# Whatcha reading? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2005, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380 "2005-05-18T11:19:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/41 "2005-05-18T19:03:49Z")
My stepdad just gave me seven of the books in the **All Creatures…** series. The first one is called **To Serve Them All My Days** and I’ll probably start it this evening. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/42 "2005-05-18T19:14:02Z")
Joe Haldeman’s “The Forever War” which I picked up at a used book sale a few weeks ago. Just finished “Write If You Get Work: The Best of Bob & Ray,” picked up at the same sale. But I’m really ticked because I lost my copy of Jim Thompson’s “Pop. 1280” on the Metro last week after getting like 60 pages in – right after the first “Holy Shit!” moment, in fact. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/43 "2005-05-18T20:01:14Z")
I just finished: The Children’s Blizzard by David Laskin I’m currently reading: The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill : A Love Story . . .with Wings by MARK BITTNER and I have this up next: The Year of Pleasures : A Novel by ELIZABETH BERG ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/44 "2005-05-18T20:48:05Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I enjoyed that too and am also looking forward to the next one. I wish I had taken more time to realize that the second one wasn’t published - I hate waiting. Just two more months… 🙂 > [@sewalk](#): > > My stepdad just gave me seven of the books in the All Creatures… series. The first one is called To Serve Them All My Days and I’ll probably start it this evening. To my knowledge, there are only five books in the “All Creatures” series: the [original four](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553609262/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_4/104-8811949-8635962?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance) are _All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful_, and _The Lord God Made Them All_. In 1992 Herriot finally published the fifth book, _[Every Living Thing](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312950586/ref=pd_sim_b_5/104-8811949-8635962?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance)_ – but it’s just not the same, sort of like the last season of the television show just wasn’t the same. There are many other books by Herriot, they’re just not considered part of that series … maybe you got some of those from your stepdad, too, and that’s how you have seven. They’re great, by the way – I think you’ll like them. 🙂 There _is_ a book called _[To Serve Them All My Days](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0786705957/qid=1116449691/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-8811949-8635962)_, and it inspired a 1980 miniseries of the same name, but it’s about a schoolteacher, not a vet. 🙂 (And now I’m going to have that song stuck in my head for the rest of the day … “all things bright and beauuutiiiiful…” 😛 ) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/45 "2005-05-18T21:51:12Z")
I’m only reading two books right now. [Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060987103/qid=1116453475/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-7888761-3647317) by Gregory McGuire. And I’m rereading _Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead_. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/46 "2005-05-18T22:18:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Freakonomics > A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, Steven W. Levitt > > I will be starting it tonight, just got it from Amazon yesterday. Levitt is an economist at the University of Chicago, a post he got at a ridiculously early age like 30 or so. He examines things like the organizational structure of drug-dealing gangs, the economics of baby names, and the relationship between crime rate and abortion. I have just been reading Malcolm Gladwell’s books Blink and The Tipping Point, which I found very interesting but a little aimless, and Freakonomics seemed like a more focused examination of a similar nature. I read _Freakonomics_ earlier this week. An interesting book but there really was no united theme - it was more like a collection of individual essays (which I believe is how it began). I also just read another collection of essays, Mark Evanier’s _Comic Books and Other Necessities of Life_ - it’s a collection of articles he wrote for a magazine. I’m currently finishing up _Memory_ by Lois McMaster Bujold. I picked up a cheap used copy yesterday and decided to reread it. Next is probably going to be _The Confederate States of America_ by Roger Ransom, another book I bought yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/47 "2005-05-18T22:27:37Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > I also just read another collection of essays, Mark Evanier’s _Comic Books and Other Necessities of Life_ - it’s a collection of articles he wrote for a magazine. If you liked it, you might be interested in Evanier’s really fine blog at [www.newsfromme.com](http://www.newsfromme.com). –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/48 "2005-05-18T23:12:43Z")
