Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - August 2026 edition

[Left_Hand_of_Dorkness]

@zimaane

Rendezvous with Rama

…

RwR

(ellipses added)

[Left_Hand_of_Dorkness]

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.

[zimaane]

yes, thanks

I was too lazy to type it out twice

[Frodo]

Thanks!

[Elendil_s_Heir]

@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"?

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)

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…

[DZedNConfused]

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.

[Elendil_s_Heir]

He acknowledges and runs with those issues (among others). Hope you’ll stay with it.

[Left_Hand_of_Dorkness]

Just finished Malinalli, 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.

[DZedNConfused]

@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.

[CalMeacham]

Finally finished the Emily Wilson translation of The Odyssey. Now on to some old non-series Edgar Rice Burroughs

[Dendarii_Dame]

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.