# Whatcha reading Feb. (09) edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898 "2009-01-31T19:49:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Seeker\_of\_Truth\_and\_Beauty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Seeker\_of\_Truth\_and\_Beauty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seeker_of_Truth_and_Beauty)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/81 "2009-02-15T07:55:57Z")
I am in the middle of _Eclipse_ by Stephenie Meyer. Next up is book #4, aka _Breaking Dawn._ ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/82 "2009-02-15T09:38:18Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I hated Imajica. I tried it years ago and found it - well just bizarre. If I were reading it now I would put it down. I discovered Clive Barker (starting with _The Hellbound Heart_ and the _Books of Blood_) when I was 18 or so and I was blown away by just how different and forceful his horror imagery was. Then he really lost his way and wound up writing stuff like _Sacrament_ and _Galilee_. Weak, weak stuff, really. The last I checked he really wasn’t writing anything anymore. And it bugs me because I have his old works like _Imajica_ in storage, but if I read them I’ll be disappointed for sure by how much my tastes have changed. ☹ I just finished **The Fleet of Worlds** by Larry Niven and Edward Lerner. A prequel of sorts to _Ringworld_. Very middling and disappointingly flimsy. Am starting **King Leopold’s Ghost** , about the exploitation of the Congo by Leopold of Belgium. Fascinating stuff so far, and extremely well-written. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/83 "2009-02-15T17:23:30Z")
Just finished Freakin Fabulous: how to dress, speak, behave, eat, drink, entertain, decorate, and generally be better than everyone else, by Clinton Kelly. Light and funny and possibly even useful, unless you are already fabulous enough. 😉 I have a bit of a crush on Clinton, though, so I may be biased. I won’t know what’s next until I get back from the library. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/84 "2009-02-15T22:24:31Z")
[Small Crimes](http://www.amazon.com/Small-Crimes-Dave-Zeltserman/dp/1852429712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234735981&sr=1-1) by Dave Zeltserman – I’ve never read a book with such a self-deluded narrator. Crooked cop Joe Denton gets out of jail after seven years for attacking a local DA. Coked up, he set fire to the DA’s office and then stabbed him in the face with a letter opener, scarring him horribly. The only nice thing about Joe is that he lets his jailer win their games of checkers. He fantasizes about going straight, getting back with his ex-wife and daughters, while falling back into his old ways and finding trouble and wondering why his parents don’t want him around. I hated this guy, never once felt sorry for him (the author wouldn’t let me), and really enjoyed the book, especially the ending. I think the Coen brothers should take a look at this – it’s right up their alley. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/85 "2009-02-15T23:57:06Z")
Lessee, recently finished two books by Patricia Briggs: _Dragon Bones_ and _Cry Wolf_. I liked the former much more than the latter. Currently reading the fourth Matthew Shardlake book: _Revelation_. Also: _The Last Kashmiri Rose_, by Barbara Cleverly _Portuguese Irregular Verbs_ (hilarious), by Alexander Mccall Smith _The Vesuvius Club_, by Mark Gatiss _Ship of Magic_, by Robin Hobb _Seven Choices: Finding Daylight After Loss Shatters Your World_, by Elizabeth Harper Neeld I’m in the middle of that last book, but I’d highly recommend it so far. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/86 "2009-02-15T23:59:01Z")
**The Magus** : John Fowles **Hyperion** : Dan Simmons ---
**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:** [February 16, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/87 "2009-02-16T00:38:10Z")
Just finished The Italian Secretary by Caleb Carr, which is a (relatively) new Sherlock Holmes mystery commissioned by the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate. I thought he did an excellent job of making the book read like a classic Holmes story by Doyle, so if you enjoyed the original stories, you should like this one. Just started The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. Only a few chapters in, but it’s a gripping read so far. The set-up is that a porn actor/producer/coke addict has a near fatal car wreck, suffering severe burns over the majority of his body. While he’s recovering in the hospital, a mysterious visitor shows up and begins telling him about her 500-plus-year history, while suggesting at the same time that he has a similarly long connection to her that he doesn’t remember. It’s a debut novel, and occasionally reads like the author’s trying to hard to be clever, but most of it works well (so far). ---
**Author:** ![iftheresaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecae2f/32.png) [@iftheresaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iftheresaway)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/88 "2009-02-16T02:52:46Z")
I’ve been in a really weird mood lately, and have had trouble getting into anything. I’m one of those people who feels discomfited, almost physically uncomfortable, if I’m not in the middle of a book or three. I’m reading _The Copywriter’s Handbook_, by Robert Bly, which is useful but not terribly engaging. I’ve got Madeline L’Engle’s \*Time Quartet \*laying around, and I read the first couple of pages, but it’s not quite the same as it was when I was younger and I find myself only half-way paying attention, waiting for the moment when I get into it (which of course can’t happen while I’m sitting there waiting for it to happen). I’m also halfway through _The World Without Us_, which I was really looking forward to but which is in fact very hit or miss, almost chapter by chapter. This thread has inspired me to go to the library, but of course what I _really_ want is to find some heretofore undiscovered Pratchett sitting on one of my bookshelves. No such luck, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/89 "2009-02-16T15:57:38Z")
