# Whatcha reading? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 14, 2007, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245 "2007-02-14T19:24:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/21 "2007-02-15T00:15:38Z")
[_Mind Wide Open_](http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0743241665/ref=s9_asin_image_1/002-0706861-4031221), by Steven Johnson – a popularized intro to neurobiology. I’m enjoying it. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/22 "2007-02-15T00:19:53Z")
I’ve been thinking about starting one of these myself, but didn’t have any thing good to report. [GreyWalker](http://www.amazon.com/Greywalker-Kat-Richardson/dp/045146107X/sr=1-1/qid=1171498540/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-4071462-4793634?ie=UTF8&s=books) A totaly mediocre read. Mind candy. If you like the genre, go ahead and look at it, but don’t expect to be wowed. [The third in The Sisters Grimm](http://www.amazon.com/Sisters-Grimm-Problem-Child/dp/0810949148/sr=1-3/qid=1171498649/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/002-4071462-4793634?ie=UTF8&s=books) I like the series. So far this one is only OK. [The Stolen Child](http://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Child-Novel-Keith-Donohue/dp/0385516169/sr=8-1/qid=1171498740/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-4071462-4793634?ie=UTF8&s=books) is in the queue. I have heard good things about it. We will see. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/23 "2007-02-15T12:13:35Z")
I’m about to start _Napoleon’s Pyramids_ by **William Dietrich**. I really liked his other historical novels about Hadrian’s Wall and Atilla the Hun. _The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters_ by **G. W. Dahlquist** was very good - fairly slow going, though. It’s a strange, quasi-Victorian conspiracy novel with lots of confusion and double-crossing. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/24 "2007-02-15T13:31:30Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] A bio of Patrick Henry. We’re planning a trip to Williamsburg over the summer. [/QUOTE] See if you can fit in a trip to Jamestown, too – it’s the quadricentennial this year. Yorktown (my stomping grounds) is also worth a visit. Neither is as madly developed and huge as Williamsburg (although Jamestown is likely to be pretty busy this year, what with the birthday and all). I’m working my way through the Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher. Enjoying them very much indeed. I’m about halfway through Dead Beat, which is the second to the last book so far. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/25 "2007-02-15T14:30:54Z")
**In Xanadu** by William Dalrymple, in which the author retreads Marco Polo’s travels from Jerusalem to Xanadu. Dalrymple’s witty and funny, and I’m getting a fair bit of history in the reading, but something about it’s not really snaring me. Oh well. I found the book stashed in our magazine recirculation bin in the lobby of my building. Next up: **The Castle in the Forest** by Norman Mailer. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/26 "2007-02-15T15:00:16Z")
> [@](#): > > **Whatcha reading?** Not, “Whatcha reading _for_?” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/27 "2007-02-15T16:03:20Z")
I’m reading [Queen Isabella](http://www.amazon.com/Queen-Isabella-Treachery-Adultery-Medieval/dp/0345453204/sr=1-2/qid=1171555096/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/105-5659908-0803618?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Alison Weir. It’s a biography of a English queen from the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages is not my favorite period for British royal history, but Weir is my favorite historical biographer and the book is pretty good if you like that sort of thing. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2007, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/28 "2007-02-15T16:43:50Z")
After _Flanders_, which as **AuntiePam** points out, was an absolutely riveting and terrifying book, I needed a moment to catch my breath. So, I’m trashing out with [_Deep Storm_](http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Storm-Novel-Lincoln-Child/dp/0385515502/sr=1-1/qid=1171556601/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-7309481-8940403?ie=UTF8&s=books), by Lincoln Child. It hasn’t hit the wall yet, but it isn’t nearly as good as his books with Douglas Preston. Kind of an undersea mishmash of _The Abyss_, _Sphere_ and _Outland_, with interchangeable characters…wait, why am I reading this again? Oh yes, rats, mud, purification, pain, brutality, insanity, waste and death. Think I’m going to need something more distracting more than _Deep Storm_. I just picked up [_Grayson_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0307264548/ref=dp_image_0/105-7309481-8940403?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books), by Lynne Cox, from the library. Young girl swims with baby whale. Maybe this’ll work. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/29 "2007-02-15T17:08:35Z")
“The Vicomte de Bragelonne,” by Alexandre Dumas (pere). It’s the second sequel to “The Three Musketeers.” ---
**Author:** ![Cemetery\_Savior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Cemetery\_Savior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cemetery_Savior)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/30 "2007-02-15T17:12:34Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] Currently reading **Little, Big** by Jon Crowley. [/QUOTE] I’d be interested to hear what you thought of it. I enjoyed it. I think you’ve made some recommendations in my Gene Wolfe thread. -Cem ---
**Author:** ![Cemetery\_Savior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Cemetery\_Savior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cemetery_Savior)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/31 "2007-02-15T17:16:36Z")
Sorry…forgot the intent of the thread! I’m reading Galatea 2.0 (Richard Powers) right now, and have a few on queue: [ol] [li]Team of Rivals (about Abe Lincoln)[/li][li]Re-read some Haruki Murakami[/li][li]Maybe re-read Gene Wolfe’s Short Sun series[/li][/ol] I want to get more Richard Powers, and maybe a few reccomendations I’ve received in another thread. -Cem ---
