# Whatcha reading Jan. (09) edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 31, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409 "2008-12-31T21:57:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**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:** [January 21, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/121 "2009-01-21T02:30:15Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I’ve had _Bridge Of Birds_ in my Amazon queue more than once, but for some reason never buy it. > > Maybe it is time I did. I’m not given to hyperbole when it comes to my opinion on entertainment (if anything I’m often told that I’m far too critical), but _Bridge of Birds_ is the rare book that makes me gush. To go into detail on why I found it to be such a delight would spoil the sheer joy of uncovering it bit by bit for yourself. (For those who do need a rough plot outline, in 600AD China there is a village of dying children and a strong but good hearted villager hires an ancient sage to help them. Between the two of them they engage in comic misadventures and mystery solving while dealing with the problem. And really anything else I say would ruin the fun.) ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/122 "2009-01-21T18:06:02Z")
Finished Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand. A quick easy urban fantasy. It introduced a little more magic. Wasn’t bad. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/123 "2009-01-21T22:48:14Z")
I’m reading _Supreme Courtship_, by Christopher Buckley. It’s light as a lemon meringue pie, but I’m laughing my butt off. ---
**Author:** ![Momofgirls](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/momofgirls/32/21798_2.png) [@Momofgirls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Momofgirls)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/124 "2009-01-22T04:43:55Z")
I finished _Revolutionary Road_, and really liked it. But I’ll probably wait for the movie to come out on DVD. I also just read _Madness: A Bipolar Life_ by Marya Hornbacher. Very well-written, funny in parts but also depressing. Not one I’d need to read again. I’m currently reading _Be Happy or I’ll Scream: My Deranged Quest for the Perfect Husband, Family and Life_ by Sheri Lynch. Not laugh-out-loud funny, but amusing and a good break from the more somber reading material I’ve chosen lately. ---
**Author:** ![kitemaker\_chuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a88e4f/32.png) [@kitemaker\_chuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitemaker_chuck)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/125 "2009-01-22T07:11:39Z")
I’m reading a very interesting book about ships: **What Ship Is That?** Second Edition A Field Guide to Boats and Ships Author: Bobby L. Basnight ---
**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:** [January 22, 2009, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/126 "2009-01-22T13:11:19Z")
I read a big chunk of Three Bags Full: a sheep detective story by Leonie Swann, but I couldn’t really seem to lock on to the story. I liked the sheep, though. (Also, my daughter is reading Watership Down on my recommendation and if she comes along and catches me reading a book about sheep, well, that’s just going to look weird.) So I set that aside and started on Storm Front by Jim Butcher. It’s my first Dresden Files book (if not _the_ first, my library catalog is always sketchy about what order the books of a series go in). Pretty good. I expect I’ll be getting some more of these. ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/127 "2009-01-22T14:25:18Z")
I just reread _The Alchemist_, by Paulo Coelho. I read this book originally when I was in my teens and I was very, very impressed with it. Revisiting it now, I found myself totally bored. Maybe I’m more cynical or maybe my teenage self had more tolerance for “on the nose” moralistic writing, but I thought Coehlo could have spent more time focused on the story and less time preaching and still had a good, popular book. The phrase “personal legend” is currently triggering my gag reflex. I’m reading Meg Cabot’s _Shadowland_, the first in her Mediator series. Really fun. I like YA so much sometimes! ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/128 "2009-01-23T18:03:45Z")
