# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - August 2026 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-books-manga, books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [August 1, 2026, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066 "2026-08-01T00:09:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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 11, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/21 "2026-08-11T16:06:11Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > Rendezvous with Rama > > … > > RwR (ellipses added) ---
**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 11, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/22 "2026-08-11T16:07:18Z")
I didn’t care for Harkaway’s Tigerman, but am super excited to read anything he puts out anyway: most of his books are right up my alley. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2026, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/23 "2026-08-11T16:16:28Z")
yes, thanks I was too lazy to type it out twice ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2026, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/24 "2026-08-11T17:03:38Z")
🤦‍♂️ Thanks! ---
**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 12, 2026, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/25 "2026-08-12T20:04:58Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I’m in the middle of _Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell_ by Susanna Clarke, because I liked her other book _Piranesi_ so much. In particular I’m enjoying how she treats magic and the supernatural in this routine and matter-of-fact way that makes it feel that it’s supporting the main story (though there’s no real story without it). > > I like a writer who is able to quietly emanate their skill and mastery without overtly calling attention to it, Clarke is definitely that writer. Somehow her writing ability just radiates off the page without calling attention to itself, in fact she seems perfectly content to add a lot of subtle cleverness that’s likely to be overlooked if the reader is moving too fast (which I do at times, she’s definitely made me slow down). I couldn’t agree more, and well said. Two previous threads that may be of interest: > [@Anyone read "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-read-jonathan-strange-mr-norrell/369520): > > I’m about 2/3 through it so far and I can’t decide how I feel about it. Anyone else out there read this book? What did you think about it? > [@Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (open spoilers)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/piranesi-by-susanna-clarke-open-spoilers/961260): > > I devoured Piranesi by Susanna Clarke in just two days. Not nearly as big or complicated as her masterful Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and unlike that book there’s nary a footnote to be seen, but it’s a quiet, deeply moving fantasy novel about a semi-amnesiac man living in a vast marble palace that is, from time to time, inundated by the sea. Gradually, from visitors - one friendly, but others not - and through his own inquiries, he learns who he is and just how he got there. Highly reco… ---
**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 15, 2026, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/26 "2026-08-15T02:25:26Z")
I took a break from _Old Man’s War_ by John Scalzi … picked it up again Wednesday.. “Oh it’s Jingoism and Colonialism in space..” Now I’m ready to cheer on the aliens. And I’m very interested in where Scalzi is going to take this. ---
**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 15, 2026, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/27 "2026-08-15T04:05:54Z")
He acknowledges and runs with those issues (among others). Hope you’ll stay with it. ---
**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 15, 2026, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/28 "2026-08-15T10:51:34Z")
Just finished [Malinalli](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/98a5d596-d6fc-44fa-89dd-dd6490203536), by Veronica Chapa. It’s a fantasy retelling of the life of La Malinche, the indigenous woman who acted as a guide and interpreter for Cortes as he and his soldiers rampaged through Mexico. It’s a great idea, and a lovely setting with evocative magic, but not enough to overcome the earnest, stodgy prose. What should have been the novel’s climax was brief and unexplained. I hope the author develops a better voice; she’s got great ideas, but they didn’t translate well into a novel. ---
**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 15, 2026, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/29 "2026-08-15T12:12:39Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > He acknowledges and runs with those issues (among others). Hope you’ll stay with it. Oh I figured he would, I’ve read enough of his shorter stuff to realize he isn’t Rudyard Kipling. It has renewed my interest in the story. ---
**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 15, 2026, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/30 "2026-08-15T13:55:16Z")
Finally finished the Emily Wilson translation of **The Odyssey**. Now on to some old non-series Edgar Rice Burroughs ---
