# What's everyone reading? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 27, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868 "2006-01-27T17:44:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Stainz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stainz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stainz)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/61 "2006-01-29T07:06:20Z")
The latest in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon … something about Snow and Ashes (I’m bad with titles). 😃 Just finished a total piece of romantic fluff by Lisa Plumley - “Josie Day Comes Home” (or something like that). I’m also rereading the Narnia books - I’m currently on “Prince Caspian”. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/62 "2006-01-29T14:44:38Z")
I am reading [John Adams by David McCullough](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001PIOWU/qid=1138545745/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-9593773-7325757?s=books&v=glance&n=283155). Very Good book so far. He is probably the most consistantly readible Historical writer I have found. I need a break from my Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels. Jim ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/63 "2006-01-29T14:48:15Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > Just finished His Excellency: George Washington, by Joseph J. Ellis. Now reading Mencken: The American Iconoclast, by Marion Elizabeth Rodgers. I seem to be on a non-fiction binge. How is Ellis’ writing, compelling, dry, or somewhere in between? > [@Cyn](#): > > The Dragon Riders of Pern series The First 3 and the Harpers hall Trilogy were great? How do you like them so far? Jim ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/64 "2006-01-29T15:25:27Z")
I’m in and out of several books/series: Today, I’m reading [Sue Grafton’s _S is for Silence_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399152970/sr=1-1/qid=1138547516/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-4370365-5796905?%5Fencoding=UTF8) because it’s due back a the library today. Just read [Richard Russo’s _Straight Man_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375701907/qid=1138547622/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-4370365-5796905?s=books&v=glance&n=283155), which has a VERY FUNNY prologue and some funny scenes, but gets tedious when he talks about academic politics. I liked _Empire Falls_ better. Read both of those between (among?) Jane Austen’s _Emma_, which I expect to finish in the next week or so. Also just read _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_ before seeing the movie. I’ll be working my way through the entire _Chronicles_ in the next year or so. (I can’t see myself reading them all in a row.) Also highly recommend _Glass Castle_. Read that with my book group a few months back, before the whole James Frey discussion. We also debated how accurate it could be since the author was awfully young when the book starts. With memoirs, I always hope the spirit of the story is true, but figure some of it has to be made up or at least inaccurately remembered because who takes notes about every moment of their life? Not sure what’s next, though… GT ---
**Author:** ![furthur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@furthur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furthur)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/65 "2006-01-29T16:23:36Z")
> [@Dung Beetle](#): > > These look great! I just came from the library website, where I snapped up all the Sapolsky I could find. 🙂 I hope **A Primate’s Memoir** was in there? If not, get 'em to ILL it for you. The scene where he’s given a zebra leg, and how he also describes darting baboons and their reactions… priceless. And the ending is just fantastic. I actually wrote Sapolsky a fan e-mail, and he responded back. Nice man. Mrs. Furthur ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/66 "2006-01-29T23:53:14Z")
“parable of the sower” by octavia butler i hiiiiiiiiiiiiiighly recommend it. it’s replaced “of mice and men” as my favorite book, i think ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/67 "2006-01-29T23:57:23Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > I am reading [John Adams by David McCullough](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001PIOWU/qid=1138545745/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-9593773-7325757?s=books&v=glance&n=283155). > > Very Good book so far. > > He is probably the most consistantly readible Historical writer I have found. I need a break from my Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels. > > Jim I recently finished his _1776_ which I found riveting. I haven’t been inclined to pick up the Adams one though. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/68 "2006-01-30T00:19:01Z")
> [@Laughing Lagomorph](#): > > I recently finished his _1776_ which I found riveting. I haven’t been inclined to pick up the Adams one though. I really enjoyed the Adams one, and it made me want to read _1776_. I do not normally go for American history at all, but that book was fascinating. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2006, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/69 "2006-01-30T00:22:13Z")
I’m reading **The Cell** by Stephen King. I didn’t like it much at first, but it seems I just can’t resist a good luddite morality tale. It’s growing on me in a apocalyptic shaggy-dog story kind of way. I’m also reading [**The Pacific and Other Stories**](http://a1204.g.akamai.net/7/1204/1401/05020715011/images.barnesandnoble.com/images/9030000/9034802.jpg) by Mark Helprin. It’s brilliant. I think this guy is my favorite living writer. > [@AuntiePam](#): > > A surefire hit would be **The English Passengers** by Matthew Kneale, recommended by Twickster and others here. I liked that one too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/70 "2006-01-30T16:08:36Z")
