# Whatcha Readin' Sept 2012 Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 31, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257 "2012-08-31T13:56:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/1 "2012-08-31T13:56:36Z")
Fall is here! Or at least, close enough to see coming! I am a big fan of fall and since I was laid off on the 23rd, this year I’ll have more time to enjoy fall and read! I just finished _Fate’s Edge (The Edge, Book 3)._ It was OK. In general I like their plots but they use the same sub-plot in every book and it has grown tired: Strong woman meets strong man who must conquer her and win her love. _I hate him, he is arrogant (but hansom!)_ _I must have her, she is beautiful and challenging!_ \*He must never know how much I want him I think I am falling for her I love you I love you the end \*I had already ordered one of their next books, but I think after that I will leave their worlds for a while. I have started the newest Odd Thomas installment. It is startling slowly for me, but I usually enjoy them. Happy fall all! Last month’s thread. [Link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=660444) ---
**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:** [August 31, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/2 "2012-08-31T14:33:33Z")
I picked up [Blueprints of the Afterlife](http://www.amazon.com/Blueprints-Afterlife-Ryan-Boudinot/dp/0802170919/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346423289&sr=1-1&keywords=blueprints+of+the+afterlife) on a whim and I’m really enjoying it. Disparate characters drawn together by a mysterious stranger in a dystopian Seattle. The New Iain Banks culture novel drops this month as well as [Dodger](http://www.amazon.com/Dodger-Terry-Pratchett/dp/0062009494/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346423437&sr=1-1&keywords=dodger+terry+pratchett) from terry Pratchett. It’s his take on Dickensian London. Also pre-ordered for the Kindle…[Rapture of the Nerds](http://www.amazon.com/Rapture-Nerds-Cory-Doctorow/dp/0765329107/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346423513&sr=1-1&keywords=rapture+of+the+nerds) a collaboration from Stross and Doctorow. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/3 "2012-08-31T16:15:33Z")
I just got back from Barnes & Noble (it’s across the street from work) where I purchased _Gone Girl_ and travel books for London and Paris. Funny thing is I NEVER buy fiction (I’m a librarian and am fundamentally opposed) but I want to read _Gone Girl_ really badly and there are 85 people ahead of me on the waiting list. I’ll donate the book when I’m finished. (I would make the title a link but my irk computer doesn’t allow that function) > **[Gone Girl|Hardcover](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gone-girl-gillian-flynn/1105608095?ean=9780307588364)** > > \#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “mercilessly entertaining” (Vanity Fair) instant classic “about the nature of identity and the terrible secrets that can survive and thrive in even the most intimate relationships” (Lev Grossman, Time... ---
**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:** [August 31, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/4 "2012-08-31T16:21:32Z")
Wait…you are opposed to buying fiction, or just fiction in general? I also ordered The Dog Stars, by Peter Heller. Lots of good reviews and buzz on this one. Doesn’t Micheal Chabon’s book drop this month as well? Something else to look forward too. ---
**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:** [August 31, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/5 "2012-08-31T16:27:18Z")
Have just started reading pertinent sections of the _Lonely Planet Japan_ guidebook in preparation for our journey there next April. ---
**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:** [August 31, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/6 "2012-08-31T17:04:48Z")
I’m listening to Stephen King’s **It** and seriously wanting grab the narrator by his absurdly exaggerated delivery, offer him a nice balloon and drag him into the storm drain. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/7 "2012-08-31T17:39:09Z")
Just finished Gone Girl. I enjoyed it a lot. I loved the dual unreliable narrator angle. When I first started reading Amy’s “diary” entries, I thought wow, this is pretty bad…seems really fake. I loved it when I found out later that it really was fake. Probably going for The Dog Stars next. I bought it for my Nook last week. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/8 "2012-08-31T17:46:57Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > Wait…you are opposed to buying fiction, or just fiction in general? Opposed to buying fiction. I’ll buy non-fiction because I view that as reference material. But fiction is to be checked out from the library. ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/9 "2012-08-31T17:52:14Z")
**Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid** by Wendy Williams. It’s pretty interesting! And I’m rereading **Making Money** by Pratchett, just b/c it’s wonderful! ---
**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:** [September 1, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/10 "2012-09-01T21:31:17Z")
_Founding Brothers_, by… um… the guy who wrote it. I can’t remember! I know so little about American History. I was a history major, but my focus was ancient history. ---