My husband is reading aloud to me the historical fiction [_ **The Illuminator** _](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312331916/qid=1116457677/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-8655393-6219203) by Brenda Rickman Vantrease (St. Martin’s Press). In late July I will be attending a seminar on this well-researched novel, set in 1379, at a local university. There is a sequel in the works. ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/49 "2005-05-18T23:25:35Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > There _is_ a book called _[To Serve Them All My Days](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0786705957/qid=1116449691/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-8811949-8635962)_, and it inspired a 1980 miniseries of the same name, but it’s about a schoolteacher, not a vet. 🙂 Sorry about the song. Thanks for the clarification. I tried to make a similar, far less informed arguement with my stepdad last night and his response was “I’ve read it, you haven’t, trust me.” Now I can just tell him he’s getting old and senile, as well as cranky. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/50 "2005-05-18T23:28:28Z")
Ghostwritten - David Mitchell. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/51 "2005-05-18T23:37:26Z")
Just finished **Quicksilver** by Neal Stephenson, after Cryptonomicon it was a disappointment, but it was OK. I am currently reading **Fingersmith** by Sarah Waters. Also reading **Skin** , a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/52 "2005-05-18T23:46:11Z")
I just finished _The Flight of the Phoenix_ by Elleston Trevor, which inspired the great movie starring James Stewart. (I haven’t seen the remake, so go for the 1965 version.) Now I’m a chapter into _Cavalier in White_ by Marcia Muller, a mystery about an art theft. She’s a good writer, so I expect it will be satisfying. ---
**Author:** ![dare\_devil007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@dare\_devil007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dare_devil007)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/53 "2005-05-19T00:05:04Z")
I’m currently reading _Postmortem_ by Patricia Cornwell. I plan on reading _Jennifer Government_ and _The Negotiator_ once school and exams end. ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/54 "2005-05-19T01:11:42Z")
In the middle of a re-read of Neal Stephenson’s _Snow Crash_. It’s been quite some time since I last read it, and I’m greatly enjoying discovering it again. Wild, mindbending, and funny. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/55 "2005-05-19T01:37:34Z")
As of tomorrow morning, I’m going to be reading The Da Vinci Code. I’m tired of people telling me how good it is. I’m finishing rereading 1421: The year china discovered the world. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/56 "2005-05-19T01:48:52Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > I am currently reading **Fingersmith** by Sarah Waters. I liked this a lot – how are you enjoying it? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/57 "2005-05-19T02:05:28Z")
Just finished _The Da Vinci Code_ at the behest of a good friend who enjoyed it and wanted someone to talk to about it. She pestered me for two months to read it. I finally read it and enjoyed it quite alot actually, even though much of the exposition was ridiculous. I then called my friend to see what it was about the book that she wanted to talk about, but she’s read _Angels and Demons_ in the meantime, and due to the similarity between them gets them mixed up and now she doesn’t remember what it was she wanted to talk about. Aaauugghh…:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/58 "2005-05-19T02:18:42Z")
Because of Dopers and threads like this, I am reading: **Captain Pantoja & the Special Services** by Mario Vargas Llosa. The writing style is very odd, all these characters are in a scene as it happens with little set up. Like ghosts or something shouting from the walls. I think I like it, but it is too early too tell. I’m reading aloud to the kids: **Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets.** we are at the Big Scene now where harry is about to enter the chamber. And I sent them off to bed…wooooooo…it’s fun being a parent. (Takes about 6-8 weeks to read a HP book. I wonder how long for HP3/4/5 and I can’t wait for 6!) ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/59 "2005-05-19T02:51:21Z")
Abraham Lincoln, **Speeches and Writings 1832-1858**. What can I say about the author that hasn’t been said already? I’m also rereading (and, this time, attempting to implement) David Allen’s **Getting Things Done**. In the bathroom: Karen Elizabeth Gordon, **The Disheveled Dictionary** ; also a recent volume of **The Best American Essays** (probably 2002, as there are a lot of 9/11-themed pieces). ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380/60 "2005-05-19T02:59:19Z")
Since Im done with school for the year I’ve dashed out to the library to load up on books I actually want to read, ok so Policy Paradox by Deborah Stone was a good read, but … Im reading **Good Earth** by Pearl S Buck, **All Fisherman are Liars** by Linda Greenlaw, and the **The Green RIver Running Red** by Ann Rule. I’ve read the Good Earth several times but the time was right again. I enjoy adventures on the high seas and Linda Greenlaw is a fishing boat captain who ws stuck out on the Grand Banks during the Perfect Storm, she has written a few books, this one is a retelling of stories heard at the Dry Dock bar while visiting her friend and mentor Alden, a crusty oold salt who has one foot in the grave and Linda wants to urge him to retire. ANd the last one is about the Green River serial killer, his victimes stories and the detectives who dogged his ass until they caught him. Never knew so many underage girls took to the streets for hooking. Sad to say the least. Scarier still, you gotta know there is someone out there now who may turn out just like Ridgeway. :shudder: There is another book under the pile that I’ve ignored for a while, **The Clerkenwell Tales** may get back to that later. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/304380.md?page=4)