> [@photopat](#): > > I’m about halfway through [The Ancestor’s Tale](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0618005838/qid=1138398272/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-0966894-2872028?s=books&v=glance&n=283155) by Richard Dawkins. Fascinating reverse history of life, starting with Homo Sapiens and tracing our evolution backwards to points of divergence from other species. Next up will probably be **Voodoo Science**. If you enjoyed Dawkin’s, you might wanna give this a look: [_At the Water’s Edge_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684856239/qid=1138637142/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/103-2640440-3466248?s=books&v=glance&n=283155), by Carl Zimmer. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/71 "2006-01-30T16:58:34Z")
I tend to read a lot of books at once. It’s a habit (survival technique) I picked up as an English major. For fun I’m reading: _Justine, Philosophy in the Bedroom,& Other Writings_ by Marquis de Sade (funny, funny stuff although the philosophy gets a bit old after a while) _Palace of Desire_ by Naguib Mahfouz _Uh-Oh_ byRobert Fulghum _Castle of Wizardry_ by David Eddings _Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe_ edited by Miguel Algarin & Bob Holman (this one may also play a part in my thesis or future research) My current bedtime book is _Grimms’ Tales for Young and Old_ translated by Ralph Manheim My class books are _Gardens in the Dunes_ by Leslie Marmon Silko _Mean Spirit_ by Linda Hogan _Free Enterprise_ by Michelle Cliff ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/72 "2006-01-30T17:03:01Z")
> [@Lucretia](#): > > Next up, I have _Ice Bound_, by Dr. Jeri Neilson, the female doctor who had to give herself a mastectomy at the South Pole. Say WHAT? :eek: I have got to find and read that book. ---
**Author:** ![Bertie\_Wooster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58f4c7/32.png) [@Bertie\_Wooster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bertie_Wooster)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/73 "2006-01-30T17:53:10Z")
Wow, lotsa deep reading going on. I’ve got about 40 pages left in _Cocktail Time_, and am already about 30 pages into _Summer Moonshine_, both by P G Wodehouse. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/74 "2006-01-30T17:54:26Z")
Just finished _Seeing Like a State_ and _1776_. The former was an eye-opener for me, if a bit on the repetitive side. The latter is, frankly, a bit more lightweight than I would have hoped for. I’m just getting started on _Memoirs of a Geisha_. Haven’t seen the movie, which is not getting very good reviews, but the book is very compelling. I’m also slowly making my way through _The Chosen_. It lends itself to reading a page or two at odd moments. I can’t say I find it terribly interesting, but I’m half way through, so there’s no sense in stopping now. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/75 "2006-01-30T18:03:03Z")
I’m a little more than halfway though _The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle_ by Haruki Murakami. (Translated, of course, I was never that good at Japanese.) I’m very, very impressed by this one. I think by the time I’m finished, it’ll be up there in my personal top five. ---
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/76 "2006-01-30T18:04:23Z")
Last night I finished **The Kite Runner** and I very highly recommend this book. Depressing and beautiful at the same time. Today I am starting **Anansi Boys** by Neil Gaiman. The only other book I have read by him was **Neverwhere** which I loved so I am hoping this book is just as good. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/77 "2006-01-30T18:20:57Z")
> [@melondeca](#): > > Today I am starting **Anansi Boys** by Neil Gaiman. The only other book I have read by him was **Neverwhere** which I loved so I am hoping this book is just as good. If you don’t already know, **Anansi Boys** is a sequel to **American Gods**. Although I have not read the new one, so I don’t know if you need to read American Gods first for the new one to make sense. But I’m pretty sure that the main characters in **Anansi Boys** are ones that were introduced in **American Gods**. ---
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/78 "2006-01-30T18:25:32Z")
> [@Monstre](#): > > If you don’t already know, **Anansi Boys** is a sequel to **American Gods**. Although I have not read the new one, so I don’t know if you need to read American Gods first for the new one to make sense. But I’m pretty sure that the main characters in **Anansi Boys** are ones that were introduced in **American Gods**. Actually, I did not know that. Maybe I will hold off on Anansi Boys until I order American Gods. Thanks for the tip. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/79 "2006-01-30T18:28:54Z")
> [@Monstre](#): > > If you don’t already know, **Anansi Boys** is a sequel to **American Gods**. Although I have not read the new one, so I don’t know if you need to read American Gods first for the new one to make sense. But I’m pretty sure that the main characters in **Anansi Boys** are ones that were introduced in **American Gods**. Sequel only in the loosest possible sense, that it’s a specific story based on the general premise of _American Gods_ – you definitely don’t need to have read _AG_ first. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868/80 "2006-01-30T18:56:38Z")
> [@Queuing](#): > > **The Wind-up Bird Chronicle** by Haruki Murakami translated by Jay Rubin. I am about half-way through, its pretty good although I do find myself occasionally thinking get on with it. You know, I searched through the last 50 posts to see if anybody had read it, and figured “ah, nobody else is reading this, I’ll just post.” :smack: I left off at page 326 yesterday, and while it’s gotten a little lost in Okada’s head a few times, as I say I’m enjoying the weirdness and loving the writing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-everyone-reading/341868.md?page=5)