# Whatcha reading Oct. (08) edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 30, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904 "2008-09-30T19:40:08Z")\ **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:** [September 30, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/1 "2008-09-30T19:40:08Z")
Here is the October edition of Whatcha Reading? As always here is a [link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=481353) to last month. I’ve slowed in my reading, I’m not sure why. I am about 1/3 of the way into _In the Woods by Tana French_. It is slow starting, but I think I’m going to enjoy it. We’ll see. I am nearly done - after many months - with _Slayer (Paperback) by Karen Koehler_ a painfully slow urban fantasy. Why I haven’t put it down, I can’t tell you. A few months back I went through my shelfs and picked out books that I had purchased but didn’t read. I figured I would read them now or get rid of them. This one I should have just gotten rid of, but now I’m nearly done. I don’t recommend it. I’m not even sure why I picked it up, because the cover doesn’t even look good. Maybe it was a gift. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/2 "2008-09-30T19:43:39Z")
I flagged this so a mod could correct the title. I’m a little more than halfway through Ken Follett’s _Pillars of the Earth_, which, apparently I’m the last person on the planet to read. Really enjoying it, though looking forward to finishing it and picking up something that requires less than a month to read. (I’ve been busy with freelance work recently so have been somewhat limited in my reading time, but yikes, I’m averaging only 200pp./wk.). ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/3 "2008-09-30T19:59:11Z")
Reading Halloween: \*An American Holiday, an American History \*by Lesley Pratt Bannatyne, about the origins of the observance. Celtic influence, Puritan repression, colonial variations, etc. A little dry, but informative. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/4 "2008-09-30T20:25:21Z")
Short stories by Richard Yates, and they’re freakin’ awesome, since they’re set in MY era – the 50’s. Yates writes like a dream. He’s a wonderful observer of human nature and he doesn’t get fancy with similes and stuff. Just plain simple good writing. _The Bonehunters_ by Steven Erikson – #6 (?) in the Malazan series, epic fantasy, will be 22 books when it’s all finished, if we count the companion books written by Ian Esslemont (which I might not read). _Dark Fire_ by C. J. Sansom – the second Matthew Shardlake book – historical mystery set in the 1530’s. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/5 "2008-09-30T20:39:55Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > I’m a little more than halfway through Ken Follett’s _Pillars of the Earth_, which, apparently I’m the last person on the planet to read. I thought I was the last person. Read that a few months ago and really enjoyed, now I’m waiting for _World Without End_ to come out in paperback or find a cheap copy. Currently reading _Humors of Blood and Skin_ by John Hawkes, which is a selection of his writings so I’m just skimming it. Also reading _The Sun Over Breda_ by Arturo Perez-Reverte. Always good stuff from him. Just picked up _King Leopold’s Ghost_ since I saw it recommended in last month’s ‘Whatcha readin’ thread. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/6 "2008-09-30T20:42:28Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > I flagged this so a mod could correct the title. > \ :o I thought that I \*had \*corrected the title. Thanks for the help. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/7 "2008-09-30T20:58:35Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Short stories by Richard Yates, and they’re freakin’ awesome, since they’re set in MY era – the 50’s. Yates writes like a dream. He’s a wonderful observer of human nature and he doesn’t get fancy with similes and stuff. Just plain simple good writing. **Pseudotriton ruber ruber** has written about Yates, and teaches him regularly. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/8 "2008-09-30T21:02:56Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > **Pseudotriton ruber ruber** has written about Yates, and teaches him regularly. Really? Cool! Maybe that’s where I heard about Yates. The book’s been on the shelf for years, and watching _Mad Men_ was the impetus to finally read it. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/9 "2008-09-30T21:10:29Z")
_Inkheart._ It’s written for kids (which I did not know), but it’s ok. After that I have _Ghost Walk_ by Brian Keene ---
