# Whatcha reading? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 6, 2000, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556 "2000-01-06T21:33:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/1 "2000-01-06T21:33:00Z")
Haven’t had one of these for awhile. I’m reading _Guns, Germs, and Stee_ and enjoying it immensely – _way_ more intellectual than what I usually read. Next up: _The Poisonwood Bible_ for book club. I’m sure FormerAgent/PresentNutJob is reading _Surveillance For Dummies_. What are you reading? ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/2 "2000-01-06T21:34:00Z")
The book, of course, is _Guns, Germs, and Steelllllllll_ \ * * * Jodi _Fiat Justitia_ ---
**Author:** ![David\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/3 "2000-01-06T21:37:00Z")
Currently reading: _Dreaming Souls: Sleep, Dreams, and the Evolution of the Conscious Mind_ by Owen Flanagan. Also rereading: _The Millennium Bug: How to Survive the Coming Chaos_, by Michael S. Hyatt (to review and show how much of a chicken little he was). Listening to a Star Trek: Voyager book in the car, but I can’t remember the name. Just finished: _Virus: The Co-Discoverer of HIV Tracks Its Rampage and Charts the Future_, by Luc Montagnier. ---
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/4 "2000-01-06T21:40:00Z")
I just finished Wicked by Gregory Maguire for book club and am now reading Cider House Rules by John Irving in preparation for the movie coming out. I’ve actually been reading this Irving book for several months. The first 100 pages just d r a g g e d. Now it’s getting interesting. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Thin\_Skin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@Mr\_Thin\_Skin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Thin_Skin)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/5 "2000-01-06T21:45:00Z")
_Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors_ by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan. _Music, an Appreciation_ by Roger Kamien. And, _The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat_ by Oliver Sacks. ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/6 "2000-01-06T21:48:00Z")
_Catcher in the Rye_ by J. D. Salinger. I need an attitude adjustment; I’m relating just a little to well to Holden Caulfield. Next up: _My Bondage and My Freedom_ by Frederick Douglass. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/7 "2000-01-06T21:53:00Z")
My local independent bookshop just got my order in (see the Barnes & Noble thread over in the Pit for my politically-correct approach to book-purchasing), so later this evening I’ll be reading… GOODBYE TO ALL THAT by Robert Graves…his premature autobiography, originally published in 1928, in which the poet and author of I, CLAUDIUS tears into the British class system, the British educational system, and Britain in general. Graves revised the book in 1957, cutting out some of the more harsh and harrowing scenes of trench warfare during his service as an infantryman in WWI. This edition is the restored 1928 version, re-issued last year by Anchor Books. CHARLES DICKENS A TO Z: A big fat reference book and concordance to the works of Dickens, which includes thumbnail sketches of all the characters, detailed synopses of all the novels, excerpts from reviews and literary criticism, etc., etc. (I’ve only got five more novels to read before finishing everything Chuckie wrote, and I’m feeling kind of depressed about seeing the end of the party, so I thought this would be a good time to look back and re-group.) Last night I re-read a great food book, FRENCH COOKING IN TEN MINUTES: OR, ADAPTING TO THE RHYTHM OF MODERN LIFE, written by Edouard de Pomiane in 1930. A sweet little illustrated book about how to eat and live well in this awful modern world, without busting your ass too much. “As soon as you get home, without even taking off your coat, set a quart of water on the stove to boil. What will you use it for? Who knows, but you’ll use it for SOMETHING…coffee, at least.” And in almost every recipe he then says “Take the [food item] and drop it into a pot of boiling water. It’s waiting for you, there, on the stove.” * * * Uke ---
**Author:** ![SaxFace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SaxFace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaxFace)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/8 "2000-01-06T21:56:00Z")
I’m reading three books: _Virus X_ _Lush Life_ (biography of Billy Strayhorn) _West Coast Jazz_ (borrowed from Uke - I’ll finish it one of these days, I promise) I don’t think I’ve read any fiction for several months now. * * * Formerly unknown as “Melanie” ---
**Author:** ![Globe-trotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cab0a1/32.png) [@Globe-trotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Globe-trotter)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/9 "2000-01-06T21:57:00Z")
I’ve just started the _Discworld_ series (recommended to me by a friend), so I’m giggling and snickering and generally enjoying myself. I also have a few other books that I’ve been reading forever. Who knows when I’ll get around to them. Right now, they don’t stand much of a chance. 🙂 * * * Some drink at the fountain of knowledge…others just gargle. ---