I finally finished _The Historian_ by Elizabeth Kostova. The book’s lucky I want to trade it online, otherwise it would have been chucked across the room. A 900 page vampire novel with only the briefest appearances of vampires. How this became a best seller is completely beyond me. I also finished _The Black Tower_ by Louis Bayard. This was fun and enjoyable. A mystery set in France during the Restoration and a man who may or may not be the missing dauphin. The characters are all quite likable and the plot clips along nicely. I’m now reading \*The Big Over Easy \*by Jasper Fforde. So far, delightfully goofy. ---
**Author:** ![welby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@welby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/welby)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/90 "2009-02-16T16:48:45Z")
Currently reading: _Ender in Exile_ by Orson Scott Card, not far enough in to make a decision about it yet. Books I finished recently: \*Jennifer Govenment \*by Max Barry - Got this becase of a comment by Rigamarole in [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=506189&highlight=%22jennifer+government%22) I liked it. Easy and fun read. _Lords of the North_ and _Sword Song_ by Bernard Cornwell, the last two books of the Saxon Series. This man consistently amazes me with both his storytelling ability and attention to historical detail. I am now “done” with all of this available books. I eagerly await the next. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/91 "2009-02-16T17:21:54Z")
> [@TheMerchandise](#): > > I finally finished _The Historian_ by Elizabeth Kostova. The book’s lucky I want to trade it online, otherwise it would have been chucked across the room. A 900 page vampire novel with only the briefest appearances of vampires. How this became a best seller is completely beyond me. > \ When I used to listen to books on tape while working out, I had tried it. I found it dull and tedious and rather than make my walks seem easier, I began to dread them. I finally threw the tapes out. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/92 "2009-02-16T21:09:33Z")
> [@TheMerchandise](#): > > I finally finished _The Historian_ by Elizabeth Kostova. The book’s lucky I want to trade it online, otherwise it would have been chucked across the room. A 900 page vampire novel with only the briefest appearances of vampires. How this became a best seller is completely beyond me. You’re going to foist it on someone else? I donated mine to the library. I wanted to trash it but I can’t toss a book if it’s in good condition, dammit. > [@](#): > > I also finished _The Black Tower_ by Louis Bayard. This was fun and enjoyable. A mystery set in France during the Restoration and a man who may or may not be the missing dauphin. The characters are all quite likable and the plot clips along nicely. I liked this one enough to buy _The Pale Blue Eye_ – I’m reading it now. I like Bayard’s writing, and I like that his characters aren’t perfect, but that their flaws aren’t emphasized. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/93 "2009-02-16T21:18:13Z")
Almost done with _The Gone-Away World_ by Nick Harkaway, it’s pretty good. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/94 "2009-02-16T22:00:08Z")
Just finished "_death at intervals_ by Jose Saramago and am now starting _Master and Margarita_ by Mikhail Bulgakov ---
**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:** [February 16, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/95 "2009-02-16T22:55:39Z")
> [@wonderlust](#): > > Feel better soon! Thanks! I spent Sunday re-reading parts of Robin McKinley’s _Sunshine_. Then I went ahead and started another Heyer, _The Corinthian_, and so far it’s my least favorite ever. ☹ It’s the second of her novels I’ve read to feature cross-dressing. Apparently people were rather easy to deceive during the Regency era: a lovely, sheltered, inexperienced young woman only had to cut her hair short and put on some breeches and she could pass for a man, even withstanding close, prolonged observation. And we have a handsome, fashion-conscious hero who has never shown much interest in women until the tomboyish heroine crosses his path. Too bad Heyer couldn’t have just written a gay romance. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/96 "2009-02-16T23:29:20Z")
> [@TheMerchandise](#): > > I’m still slogging through _The Historian_ by Elizabeth Kostova. While I don’t dislike this book, reading it feels more like a test of wills between me and the story than any type of literary pleasure. The book is 900 pages long and, who boy, does it not need to be. > > I finished \*Dead After Dark \*last night. I’m on a vampire kick recently. Light and enjoyable. I’m very interested in watching True Blood on HBO now. > > Taking a vacation next week and I expect to be able to read quite a few books. Finally going to read _All the Pretty Horses_, which has been on my TBR list for ages. I thought \*The Historian \*was a great book. YMMV apparently. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/97 "2009-02-16T23:32:31Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I thought \*The Historian \*was a great book. YMMV apparently. You’re not alone - I thought so as well and have read it twice. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/98 "2009-02-16T23:37:29Z")