**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 15, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/31 "2026-08-15T20:54:45Z")
Finished _Bogeys and Bandits: The Making of a Fighter Pilot_, by Robert Gandt, which is one of the best books I’ve read this year. Also finished _Thurber on Crime_, by James Thurber, which is a collection of stories, articles, essays, and drawings. Some excellent stuff in here too, of which my favorite is the article “Lo, Hear the Gentle Bloodhound”. Next up: _Always Carry Salt: A Memoir of Preserving Language and Culture_, by Samantha Ellis; and _Eight Dogs Flying_, a cozy mystery by Karen Ann Wilson. ---
**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 15, 2026, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/32 "2026-08-15T21:51:26Z")
Finished _Dog Bless You_ by Neil S. Plakcy, the fourth in his long running cosy mystery series about an ex felon and his dog solving mysteries in a small Pennsylvania college town. Nothing very deep, I knew the answer early on in the book, but enjoyable in a potato chip kind of way. ---
**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 16, 2026, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/33 "2026-08-16T23:43:35Z")
Currently reading Source: Goodreads [https://share.google/e1728CHtDmGLvKyNv](https://share.google/e1728CHtDmGLvKyNv) Monsters In the Archives: my year of fear with Stephen King, by Caroline Bicks. This University of Maine professor delves into the origins of Mr. King’s earliest published novels, AKA his best work, assisted by the man himself. If you’re a fan, don’t miss this. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/34 "2026-08-17T17:23:00Z")
**The Plunge: Maverick Swimmers, an Unlikely Quest, and the Transformative Power of Cold Water** Chris Ballard The weird world of competitive cold-water swimming. Not just jumping in and then dashing back out to the sauna, but actual organized races in very cold water, including a particularly insane challenge called the Ice Mile. Some people lose feeling in their hands for months afterwards. Now, once a long time ago, in an attempt to impress a young woman, I splashed around in a cold Lake Michigan on a winter’s evening. She wasn’t impressed alas, but I rather enjoyed it and would do a cold plunge occasionally until I moved out of the Chicago area. But no way would I ever do a long-distance swim in very cold water. Anyway, enjoyable book. The author is a sports journalist, and the style is light and breezy, with lots of italics. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2026, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/35 "2026-08-17T17:34:17Z")
I’m re-reading **Going to Extremes** by Joe McGinniss, his 1980 book about Alaska. He shows Alaska warts and all, and is quite bleak in his assessment of the northernmost parts and the Natives who live there. It’s a gritty read, and has some hard truths, and I know a lot of Alaskans really resented his characterization of the land and its people. That said, I believe it to be pretty accurate. ---
**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 17, 2026, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/36 "2026-08-17T22:33:49Z")
I finished listening to _Buried in the Backwater_ by Drew Strickland. A small-town West Virginia sheriff, along with his newly-hired deputy, attempt to solve the murder of an 11-year-old girl, the daughter of a prominent family. Lots of folks in town have reason to do harm to the girl and/or her parents. Not a bad read…except for a major plot twist at the end which made very little sense. This is the first of nine books about the sheriff. I probably won’t read any more. ---
**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 18, 2026, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/37 "2026-08-18T03:16:18Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’m re-reading **Going to Extremes** by Joe McGinniss, his 1980 book about Alaska. He shows Alaska warts and all, and is quite bleak in his assessment of the northernmost parts and the Natives who live there. It’s a gritty read, and has some hard truths, and I know a lot of Alaskans really resented his characterization of the land and its people. That said, I believe it to be pretty accurate. You might also like John McPhee’s _Coming Into the Country,_ a pretty interesting 1977 nonfiction account of Alaska and its people, also warts and all, although I wouldn’t call it bleak. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/38 "2026-08-18T12:50:59Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > You might also like John McPhee’s _Coming Into the Country,_ a pretty interesting 1977 nonfiction account of Alaska and its people, also warts and all, although I wouldn’t call it bleak. I read that years ago. A very amusing account of his travels. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/39 "2026-08-18T14:47:45Z")
Halfway through Entrances and Exits by Michael Richards. Its riveting! ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066/40 "2026-08-18T23:15:58Z")
Just started “Between A Flock and a Hard Place” by Donna Andrews. Supposedly the plot involves wild turkeys, which are a fixture here in Western Mitten State. So far, it’s a light & entertaining read. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-august-2026-edition/1032066.md?page=3)