# Khadaji’s Whatcha Reading Thread - February 2022 edition **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [February 1, 2022, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722 "2022-02-01T03:43:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [February 14, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/41 "2022-02-14T19:55:19Z")
Started today on a short story collection, [The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies](https://www.amazon.com/Wide-Carnivorous-Other-Monstrous-Geographies/dp/1614980543/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1644866746&sr=8-1) by John Langan. The first story was just filler. The second story was told in an unusual way and contained a scene that might have scarred me for life (but in a good way, you know). I expect this will be a really good collection, but I’ll have to set it aside tomorrow when the new King book comes. [insert Snoopy dance here] ---
**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 15, 2022, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/42 "2022-02-15T19:05:29Z")
I finished Jack Higgins’s _The Eagle Has Flown_, a bleccch sequel to his excellent WWII thriller _The Eagle Has Landed_. Higgins used a lot of the same situations and characters (including one whom he wrote, quite clearly, had been shot dead before) from the first book, and even added a preposterous plot against Hitler, but all for naught. Very disappointing; it would have been better had he never written it. Still enjoying John Scalzi’s sf novel _Zoe’s Tale_, and Sally Rooney’s contemporary Irish novel _Beautiful World, Where Are You,_ although IMHO not as good, also continues to hold my interest. Just started _Immersion: A Pilgrimage into Service_ by James Menkhaus, about meaningful, non-oppressive and non-judgmental Christian missionary work. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2022, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/43 "2022-02-15T22:01:39Z")
I finished _A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax_ by Dorothy Gilman, as usual a delightful, if terribly implausible, story set in a Swiss clinic/hospital. It was well written, fast paced and full of Gilman’s trademark absurd humor. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2022, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/44 "2022-02-16T01:10:16Z")
Finished **Nucleus** - the second historical thriller in the Tom Wilde series by Rory Clements. Set three years on in 1939, this is another engrossing story of espionage and mystery with personal development of the returning characters caught in the crossfire. Very good follow up. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2022, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/45 "2022-02-16T14:26:15Z")
Started today on [Gwendy’s Final Task](https://www.amazon.com/Gwendys-Final-Task-Stephen-King/dp/1587678012/ref=sr_1_1?crid=13VMOK5STKA02&keywords=gwendys+final+task&qid=1645021257&sprefix=gwend%2Caps%2C238&sr=8-1), by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar. Trump fans won’t like it. The authors aren’t attacking him per se, but the characters take it as a given that his presidency was not a good thing. Of course, I have no problem with it. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2022, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/46 "2022-02-16T14:51:32Z")
Cool! I didn’t realize it was released. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/47 "2022-02-16T16:15:44Z")
Finished _Ethan & Jag Destroy the World_ by Maz Maddox. It’s a funny, silly story of a human man and the demon he accidentally summoned falling in love and making a life for themselves… until all Hell breaks loose… literally. ---
**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 16, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/48 "2022-02-16T18:14:50Z")
Finished _Atlas of a Lost World: Travels in Ice Age America_ , by Craig Childs, which was very interesting. Now I’m reading _The King of Next Week_, by E. C. Ambrose. ---
**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 17, 2022, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/49 "2022-02-17T21:15:48Z")
Finished _The King of Next Week_ , by E. C. Ambrose, which was good. Now I’m reading _30-Second Architecture: The 50 Most Significant Principles and Styles in Architecture, Each Explained in Half a Minute_, edited by Edward Denison. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/50 "2022-02-18T19:58:51Z")
Finished Gwendy’s Final Task today. If you don’t know your stuff regarding the Dark Tower series, you might be a little confused. I now return with joy to my John Langan story collection, The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies. Not all of these stories are my cup of tea, but this dude can write. I’m going to have to read all his books from now on. ---
