# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - August 2020 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 31, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941 "2020-07-31T21:00:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [August 23, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/61 "2020-08-23T14:19:45Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Finished _Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man_, by Mary L Trump, PhD, Chump’s niece. A slim volume, barely 200 pages, but it packs a punch. It should be required reading for every American… This may also be of interest: [https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/22/politics/maryanne-trump-barry-donald-trump-mary-trump/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/22/politics/maryanne-trump-barry-donald-trump-mary-trump/index.html) ---
**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:** [August 23, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/62 "2020-08-23T19:44:48Z")
Yes, saw that. The book shows Maryanne saying she voted for Chump despite thinking he’d make a very poor president, out of family loyalty. ---
**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:** [August 24, 2020, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/63 "2020-08-24T13:46:25Z")
Finished _Women Aren’t Supposed to Fly: The Memoirs of a Female Flight Surgeon_ , by Harriet A. Hall. It was okay, and had some very funny anecdotes. Now I’m reading a science fiction novel, _The Long Sunset_, by Jack McDevitt. ---
**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:** [August 25, 2020, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/64 "2020-08-25T01:23:22Z")
Hi gang, I am going to attempt to get the new thread up Saturday. I start a new job Sunday through Wednesday and I’m alternately panicked and excited 😃 However, if I am overwhelmed, not to mention over tired, it might not happen until Thursday. But remember Douglas Adams: Don’t Panic. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/65 "2020-08-25T13:35:50Z")
I’m still reading Leigh Perry’s **The Skeleton Makes a Friend** , the latest in her “Skeleton” series of mysteries. But I’m reading other things on the side: **The Chronicles of Averoigne** by Clark Ashton Smith. Back in the 1970s, Lin Carter was a huge factor in re-igniting interest in adult fantasy a an editor at Ballantine. He’d collected Smith’s stories set in different milieu and published them in separate volumes – _Hyperborea_ (set in the ancient North) , _Poseidonis_ (set in Atlantis), and _Zothique_ (set on the last remaining continent in the far future) – but he never did get around to collecting the Aberoigne stories, set in a mythical medieval French region. Somebody finally did colect them, and published them as an e-book. Great stuff, and highly recommended. Unlike his two companion _Weird Tales_ authors (and correspondents) H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, Smith never really got the recognition he deserved (despite being name-checked in last Sunday’s episode of _Lovecraft Country_) I also picked up the e-book of Henry Kuttner’s **Elak of Atlantis** and read it. I’d heard about this for years, but never saw a print copy. After Robert E. Howard’s suicide, the editors at Weird Tales wanted something similar to his most recent Conan the Barbarian series to take the place of his stories, so they asked Henry Kuttner to fil the gap. His Elak of Atlantis stories definitely take their cue from Howard – his barbarian Atlantis isn’t far removed from Howard’s, right down to the anachronistic presence of Picts (which Kuttner spells “Pikhts”) and Vikings, with much swordplay and wizarding. But it doesn’t really feel like Howard. An interesting footnote to S&S history, but if only this had existed, without Howard, I don’t think you’d have the whole 1960s-70s Conan revival. **Rocket to the Morgue** by “H.H. Holmes” (Anthonu Boucher writing under his frequent mystery pseudonym). Another book I’d known about for a long time, but never saw in print, now available as an e-book. It’s a murder mystery and a _roman-a-clef_ novel of Golden Age SF writers, with thinly disguised versions of Robert Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, Cleve Cartmill, Henry Kuttner, John W. Campbell, Jack Williamson, Edmond Hamilton editor Julius Schwarz, and Jack Parsons. I’m still at the beginning of this one. It’s a sequel to Boucher’s earlier _Nine by Nine_, which I haven’t read, and the references to it are annoying. ---
**Author:** ![gnagtcha1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@gnagtcha1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnagtcha1)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/66 "2020-08-25T14:14:10Z")
Half way through “Judas Unchained” (Peter F. Hamilton) after finishing the prequel “Pandora’s Star” Not really into techno sci-fi but the story keeps me going. Same with “The Uplift Storm” trilogy by David Brin. ---
**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:** [August 25, 2020, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/67 "2020-08-25T14:28:44Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > …Next up: _Windhaven_ by George R.R. Martin and Lisa Tuttle, a sf novel about a stormy waterworld over which human flyers with ultralight wings are a lifeline, elite couriers between the island colonies. Pretty good so far. Just passed the halfway mark. It’s going in some directions I hadn’t anticipated, which is good. I’ve begun Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novel _The Valley of Fear_, much of which is an extended flashback set in Pennsylvania coal country. It’s ok but nowhere near as good as _The Hound of the Baskervilles_, which is hands-down his best Holmes novel IMHO. Also still reading John Scalzi’s military sf novel _Old Man’s War_ aloud with one of my sons, and we’re both enjoying it (me for maybe the fourth time; him for the first). ---
**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:** [August 26, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/68 "2020-08-26T18:08:46Z")
Finished _The Long Sunset_ , by Jack McDevitt. Meh. Very bland. Now I’m reading _In An Absent Dream_, one of Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children fantasy novels. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2020, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/69 "2020-08-27T13:27:16Z")
