# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2009, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/121 "2009-09-25T12:54:30Z")
I finished both "The Reader and “Lonesome Dove” yesterday. Both were great. It took me a while to read “Lonesome Dove” but it was definitely worth the effort. I normally wouldn’t read a western but I’m glad I stepped outside of myself a little bit and gave it a chance. “The Reader” was a very quick read. Even so, I thought it got a bit dull during the trial. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it as a whole. I still think I’ve read it before, since almost all of it was very familiar. (Have not seen the movie yet, so it’s not that.) I started “Shutter Island” by Dennis Lehane but haven’t gotten far enough in to tell whether I like it or not. I think I’ll also start “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy. I want to read both of these before seeing the movies being made about them. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2009, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/122 "2009-09-25T12:58:07Z")
I’ve just started Let the Right One In. ---
**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 25, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/123 "2009-09-25T14:24:48Z")
I just finished the last book in Michael Flynn’s \*Firestar \*series, which I enjoyed very much. It was begun in the 90’s as near-future hard science fiction so it’s rapidly becoming alternate history. It’s about a private initiative to get humanity into space, spurred on by a billionaire businesswoman who is secretly terrified that there could be an asteroid on a collision course with Earth and we won’t have the technology to intercept it. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/124 "2009-09-26T19:01:36Z")
I’m back in the 19th century with _A Hazard of New Fortunes_ by William Dean Howells. Basil March and his wife are relocating from Boston to New York where he’s going to edit a magazine. I’m enjoying the look at New York City, particularly their search for a place to live. It’s like _House Hunters_ without the annoying comments about natural light, granite, and stainless steel appliances. 🙂 Something I’ve noticed about 19th century novels is a different use of some adjectives. “Ironical”, “tragical”, “fantastical”, where we’d just say ironic or tragic or fantastic. Weird how language changes. ---
**Author:** ![PeacePlease](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/71c47a/32.png) [@PeacePlease](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeacePlease)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/125 "2009-09-27T03:41:22Z")
I just finished Jon Krakauer’s “[Where Men Win Glory](http://www.amazon.com/Where-Men-Win-Glory-Odyssey/dp/0385522266/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254022126&sr=1-1)” and I would agree with many of the customers on Amazon. Not his best work but a heartbreaking one nonetheless. As an Arizonan, I’ve had Pat Tillman’s name crammed down my throat without really paying attention to anything other than his supposedly being a ‘hero’. Whatever the definition of that word, Tillman was a complex and interesting guy who thought he was doing the right thing and ended up being totally disillusioned and then shot by his own outfit. As an American, this book just re-fueled my hatred of our own axis of evil (Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld). You certainly can tell where Krakauer stands on the issues and I enjoyed that because, with me, he was preaching to the choir. The events Krakauer discussed surrounding the rescue of Jessica Lynch and the death of Mr. Tillman made me realize just how FUBAR the military can be. No offense to any of you who have served, but I had no idea how often fratricide occurs. The spin that was and has been put on these wars is also almost unbelievable and shocking to the uninformed. It was an enlightening and yet depressing read for me. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/126 "2009-09-27T04:14:37Z")
At the moment I’m re-reading “Oryx and Crake” by Margret Atwood, because the sequel “The Year Of The Flood” was released earlier this week. I picked it up from the library today 🙂 This sequel is billed as more light-hearted than the first book, which has me nonplussed - how do you do a _happy_ dystopia? Guess we’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/127 "2009-09-27T04:23:36Z")
I’m still on my recent science fiction kick. I’ve been reading a lot of short stories but I’ve also started _Saturn’s Children_ by Charles Stross. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/128 "2009-09-27T15:05:20Z")
Finally finished _Out West: A Journey Through Lewis and Clark’s America_ by Dayton Duncan. The author retraced the steps of the Lewis and Clark expedition, and interweaves his own adventures and the people he meets with the original expedition, and with the history of the area during the intervening period (Oregon Trail, Sitting Bull). This was originally written in the '80s, which I didn’t realize when I bought it a couple of years ago – there was an afterword updating it to 2000. There weren’t huge differences during those 20 years – the farm crisis got no better, for instance. Interesting, but not a strong recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![Gulo\_gulo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@Gulo\_gulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gulo_gulo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/129 "2009-09-27T19:48:10Z")
