# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - August 2023 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [August 1, 2023, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892 "2023-08-01T01:16:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 5
**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 23, 2023, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/81 "2023-08-23T21:24:26Z")
On recommendation from Libby, I downloaded and started listening to _All Good People Here_ by Ashley Flowers. Listened for an hour this morning and am enjoying a good murder mystery thus far. ---
**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, 2023, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/82 "2023-08-25T02:50:36Z")
I finished the audiobook of _The Passengers_ by John Marrs. It was good, though I thought it might have benifited from a little tightening up. And please! Next time I start something like this, someone remind me NOT to get attached to any of the characters. Oi. 😣 : ---
**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 25, 2023, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/83 "2023-08-25T15:55:46Z")
Finished _The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit_, by Sloan Wilson. Meh. Now I’m reading _Every Word Is a Bird We Teach to Sing: Encounters with the Mysteries and Meanings of Language_, by Daniel Tammet. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2023, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/84 "2023-08-25T16:03:21Z")
I finished _Murder at the Vicarage_ by Agatha Christie. It was great. I guess it was written in 1930? It was a little hard on women but nothing that ruined my enjoyment. I just started _The Body in the Library._ I’ll admit I went and bought the entire Miss Marple collection on Kindle. It’s just what I need right now. Well-written, friendly intrigue with a hint of murder, and very easy to read. ---
**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, 2023, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/85 "2023-08-25T16:20:33Z")
I always liked the Miss Marple books. They are a bit dated these days, but MM is still a treat. ---
**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, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/86 "2023-08-27T19:29:40Z")
Finished _Every Word Is a Bird We Teach to Sing: Encounters with the Mysteries and Meanings of Language_, by Daniel Tammet, which was interesting, especially the parts about translation and the Turing test. Now I’m reading _The Future Second by Second_, by Meridel Newton. It’s a science fiction novella. ---
**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 28, 2023, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/87 "2023-08-28T15:05:13Z")
Finished _The Future Second by Second_, by Meridel Newton. Meh. Now I’m reading _Darwin Comes to Town: How the Urban Jungle Drives Evolution_, by Menno Schilthuizen. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/88 "2023-08-28T16:17:08Z")
**Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind** Yuval Noah Harari A comprehensive history of humanity, from the Stone Age to 21st century. Pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/89 "2023-08-28T16:56:40Z")
I enjoyed the few Miss Marple books I have read. It has been a long time since the last one. Probably should go back and finish them in order. There’s a fine movie version of The Mirror Crack’d starring Angela Lansbury as Miss Marple along with Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Kim Novak and Tony Curtis in the cast. The book I am currently reading and on the verge of finishing is **The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley**. I have read her previous mystery thrillers and this is very good too. Detective fiction is great fun too but the mysteries where the cast of characters are on their own and have to save themselves but with no clue what or who from is the theme I enjoy the most and she is great at that. ---
**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, 2023, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/90 "2023-08-28T17:11:00Z")
Last night I finished _Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings_ by Earl Swift. It’s an interesting account of the hurried design and building of the Rovers. The author pushes back against the view that we took “cars” to the Moon just because, hell, we’re Americans, and points out how the Rovers very effectively broadened the exploratory reach of the astronauts and allowed the collection of a much greater range and quantity of rocks for later study. Just started _The Long Gray Line_ by Rick Atkinson, about the West Point Class of 1966’s ordeal as young Army officers in the jungles of Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/91 "2023-08-28T18:57:52Z")
> [@Boycott](#): > > I enjoyed the few Miss Marple books I have read. It has been a long time since the last one. I just finished _The Body in the Library_ and onto _The Moving Finger._ I know it’s old fashioned, but I kind of get a kick out of when the men generalize about women being silly or gossipy, and she in turn generalizes about men. She’s a cheeky old lady. My biggest surprise was finding a scene with pretty intense profanity, and you can also see surprisingly dark elements of crime stories that have endured today. The first book was kinda quaint, the second one felt more modern, even tawdry. But Christie really does such wonderful set up with a vivid cast of characters. I find it instructional as a writer myself. I also just started _Everything Happens for a Reason (And Other Lies I’ve Loved)_ by Kate Bowler. It’s the story of a Christian woman who was into the prosperity gospel until she got terminal cancer. I’m not a religious person but I find it pretty riveting as an exploration of how people cope with suffering. I have actually come to tears at times. ---
**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 28, 2023, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/92 "2023-08-28T20:37:23Z")
New thread: [What’s this?! A miracle?! I’m early!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-september-2023-edition/989241) ---
**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, 2023, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/93 "2023-08-30T20:05:19Z")
Finished _Darwin Comes to Town: How the Urban Jungle Drives Evolution_, by Menno Schilthuizen, which was very interesting. There’s a river in a city in southern France where pigeons bathe in and drink from the shallow part of a river. Meanwhile, catfish close to two meters long swim nearby, and sometimes lunge out of the water, grabbing a pigeon, and dragging it under to swallow it. (The author tells the reader to "imagine the proper soundtrack.) Now I’m reading _The Scholars of Night_, a mystery by John M. Ford. ---
**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 31, 2023, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/94 "2023-08-31T03:12:45Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > (The author tells the reader to "imagine the proper soundtrack.) [When fish attack!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9QTSyLwd4w) ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/95 "2023-08-31T09:48:37Z")
I’m reading _Deadspeak_ by Brian Lumley. Part of his Necroscope series, it also talks about the vampires of the series, who are IMHO the most interesting part. I’d love a MMORPG or just RPG of the series, but it couldn’t possibly capture the amazing gore and ickyness he brings to the table. Good comfort books in a weird way, but they’re very NSFW. At some point I need to sit down and write up reviews of each book. The first couple are eh until he gets his feet. ---
**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 31, 2023, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892/96 "2023-08-31T19:11:47Z")
[Emily Litella] Never mind! [/EL] I’ll go repost in the new thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2023-edition/987892.md?page=4)