# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/41 "2007-03-14T11:52:44Z")
**Fetchund** , I loved _Mind of the Raven_. I’m sure I drove those around me crazy, because I couldn’t stop piping up with “Did you know that ravens…?” I’m about halfway through Colleen McCullough’s _The First Man in Rome_. Great stuff. Go Gaius Marius! ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/42 "2007-03-14T16:55:03Z")
[QUOTE=Campion] 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. [/QUOTE] Try her latest– **Nineteen Minutes**. It’s new this month. I just finished a couple of days ago and it kept me up til 3 AM one night. If you’ve read her other work, I’d compare it to her earlier and better books (IMHO) like **The Pact** and **Plain Truth**. It’s a pretty damn good read. I didn’t care for **The Tenth Circle** and **My Sister’s Keeper** made me mad, so it’s nice that she’s finally returned to the good stuff. As for what I’m reading right now– **Marie Antoinette: The Journey** by Antonia Fraser. It’s so well-written that it’s more like reading a novel rather than a biography. I’ve got a couple of early American historical novels on the way from Amazon including **Into the Wilderness** by Sara Donati (it’s supposedly very Diana Gabaldon-esque and I’m not sure why I haven’t read it before now.). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/43 "2007-03-14T17:00:11Z")
It’s not spring here. It’s jumped into the hot season. Topping 100 degrees every day. But I’m reading sections of the Lonely Planet China guide right now, because we’ll be in Beijing and Shanghai in a couple of months. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/44 "2007-03-14T17:06:23Z")
[QUOTE=Greywolf73] Try her latest– **Nineteen Minutes**. It’s new this month. I just finished a couple of days ago and it kept me up til 3 AM one night. If you’ve read her other work, I’d compare it to her earlier and better books (IMHO) like **The Pact** and **Plain Truth**. It’s a pretty damn good read. I didn’t care for **The Tenth Circle** and **My Sister’s Keeper** made me mad, so it’s nice that she’s finally returned to the good stuff. [/QUOTE] I’m glad to hear that, because the first book of hers I read was _Plain Truth_, and I really liked it a lot, but have not been too thrilled with her subsequent ones. I will definitely check this one out. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/45 "2007-03-14T18:11:04Z")
I cheated. I’ve been reading Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series, a sprawling epic with lots of characters. I finished the first two. I wanted to know how the story ends but I was getting impatient to go on to something else. So I skipped the third book, read the synopsis of it in the fourth book, and then read the end of the fourth book. I might go back and read 3 and 4 properly someday. I feel a bit guilty for skimming, but the books don’t require deep reading. Now I’m reading **Fool’s Errand** by Robin Hobb, another sprawling epic with lots of characters. 🙂 Heart-Shaped Box isn’t here yet, dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/46 "2007-03-14T19:06:26Z")
Finished The RagWitch. Wasn’t too bad, but wasn’t great either. Started [The Stolen Child](http://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Child-Keith-Donohue/dp/1400096537/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-4071462-4793634?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173898942&sr=8-1) It isn’t grabbing me so far. > [@](#): > > Donohue tells the tale of Henry Day and the two people he becomes after being snatched at age seven by changelings. One of them takes his human life, convincing almost everyone that he is the real Henry; meanwhile, the boy becomes one of the changelings, dubbed Aniday and initiated into their magical twilight world. Neither of the two stories are particularly compelling for me at this time. So far Henry has turned 16 or so and learned the piano (no plot spoiler because I can’t really see a plot yet.) It was recommended to me by someone who used to share books with me, so I will keep trying it, but so far I’m bored. ---