**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 30, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/10 "2008-09-30T21:11:15Z")
I’m reading _Fire from Heaven_, the first book in Mary Renault’s trilogy about Alexander the Great. So far it’s pretty good, if a little melodramatic for my taste. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/11 "2008-09-30T22:01:11Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > _Inkheart._ It’s written for kids (which I did not know), but it’s ok. \ I didn’t love it and didn’t read the follow up. I may be wrong, but I think there is a movie in the works. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/12 "2008-09-30T22:01:43Z")
I finally picked up _Cloud Atlas_. It’s pretty good so far. Threw me for a loop when the first section ended in the middle of a sentence. I had to flip forward to the back to read the end of the sentence before I could go to the next part. ---
**Author:** ![Proudest\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/proudest_monkey/32/13257_2.png) [@Proudest\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Proudest_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/13 "2008-09-30T22:38:46Z")
> [@Jeff](#): > > I thought I was the last person. Read that a few months ago and really enjoyed, now I’m waiting for _World Without End_ to come out in paperback or find a cheap copy. Nope, I’m the last person. It’s in my bookstack, but hasnt yet risen to the top. I’m currently reading a summer leftover by James Paterson (_Judge and Jury_, I think it’s called), a kids’ book called _Diary of a Wimpy Kid_, and a reading teachers’ book by Fountas and Pinnell called _Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency_–a real page-turner that one is! :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [September 30, 2008, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/14 "2008-09-30T22:44:49Z")
Rudyard Kipling: Kim ---
**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:** [September 30, 2008, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/15 "2008-09-30T23:52:58Z")
_Softspoken_, a creepy little contemporary Southern Gothic with a dullard of a ghost (so far). Most of the other characters are fun, though and it’s an engaging little book despite the fact that the writing is occasionally awkward and the Southern dialect seems to come and go as mysteriously as the ghost. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2008, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/16 "2008-10-01T00:06:12Z")
I’ve just started _The Forgotten Beasts of Eld_ by Patricia A. McKillip. And by just started I mean not even ten pages into it yet so I haven’t formed a real opinion on the book or the plot. Next us is either Allen Steele’s _Chronospace_ (which I’m not looking forward to) or Terry Pratchett’s _Nation_ (which I am) depending on who wins the race to get in my mailbox. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/17 "2008-10-01T00:21:25Z")
> [@Just\_Some\_Guy](#): > > I’ve just started _The Forgotten Beasts of Eld_ by Patricia A. McKillip. And by just started I mean not even ten pages into it yet so I haven’t formed a real opinion on the book or the plot. > \ I’ll be interested in your feedback. It is one of my favorite books. But at the time I read it, the theme was near and dear to my heart. I haven’t read it in years, I’ll have to see if I can find it on my shelves. ---
**Author:** ![stucco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@stucco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stucco)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/18 "2008-10-01T00:31:56Z")
I’m reading both _Vertigo_ by W. G. Sebald and _The Yiddish Policeman’s Union_ by Michael Chabon. I’m really enjoying _Vertigo_ but I feel like it needs to be read in small pieces, hence the second book. I’m not really sold on _The Yiddish Policeman’s Union_ yet, but I’m only on the 5th or 6th chapter. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/19 "2008-10-01T01:30:57Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > _Softspoken_, a creepy little contemporary Southern Gothic with a dullard of a ghost (so far). Most of the other characters are fun, though and it’s an engaging little book despite the fact that the writing is occasionally awkward and the Southern dialect seems to come and go as mysteriously as the ghost. I’m interested in what you think when you’re finished with this one. _Green Eyes_ is my favorite Lucius Shepard novel. It’s a zombie romance, sorta. I’m pretty sure it’s out of print, but it’s worth looking for. ---
**Author:** ![uncle\_squeegee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b5e925/32.png) [@uncle\_squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uncle_squeegee)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904/20 "2008-10-01T02:00:05Z")
\*The Audacity of Hope \*by Barak Obama. Interesting and thought-provoking. Just finished _Firmin_ by Sam Savage. Was not impressed (but I didn’t hate it either). It was a selection for my book club, so if anyone has read it and has discussion questions/thoughts about it, I’d love to hear them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-oct-08-edition/465904.md?page=2)