I finished [Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41712668-sal-and-gabi-fix-the-universe?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=uAa9MBiUEd&rank=2), sequl to Sal and Gabi Break the Universe. It’s middle-grade Miami-Cubano science fiction. When I love a book, I’m always a little worried a sequel will feel tired, rehashed, just more of the same. Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe is delightful, hilarious, more of the same. Everything that I adored about the first book–the utopian school, the flawed-but-genuinely-kind protagonist, the bizarre humor, the delightful prose–shows up here. There’s a side-plot about open house, and I’ve been a teacher for 14 years, and realized how terribly wrong I’ve done open house all these years. It’s just magnificent. The only flaw in this book is that some of the humor is just off-color enough that I can’t use this as a classroom read-aloud (I’d love to get fero zucks about parent responses to the humor, but I just can’t do that). Otherwise I’d put this one in my annual rotation. This book is going on all my recommendation lists. If you’ve not read the first one, do yourself a favor and track it down! ---
**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:** [August 27, 2020, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/70 "2020-08-27T13:53:57Z")
I finished Utopia Avenue, the latest novel by David Mitchell. I liked it a lot, but I think it helps that I’ve read several of his other books and have an appreciation for the music of the late sixties. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/71 "2020-08-27T20:04:07Z")
Finished _In An Absent Dream_ by Seanan McGuire, which I enjoyed. Now I’m reading _Timekeepers: How the World Became Obsessed with Time_, by Simon Garfield. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/72 "2020-08-28T12:53:00Z")
I just started _A Private Cathedral_ by James Lee Burke. I’m only a few pages in and I’m already hooked. IMO, he is one of the greatest active writers we have. I am also reading _John Adams Under Fire_, an account of his defense of the British soldiers who were involved in the Boston Massacre. It’s refreshing to read about a time where opponents treated each other civilly and with respect (I’m talking about the lawyers, not the citizens/soldiers.) ---
**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:** [August 28, 2020, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/73 "2020-08-28T14:24:30Z")
The HBO miniseries _John Adams_ had a good segment on the Boston Massacre and its aftermath. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/74 "2020-08-28T14:51:25Z")
That series, of course, was based on David McCullouch’s 2001 book **John Adams** , which covered Adams’ role in defending the British troops involved. ---
**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:** [August 28, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/75 "2020-08-28T14:55:40Z")
And a lot more, too. ---
**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:** [August 28, 2020, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/76 "2020-08-28T17:13:30Z")
I started today on an anthology, [Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles](https://www.amazon.com/Final-Cuts-Hollywood-Horror-Spectacles/dp/0525565752/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1598633873&sr=1-1), edited by Ellen Datlow. No jewels as of 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:** [August 30, 2020, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/77 "2020-08-30T21:43:48Z")
Finished _Timekeepers: How the World Became Obsessed with Time_ , by Simon Garfield. I enjoyed it, especially the section on Beethoven and the metronome. Now I’m reading _Best in Show_, a cozy mystery by Laurien Berenson. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/78 "2020-08-30T22:50:06Z")
I just finished _American Predator_ by Maureen Callahan. It’s about Israel Keyes, one of the most prolific American serial killers, and one you’ve probably never heard of. The book is written like a crime novel and is a fast and interesting read. Highly recommended. ---
**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:** [September 1, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/79 "2020-09-01T22:52:18Z")
Finished _Best in Show_ , a cozy mystery by Laurien Berenson, which turned out to be better than her usual work. Now I’m reading _Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine_, by Alan Lightman. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2020, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941/80 "2020-09-02T12:28:37Z")
Finished Leigh Perry’s _The Skeleton Makes a Friend_ Moving on to a series of books I got on my Kindle, because I’ve never sen them in stores. I already mentioned Anthony Boucher’s _Rocket to the Morgue_, but I also picked up these: **The Book of Iod** – Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos by Henry Kuttner. With all the interest in Lovecraft and all the pastiches, I’m surprised that I never saw this collection in print anywhere, but had to get it in e-book form **American Connections** by James Burke. I was surprised to stumble across mention of this title on the internet several years ago, since I’d never seen it anywhere in stores. All my other books by Burke are print editions that I actually did stumble across in stores. This is not only the first e-book of his, it’s the first one I’ve had to search for. Definitely worth the reading, though. I had no idea, for instance, that Eli Whitney had been a boarder with Declaration of Independence signer Lewis Morris’ widow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2020-edition/916941.md?page=5)