**Author:** ![Enterprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/76d3ee/32.png) [@Enterprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enterprise)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/47 "2007-03-14T19:14:35Z")
Got three books for my birthday I’ve read or am reading right now. The first, and most interesting, is _Confederates in the Attic_, by Tony Horvitz. Brillantly funny sometimes, eerily scary at others, but always a highly interesting look in the South’s attitudes on the Civil War (or should that be the War of Northern Aggression?). Then there’s Stephen Clarke’s _A Year in the Merde_, which is so-so. Interesting, but gets repetitive in its jokes. Funny most of the time, though. Won’t get the sequel, but I’m satisfying a friend of mine by reading this one, so that’s all for the better. And finally Kurt Vonnegut’s _Man Without a Country_, which by the looks of it I’ll finish on the train tomorrow. Great book, much too short. I’ll need to find more of Vonnegut’s essays. Plus, I’ve just brought home four books from the antiquarian book dealer, one of which is _World War Three: August 1985_ which I’ve always wanted to read. Looks like the month’ll be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/48 "2007-03-14T19:20:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Plus, I’ve just brought home four books from the antiquarian book dealer, one of which is World War Three: August 1985 which I’ve always wanted to read. Looks like the month’ll be interesting. He wrote a sequel to that a couple of years later, which is worth looking up. One thing I found interesting about this book was its description of the military action by the US against Grenada. This was _years_ before the actual invasion of Grenada under Reagan. It got me wondering why our military had been thinking about invading that tiny island for so long. ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/49 "2007-03-14T20:58:55Z")
[QUOTE=Enterprise] Got three books for my birthday I’ve read or am reading right now. The first, and most interesting, is _Confederates in the Attic_, by Tony Horvitz. Brillantly funny sometimes, eerily scary at others, but always a highly interesting look in the South’s attitudes on the Civil War (or should that be the War of Northern Aggression?). [/QUOTE] I LOVE this book. I’ve probably read it a dozen times. It’s a great book to just pick up, flip through and start reading randomly. The sheer batshit insanity of the people he encounters is astounding. My favorites were the “bloaters”, the reenactors who have perfected the art of portraying a dead Civil War soldier on the battlefield. They take their, uh, hobby very very seriously. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/50 "2007-03-14T21:06:54Z")
I just finished _The Greatest Game Ever Played_, which is about Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, all those great dead guys, and the 1913 US Open. I like playing golf but I don’t particularly care about reading about it - I _loved_ this one. I’d have read it if it were about the history of paint drying, it was so entertaining. Did you know Harry Vardon invented golf knickers? And now I’m reading the tenth Stephanie Plum book. Slumming. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/51 "2007-03-14T23:16:06Z")
I’ve just finished **Catch-22** and now I’m reading **The Trial** by Kafka. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/52 "2007-03-15T05:04:55Z")
In the spirit of the thread title, I’m currently reading _Dragons of Spring Dawning_, the final book of the _Dragonlance Chronicles_ trilogy by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman. ---
**Author:** ![Campion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Campion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Campion)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/53 "2007-03-15T06:06:59Z")
[QUOTE=Greywolf73] Try her latest– **Nineteen Minutes**. It’s new this month. I just finished a couple of days ago and it kept me up til 3 AM one night. If you’ve read her other work, I’d compare it to her earlier and better books (IMHO) like **The Pact** and **Plain Truth**. It’s a pretty damn good read. I didn’t care for **The Tenth Circle** and **My Sister’s Keeper** made me mad, so it’s nice that she’s finally returned to the good stuff. [/quote] I’ll check it out. My all time favorite of hers was Perfect Match. I thought the Pact was boring, unrealistic and way too predictable. I loved My Sister’s Keeper (cried all the way through the last part). So I think you and I are on a 50-50 scale. > [@Sarahfeena](#): > > I’m glad to hear that, because the first book of hers I read was Plain Truth, and I really liked it a lot, but have not been too thrilled with her subsequent ones. I will definitely check this one out. Try Perfect Match. I liked Plain Truth as well, but having read a number of hers, there’s a pattern that emerges. She seems to write the same book over and over, with new settings each time. So the only thing that keeps me interested is the setting. Plain Truth with the Amish; Perfect Match was law, science, and the Catholic Church. [QUOTE=Greywolf73] I’ve got a couple of early American historical novels on the way from Amazon including **Into the Wilderness** by Sara Donati (it’s supposedly very Diana Gabaldon-esque and I’m not sure why I haven’t read it before now.). [/QUOTE] I liked the first three or four Diana Gabaldon, and fell off the wagon with The Fiery Cross (I think I was on overload); that said, I couldn’t get into Into the Wilderness (which was actually described to me as more Last of the Mohicans). But as above, I think our taste may be different enough that YMWV. 🙂 Having said all that, I’m putting off the Plutarch for more “fun” reading, since I don’t think I can handle anything too heavy right now. So I’m rereading Turning On The Girls, by Cheryl Benard. It always makes me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/54 "2007-03-29T13:17:28Z")
