# Whatcha reading Dec. (08) edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075 "2008-11-30T18:22:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/141 "2008-12-22T09:21:52Z")
Just finished _Hannibal Rising_ by Thomas Harris, this is a rare thing for one of Harris’ books, it was better than the film. Normally I think his great plots and characters are spoiled by his writing style, but this time he kept it together. The ending was also much better than the film (as I recall). Next on the list is _Attila_ by William Napier, heard good things about it and look forward to reading it. I also got _Dark Symphony_ by Christine Feehan form the library, I’m a bit dubious about it, is the Carpathian series any good? (This is the only one they had at the time.) ---
**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:** [December 22, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/142 "2008-12-22T15:17:33Z")
> [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > I also got _Dark Symphony_ by Christine Feehan form the library, I’m a bit dubious about it, is the Carpathian series any good? (This is the only one they had at the time.) I didn’t like the couple of early Carpathian books that I read. They were the type of romances where a powerful alpha male becomes obsessed with a rather pathetic woman who is his “lifemate” whether she wants to be or not, and begins to control her life for her own good. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/143 "2008-12-22T16:03:54Z")
Just finished \*All Shall Be Well; and All Shall Be Well; and All Manner of Things Shall Be Well \*by Tod Wodicka. Very funny and peculiar. Glad I read it but pretty glad I didn’t buy it. About a recently widowed medieval reenactor who can’t hack it in modern life and tries to mend fences with his estranged children. He’s kind of a literary descendent of Ignatius J. Reilly. Now reading \*The Bodies Left Behind \*by Jeffrey Deaver, more of a cat-and-mouse than Deaver’s usual procedurals. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/144 "2008-12-22T16:40:15Z")
Got a bunch of books on clearance at Vroman’s yesterday. I’m flying home for Christmas (since I worked the Thanksgiving) and then going to my long-anticipated Belize vacation in January. You all have given me lots of ideas for my Belize trip booklist, too. Vromans: House with the Clock in the Wall: John Bellairs The Figure in the Shadows: John Bellairs Labyrinthe: Kate Mosse (it was practically free, I swear) The Indian Clerk: David Leavitt Snow Flower and the Secret Fan ---
**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:** [December 22, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/145 "2008-12-22T17:02:00Z")
> [@anu-la1979](#): > > House with the Clock in the Wall: John Bellairs > The Figure in the Shadows: John Bellairs Oh! Some of my favorite children’s books! I hope you enjoy them too. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/146 "2008-12-22T20:45:42Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > Vile and without merit. I don’t care if it is Holocaust Literature and therefore Above Reproach, it’s nasty and it’s being returned to the library as soon as I can get there tomorrow. Oh joy. That one’s on my book pile. Finished: **The Far Side of the World** by Patrick O’Brian ~ I really enjoyed this one although I felt it ended rather abruptly. **The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread** by Kate DiCamillo ~ It was ok. A quick little read. I hope I’m not the only person who had a gigglefit when the character “Gregory” was introduced. (I’m partial to [this Gregory](http://www.amazon.com/Gregory-Treasury-1/dp/1401202713)) Other than some other books I’m still working on, I added: **The Briar King** by Greg Keyes ~ I got the third in the series and decided to reread the previous two first. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/147 "2008-12-22T22:15:25Z")
> [@Gulo\_gulo](#): > > **The Briar King** by Greg Keyes ~ I got the third in the series and decided to reread the previous two first. I love that series. I’m waiting (very impatiently) for the fourth one to come out in paperback. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/148 "2008-12-24T01:48:53Z")
I finished _The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher_ by Kate Summerscale, and I would recommend it highly to fans of British golden age detective fiction. It’s a true crime type book about a sensational child murder in the mid-19th century, and all the crazy coverage in the press shaped how the English public viewed the whole concept of crime investigation. I liked how the author formatted it to mirror the style of a detective novel. If you read a lot of Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, John Dickson Carr, etc, you would probably enjoy this (although, being about a child’s murder, it’s a little bit of a downer in that regard). I’m currently reading _Joe College_, which is a weird and somewhat uneven humorous novel about Yale in the 80s, _Not a Happy Camper_ which is a very amusing memoir about a girl’s experiences at summer camp, and _Outside Beauty_ the most recent YA novel by Cynthia Kadohata who won the Newbery a few years ago for _Kira-Kira._ ---