**Author:** ![pricciar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@pricciar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pricciar)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/10 "2000-01-06T22:03:00Z")
Cider House Rules is a book I really enjoyed. I hear the story got totally eviscerated in the film version, I was gonna see it last weekend, but, I think I will pass now. I am reading: Freedom At Midnight. by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. A very cool book the birth of an independent Pakistan and India. Its written by the same guys who did Is Paris Burning, which I just read recently on the reccomendation of some SDMB person. Marshall McLuhan: The Medium and The Messenger. A biography of Marshal McLuhan. An interesting read. Edward Hopper:An Intimate Biography. A very cool book, about a super cool author. I can’t believe the New Yorker did another hack job of Nighthawks this month. What dolts. I picked up Pinsky’s translation of The Inferno this weekend, I think I am gonna attempt to read that after I am done these three. The discworld novel I read. (Jingo) was quite good, Terry Pratchett is funny. Oh, that reminds me, I have Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy sitting in my bathroom to be read in short spurts. (ewwww. No pun intended) pat ---
**Author:** ![saraam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@saraam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saraam)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/11 "2000-01-06T22:07:00Z")
I just picked up a copy of “120 Days of Sodom”, by the Marquis de Sade. It’s supposed to be quite raunchy. That is only a part of the reason for reading it. ---
**Author:** ![dlv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dlv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dlv)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/12 "2000-01-06T22:11:00Z")
_“120 Days of Sodom”_… Be sure to get an unabridged translation. if you like that, I also highly recommend _Juliette_ and _Justine_ ---
**Author:** ![Sealemon88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Sealemon88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sealemon88)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/13 "2000-01-06T22:12:00Z")
_A Clash Of Kings_ by George Martin (not the commedian). A high fantasy book where most of the magic is dark (a sorceress who kills her targets by literally giving birth to shadows), six seperate kings are getting ready to rumble, there is insest, intrigue, and knights that aren’t so knightly. It drug a little at first, but it’s getting pretty damn interesting now. next up is _Ringworld_, followed by _Betrayal At Krondor_, by Ramond E. Fiest. After that, I’ll probably re-read _The Deed of Paksenarrion_ by Elizabeth Moon. * * * You say “cheesy” like that’s a **BAD** thing. ---
**Author:** ![OldBroad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@OldBroad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldBroad)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/14 "2000-01-06T22:14:00Z")
The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage - the telegraph was revolutionary. The parallels between the early telegraph age and the internet are amazing. The Pleasure of Finding Things Out - a collection of Richard Feynman stuff. Photoshop 5.0 & 5.5 manuals Don’t Jump to Solutions Next up: Innovator’s Dilemma Looks pretty serious, guess I’d better get a good mystery going, too. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/15 "2000-01-06T22:16:00Z")
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon * * * She caught your eye like one of those pointy hook latches that used to dangle from screen doors and would fly up whenever you banged the door open again. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/16 "2000-01-06T22:26:00Z")
I _love_ the Outlander series, BurnMeUp. It’s on my top 10 list of books to read. Currently I’m in the middle of “Ya-Ya Sisterhood.” ---
**Author:** ![ZeroCool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@ZeroCool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZeroCool)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/17 "2000-01-06T22:31:00Z")
now, im reading the exorcist. after i finish it up, i plan to read dispatches. * * * Question Authority ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/18 "2000-01-06T22:32:00Z")
Yeah Pundit, a lot of people here had good things to say about it, and so i though i’d give it a shot. * * * She caught your eye like one of those pointy hook latches that used to dangle from screen doors and would fly up whenever you banged the door open again. ---
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/19 "2000-01-06T22:34:00Z")
Oooh, **Pundit**! I loved The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Great book, great insight into women. ---
**Author:** ![BunnyGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@BunnyGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BunnyGirl)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556/20 "2000-01-06T22:37:00Z")
1. _Black Lamb, Grey Falcon_ by Rebecca West. Fascinating look at pre-WWII Yugoslavia. History repeating itself. Great read! 2. _The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade_ by Thomas Lynch. Beautifully written book re: death and life (in that order) written by a poet who is also an undertaker. Found on the bargain table at my local indepedent bookstore (see note in BBQ Pit topic!) Just finished Unca Cecil’s last book; wonderful sis-in-law got it for me for watching her cats while they were on vacation. Is that a great relative or what?! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/12556.md?page=2)