# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - December 2022 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [November 30, 2022, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798 "2022-11-30T14:30:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [December 12, 2022, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/41 "2022-12-12T01:29:54Z")
If you like it be sure to read the books about the Normans in Sicily, they are very good and in the same style (I ended up reading everything Norwich wrote except his autobiography, but I’ll read it next year probably) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/42 "2022-12-12T01:55:08Z")
Just finished James Fell’s “_ **On This Day In History Sh!t Went Down** _”, which is the usual ‘on this day things happened’ book, and as the title of the book might show, the author is not afraid to use…umm…strong language when appropriate. The stories are interesting, but IMHO the author involves his very strong dislike for Mr. Trump way too often and it drains some of the energy from the 1-page saga he’s trying to tell you about. People who like this sort of thing will like this sort of thing. Me? Doubtful I’ll but his second volume; but we’ll see. I’m also proceeding through my entire collection of Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout, most of them written between the 1930’s-1960’s. Have done all the short stories and am now moving through the novels, finished “_ **Plot it Yourself** _” last Friday and about 25% done with “_ **Over My Dead Body** _”. The stories are dated as you might expect, but the interaction of the main characters (Nero Wolfe, the corpulent genius and Archie Goodwin, the ‘man of action’) and the stories still hold up in my estimation. Should have enough to keep me busy for another couple of months. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2022, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/43 "2022-12-12T02:05:49Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > about 25% done with “_ **Over My Dead Body** _”. Is that the one with the prize winning bull? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/44 "2022-12-12T02:07:59Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Is that the one with the prize winning bull? Nope, that was "_ **Some Buried Caesar** _, (which was one of the first novels I re-read) , one of the very few times Wolfe emerged from his house (due to orchids, of course). ---
**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:** [December 12, 2022, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/45 "2022-12-12T02:19:42Z")
Oh right! I’m sure I’ve read _Over My Dead Body_ but it’s been a long time 😃 ---
**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:** [December 12, 2022, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/46 "2022-12-12T13:53:05Z")
Started this morning on [If This Book Exists, You’re in the Wrong Universe](https://www.amazon.com/This-Exists-Youre-Wrong-Universe/dp/1250195829/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1670852878&sr=8-1) by Jason Pargin (David Wong). It’s part of the John Dies at the End series, funny stuff as always. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2022, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/47 "2022-12-12T14:16:04Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > …I’ve now begun _21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey_ by Patrick O’Brian, the novel fragment that the author left behind when he died in 2000. It’s only two hours as an audiobook, the equivalent of three chapters or so - but as a completist, and even though I know it will break my heart a little, I want to hear it all. Finished it. It was a tantalizing taste of a book that never was; I’m glad to have read it, and at last to have finished O’Brian’s wonderful series. I’m now about a third of the way through Erik Larson’s _The Splendid and the Vile_, about Churchill and London during the Blitz. It doesn’t break much new ground historically, but it’s an interesting story and well-told. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/48 "2022-12-12T14:48:21Z")
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ve added these to my lengthy too-read list. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/49 "2022-12-13T19:36:13Z")
Finished _The Twelve Jays of Christmas_, by Donna Andrews. Meh. Now I’m reading _Nettle & Bone_ by T. Kingfisher. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/50 "2022-12-15T14:34:27Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Please let us know how you liked this book. I’ve not read anything by this author, but she has been highly recommended. It was fantastic. Add me to the list of people who highly recommend her (or at least this book, it’s the only full-length novel of hers that I’ve read). ---
**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:** [December 15, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/51 "2022-12-15T21:29:07Z")
Finished _Nettle & Bone_ by T. Kingfisher, which was excellent. Now I’m reading _Happy Holiday Historicals_, edited by Lyn Worthen. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/52 "2022-12-15T21:41:24Z")
Finished rereading Stephen King’s _Duma Key_. It was a fun read. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2022, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/53 "2022-12-16T12:21:44Z")
I hereby declare that I am officially done with Henry James. I tried to read _Turn of the Screw_ and couldn’t finish it. I tried to read _The Wings of the Dove_ and couldn’t finish it. I never felt like I was invited to the story. I couldn’t get beyond the page to actually connect to the characters or the action (such as it was) or anything. Even though the characters spent geologic eons thinking, there was always a glass bubble around them preventing any personality from getting through. His characters are just collections of characteristics shrouded by a wall of words and subordinate clauses. Life’s too short to read Henry James. I’m going back to the good Victorian novels written by people who know how to write, like Dickens and Wilde and Thackeray and Eliot. ---
**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:** [December 16, 2022, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/54 "2022-12-16T14:19:23Z")
> [@Catamount](#): > > I tried to read _Turn of the Screw_ and couldn’t finish it. THREE TIMES I tried to read it! Why would you write a BORING ghost story?! ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/55 "2022-12-16T15:10:22Z")
I finished _Jade Legacy_ by Fonda Lee and very much enjoyed it. It’s the conclusion to her Green Bone Saga trilogy. It posits a world where jade provides the wearer superhuman abilities, but only the residents of one country who train with it from birth can wear it without going insane. At its root, it’s really a political thriller. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/56 "2022-12-16T18:40:43Z")
**Superheavy: Making and Breaking the Periodic Table** Kit Chapman The history of the synthesis of elements heavier than uranium, from World War 2, when plutonium was produced for atomic bombs, to the present when labs around the world have gotten up to element 118, Ogassenien. Only a few atoms of 118 have been produced, but that counts, apparently. Interesting topic, written at a very basic level. **Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game** Michael Lewis A behind-the-scenes look at a professional baseball team (the 2002 Oakland A’s) and how they attempted to use statistics and big data to change how players are selected and game strategy. Written in a very sports-journalism style, but worth reading if you are interested in baseball. If you aren’t knowledgeable about the sport, I’d think you’d be lost. Was also made into a film. **Group Theory in the Bedroom, and other Mathematical Diversions** Michael Hayes A series of short essays (they are expanded versions of a magazine column) on modern mathematical concepts, such as random number generation and group theory. Interesting and enjoyable ---
**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:** [December 17, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/57 "2022-12-17T18:52:28Z")
Finished _Happy Holiday Historicals_, edited by Lyn Worthen. It’s an anthology, and my favorite (other than the one I contributed) is "To See Bonhomme, by Rebecca M. Senese. Now I’m reading _Vanishing Fleece: Adventures in American Wool_, by Clara Parkes. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/58 "2022-12-17T18:58:58Z")
_Sword of the Lamb_ by M.K. Wren. It’s the first book in a sf trilogy. I read it back in the eighties when they were first published and remembered enjoying them. So when I saw used copies recently, I picked them up to reread the series. ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2022, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/59 "2022-12-17T20:57:01Z")
Re-re-re-reading _Double Whammy_ by Carl Hiaasen. It really is tour-de-force/farce. This and _Striptease_ are him at the top of his game, and his game is pretty damn good. I’d say he and Donald Westlake are pretty much tops for the comic crime category. Although Hiaasen hews closer to a scary reality. ---
**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:** [December 17, 2022, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798/60 "2022-12-17T22:09:21Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > > [@Catamount](#): > > > > I tried to read _Turn of the Screw_ and couldn’t finish it. > > THREE TIMES I tried to read it! Why would you write a BORING ghost story?! There’s a whole SDMB thread about loathing Henry James. Someone posted that reading him is like eating a pillow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-december-2022-edition/975798.md?page=4)