**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:** [December 24, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/149 "2008-12-24T02:17:31Z")
Just finished _I’m A Lebowski, You’re a Lebowski_ by Bill Green et al. (Bloomsbury 2007), which is a wonderful, funny, offbeat fans’ tribute to one of my favorite comedies, _The Big Lebowski_. It has interviews with Jeff Bridges, John Goodman and much of the other cast, a glossary of movie catchphrases, a discography, a quiz to determine just how Dudelike you are, a chronicle of the evolving Lebowskifests which have been held across the country, and lots of other cool shit. The Dude abides, man. ---
**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:** [December 24, 2008, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/150 "2008-12-24T05:07:42Z")
Half way through **The Private Patient** , by P.D. James. Meh. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/151 "2008-12-24T07:02:34Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > _Ender’s Game_ by Orson Scott Card - Friends have told me for years I should read it, and I finally am. \*\* Although it’s good, I don’t understand the rapturous reaction of so many SF fans\*\*. Don’t think I’ll go on to any of the sequels. Its an okay book , I think that people reacted the way they do because of its release date in 85 it was probably one of the few adult scifi novels. Sort of like how on the beach became a seminal work to read for a lot of people back in the 60’s. While its set on another planet which makes it scifi, I would think that you might like speaker for the dead better. Declan ---
**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:** [December 24, 2008, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/152 "2008-12-24T12:52:18Z")
I read something really great yesterday afternoon…a Christmas card from **Auntie Pam**! I was really surprised and cheered. I also got a laugh when I saw that the envelope was addressed to Dung Beetle. The postman had put a question mark by it. 🙂 Thanks, Pam! That made my day. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/153 "2008-12-24T14:20:08Z")
You’re welcome! Hope I didn’t blow your cover! 🙂 ---
**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:** [December 24, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/154 "2008-12-24T15:05:31Z")
Ah, the postman doesn’t know which one I am anyway. 😃 ---
**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:** [December 24, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/155 "2008-12-24T15:08:24Z")
Through the wonderfulness of other dopers, I have read **Them** by Jon Ronson, and **Men who stare at Goats** By Jon Ronson. Fun with people ( mostly military) who believe in odd paranormal things. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/156 "2008-12-24T19:04:33Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > While its set on another planet which makes it scifi, I would think that you might like speaker for the dead better. As a counterpoint while I found _Ender’s Game_ to be a decent SF novel, _Speaker for the Dead_ was absolutely horrible. (I’m 90% sure we’ve gone back and forth on that before so I won’t rehash it; I’m just providing a counterpoint.) ---
**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:** [December 24, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/157 "2008-12-24T19:09:54Z")
As a counter-counterpoint, after reading _Ender’s Game_, I’d never touch another thing Card wrote. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/158 "2008-12-24T19:30:53Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > As a counter-counterpoint, after reading _Ender’s Game_, I’d never touch another thing Card wrote. 😃 We need more posts like this, unless you all think negative opinions are inappropriate for a “What are you reading?” thread. Are they? _Ender’s Game_ shows up here a lot, and before reading the last few posts, I thought it was a 100% Doper favorite. ---
**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:** [December 24, 2008, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/159 "2008-12-24T19:34:42Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > We need more posts like this, unless you all think negative opinions are inappropriate for a “What are you reading?” thread. I don’t want anyone to feel like I’m disparaging what they’re reading, so I tend to avoid commenting negatively most of the time unless it’s someone I know will take my comments in a good way or if someone asks for feedback. Does that make sense or do I need to rethink my approach? Khadaji, you start the threads. What is your intent? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2008, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075/160 "2008-12-24T20:00:07Z")
My personal rule is that negative comments are fair game in general discussion (like this thread) but should be avoided in things like recommendation threads since it can derail things. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-dec-08-edition/475075.md?page=9)