**Author:** ![Bilbo1967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bilbo1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bilbo1967)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/11 "2012-09-01T21:42:16Z")
I posted the below in August’s Watcha Reading thread before I realised it was September already. Just finished the latest Lee Child, Jack Reacher book, _A Wanted Man._ Pretty good, as are all the Reacher books. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/12 "2012-09-01T23:37:58Z")
Clive Barker’s Books Of Blood 1-3. Earlier Clive Barker stuff. It’s entertaining, but I much prefer, his from only a few years later, The Damnation Game and Weaveworld. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/13 "2012-09-02T00:34:45Z")
I’m engrossed in [1493](http://www.npr.org/2011/08/08/138924127/in-1493-columbus-shaped-a-world-to-be), by Charles C. Mann. It’s about the global effect of Columbus’ exploration. Well. It’s about that in a minor way. It’s about the world in 1493. Picked it up in the Philly airport. Kinda wish I’d read his earlier book, 1491, first. That’s ok. I finish this, and get the other one. Superb read. Non-fiction. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/14 "2012-09-02T00:46:45Z")
Just (a couple minutes ago) finished _1634: The Baltic War_, by David Weber and Eric Flint. About to start _1634: The Bavarian Crisis_, by Eric Flint and Virginia DeMarce. Both books are part of Flint’s “1632” alternate-history series, in which a small town is mysteriously transported intact from West Virginia, 2000 CE, to central Germany, 1631 CE. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2012, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/15 "2012-09-02T02:24:00Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Just (a couple minutes ago) finished _1634: The Baltic War_, by David Weber and Eric Flint. About to start _1634: The Bavarian Crisis_, by Eric Flint and Virginia DeMarce. Both books are part of Flint’s “1632” alternate-history series, in which a small town is mysteriously transported intact from West Virginia, 2000 CE, to central Germany, 1631 CE. That sounds interesting, as I happen to know not only is that the height of the 30 Years’ War, but the German states bore the brunt of the damage. ---
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/16 "2012-09-02T16:27:20Z")
I just finished _The Gods Themselves_ by Asimov. I realised as I was reading it that a short story I read a few years ago, “Gold”, was a spin-off of this book. It was about a novel very like this one being adapted into a movie using a new cinematic technique. I didn’t remember much about the story (which is lucky, I read it again just now and it was full of spoilers for the book) but the premise of an alien species with three genders, Rational, Emotional and Parental, stuck with me. There was a character in the short story, a stand in for Asimov, who explained “There are always people who say I don’t include sex because I don’t know how, so - out of vainglory, I suppose - I wrote this novel just to show that I _could_ do it. The entire novel deals with sex. Of course, it’s alien sex, not at all like ours.” Now I’m starting _The Eyre Affair_ by Jasper Fforde. It seems like it’s going to be a fun read. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/17 "2012-09-02T16:35:50Z")
I’m about halfway through _Hinterland_ by Caroline Brothers, a tale of two Afghani boys escaping the Taliban after their parents deaths ,trekking from Iran and eventually across Europe with the goal of reaching England, where they believe jobs and school await them. Its a little bleak but its well-written and a quick read. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/18 "2012-09-02T17:04:01Z")
Finished _The Unquiet Bones_ by Mel Starr, medieval mystery featuring a surgeon/sleuth. Liked it a lot. About halfway through _Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher_ by Timothy Egan. It’s the life of photographer Edward S. Curtis. It’s simply excellent. My copy is an ARC from Vine but I have to buy the hardcover. The ARC doesn’t include all the pictures, and I’m thinking the photo quality will be better with the hardcover. ---
**Author:** ![Future\_Londonite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Future\_Londonite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Future_Londonite)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/19 "2012-09-02T20:44:21Z")
Just finished **Wool** by _Hugh Howey_ which was mentioned in the August thread or somewhere else on the board - thoroughly enjoyed it. Have now started **Mongoliad** by _Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear and others_ which I am quite enjoying as well. Looking forward to book 2 coming out later this month ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257/20 "2012-09-04T14:13:34Z")
I finished [Delirium](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7686667-delirium), by Lauren Oliver. The book takes place in a dystopian America in some unspecified point in our future, where love is thought to be a disease at the root of all the world’s problems. People are systematically cured of love at the age of 18. The heroine, Lena, is counting down the days to her cure until she meets a boy and falls in love. When people mock the readers of YA, it’s because of books like this. I was incredibly annoyed by everything about this book. I’m now on to the meatier [Seductive Poison](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/345220.Seductive_Poison), about the Peoples Temple and life in Jonestown. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-readin-sept-2012-edition/633257.md?page=2)