# Whatcha Reading, Spring Has Sprung Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2007, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734 "2007-03-13T12:47:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [March 13, 2007, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/21 "2007-03-13T19:02:14Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] If you like short stories, Joe’s collection is excellent. It’s called 20th Century Ghosts, and every story is a winner. [/QUOTE] Interlibrary loan request submitted. The librarians will be burning me in effigy by the end of this thread… ---
**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:** [March 13, 2007, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/22 "2007-03-13T19:13:57Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] Also reading a recommendation from another board – **Kitchener’s Mob** – written by a US soldier who fought in France in WWI. I didn’t know that trenches were more than deep ditches. The book has the standard trench plan on the endpapers. [/QUOTE] The library didn’t have it, PaperbackSwap didn’t have it, but Project Gutenberg has it as a [free downloadable ebook.](http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/19655) I hate the idea of reading a novel at my computer, but I’m going to give it a shot, anyway. Note to everyone with **Heart Shaped Box** in their pile: it was loads of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/23 "2007-03-13T19:25:50Z")
Over the winter I’ve been reading British history for context of Shakespeare’s historical plays and then reading the plays. I just finished re-reading Alison Weir’s [The Princes In The Tower](http://www.amazon.com/Princes-Tower-Alison-Weir/dp/0345391780/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-2254233-9741768?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173813511&sr=1-1) and then _Richard III_. Aaaand, upon reading what I just wrote, I swear to Og I’m not as pretentious as that sounds. Taking a break from that, my next book is [Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens](http://www.amazon.com/Elizabeth-Mary-Cousins-Rivals-Queens/dp/0375708200/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-2254233-9741768?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173813776&sr=1-1). Like **Eleanor** I really like British royal history. P.S. **twicks** and **koeeoaddi** , **A Soldier of the Great War** is my very favorite book. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/24 "2007-03-13T19:34:20Z")
I am reading way too many different books right now. A few: **The history of the ancient world** by Susan Wise Bauer–an interesting and educational summary of the history of the world from historical beginnings to about 300 AD. What a project, but she does it well. **Applesauce needs sugar** , the story/memoir of a family on a little Canadian farm at the turn of the century. Nice! **Never done** , a history of American housework. Somewhat scholarly, early 80’s academic feminism. Interesting. **Sergeant Nibley, PhD: an unlikely Screaming Eagle** , fascinating account of WWII and his experience in the 101st Airborne as an intelligence officer. ---
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/25 "2007-03-13T20:30:03Z")
**Mind of the Raven** by Bernd Heinrich - a book about experiments designed to assess the intelligence of ravens. Yum. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2007, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/26 "2007-03-13T20:35:51Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] Over the winter I’ve been reading British history for context of Shakespeare’s historical plays and then reading the plays. I just finished re-reading Alison Weir’s [The Princes In The Tower](http://www.amazon.com/Princes-Tower-Alison-Weir/dp/0345391780/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-2254233-9741768?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173813511&sr=1-1) and then _Richard III_. [/QUOTE] So, do you think Richard murdered them? Alison Weir does, doesn’t she? Being only vaguely familar with Shakespeare’s play, my first exposure to the story was Sharon Kay Penman’s novel **Sunne in Splendor** , which is semi-famous for its sympathetic portrayal of Richard III. Later I read Josephine Tey’s mystery novel **The Daughter of Time** , where a Scotland Yard Inspector investigates the historical records and tries to determine if Richard actually killed his nephews. So I’m inclined to think of Richard as sadly maligned by history. (Not that I didn’t enjoy Ian McKellen’s wicked Richard III.) ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/27 "2007-03-13T20:37:14Z")
[QUOTE=koeeoaddi] The library didn’t have it, PaperbackSwap didn’t have it, but Project Gutenberg has it as a [free downloadable ebook.](http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/19655) I hate the idea of reading a novel at my computer, but I’m going to give it a shot, anyway. [/QUOTE] I found it cheap at Amazon, a first (only?) edition hardcover for less than $5. It has an owner’s name in it, written in that genteel old penmanship, dated 1926. Does the Gutenberg site have the trench maps? ---
**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:** [March 13, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/28 "2007-03-13T20:43:24Z")
My wife got me a 1st edition copy of **Cosmos** by Sagan for Christmas, so that is my bedtime book. On deck is \*\*I, Lucifer \*\*. I read about it in another thread and decided to pick it up. I just got **Winterwood** , the latest from Patrick McCabe and a new author Joshua Ferris’s **Then We Came to the End**. It was very highly recomended by the good folks at Powells, so I picked it up. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/29 "2007-03-13T21:56:18Z")