> [@TheMerchandise](#): > > I finally finished _The Historian_ by Elizabeth Kostova. The book’s lucky I want to trade it online, otherwise it would have been chucked across the room. A 900 page vampire novel with only the briefest appearances of vampires. How this became a best seller is completely beyond me. > [@Khadaji](#): > > When I used to listen to books on tape while working out, I had tried it. I found it dull and tedious and rather than make my walks seem easier, I began to dread them. I finally threw the tapes out. > [@AuntiePam](#): > > You’re going to foist it on someone else? I donated mine to the library. I wanted to trash it but I can’t toss a book if it’s in good condition, dammit. I know it was released to good reviews, but sometimes it feels like I’m the only person who likes **The Historian** nowadays. (ETA: Apparently not. Yay for more Historian fans!) I just finished **The Scourge of God** , the most recent “Novel of the Change” by S.M. Stirling. It was good, but the original trilogy was a lot better and very little actually happened in this fifth book in the series. The fact that there is 2-4 more books planned is both exciting (because I still enjoy them) and depressing (because the first two books in the new tetralogy could have easily been one book). I just started **Contagious** by Scott Sigler. It’s a sequel to **Infected** and is the pulpy, gory, bloody, vulgar kind of fiction that mom used to make. I’m only a few chapters in, but I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/99 "2009-02-17T13:50:20Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I just finished _The Circus Fire_ by Stewart O’Nan. Nonfiction, about the Hartford circus fire in 1944. Heartbreaking (of course) but really well done. I did some googling to see if there was anything new on Little Miss 1565, an unidentified child, and was surprised to see that someone’s using that nickname on Facebook. OOOH, I must read this! :: writing it down in little pink notebook :: > [@SpazCat](#): > > I finished Hiassen’s _Lucky You_. There’s a part at the end where one guy is desperate to get high so he huffs pepper spray. I laughed and laughed and laughed. Loved that one! > [@koeeoaddi](#): > > I just started _The Sparrow_, by Mary Doria Russell. First contact, this time with Jesuits! I like it a lot. Haven’t read that one, but loved \*A Thread of Grace \*and _Dreamers of the Day._ About 1/4 into _The Grandmothers_ by Glenway Wescott, and it’s blowing me away. This is another book I picked up only because it was quoted in _Wisconsin Death Trip_. I bought \*Wisconsin Death Trip \*and am underwhelmed. What am I supposed to see here? He keeps re-using the photos. Also reading _Charlatan: America’s Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam_ by Pope Brock. It’s delightful, and since the title character implanted goat testicles in men as a 1920s-era version of Viagra, there are lots of fun euphemisms and puns. [/QUOTE] I loved _Charlatan_! Made me then go get _Indiana Gothic_, the story of the author’s great-grandfather, who was shot to death by his brother-in-law; he’d been having an affair with his wife! Juicy! > [@AuntiePam](#): > > _A Pale Blue Eye_, or maybe it’s **The** Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard. Historical mystery, main character is a retired London constable investigating a murder at West Point. A cadet named Poe is helping him. Next up is _Drood_ by Dan Simmons, so it’ll be a double dose of Poe! Loved \*A Pale Blue Eye \*and looking for _Drood_! _The Fire_ by Katherine Neville, which I’m only 10/15 pages into. Liked _The Eight_, so it should be good. On my list. > [@TheMerchandise](#): > > I finally finished _The Historian_ by Elizabeth Kostova. The book’s lucky I want to trade it online, otherwise it would have been chucked across the room. A 900 page vampire novel with only the briefest appearances of vampires. How this became a best seller is completely beyond me. Didn’t see either the love or the hate. It was just OK to me. Far too long and not enough bang for the buck, but I didn’t despise it. > [@AuntiePam](#): > > I also finished _The Black Tower_ by Louis Bayard. This was fun and enjoyable. A mystery set in France during the Restoration and a man who may or may not be the missing dauphin. The characters are all quite likable and the plot clips along nicely. Also loved it! That poor, poor prince. I just checked out a handful of William Bernhardt’s Ben Kincaid mysteries out of the library to keep me company until TODAY, when Jacqueline Winspear’s new Maisie Dobbs book \*Among the Mad \*is released! I’ll be picking it up after work! OH!!! And I almost forgot!! Minor hijack: Donald Pollock will be discussing and signing \*Knockemstiff \*at Joseph-Beth Booksellers at Legacy Village on Cedar Road in Lyndhurst at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 12! ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898/100 "2009-02-17T14:22:10Z")
> [@Future\_Londonite](#): > > starting _Master and Margarita_ by Mikhail Bulgakov An excellent choice. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-feb-09-edition/483898.md?page=6)