# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - April 2023 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [March 29, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855 "2023-03-29T19:24:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/81 "2023-04-22T13:26:08Z")
Finished _12 Seconds of Silence: How a Team of Inventors, Tinkerers, and Spies Took Down a Nazi Superweapon_, by Jamie Holmes, which was quite interesting. Now I’m reading _A Desolation Called Peace_, by Arkady Martine. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/82 "2023-04-22T22:43:44Z")
I just finished _The Psychopath Inside_ by James Fallon. He’s a neuroscientist who discovered in his early 60’s that his own PET scan looked an awful lot like those of the psychopaths he’d been studying… It’s a fascinating book, not least because it follows the thought process of someone who’s discovering some new things about himself at an age when most of us have settled pretty firmly into our self-image. ---
**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:** [April 24, 2023, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/83 "2023-04-24T00:20:44Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > > > Finished _Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania_, by Erik Larson. Quite good, although I could probably have done without President Wilson’s courtship of Edith Galt… > > Did Larson include the British ambassador’s joke that got him recalled to London? No, he didn’t what was it? ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/84 "2023-04-24T00:28:34Z")
Finished listening to _The Last Thing He Told Me_ by Laura Dave. A good and entertaining read about a husband who disappears, leaving his daughter with his recently-married wife. Now I’ve started _False Witness_ by Karin Slaughter. Recommended by my daughter. If I don’t like it, I will blame her. ---
**Author:** ![TruePisces](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/truepisces/32/13628_2.png) [@TruePisces](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruePisces)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/85 "2023-04-24T00:33:19Z")
I’ve been reading a lot of graphic novels lately. My brain doesn’t want to remember what graphics I’ve read lately. But I do know that, at the moment, I’m in the middle of _Backpacking Through Bedlam_ by Seanan McGuire. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/86 "2023-04-24T00:43:43Z")
Finished _The Moon-Spinners_, by Mary Stewart. Still reading _The Great Journey: The Peopling of Ancient America_, by Brian M Fagan. Started _The Cater Street Hangman_, by Anne Perry. Next up: _A Dangerous Mourning_, by Anne Perry. ---
**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:** [April 24, 2023, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/87 "2023-04-24T15:28:18Z")
Started today on a YA novel, Summer in Orcus: > **[American Narnia: T. Kingfisher’s Summer in Orcus](https://www.tor.com/2023/04/11/american-narnia-t-kingfishers-summer-in-orcus/comment-page-1/)** > > Thanks to commenter BrendaA for recommending T. Kingfisher’s novel as a followup to Stephanie Burgis’ Dragon Heart series. It’s perfect. Kingfisher, an open pseudonym for author Ursula Vernon, note… I’m fixin’ to have me a Kingfisherrific month, as I have several more of hers coming down the pike. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/88 "2023-04-24T16:11:52Z")
A Window on Eternity - Edward O. Wilson The story of the recovery of the Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. Happy to read some good news for once. Nice book, with a lot of good pictures Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps - Seirian Summer A look at the natural history of wasps, an enormously diverse group of insects. Lots of interesting information about the evolution and ecology of these fascinating animals. NB - Although I certainly learned a lot about wasps, I still don’t like them. ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/89 "2023-04-24T16:50:05Z")
I think I shall join you! I just got “House with Good Bones” & “Nettle & Bone” (plus I have several others already.) ---
**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:** [April 24, 2023, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/90 "2023-04-24T17:27:21Z")
Yay! We deserve it. 😇 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/91 "2023-04-24T18:56:31Z")
Finished _The Old Man_ by Thomas Perry, a good but not great spy thriller. Now I’m interested in seeing the Jeff Bridges/John Lithgow miniseries; I love those actors, and hope it’s a bit better than the book. Inspired by this thread, I’m now rereading Ken Grimwood’s _Reply_. It’s just as good as I remember. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > > > > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > > > > > Finished _Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania_, by Erik Larson. Quite good, although I could probably have done without President Wilson’s courtship of Edith Galt… > > > > Did Larson include the British ambassador’s joke that got him recalled to London? > > No, he didn’t what was it? The British ambassador said at a dinner party, “When the President proposed to Mrs. Galt, she was so surprised she fell out of bed.” The joke got back to Wilson, who frostily told His Majesty’s Government that the ambassador was no longer welcome in the U.S. He was recalled and a new ambassador sent. On further digging, it looks like this might have been a senior British diplomat in Washington, but not the ambassador himself. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/92 "2023-04-26T12:27:56Z")
_Nettle & Bone_ was one of the best novels I read last year. I have _A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking_ on my TBR shelf. Finished _A Desolation Called Peace_, by Arkady Martine, which was excellent–I think I liked it more than _A Memory Called Empire_. Now I’m reading _A Big Important Art Book–Now With Women!: Profiles of Unstoppable Female Artists and PRojects to Help You Become One_, by Danielle Krysa. ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/93 "2023-04-26T13:17:28Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > _Nettle & Bone_ was one of the best novels I read last year. I have _A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking_ on my TBR shelf. Good to hear! I also have _A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking_ on my Kindle, plus 3(?) Paladin books. I would like her to write a sequel to _Swordheart_ -fingers crossed- ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/94 "2023-04-26T17:22:38Z")
I am pretty sure she has said she is planning to write more Swordheart books. ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/95 "2023-04-26T18:06:43Z")
Yeah, I’m sure she will, I’m just bad at waiting. 😆 ---
**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:** [April 26, 2023, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/96 "2023-04-26T21:36:14Z")
I dnf’d Waye Caldwell’s _Cataloochee_ with extreme prejudice. Four hundred pages in (it’s a 500 page book in large print) and I just didn’t care anymore. It would have been better if he had decided to write a family epic OR the tale of how people lost their farms when the Great Smokies National Park was established, but he definitely couldn’t do both. The only reason I stuck with it as long as I did was because I wanted to find out who shot the guy who needed shootin’ at the beginning. Once that mystery was solved, my slight interest in the book vanished. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2023, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/97 "2023-04-28T21:12:06Z")
Finished _The Great Journey: The Peopling of Ancient America_, by Brian M Fagan, and _The Cater Street Hangman_, by Anne Perry. Started _A Dangerous Mourning_, by Anne Perry. Next up: Not sure yet… ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2023, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/98 "2023-04-29T00:17:00Z")
Finished _A Big Important Art Book–Now With Women!: Profiles of Unstoppable Female Artists and Projects to Help You Become One_, by Danielle Krysa, which I enjoyed. My favorite was an installation called “Train That Stood Still” by an artist named Olek. She crocheted what I can only call a “locomotive cozy”–although it includes other cars as well. Here’s a link: [The Train That Stands Still | HuffPost Entertainment](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-train-that-stands-sti_b_3744900) Now I’m reading _Everfair_, by Nisi Shawl. ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2023, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/99 "2023-04-29T01:46:12Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > My favorite was an installation called “Train That Stood Still” by an artist named Olek. She crocheted what I can only call a “locomotive cozy”–although it includes other cars as well. As someone who crocheted many, MANY, blankets one year, I am in awe of that train. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2023, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855/100 "2023-04-29T09:06:34Z")
Wow, I just opened a chatGTP session to get some book recommendations and their recommendations are the highlights of the stuff I read in the last couple decades. After less than 30 titles I got a response that actually interested me. I’m pleased at the progress we are making:) Out of 30 titles: 2 I tried and didn’t like, 1 new (for me) and 27 I’ve read and liked - way more efficient than trolling through Goodreads lists. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-april-2023-edition/981855.md?page=6)