Just finished a good novel: [_The Observations_](http://www.amazon.com/Observations-Jane-Harris/dp/0670037737/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4680401-8502242?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175173773&sr=8-1), by Jane Harris (first novel by a short-story and screenplay writer). Set in mid 19th-century Scotland, it’s narrated by Bessy, a young woman who fled from Glasgow and ended up as the servant at a crumbling manor house owned by a man of political ambitions and his beautiful wife. There are various odd goings-on as the story – and back story – unfold: the mysterious disappearance? death? of one of her predecessors, ghosts and rumors of ghosts, etc. It was really well written – the author captures Bessy’s voice wonderfully – and really well plotted – I didn’t see any of the plot developments coming, but none of them seemed arbitrary. Liked it a lot and recommend it warmly. ---
**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 29, 2007, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/55 "2007-03-29T13:27:26Z")
Oh, that looks wonderful, **twicks**. Recommendation happily taken. ---
**Author:** ![Camelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@Camelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camelot)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/56 "2007-03-29T13:38:23Z")
Also just finished **Nineteen Minutes** here; best of Jodi Picoult’s books in years. Currently reading: **The End of Faith** by Sam Harris and **No Applause: Just Throw Money** by Trav S.D., which is a retrospective of the vaudeville era ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/57 "2007-03-29T14:08:01Z")
**Engines of Tomorrow** by Robert Buderi. It’s supposed to be about R&D labs, which Buderi claims are as vital as ever, something I am skeptical about. His book came out in 2000, and is therefore already outdated. It’s good on the history of the major R&D labs, though. I’m also reading **Gods and Myths of Northern Europe** by H.R. Ellis Davidson. I’m very familiar with Norse mythology from Bulfinch and Hamilton and Wagner (and comments on him), not to mention misinformation from a lifetime of reading Marvel’s “Thor”, but I’ve learned a great deal from this slim volume. I’ve just finished the unabridged **To Kill a Mockingbird** (read by Sissy Spacek!) on audiodisc during my commute, and am halfway through Steinbeck’s **Of Mice and Men** , which I’d never read. ---
**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 29, 2007, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/58 "2007-03-29T14:16:14Z")
I’m immersed in Tony Hillerman’s books now - the Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee mysteries. These are great. The setting, on the American Indian reservation, is fascinating, as are the little details of Navajo culture. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2007, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/59 "2007-03-29T15:08:52Z")
**Heart-Shaped Box** – I liked it a lot – creepy, nicely paced and plotted with good characterization. I started Fool’s Errand yet again but put it aside when a new fantasy arrived, **The Blade Itself** by Joe Abercrombie. The writing is full of energy and humor, which there isn’t enough of in epic fantasy these days. Amazon sent a gift certificate so I ordered **Soldier of the Great War** , **koeeoaddi’s** guaranteed good read. **Observations** has been put on the wish list. Thanks, **Twickster** – it sounds good. ---
**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 29, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734/60 "2007-03-29T15:18:58Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] **Heart-Shaped Box** – I liked it a lot – creepy, nicely paced and plotted with good characterization. [/QUOTE] I did too, and I’ll be picking up Twentieth Century Ghosts this weekend at the library, though I don’t know how quickly I’ll get to read it. If I enjoy it, I may start buying Joe’s books. Owen’s I didn’t care for as much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading-spring-has-sprung-edition/395734.md?page=4)