The Newbery and Caldecott winners for this past year will be announced next Monday, so lately I have been trying to read as many of the eligible books as I can to see how I do predicting the winners. So these are all kids/YA books: I thought these were great: _Masterpiece_ by Elise Broach – A beetle becomes an artist, it’s really cute and a little reminiscent of _Cricket in Times Square_. _The Porcupine Year_ by Louise Erdrich – Story of a Native American family in the mid-19th century, a little like the \*Little House \* books only from the native perspective. _We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball_ by Kadir Nelson – AWESOME illustrations, decent-but-not-outstanding text. \*Waiting for Normal \*by Leslie Connor – Fairly grim story about child neglect but the main character is so enjoyable and resourceful that it’s a satisfying rather than depressing book. I thought these were so-so: _Alvin Ho Allergic to Girls, School and Other Scary Things_ by Lenore Look – A second grader has a lot of fears about every day situations. _My One Hundred Adventures_ by Polly Horvath – Nice writing but the adventures were a bit of a snooze. _The Magic Half_ by Annie Barrows – a little girl goes back in time and meets another girl. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/129 "2009-01-23T18:37:07Z")
Rereading \*The Maltese Falcon \*as part of this year’s[The Big Read](http://www.neabigread.org/). [Hiram College](http://www.hiram.edu/index.html)is the center for the events in my area. Next up is _The Age of Innocence_, which is based at the Massillon Museum. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/130 "2009-01-23T19:51:44Z")
I’ve finished _The Marriage of Sticks_. It was very weird but quite enjoyable. I couldn’t put it down, even though I didn’t much like the main character. Tonight I’m starting _Already Dead_, Charlie Huston’s first Joe Pitt book. I’ve only read one Huston, _Shotgun Rule_, and I think his dialogue is easily as good as Elmore Leonard’s. ---
**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:** [January 23, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/131 "2009-01-23T20:01:29Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Tonight I’m starting _Already Dead_, Charlie Huston’s first Joe Pitt book. I’ve only read one Huston, _Shotgun Rule_, and I think his dialogue is easily as good as Elmore Leonard’s. I really liked _Already Dead_. Huston is altogether too dark for me, except that I absolutely love his dialogue so I clench my teeth and try to enjoy the ride. (I’ll have to look up this Elmore Leonard you speak of.) I ended up liking _Lonesome Dove_. I didn’t fall in love with it, as many people have, and I don’t think I’ll become an aficionado of westerns, but I’m glad I read this one. The ending was strange: completely satisfying until the last few paragraphs. I’m almost finished reading John Scalzi’s _Old Man’s War_, and with apologies to those who are fans, I am not enjoying it at all. There are some absurd plot points, but they wouldn’t be a big deal if I liked the writing better. I enjoy this genre, but this book is doing nothing for me. If it weren’t such a quick read I wouldn’t finish it. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/132 "2009-01-25T03:36:58Z")
I have thrown the first book of 2009. This is the first book I’ve thrown in a couple of years, hence the announcement. What book earned this dubious honor? A book I read because of a [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=466292) I ran across here last year. **The Ladies of Missalonghi**. What pissed me off so much was not the fact that McCullough ripped off L.M. Montgomery. That is an unforgivable sin, true, especially since Montgomery is an actual _writer_ who has _style_ and doesn’t need to resort to clumsy sexual allusions. No, what pissed me off must be revealed in a spoiler as it didn’t show up until the end of the book. Ghosts can’t be Justices of the Peace! I’ve been to pig pickin’s that weren’t so ham-handed as this book. I think I might burn it rather than return it to the used book store. Crap this bad should not be inflicted on the unsuspecting. ---
**Author:** ![Momofgirls](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/momofgirls/32/21798_2.png) [@Momofgirls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Momofgirls)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/133 "2009-01-25T05:25:50Z")
> [@Momofgirls](#): > > I’m currently reading _Be Happy or I’ll Scream: My Deranged Quest for the Perfect Husband, Family and Life_ by Sheri Lynch. Finished this one; now I’m reading _I Hope They Have Beer in Hell_ by Tucker Max. Some of his stories are hilarious; others very cringe-worthy/gross. Very different than women who write funny anecdotes about their lives! ---
**Author:** ![TheVioletCreep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@TheVioletCreep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheVioletCreep)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/134 "2009-01-25T05:46:56Z")
I’m mid-way through “The Last Tycoon” by F. Scott Fitzgerald By far a contender for my favorite book. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2009, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/135 "2009-01-25T06:58:20Z")
Just Picked Up: _Sunshine_: Robin McKinley _The Magus_: John Fowles _Passage_: Connie Willis Started: _World Without Us_ by Alan Weisman. It’s good-I read the original essay in the 2005 Best Science and Nature Writing anthology (edited by Atul Gawande). Last week I finished _Dies the Fire_ by S.M. Stirling & _Never Cry Wolf_ by Farley Mowat. ---