I’ll sneak in another post before the month ends. Finished: _The Rookie: The Incredible True Story of a Man Who Never Gave Up on His Dream_ by Jim Morris ~ Morris spoke at a conference that my husband was at and he got this for me. A decent read. _The Poisonwood Bible_ by Barbara Kingsolver ~ Much better than I was expecting. I really enjoyed the different voices of the daughters as they told their chapters. _Oh No! We’re Gonna Die: Humorous Tales of Close Calls in the Alaskan Wilderness_ by Bob Bell ~ My husband has been working in Alaska for a few months and had to get this for me. I just can’t believe that the author made it safely through so many misadventures. _Ambush at Corellia (Star Wars: The Corellian Trilogy, Book 1)_ by Roger Macbride Allen ~ Still getting my Star Wars geek on. These three aren’t very good. _Assault at Selonia (Star Wars: The Corellian Trilogy, Book 2)_ by Roger Macbride Allen _Showdown at Centerpoint (Star Wars: The Corellian Trilogy, Book 3)_ by Roger Macbride Allen _The Human Predator: A Historical Chronicle of Serial Murder and Forensic Investigation_ by Katherine Ramsland ~ The author follows murders in a chronological fashion. A couple of errors caught my eye but otherwise an ok read. _Winter’s End_ by Jean-Claude Mourlevat ~ Young adult ARC about four teenagers who revolt against their evil government. Starts out great, about half way gets preachy and trite. _Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators_ by William Stolzenburg ~ Basically this is about the effects of removing predators from a healthy ecosystem. Highly recommended. Still reading: _Pride and Prejudice and Zombies_ by Seth Grahame-Smith ~ Haven’t picked this up for a couple of weeks. Lost interest for now. _Travels with Doctor Death_ by Ron Rosenbaum ~ the first couple of chapters have been boring. I’ll give it one more. > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I’ve just started Let the Right One In. I’d like to hear your feedback when you’re done. The movie didn’t wow me and I’m hoping that the story is better. > [@yellowval](#): > > I finished both "The Reader and “Lonesome Dove” yesterday. Both were great. It took me a while to read “Lonesome Dove” but it was definitely worth the effort. I normally wouldn’t read a western but I’m glad I stepped outside of myself a little bit and gave it a chance. I also took that step and really enjoyed “Lonesome Dove”. I also enjoyed “Comanche Moon” & will continue with his books. (And to update on our break-in: My awesome landlord tracked down the thieves but the cops wouldn’t do anything about it. I guess they don’t care about some extra guns on the street. The thieves still cruise by the house every so often, probably waiting for me to go away for a weekend so they can come grab more stuff.) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/130 "2009-09-27T20:24:09Z")
> [@Gulo\_gulo](#): > > _Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators_ by William Stolzenburg ~ Basically this is about the effects of removing predators from a healthy ecosystem. Highly recommended. This sounds interesting – just put a hold on it at the library. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/131 "2009-09-28T00:43:35Z")
I am taking a break from the Geo. Martin books for a minute, and reading _www:wake_ by Robert J Sawyer. I’m only 60 pages into it. The protagonist is a 15 yr old blind girl who gets an experimental signal processor implanted onto her optical nerve in an attempt to cure her blindness. It reads a bit like juvenile fiction so far, being mostly from a teenage girl’s viewpoint. Nevertheless it’s compelling, well-told, and entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/132 "2009-09-28T03:30:22Z")
I’ve been on a Lincoln kick this month. Started by reading [Team of Rivals](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_0_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=team+of+rivals&x=0&y=0&sprefix=team+of+), then [A Short History of the Civil War](http://www.amazon.com/Short-History-Civil-War/dp/0688151299). I’m now half-way through [April 1865](http://www.amazon.com/April-1865-Month-Saved-America/dp/0060899689/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254108447&sr=1-1). ---
**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 28, 2009, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/133 "2009-09-28T04:38:49Z")
_April 1865_ sucks, IMHO. It’s bad pop history, hyperbolic and riddled with errors. Send me a PM, if you like, and I’ll send you the book review I wrote for the Civil War roundtable I belong to. _Team of Rivals_, however, is excellent. **Little Nemo** , I just finished _Saturn’s Children_ a month or so ago and found it kind of hard going, but with some cool ideas. It was a very uneven book, I thought. Not sure whether or not I can actually recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/134 "2009-09-28T05:35:30Z")
pm sent. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2009, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/135 "2009-09-28T12:28:54Z")