**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 18, 2022, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/51 "2022-02-18T20:49:49Z")
Finished _30-Second Architecture: The 50 Most Significant Principles and Styles in Architecture, Each Explained in Half a Minute_ , edited by Edward Denison, which was okay. Now I’m reading _His Only Wife_, by Peace Adzo Medie. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2022, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/52 "2022-02-19T13:30:59Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Finished Gwendy’s Final Task today. If you don’t know your stuff regarding the Dark Tower series, you might be a little confused. Dammit, Janet. The Dark Tower kinda lost me. Nearing the end of _Spindown_. Really enjoying it. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2022, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/53 "2022-02-19T13:36:43Z")
I gave up on _Mélusine_ because after 300 pages nothing had happened. So here’s the current state of the book pile. - _I, Claudius_, by Robert Graves. Ancient gossip is the best gossip. - _The Scarlet Letter_, Nathaniel Hawthorne. I hated this in high school but I think it was because I wasn’t old enough to get it. Also I wasn’t prepared for the convoluted sentences. I’m appreciating it more this time. - _Little Town on the Prairie_, Laura Ingalls Wilder. I had to buy this one twice because the first book I got in the boxed set I ordered was missing the last two chapters. It just stopped in the middle of the scene where Almanzo walked Laura home. After expressing my feelings by way of Language, I got another book that ended at the end. - _Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes_, Tony Kushner. I would love to see this on stage one day. The play itself is bringing back a lot of memories of my childhood, specifically how seriously all the adults took themselves back in the 1980s. - _Lady of Caladan_, Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson. New Dune novel! 😃 By the middle of page one I realized that I’m reading book two of a trilogy (?), but that’s okay. I started the Dune series in the middle so this is familiar ground. - _Poseidon’s Gold_, Lindsay Davis. My journey through the M. Didius Falco series continues to continue. - _Curious Myths of the Middle Ages_, Sabine Baring-Gould. The description’s in the title. ---
**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:** [February 20, 2022, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/54 "2022-02-20T13:11:18Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Finished Gwendy’s Final Task today. So, I looked in my kindle but couldn’t find it, yet I know I’d ordered/pre purchased it. Turns out there are two editions. The one I bought was a couple of dollars more than yours and it doesn’t release until May 31. WTF¿ ---
**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:** [February 20, 2022, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/55 "2022-02-20T13:48:11Z")
No idea! That’s really weird. A few days ago, King tweeted about a counterfeit version being sold at Amazon, but the author’s name was clearly different. ---
**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 20, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/56 "2022-02-20T15:28:45Z")
Finished _His Only Wife_ , by Peace Adzo Medie, which was okay. Now I’m reading _The Book of Seconds: The Incredible Stories of the Ones that Didn’t (Quite) Win_, by Mark Mason. ---
**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 21, 2022, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/57 "2022-02-21T22:00:37Z")
Finished _The Book of Seconds: The Incredible Stories of the Ones that Didn’t (Quite) Win_ , by Mark Mason, which was a lot of fun. I enjoy books that have lots of interesting historical trivia. Now I’m reading _The Case of the One-Eyed Witness_, by Erle Stanley Gardner. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/58 "2022-02-21T23:47:18Z")
I finished _Faster_ by Neal Bascombe, and also a hilarious light read called _Effin’ Birds_ by Aaron Reynolds, which claims to be a coffee table book for ersatz birders but is actually an accurate diss of all personality types you’ve ever run across. Now, I’m finally tackling _Permanent Record_ by Edward Snowden. ---
**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:** [February 21, 2022, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/59 "2022-02-21T23:57:59Z")
Finished **Six Wicked Reasons** by Jo Spain. An Irish thriller book which has inspiration from Murder on the Orient Express but with a unique and cleverly worked plot which all made for a good whodunnit mystery. It’s a little bit too long for me compared to the usual length of this genre of books I read but I enjoyed it nonetheless. ---
**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:** [February 22, 2022, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722/60 "2022-02-22T01:20:35Z")
Finished _Spindown_. Great book. Still cannot figure out the situation with _Gwendy’s Final Task_. If I search for it, I see a May 31 publication date, yet @Dung_Beetle has her copy already. The kindle store shows two editions. What to read next…. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/khadaji-s-whatcha-reading-thread-february-2022-edition/958722.md?page=4)