**Author:** ![statij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@statij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statij)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/136 "2009-01-25T17:04:09Z")
Almost finished with _Anathem_ and based on recommendations in this thread, recently started \*Gone Away World \*and _Bridge of Birds_. LOVING them both so far. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/137 "2009-01-25T17:30:49Z")
Finished _Already Dead_ by Charlie Huston last night. I was expecting something like _Bloodsucking Fiends_, a lighthearted but semi-realistic look at the lives of modern vampires. Boy, was I wrong. I probably shouldn’t have read the book after watching _Miller’s Crossing_, because that and the book gave me some pretty good nightmares. Actually, Tom from the movie and Joe from the book are a bit alike – they want to be independent but they don’t have enough power. I’m quite taken with Joe Pitt so I’ll be getting the rest of these books. Next up is _The Pale Blue Eye_ by Louis Bayard. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/138 "2009-01-25T19:24:57Z")
> [@Just\_Some\_Guy](#): > > I finally got to the often recommended _Bridge of Birds_ and it was everything that it was promised to be. If you like that book, you might want to check out the Kai Lung stories by Ernest Bramah. I just finished reading _A Deepness in the Sky_. As with the other Vinge novels I’ve read, I thought it had a few nifty ideas smothered by an overly-long, overly-pedestrian storyline. I got bored about two-thirds of the way through it and only finished the book out of cussedness. At this rate, I’m pretty dubious about whether I’d be willing to tackle any more of his novels. ---
**Author:** ![Enterprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/76d3ee/32.png) [@Enterprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enterprise)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/139 "2009-01-26T10:19:01Z")
> [@Enterprise](#): > > I’ve got quite a bunch of books cracked open and am reading them as the mood strikes: > > J.R.R. Tolkien: _The Silmarillion_ > I’ve had that for a while in the German edition, which is okay but not great. Part of the appeal is the flow of the language, which the translation just doesn’t seem to be able to get right. The English one is fun, though. I’m through with this – it was very interesting indeed! I’ll have to get a well-bound hardcover, I’m afraid, and an atlas. The constant going to the appendices for the names and relationsships hurt this cheap paperback edition. I read _The Book of Lost Tales I_ right after this, which was incredibly fascinating as a glimpse into the process of Tolkien’s creation. Other things to read will prevent me from getting on with the History of Middle-Earth, but I’m looking forward to that continuation! > [@](#): > > David H. Donald: _Lincoln_ > Brillantly interesting biography of the most fascinating U.S. president. I’m up to the Lincoln-Douglas debates now. And it was interesting, too, but I’m still left a bit disappointed. I suppose I’d call it a Lincoln biography for absolute beginners, for while the chapters on Lincoln’s pre-Presidential life were new and intriguing, the Civil War bits (about which I knew a good deal already) offered very little new insight. > [@](#): > > William Dean Howells: _The Rise of Silas Lapham_ > Two chapters in, and so far so good. It’s much more enjoyable than I thought it would be, as, indeed, were most of the realism & naturalism authors I’ve had to read in the last few months. The sole exception was Upton Sinclair. I’m almost through with this, and it is getting better and better – I quite like this book. A couple of new ones cracked open right now: [ul] [li]Tad Williams, _Otherland_: _River of Blue Fire_. I got the whole four volumes for Christmas, and have been going through them at night, ever so slowly. This is getting better as well. It took me a hundred pages of the first volume to get interested, but now it’s going along, and things are starting to get revealed that make the whole story much less confusing. I suppose that won’t last, with some 2000 pages in two and a half volumes still to go.[/li][li]Douglas Wolk, _Reading Comics_. Interesting thing as well. I have Eisner’s volumes and Scott McCloud’s as well, and this is the first that tries to explain comics in prose, rather than in, well, comics. He’s already contradicting Eisner and getting onto a different track than McCloud, so I’m looking forward to his thesis.[/li][li]Richard Henry Dana, _Two Years Before the Mast_. This may end up getting dropped until I can find the time to situate it more properly within its context. As a read, it’s slow, it may be more interesting as a cultural phenomenon.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409/140 "2009-01-26T13:14:48Z")
_Grass_, by Tepper. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-jan-09-edition/479409.md?page=8)