**Gulo** , I finished Let the Right One In. It was okay. There’s just no glimmer of light in this story at all. I was more interested in Oskar and his problems than any of the vampire stuff. Out of all the possibly disturbing things in this story, I gotta say, the thing that affected me most was how much Oskar’s mom loved him and wanted to look out for her son, and it didn’t seem to make much difference. (I have a boy that age myself). I’ve just started Losing My Religion : how I lost my faith reporting on religion in America–and found unexpected peace, by William Lobdell. It hasn’t grabbed me yet, and it’s overdue at the library so it better get good fast or else! It’s to be expected with this sort of book, but whenever the author says something like, “there was a hole in my life” or “I felt this amazing sense of joy and peace as I prayed”, he loses me a little because I just can’t relate. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/136 "2009-09-28T13:27:26Z")
This month, lets see… _Book of Secrets_ by **Chris Roberson** was ok - a fairly run-of-the-milll thriller with ancient artifacts and secret societies… _The Magicians_ by **Lev Grossman** was pretty good, although it seemed pretty aimless for the first half or so. A college for incipient magicians a bit like Hogwarts, but they’re all geeky high school graduates, so a bit older and less bound by rules. A fictictious fantasy series a bit like Narnia also features. _Day by Day Armageddon_ by **J. L. Bourne** a diary-style story of zombie apocalypse! It’s a page turner with lots of action, but not really much else. _Slide Rule_ by **Nevil Shute** , author of _On the Beach_ and _A Town Like Alice_, etc) This is his autobiography up until just before WW2, when he’s starting to earn good money as an author Much of the book describes his time helping design and build the R100 airship (which was successful but scrapped when the rival R101 crashed, killing the politician in charge of the UK airship programme) and after that, when he was struggling to start and run an aeroplane design and manufacturing company on a shoestring. A bit too many details of this, but a good book otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![LunarPlexus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@LunarPlexus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LunarPlexus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/137 "2009-09-28T13:53:39Z")
> [@yellowval](#): > > …I think I’ll also start “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy. I want to read both of these before seeing the movies being made about them. I just started this yesterday. So far, pretty awesome. Not at all what I expected. Not sure where those expectations came from as I don’t think I ever read anything about the author or the book. Maybe “Cormac” made me think of Dylan Thomas, or something (who I probably also have the wrong impression of). I recently had a similar experience with **Flannery O’Connor**. Not a man, you say? Wow. I read _Wise Blood_. Also very much not Dylan Thomas (as far as I know). Good book, I guess. I’m not much for short stories, but if anybody has a recommendation, I’d be game. Anyway, there’s a _The Road_ movie in the works? If I like the rest of the book as much as the first 50 pages, I probably won’t want to press my luck with a movie. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/138 "2009-09-28T13:57:50Z")
Just started Nick Hornby’s new one \*Juliet, Naked \* which looks like being fun. I have been browsing and will continue for months in [Spice Notes and Recipes](http://www.herbies.com.au/featured-books/65-spice-notes-and-recipes-new-edition) by Ian Hemphill. It is 500 pages of encyclopedic information about spices in a beautiful book that is just fun to pick up for 10 minutes. It follows me all over the place. Right now it is beside my chair, in ten minutes it will be on the bedside table. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/139 "2009-09-28T14:29:30Z")
> [@LunarPlexus](#): > > I just started this yesterday. So far, pretty awesome. > > Not at all what I expected. Not sure where those expectations came from as I don’t think I ever read anything about the author or the book. Maybe “Cormac” made me think of Dylan Thomas, or something (who I probably also have the wrong impression of). > > I recently had a similar experience with **Flannery O’Connor**. Not a man, you say? Wow. I read _Wise Blood_. Also very much not Dylan Thomas (as far as I know). Good book, I guess. I’m not much for short stories, but if anybody has a recommendation, I’d be game. > > Anyway, there’s a _The Road_ movie in the works? If I like the rest of the book as much as the first 50 pages, I probably won’t want to press my luck with a movie. I’m really liking it so far, too. I’m about half-way through. And yes, there’s a [movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898367/) coming out Thanksgiving week. Viggo Mortensen plays the father. I saw a fall movie preview on CBS Sunday Morning a couple of weeks ago and thought it looked pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154/140 "2009-09-29T00:47:29Z")
Finished _The Magic Cup by Andrew M. Greeley_, a thouroughly dull and uninspired telling of tale of King Cormac MacDermot and his quest for he magic princess and the magic cup that will confirm his right to be High King of Ireland. Although I have enjoyed some of Greeley’s work in the past, this time I found his dialog repetitive and tedious. Traveling with Cormac is Bridget a “humble” slave girl. As is his habit, Greeley paints her as a strong Irish woman with a quick temper. Much of the dialog between Cormac and Bridget consists of them first fighting, then making up, demonstrating to the reader the quicksilver temperament of the Irish peoples. In the end, this was a relief to finish - I give it a D+. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-09-edition/508154.md?page=8)