:43:29Z")
Finished _Outlaw_ by Angus Donald a book I picked up in the London airport. A straight forward retelling of the Robin Hood legend. It was quick and enjoyable, but in truth did not bring anything new the story. I give it a B-. As an aside I was intrigued by this money back guarantee: As good as Bernard Cornwell or your money back. I don’t know why that amused me, but it did. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/88 "2009-09-18T04:24:47Z")
Getting back to the classics for a while. Am about halfway through “All Quiet on the Western Front.” ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/89 "2009-09-18T08:30:47Z")
I’m in the middle of “Harrington on Hold’em Vol. 3” and just started “New Moon.” New Moon is surprisingly not as onerously repetitive as Twilight, but I’m only on the first chapter. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/90 "2009-09-18T13:08:28Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > **yellowval** , [Under A Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 by Daniel James Brown](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592288634/ref=ox_ya_oh_product). I’m almost finished with it. I’ve learned more about dying by fire than I ever wanted to know. Time to change the batteries in the smoke alarm. Death by fire … good times. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/91 "2009-09-18T13:33:16Z")
> [@kelly5078](#): > > Getting back to the classics for a while. Am about halfway through “All Quiet on the Western Front.” I just read that about a month ago. I found it amazing. Hope you like it as much. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/92 "2009-09-18T14:02:45Z")
As I have _The Lost Symbol_ queued up at the library, I’m re-reading _Angels & Demons_ and _The Da Vinci Code_. I love “airplane” books. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/93 "2009-09-18T14:11:27Z")
I just finished another Marcus Didius Falco mystery, _Time to Depart_. It’s one of my favorites so far. I like the ones set in the city of Rome better than the ones where Falco and Helena are wandering around the outskirts of the empire. These continue to be very funny and I think the author has perfected her writing style, which seemed a little choppy in earlier books. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/94 "2009-09-18T15:48:17Z")
I just finished Jill Jonnes’s _Eiffel’s Tower_, about the 1889 International Exposition and the construction of the beloved Paris landmark. I hadn’t realized the Tower was initially just supposed to be a temporary structure, was loathed by most French artistes and intellectuals, and was only left standing indefinitely when (a) the common folk loved it, (b) it was a steady tourist draw, and © the French military discovered its usefulness as a radio broadcast tower. Lots of famous people dropped by the Expo, including Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, the Prince of Wales, Henry James, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Edvard Munch and Thomas Edison. Jonnes captures the glamor and excitement of the occasion very well. A good, light bit of historical reading. Doper fans of Hemingway might want to check out Joe Haldeman’s _The Hemingway Hoax_, a sf novel about a con man’s scheme to duplicate Papa’s famous lost suitcase of short stories. The book takes some surprising twists and turns, and has some interesting thoughts on Hemingway’s enduring influence on our culture. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/95 "2009-09-18T17:49:45Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Doper fans of Hemingway might want to check out Joe Haldeman’s _The Hemingway Hoax_, a sf novel about a con man’s scheme to duplicate Papa’s famous lost suitcase of short stories. The book takes some surprising twists and turns, and has some interesting thoughts on Hemingway’s enduring influence on our culture. I love Haldeman and I’ve read almost all of his books, but I’ve never read that particular one because I’ve never read any Hemingway. Is it worth reading at all if you’re not familiar with Hemingway? ---
**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:** [September 18, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/96 "2009-09-18T18:39:51Z")
Yes, I think so. I wasn’t all that familiar with Hemingway, having only read some of his short stories in college, and I learned quite a bit around him just from Haldeman’s book. And may I say, good to meet another Haldeman fan! My favorites are _All My Sins Remembered, The Forever War, Tool of the Trade_ and _Mindbridge_. I haven’t read any of his three most recent novels, but I’ve read all of his short-story collections, and there are some gems among them: “A Summer’s Lease,” “For White Hill” and “Armaja Das” are standouts. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/97 "2009-09-18T19:23:38Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > And may I say, good to meet another Haldeman fan! My favorites are _All My Sins Remembered, The Forever War, Tool of the Trade_ and _Mindbridge_. I haven’t read any of his three most recent novels, but I’ve read all of his short-story collections, and there are some gems among them: “A Summer’s Lease,” “For White Hill” and “Armaja Das” are standouts. I liked all of those, and I also like the \*Worlds \*trilogy - except for the ending. (I didn’t like the way he ended the last \*Forever \*book, either.) His most recent books aren’t my favorites, but they’re pretty good. I think _Old Twentieth_ is the best of the new ones. He’s writing a sequel to \*Marsbound \*now. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/98 "2009-09-18T20:01:34Z")
IMHO, all of the _Worlds_ books, and all of the _Forever_ books, suck except the very first one (each of which is wonderful). He’s just not very good at series, I think. Did you like _Camouflage_? The premise sounded intriguing, but I haven’t gotten around to reading it. I’ve heard good things elsewhere about _Old Twentieth_. Haldeman’s _Buying Time_ is a great, great book… right up to the last two or three chapters, when it all turns craptacular. One of the worst stumbles at the finish line of any author I’ve ever read. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/99 "2009-09-18T21:04:26Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > IMHO, all of the _Worlds_ books, and all of the _Forever_ books, suck except the very first one (each of which is wonderful). He’s just not very good at series, I think. Did you like _Camouflage_? The premise sounded intriguing, but I haven’t gotten around to reading it. I’ve heard good things elsewhere about _Old Twentieth_. > > Haldeman’s _Buying Time_ is a great, great book… right up to the last two or three chapters, when it all turns craptacular. One of the worst stumbles at the finish line of any author I’ve ever read. I think you’re right about his series, and it doesn’t bode well for the \*Marsbound \*sequel. I’m hoping he won’t introduce omnipotent aliens at the last minute and ruin those books. I did like _Camouflage_. I didn’t like _The Coming_ or _Guardian_, though. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/100 "2009-09-19T01:42:38Z")
**AuntiePam** , you’ll have to share your secret as to how you’re able to read Rosamond’s scenes without skipping them or stabbing the pages in rage. I wanted to see her tortured _so bad_…grrrr. I’m so grateful to this thread for cluing me into Dan Chaon’s new book. I lovedlovedloved **Among the Missing** (fantastic short stories) and **You Remind Me of Me** (wikipedia is telling me he’s written an earlier collection of short stories, **Fitting Ends** , which is also now on the to-read pile). I’ve got Howard Pyle’s **King Arthur and His Knights** by the bedside, reading a little bit every night. My mother read these stories to me and my brother when we were children, and they’re wonderful. Great artwork, too. Cormac McCarthy’s **The Orchard Keeper** is next. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154.md?page=6)