**[HIJACK]** [QUOTE=Eleanor of Aquitaine] So, do you think Richard murdered them? Alison Weir does, doesn’t she? [/QUOTE] Yeah, I think he offed 'em. The thing is, there’s really no one else who would have had the authority to do it, and whom Rickard would not have ostentatiously made an example of after the fact. The most damning evidence IMO was his complete silence on the matter until the day he died – no deploring their unexplained disappearance, no vows to avenge them, no investigation. He was as guilty as OJ, IMO. Which doesn’t mean he wasn’t _also_ historically maligned, since the Tudors did quite the hatchet-job on him after Henry Tudor took the throne. I quite like _The Daughter of Time_, which I’ve read several times. But I’ve never been persuaded by it. I really enjoyed **Princesses** , BTW; I found it really entertaining. Have you read [Aristocrats](http://www.amazon.com/Aristocrats-Caroline-Louisa-Lennox-1740-1832/dp/0374524475/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-2254233-9741768?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173822768&sr=1-1)? If you like **Princesses** you may like it as well. **[/HIJACK]** ---
**Author:** ![Dunawake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dunawake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunawake)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/30 "2007-03-13T22:11:42Z")
[QUOTE=Fetchund] **Mind of the Raven** by Bernd Heinrich - a book about experiments designed to assess the intelligence of ravens. Yum. [/QUOTE] I might pick that up, it sounds really interesting. I grew up in Alaska and the ravens were always the most inventive animals around. They were always able to open up the garbage cans the bears failed at, which meant that the next morning you were always welcomed by a wide variety of garbage spread across your driveway by either bear or bird. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/31 "2007-03-13T22:21:45Z")
I’m about to go spend a few days on a (non-working) ranch in the middle of nowhere in west Texas. It’s very secluded and an hour’s drive to the place after you leave the paved road. Another half-hour drive and you’re in Mexico. So I decided to take some reading material appropriate to the setting: **All The Pretty Horses** by Cormac McCarthy, and **The Last Picture Show** , by Larry McMurtry. I’ve seen the movies and enjoyed them both and I’ve read some other McMurtry, so I’m hopeful about these. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2007, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/32 "2007-03-13T22:25:27Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] I really enjoyed **Princesses** , BTW; I found it really entertaining. Have you read [Aristocrats](http://www.amazon.com/Aristocrats-Caroline-Louisa-Lennox-1740-1832/dp/0374524475/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-2254233-9741768?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173822768&sr=1-1)? If you like **Princesses** you may like it as well. [/QUOTE] I’ve heard of that one, but I haven’t read it yet. I see that she has a new book out: [A Royal Affair: George III and His Scandalous Siblings](http://www.amazon.com/Royal-Affair-George-Scandalous-Siblings/dp/140006371X/ref=sr_1_1/104-1317897-0539939?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173823987&sr=1-1). ---
**Author:** ![badkittypriestess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8baadc/32.png) [@badkittypriestess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badkittypriestess)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/33 "2007-03-13T22:25:30Z")
Still re-reading Inkspell then I will get into Inkheart. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/34 "2007-03-14T02:09:10Z")
Just started reading _The Color of Magic_ . This is my first time reading any **Discworld** books and I’m loving it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/35 "2007-03-14T02:47:26Z")
[QUOTE=congodwarf] Just started reading _The Color of Magic_ . This is my first time reading any **Discworld** books and I’m loving it. [/QUOTE] You lucky bastid! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/36 "2007-03-14T04:51:14Z")
Artifact by Greg Benford, big book about digging up some alien thingie that the Myceans buried 3500 years ago. Not that far in it yet. I’m also reading a collection of technical tutorials in my field for my book review column. It’s hard to review things when you know all the authors. Technical people can’t be quite as bitchy as the reviewers of real literature. I’ve got Cryptonomicon lined up, as well as a Tom Swift Jr. book. ---
**Author:** ![Campion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Campion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Campion)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/37 "2007-03-14T05:16:34Z")
I just finished **The Thirteenth Tale**. It was kind of disappointing; it adequately emulated the genre, but I found it a bit over the top. I moved on to Jodi Picoult’s **The Tenth Circle** , but after about 100 pages I found it too disturbing for right now and I’ve put it down. I saw part of _Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?_ and I just am not in the mood for mean people and bad things happening right now. So I’m reading the Griffin & Sabine books, and admiring the pretty artwork. Lined up after that I have Plutarch’s _Lives_ and Livy’s _History_. I heard an interview on NPR with a historian/classicist about the history behind the movie 300, and it reminded me how much I liked that material. So I’ll dive into that once I’m done with Griffin and Sabine. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/38 "2007-03-14T05:24:33Z")
[QUOTE=Dunawake] **The Algebraist** by Iain M. Banks - Just started it, but it looks to be pretty good. Won “Best Sci-Fi Book of 2006” from the [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) editors, so I’m hopeful. [/QUOTE] I love his stuff. IMO his Culture series is even better. Feersum Enjiin was a little weak though. Currently reading **Complicity** by Iain Banks, which I’m liking but not loving. His sci-fi is much stronger. Also reading **The Last Crossing** by Guy Vanderhaeghe. Too many characters, not enough plot for my tastes. [QUOTE=yanceylebeef] On deck is \*\*I, Lucifer \*\*. [/QUOTE] Funniest book I’ve read in ages. ---
**Author:** ![valleyofthedolls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a4c791/32.png) [@valleyofthedolls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/valleyofthedolls)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/39 "2007-03-14T07:52:25Z")
Currently: **The Traveler** by John Twelve Hawks. I haven’t read much sci-fi but I’m enjoying this. On board: **Something Dangerous** by Penny Vincenzi. The sequel to No Angel, one of my favorite guilty pleasures. **The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza and the Fate of God in the Modern World** by Mathew Stewart. Looked interesting and its gotten excellent reviews. And if I get bored with any of the above, I always have the **Magic Mountain**. I’ve been stuck on pg. 40 for eight months give or take a few days. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2007, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/40 "2007-03-14T11:37:17Z")
From a recommendation on the board I have just started reading The Histories by Herodotus. After that, I am planning on creating a collection of Hugo winning Science Fiction novels so I’ll be reading those in publication order. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734.md?page=3)