# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - February 2021 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [February 1, 2021, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2021-edition/931955 "2021-02-01T04:04:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **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:** [February 23, 2021, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2021-edition/931955/61 "2021-02-23T16:25:16Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > …I have always liked Martin’s referring to herself in the third person. “Miss Manners thinks that…” Does anyone know of any other authors who do this? Maybe in fiction?.. I can’t think of any. It’s a nice gimmick, though; you’d think it would be more widespread. Just started _Imperial Earth_ by Arthur C. Clarke, a 1976 sf novel that I read years ago but remember very little of. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2021-edition/931955/62 "2021-02-23T22:34:23Z")
Just finished: _1634: The Galileo Affair_, by Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis Now reading: _1634: The Bavarian Crisis_, by Eric Flint and Virginia DeMarce Next up: _Ring of Fire II_, edited by Eric Flint ---
**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:** [February 25, 2021, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2021-edition/931955/63 "2021-02-25T19:22:45Z")
Finished _The Next Great Paulie Fink_ , by Ali Benjamin. Meh. Now I’m reading _Amazing and Extraordinary Facts: Cathedrals and Abbeys_, by Stephen Halliday. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2021-edition/931955/64 "2021-02-26T18:54:08Z")
Just finished: _1634: The Bavarian Crisis_, by Eric Flint and Virginia DeMarce Now reading: _Ring of Fire II_, edited by Eric Flint Next up: _1635: The Cannon Law_, by Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis ---
**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:** [February 26, 2021, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2021-edition/931955/65 "2021-02-26T19:06:01Z")
Finished [The Unspoken Name](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45046552-the-unspoken-name). Imagine _The Tombs of Atuan_, only most of the book is post-temple, and Ged is kind of a self-centered jerk (big stretch right there, but leans into it), and Tenar is an orc. Good stuff. It’s not gonna change any lives, but for an epic high fantasy, pretty dang good. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2021, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2021-edition/931955/66 "2021-02-27T04:42:29Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Now I’ve started _The Friend_ by Sigrid Nunez, my book club’s latest selection, a novel about a young woman with a tiny no-pets apartment in NYC who’s asked to take care of her late friend’s enormous Great Dane. Not really my cup of tea, but readable; I think I’ll keep going. > > …Just started _Imperial Earth_ by Arthur C. Clarke, a 1976 sf novel that I read years ago but remember very little of. I finished the first, a usually-interesting meditation on the bond between people and dogs, the intellectual rewards of literature, the difficulty of being a writer these days, and the dark lure of suicide. Not sure I can recommend it. If you really like dogs and/or books, it might be for you; it certainly isn’t for everybody. The Clarke book is pretty good - about the visit of a Titan colonial tycoon’s cloned son to humanity’s homeworld in time for the U.S. quincentennial in 2276 - and I’m enjoying it. I’ve also begun _The Ministry for the Future_ by Kim Stanley Robinson, which **Tride** mentioned earlier and which my niece, who’s well-read on contemporary sf, recommended. So far, it’s a pretty grim portrait of near-future global climate change. More lighthearted by far is _The Rosie Project_ by Graeme Simsion, about a Dr. Sheldon Cooperesque man’s dispassionate, systematic attempt to find a suitable wife (including a 32-page questionnaire). I’m not too far into it and there’ve been some LOL moments already. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2021, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2021-edition/931955/67 "2021-02-27T16:08:33Z")
Finished _Amazing and Extraordinary Facts: Cathedrals and Abbeys_ , by Stephen Halliday, which I enjoyed. My favorite fact is that Thomas Wolsey, when he was Lord Chancellor, had a sarcophagus built for himself, but since he died while accused of treason (before his trial) he didn’t get to use it. It was later used for Admiral Nelson, who had died in battle. Started _Tomorrow’s Kin_, by Nancy Kress. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2021, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2021-edition/931955/68 "2021-03-01T18:13:20Z")
New thread: [Is that sunshine and blue sky I see?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-march-2021-edition/934048) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2021-edition/931955.md?page=3)