**Author:** ![Alistair\_McCello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/58956e/32.png) [@Alistair\_McCello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alistair_McCello)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/32 "2007-02-15T17:20:00Z")
Just started reading two new books: **The Letters of John Keats** : I have a wierd inclination to reading the letters and journals of authors and philosophers rather than their actual published works. **Shalamir the Clown** by Salman Rushdie: After reading **The Satanic Verses** earlier this year I began to buy all of his novels and I am finally starting to get a chance to read through them. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2007, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/33 "2007-02-15T18:07:49Z")
Four things more or less at once. The Roman Reader, edited by Basil Davenport, and originally published the month I was born (by Gutenberg, obviously.) An anthology of Roman literature. I’m in the middle of the Aeneid, each book of which they took from a different translation. All the translations were chosen to be public domain. Thurber Carnival, which I had picked up at a library sale for 50 cents. For the Flag by Jules Verne, from my collection and A Tom Swift Jr. book, #7, which I started when my wife went to bed early and all 3 of my books were in the bedroom. Also from my collection. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/34 "2007-02-15T18:20:51Z")
I just finished getting through several crime thrillers by Val McDermid. I nearly had to call in sick one day last month because I couldn’t stop reading _A Place of Execution_ the night before. Now that I’ve unpacked the box where they’d remained hidden for over a year, I’ve started re-reading the Aubrey-Maturin series. Almost finished with _Post Captain_. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/35 "2007-02-15T18:21:44Z")
Currently finishing: In paperback, **Blind Man’s Bluff** , a historical account of U.S. Navy submarine activities during the Cold War. On my PDA (I just created my first e-book library!): **Atlantic: The Last Great Race of Princes** , a great book detailing the 1905 Trans-Atlantic Kaiser’s Cup race and the social and political backdrop of the time. Up next on my PDA: **Air Force One: A History of Presidents and Their Planes** **COD: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World** **The Ice Master: The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karluk** **Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States - Ohio Narratives** If you couldn’t tell by now, I’m a bit of a history buff! ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/36 "2007-02-15T19:48:52Z")
[QUOTE=Cemetery Savior] Sorry…forgot the intent of the thread! I’m reading Galatea 2.0 (Richard Powers) right now, and have a few on queue: [ol] [li]Team of Rivals (about Abe Lincoln)[/li][li]Re-read some Haruki Murakami[/li][li]Maybe re-read Gene Wolfe’s Short Sun series[/li][/ol] I want to get more Richard Powers, and maybe a few reccomendations I’ve received in another thread. -Cem [/QUOTE] I loved **Galatea 2.0**. It started me reading several of Powers’ books, of which **The Time of Our Singing** was my favorite. I hope it’s on your list! ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/37 "2007-02-15T20:30:30Z")
Just finished _Helen of Troy_ by Margaret George, _The Name of the Rose_ by Umberto Eco, _Concubine_ by Norah Lofts, _Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency_ by Douglas Adams, and _The Moonstone_ by Wilkie Collins. Now I’m rereading _Thief of Time_ by Terry Pratchett and going through Lucifer: _Mansions of the Silence_ by Mike Carey. I’ve got two books on hold that I need to pick up: \*Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles \* and _The Autobiography of Henry VIII_, both by Margaret George. After that… who knows? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/38 "2007-02-15T20:48:16Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] Currently reading **Little, Big** by Jon Crowley. [/QUOTE] My last girlfriend almost dumped me the first day we met when I admitted that I never finished this. Of course she dumped me a few weeks later anyway. Now I’m sad again. Damn. Currently reading **The Arrogance of Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon** by Anthony Summers. Awaiting delivery of **The Power of Black Music: Interpreting Its History from Africa to the United States** by Samuel A. Floyd, Jr. The last fiction I read that wasn’t a children’s book or graphic novel was **Malpractice in Maggody** by Joan Hess. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/39 "2007-02-15T20:48:53Z")
I’m in the middle of _Widdershins_, a collection of ghost stories by Oliver Onions (of which the first, The Beckoning Fair One, is my favorite ghost story – I’ve read it lotsa times). I’m also in the middle of _McSweeney’s Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales_, edited by Michael Chabon – it’s got stories from some heavy hitters in it, including Harlan Ellison, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Michael Moorcock and Chabon himself. I’ve enjoyed all of the stories thus far, and have discovered some writers new to me from which I’ll be looking for more. I’m also reading a biography, _Ulysses S. Grant: The Soldier and the Man_ by Edward G. Longacre, but I’m about to put it down and get a different Grant biography. It’s pretty well accepted that Grant liked the bottle to a certain extent; I don’t need to be reminded of it every three pages. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2007, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245/40 "2007-02-15T21:42:00Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] I’m reading [Queen Isabella](http://www.amazon.com/Queen-Isabella-Treachery-Adultery-Medieval/dp/0345453204/sr=1-2/qid=1171555096/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/105-5659908-0803618?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Alison Weir. It’s a biography of a English queen from the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages is not my favorite period for British royal history, but Weir is my favorite historical biographer and the book is pretty good if you like that sort of thing. [/QUOTE] She has a new one coming out in a couple of weeks, I think, about Lady Jane Grey. This one is fiction, though, and aren’t hers usually straight bios? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatcha-reading/392245.md?page=3)